The Mountain Ch. 06

She didn't realize that she had wished for reassurance until she felt him leave the bed. She felt tears threatening again, from a strange, unfathomable sadness rather than pain or even fear. Everything was wrong. Her family was far away, outside the mountain. Elias was without any parents to love him. Nothing was right and no one was safe and she couldn't even find a way to finish the simple mission for which she'd given up her entire life.

She felt Warder return. His huge hands were surprisingly light against her skin, caressing where they found the curve of her hip. "It was luck that brought you into my path," Warder spoke into the silence, "but I would not have taken you as my mate if I did not desire you."

It was the closest he had ever come to telling her he cared for her. That she was more than a prisoner, a vessel for his power.

"Doesn't it bother you that I don't want you?"

He didn't answer, but his hands kept moving over her skin.

#

When Warder left later that morning, he left Lucy locked in their new room. While she would have welcomed the opportunity to see Elias, she was grateful not to be confined to the nursery again. At least in Warder's rooms, there was no one to see her being treated like an errant child.

Frustrated at being cooped up, Lucy stood and headed to Warder's desk. She was still naked, but the room was so warm, she couldn't bring herself to care.

Mindful that getting caught could lead to another punishment, she opened the drawer with the false bottom and took out the picture of herself with her parents. She stared at it, trying to imagine that she had once lived a different life. She couldn't have been inside more than a month, but her parents and everything outside the mountain seemed more than a lifetime away.

She was replacing the picture carefully when she noticed that there was something different about the contents of the drawer. Her heart almost stopped as she palpated the leather pouch that had once held the pieces of the antenna. It seemed undisturbed, still convincingly weighted and arranged.

What had caught her eye was the the small, metallic thing nestled next to it. She picked it up to confirm that it was what she thought.

Elias's dragon.

She held it in her palm for a moment, contemplating it. Did Warder hate the child so much that he would steal his toys for the crime of speaking to his mate? Her stomach rolled at the thought of what could happen to a child that was hers and Warders. What is she died--at Hadren's hand or, perhaps, simply from wasting away inside the mountain? Would Warder cast their child aside to be raised by strangers, never treating it with kindness? It was yet another terror layered over her strange captivity.

And, somehow, it didn't feel true.

Thoughtfully, Lucy ran her hands down the dragon's side, looking for the catch that should release its intricate wings. When she found it, she pressed gently and the dragon's wings sprang out.

They had been repaired.

As much as she wanted to hate Warder truly and completely, she realized that this was what she had expected. She hadn't been able to fully accept that the warrior would cast aside a boy who was rightfully his son. And yet, if Warder would pretend to do so for the sake of the mountain people's cruel customs, was it any better than if his hatred was completely real?

The discovery made her more melancholy than ever and she curled back up on the bed, pressing one hand absently to her stomach. She wondered if she would know if she were pregnant. If she would feel it.

She was still lying naked on the bed, contemplating her situation, when the door opened. Lucy's head snapped up and she reached for the sheet to cover herself.

Persephone let herself into the room.

This was a different Persephone than Lucy was used to. Granted, she had the same scowl. But she moved with a cat-like caution that was a far cry from her usual blustery confidence. She placed a bag of supplies carefully next to the door and stood still, toying with a lock of hair.

"Hi," said Lucy, feeling awkward. She was actually--grateful? to see Persephone. At least, as a captor, Persephone was familiar.

"Hello," said Persephone.

Lucy expected her to come into the room. Instead, she stayed in the doorway, staring at her boots. Lucy noticed that her pale hands were clenched into fists at her side.

"I would like to apologize to you."

Lucy blinked. "Apologize?"

"Yes," said Persephone. "I am sorry that I tried to keep you away from him. And I'm sorry I put you in danger by taking you out of his rooms when you were--the way that you were."

"I wish you had kept me away," said Lucy.

Persephone's head shot up. Lucy saw the familiar anger in her eyes, but something else, too. Despair. Resignation. It had cost Persephone to make the apology. And even though Lucy shouldn't care--even though Persephone was one of her captors--she felt petty rejecting it.

"I wish that he were mated to someone who wants him," said Persephone, curling and uncurling her fists.

Finally, Lucy understood. She felt stupid for not seeing it before.

"You want to be Warder's mate."

Persephone glared at her. "Don't say that."

Lucy shook her head. "I wish I could give him to you."

"Let's not talk about it," said Persephone. "It doesn't matter."

Lucy thought about what Warder had told her about Grace and Ysabel. Apparently, Warder's taking her for his mate didn't necessarily preclude a marriage to someone else.

Persephone seemed to know the direction of Lucy's thoughts. "He wouldn't have chosen me," she said. "It doesn't matter. Do you accept my apology?"

Silently, Lucy nodded.

"Good," said Persephone. The task behind her, she seemed to regain some of her usual, sour demeanor. "So, stay over there out of the way while I clean."

"Wait," said Lucy. A thought had occurred to her.

"What?" Persephone slumped against the closed door, eyeing her warily.

"Did he tell you that you had to apologize?"

Persephone scuffed one boot against the floor. "Does it matter?"

"I want something. In exchange for accepting."

Lucy's mercenary attitude seemed to align with Persephone's expectations. "What do you want?" she asked.

"Take me outside."

Persephone laughed. "I do not think my apology will matter to Warder if I take you outdoors."

Despite Persephone's laughter, Lucy felt a dart of hope. It wasn't a no. "I won't be able to get away from you," she said. "You can tie my hands if you want. I just need to be able to see the sun. To smell the ocean."

Lucy really did want those things and she let her desire show. Even if her main aim in getting outside was to set the antenna. She meant it when she said she wasn't trying to escape, too. Setting up the antenna was a precursor to seeking a means to leave the mountain. Of course, if any opportunity presented itself after her task was done, she would take it. But all she really needed was for Persephone to give her five minutes alone near the mountain's top.

"I can't take you," said Persephone. "I'm not an idiot."

"Take me someplace high," said Lucy. "I'll give you my shoes. I won't be able to climb away."

Placing the antenna high up had been one of Sheeras father's instructions. That was the reason that she and Sheera had ventured as high as they had in the first place as they were "berry picking."

"You won't get away," said Persephone with annoying certainty. "But if you hurt yourself trying, Warder will blame me."

"It's my price for accepting your apology," said Lucy. "Otherwise, I'll tell Warder I can't stand to have you around.

Lucy didn't like manipulating Persephone that way, if only because she knew the woman would never forgive her. But she still hadn't said no. This was the best chance that had presented itself so far.

She knew, also, that her threats were hollow. She had no control over Warder and Persephone probably knew it. But based on her apology, Persephone was in the dog house for putting her in danger. All she needed was for Persephone to believe that Lucy was angry enough to try to come between her and Warder. The reality--that Warder was likely to ignore her wishes, were she to voice them--didn't matter.

"If I get his mate killed, Warder will never forgive me," said Persephone.

Lucy felt the opportunity slipping through her fingers. "Then keep me safe," she said.

Persephone picked at one of her fingernails. "Okay," she said finally. "But you have to do as I say. Try anything, and I'll bring you back."

Relief washed over Lucy in waves, followed by the tiniest amount ofåœ hope. "I promise to be good."