Page 57 of Rifted Hearts
“You know it’s not going to change back.” Kaveh took the watch from him, his eyes not leaving Remi’s face. “I should have realized you were the one earlier when the guardian spoke to us. I was looking in the wrong places, at the wrong people.”
“Iamthe wrong person.” Remi backed away.
The room felt small and claustrophobic. Like a luxurious prison, which was where he’d been spending the rest of his life if this didn’t end now. He’d be added to a hoard inside the keep, another pretty plaything in a pile of treasure.
“I’m the ratkind spy who lied to you, seduced you, and worked with my cousins to steal your clan’s secrets,” Remi said. “I’m the worst fiancé you could possibly imagine, and that’s why we both need to forget this ever happened.”
“Please.” Kaveh spoke slowly, as if Remi was a frightened animal he needed to calm so he could treat it.
That wasn’t too far from the truth. Remi’s inner chinchilla was threatening to break out again, and tonight hadbeen awful and humiliating enough without that happening.
“I want you to be safe,” Kaveh said. “That’s the promise I made to Lyall, and it’s what the Matchmaker connection is about. Arimanius sent his enforcers after Kat when it seemed he was my match because he knew he could use that person as a bargaining chip against me and my clan. What do you think he’s going to do when he finds out it’s you?”
“My father’s not going to know anything about it.” Remi’s mind was churning, one part thinking about how he could get away from Kaveh and another part reeling in shock that this had happened. “I have a lot of practice lying to him. I’ll be gone tomorrow, and you can make up a story to tell your family.”
“I don’t want to lie about this.” Kaveh had to stop sounding reasonable and caring. It was making Remi feel even more awful.
“You lied about being an Azdaha, the Saguaro Rift clan’s secret weapon.” Remi was uncomfortably warm all of a sudden, the living leather armor too tight and the walls too close. “You even lied to your clan about being able to call up summ. I think you’ll be able to handle it.”
Kaveh bit his lip, and Remi could tell his words had hit like a slap. He had to do this, had to push Kaveh away. There was no way a kind, honorable man like Kaveh should end up with someone like Remi.
“Will you at least consider letting me keep you safe?” Kaveh stepped closer to him, and Remi’s body reacted, part of him wanting nothing more than to fling himself into Kaveh’s arms.
“No.” Remi had to be firm, had to make Kaveh leave. “Even if I wanted to stay with you, which I don’t, I’m notgoing to let myself be locked away in a drakone fortress like a shiny trinket you found. Your clan hates me, they hate the Colony, and the feeling is mutual. I hate your family, and I hate you.” His voice broke.
There was silence again between them, with Remi digging his fingernails into his palms to stop himself from crying. Kaveh simply stood there, his face somber.
“I’ll respect your wishes.” Kaveh pushed the fake Rolex into his pocket and walked to the door. He turned for one last look at Remi. “Please take care of yourself. I’m…very sorry. About everything.”
And then he was gone, and Remi fell onto the bed and tried to tell himself this hadn’t been the worst mistake of his life.
24
Remi waited until dawn, too wired up and distraught to catch even a few hours of sleep. As the morning sun lightened the sky outside the windows, there was a knock on the door.
He approached the door warily, and the guardweed tumbled down to stop him from going any farther.
“Remi, it’s Javier. It’s safe to come out, so I’m going to open your door, okay?”
Remi felt the dull pain of disappointment as he recognized the rideshare driver’s voice. Of course it wasn’t Kaveh. Remi had told him to get lost in as nasty a way as possible.
The door opened, and the guardweed rebounded upward like released springs to reveal Javier. He had a large knife on his belt, a crossbow in one hand, and a quiver of arrows on his back. He was ludicrously over-armed if he had come to be Remi’s jailer.
“How are you doing?” Javier sounded concerned.
Remi realized Kaveh had lied—or at least not told the ranch staff the truth about Remi’s background and actions.The weapons were for any dangerous mons hanging about, and Javier didn’t know Remi was one of those.
“I heard you were with the group that got attacked by the jellies,” Javier said. “Thank God everyone’s all right.”
“I’m fine.” Remi went to grab his suitcase, trying to ignore the pink animal carrier in the corner. He didn’t want to think about never seeing Lyall again, which was as ridiculous as pining over Kaveh.
He and Javier walked toward the ranch entrance, with Javier relating stories of how the ranch had hunkered down when the combined effects of becoming part of a riftland and the storm had hit.
“Kaveh told us the rift should move back in a few hours.” Javier pointed to an open carriage with two horses in harness.
The animals looked rather smug as they stood next to expensive pickup trucks that had been rendered useless. A familiar white bird with a yellow crest sat on one of the horses. Snow had gotten loose again. At least one creature at the ranch would be sorry to see Remi leave. Too bad he didn’t have any Brazil nuts on him.
Remi had more or less stared at the ground as he walked, going over and over his last argument with Kaveh, but as he looked at the carriage, he realized something about the landscape didn’t make sense. He scanned the horizon, confused, then spotted the shimmering barrier far off in the distance.
