Page 49 of Wrath's Call

“You will be entered into the general bidding pool in two days.”

Corbin gently patted my shoulder before standing, his eyes crinkling at the corner. “Get some sleep Ryn,” he whispered.

“You shall be expected to attend tonight’s dinner to celebrate Miss Arison’s victory.” So, Penny had won the trial after all. I was glad I had lost to her, rather than any other faces who hadn’t bothered with Ness or me over the years.

When everyone began to exit the room, Corbin stopped, turning back to me as he leaned casually against the door frame, the silver of his suit pulling taught across his shoulders.

“I want you to attend the dinner with me tonight.”

A v formed between my brows as I folded my arms in my lap demurely. “Why? I didn’t win the trial - you don’t need to court me. And clearly there are better healers available to join your team.”

He chuckled warmly, the lavender chips glowing in his eyes as humility positively flowed off him in waves. “Like I told you before, you have more value than a simple healer. And as for you joining my team, let’s just say I’m still interested.” He winked at me. “Be downstairs by seven if you please.” And with that he disappeared from the entranceway, the door clicking shut behind him.

Don’t go to dinner with him. Marik’s psychic presence lingered heavily in the air, glowing with a soft copper and red edge within my sixth sense.

“And why not?” I asked, as I tore at the tape on my inner arm. Once I’d torn it away, and what felt like half the hairs on my arm with it, I pulled out the needle, sighing in relief.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to dinner with Corbin. As he’d already shown, he had no issues viewing me as a belonging – a trinket for purchase to put on a shelf. But something about him drew me in a way I couldn’t explain. The connection was not nearly as strong and all-consuming as the one I felt with Marik, but still, a thread of something lingered between us.

Marik dropped his impressive invisibility glamour. He stood propped against the far wall near the door, one long crossed over the other and his arms crossed over his chest. His physical stance belied nonchalance, but the scowl on his chiseled face said something completely different.

“Because I don’t want you to,” His answer was simple, and from the tone I suspected he expected me to just except that as reason enough.

He didn’t know me as well as he thought. If he thought he could simply order me around, treating me like a bobble for his whims he had another thing coming.

“What if I say I don’t care about what you do or don’t want?” I said, studying the tiny bruise beginning to form from the IV.

“Then I would say you should probably start caring.” His voice held a low dangerous edge I hadn’t heard since our first interactions.

I threw my hands up in the air and said, “Well, that’s it, I’ve been convinced.”

He didn’t buy my sarcasm for a second.

“I don’t trust any human that wants to lay claim to what is mine.”

“Yours?” I asked, eyebrow raised. “I thought you were going to give me a choice.”

“A choice on sharing my bed, sure. But I don’t think you’re too eager to turn that down.”

I rolled my eyes heavenward but said nothing else. “Good Gods you’re giving me whiplash.”

“Do you want to go to dinner with that boy?”

I paused to think further on that On one hand, I was settling into the possible future of joining Sarnas. I hadn’t given Zane the full truth when I told him why I couldn’t leave - I was irrevocably pulled by Marik’s rugged power, so much so that even the thought of separating from him had guilt weighing down upon me like an anchor.

But I also couldn’t deny the real possibility that Marik may not win me in the end. And so far Corbin had, for the most part - stood up for me at times when Marik remained ensconced in the shadows. Would this be what life in Sarnas would be like? Would I always be left to fight my own battles with flailing support unless it suited Marik’s purposes?

Marik took my silence as answer enough, giving me a hard look before disappearing into a cloud of smoke and shadows.

The keep foyer brimmed with excited inane chatter, a stark contrast to the somber notes of the previous evening. Marik didn’t contact me at all once I left the infirmary, something that I refused to admit disappointed me. I hadn’t liked how we’d ended things earlier, the heaviness of guilt still weighing upon me hours later.

I’d tried to ignore it by stopping by to see Ness again, her vitals still strong and sure despite her unconscious state. She had looked peaceful in her slumber, and a healthy glow rose to her otherwise pale features casting a stark juxtaposition to the far too sterile room, whose white walls bore nary a single mark or discoloration. Her unconscious state still concerned me as I couldn’t sense what caused her to linger. Her aura was murky - a grayish hue shrouding the normally vibrant auras of emerald greed and turquoise sloth like rain clouds formed over the Rockies southern tips. But when I did a quick physical check of her, there was nothing I could find to cause the disturbance.

It didn’t take long for me to find Corbin in the crowd. He had traded his muted gray ensemble for a sleek fitted microfiber dark silver suit that played off the room's light, causing him to both stand out from and simultaneously command the crowd. He had allowed the stubble on his jaw to grow despite having maintained the buzz on his head, reminding me a bit of Marik. But while Marik always seemed naturally roguish with his devilish eyes and face saved from prettiness by scars, Corbin was just a bit too polished for the scruff.

If Corbin alone hadn’t been enough to draw my attention, his companion would have been. He was magnificent, standing as tall as Marik, with dark skin and head of black hair that, like Corbin’s, had been buzzed down with military precision. His suit was black on black, the only disruption the shining silver of his belt buckle and matching cufflinks. He wore no tie, trading it for a turtleneck that hugged his pronounced Adam's apple and drew the eye onwards to the sharp features of his face. I had noticed him briefly at the combat trials, deducing from his seat that he was Corbin’s scout, Ademi, but had not had a chance for introductions. Unlike other scouts I had seen at this event, Ademi carried a refined but dangerous air of “fuck with me and find out” that simultaneously cowed and intrigued.

“Ryn you look…stunning.” Corbin’s hooded eyes traveled up and down me in an appraising manner that looked more devilish than lecherous. A tingle took flight in my belly followed quickly by a stab of something I refused to admit could be guilt. I didn’t owe Marik anything. Nope. Nadda. Especially since he’d spent the day ignoring me after our little argument.

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