** I am officially back from my travels studying abroad, which is very bittersweet for me. Bitter because I miss it, but sweet because I can now throw myself into my writing! Which means more updates!! Yay! More info on that at the end of the chap.**

Chapter 39

Aveline was going to lose her shit.

All of her friends were nervous and on edge from the information they had to keep secret. And the capital city, while whimsical and sparkling beyond belief, only seemed to tighten this underlying rope of tension that Aveline thought would strangle her.

Plus, she couldn't stand to be around Camille's smug face a moment longer. The woman was a nightmare. Lyla and Eli followed her about like she'd invented strawberry tarts, and Aveline couldn't even say anything, because then who knew what Camille would do?

At least Jamie didn't seem to care. She was in her own world nowadays. And neither did Ari, but he liked to pretend he didn't care about anything.

Aveline stretched out her knuckles and tucked her legs underneath her lap as a small wave lapped its way up the rock she sat on. The sun abated somewhat in the earlier hours of the day, and the tide pools at this time were colorful and lively. A small crab the color of salmon scuttled up the warm, gray slab of stone, missing her leg by only a few inches.

When she wasn't forced to attend one of Camille's stupid little parties, Aveline found she had a lot of time to herself. Sometimes she disliked it; it gave her too much time to think. But then, she had a lot to think about.

Aveline glanced around. No one was watching.

Sucking in a breath, she cautiously dipped one hand into the ocean below her. It broke the surface, disturbing the small pool in soft motions. She yanked it out as if it stung.

In wonder, Aveline turned her hand around in front of her face as sharp pains shot up her arm. Tiny lacerations appeared carved into her palm, like tiny white scars, the skin there nearly translucent.
"Extraordinary," she breathed.

"Aveline!"

A voice in the distance made Aveline scramble to her feet, nearly losing her footing. Lyla stood on beach, a hand in front of her eyes to block out the sun. The skirt of the dress she wore- cream-colored, light and summery- fluttered in the direction of the wind.

As Lyla came closer, Aveline thrust her hand behind her back. "What? Nothing."

Her friend's pale eyebrows puckered delicately. "I didn't say anything."

"Oh."

Lyla kicked a slipper into the wet sand. She looked lovely today. She'd pulled the sides of her hair back into a silver barrette. And was that a new necklace? "We have received word from the palace. The illness has stopped spreading."

Aveline had suspected as much. "Well, they did put an end to the village experiments, so naturally-"

"Of course."

There was another awkward pause.

"I was thinking, if we are to ask the king today about it, what will happen then."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, afterwards?"

Panic rose up in her throat. Aveline spoke around it. "It all depends on the king's reaction. If all goes well, he will punish those responsible and we can return home." The lie made her curl her nails into her palms.

"Home..." Lyla repeated, letting the word linger as if testing it out. Amidst her quiet terror, Aveline wondered what it meant to her friend now.

God, what was she to do?

Then Lyla spoke again, dragging Aveline from her thoughts.

"I know it seems inappropriate, but before we see the king, I wanted to walk about the city, shop for a bit. Camille was supposed to come with me, but..." she trailed off.

"She's preoccupied?"

"Quite." Lyla chewed on her lip. "Perhaps we could all go. You, me, Ari, Jamie, and Eli. We haven't spoken in a while, since things have been a bit..."

"Tense?"

"Yes."

Aveline shot a quick glance at her hand. The markings remained. She pulled her sleeve down over her wrist and smiled. "I believe I can manage that."

They walked back on the shoreline in slightly uncomfortable silence. Aveline awkwardly rubbed at her arm with the palm of her other hand.

Lyla was making efforts, that much was clear. If Aveline could stop feeling sorry for herself for two minutes, perhaps she could be responding, helping alleviate the tension everyone was feeling. But no, she had to mope about, and sulk, under the watchful eye of that vengeful little tart-

"Aveline?"

"Hm?"

"I was just saying, do you mind if we stop at the jewelry store around the corner? I want to appear presentable, you know, since we will be with the king today-"

"Oh, yes, of course."

Aveline's toes curled at the bottom of her sandals, that familiar tug in her chest seeming to yank on her harder the further she walked away from the ocean.

If only she could just tell someone how she was feeling. But what could anyone do? And what would Camille do, once this was all over? She'd already found a way to blackmail her.

Ari would know how to handle this. But Aveline had been lying to Ari, too, she hated lying to Ari-

"There you are!" They'd reached the front of the palace, finally, where Eli and Jamie played chess while Ari watched with his chin in his hands. Aveline caught Eli's eye, and he swiftly looked away. "Aveline and I are taking a walk. Would you like to come?"

Jamie climbed cheerfully to her feet. "We have nothing better to do."

-

It didn't take Lyla long to find a jewelry shop that she liked. She haggled with the shopkeeper, trying on different pieces. Aveline and Ari waited outside, so that the shopkeeper wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

After a while, Eli fell into step with her, his hands clasped behind his back. For a moment, everything was silent.

"Hello," Aveline said, without looking at him. Tentative. Wondering why she was still doing this, why she continued to hurt herself every time. And yet here she was.

"Aveline."

"Are you still angry at me, then?"

"I'm not angry at you." He exhaled, deep and slow. "I'm just not supposed to be around you."

"Then leave," she challenged. "You're the one who approached me."

"I can't stay away from you. Believe me, I've tried." His eyes darkened, falling momentarily to her lips, and her heart paused. "But I also can't.. be with you. It doesn't matter how much I want it."

"Why not?" she demanded.

"It's not safe."

"For you or for me?"

"For you, Ave, I- "

"Shh." She put a hand on his chest to stop him, not bothering to wonder if he'd push her away. "Do you hear that?"

He looked at her, confused. "Hear what?"

"That sound." She'd heard footsteps behind them; she was certain she did. Aveline watched the ground, where the sun threw shadows that played off the cobblestone, and narrowed her eyes.

"Aveline." Suddenly Ari was there, catching her shoulder with his hand, his brow furrowed in concern. "Is something wrong?"

The noise ceased. Aveline tilted her head, her ears straining at the sound, but nothing. In the distance, a group of people passed, their laughing sounds following them back down the alleys.

"We're being followed," she whispered, so quietly Ari's inky gaze fell down to her lips to read them. His eyes widened, his scarred hand flying towards the dagger he always kept in his belt.

There it was again; closer, the sound of scraping against stone. Without thinking about it, Aveline thrust her arm behind the wall beside them. Her fingers grasped at something leathery and firm. She grabbed hold of it- an arm- and yanked with both hands until a palace guard stumbled out from behind.

Aveline wrenched both of his arms behind his back and shoved the surprised man to the streets while pulling out a knife in her other hand. She let the point dig slightly into the soft space on his lower back, and he cried out.

"What are you doing?" She demanded. She tasted something salty and metallic in her mouth.

"Wait!" Eli cried, and Aveline's head shot up, her hair flying from her face, like a startled animal. Ari had caught another one by his jacket collar and held him two feet off the ground, where the guard's boots kicked weakly at the air. "Let him go!"

Aveline's stomach kicked, adrenaline speeding through her veins. "No," she growled.

"Aveline, what are you doing?!" Her necklace forgotten, dangling precariously from her fingertips, Lyla was there, and staring at her in in unabashed horror. "Those are the Captain's guards!"

"They've been spying on us," Aveline hissed. "Before, at the ball, and now."

Ari let out a brittle laugh. "It was a palace guard who kidnapped us, Eli, and locked us in the dungeon. Who the hell's side are you on?"

Eli's chest heaved. His eyes glowed emerald in unchecked fury. "They're my father's guards."

"Eli, what is the meaning of this?" The man underneath her choked out. She tightened her hold on his throat, testing his pulse. It was quick and fast, like a fleeing rabbit. With one twist, she could so easily end his life. It wouldn't even be difficult-

"Aveline, I said to let go of him." Eli's voice was low and hoarse. At the sound, Aveline's entire being trembled. Her fingers automatically relaxed around her dagger. How dare he tell her what to do. How dare he-

She let a shaky breath escape into the humid air, guilt sliding through her, soft and sure.

Aveline stood up. She shoved the guard at Eli's feet.

"I don't take orders from you," she spat, stalking away. Her hands shook at her sides.

"Is everything alright?" Someone was approaching, his accented voice warm and familiar. It was Camille's friend- the pretty one.

Aveline stepped back behind the wall where she'd found the pair of guards hiding and leaned against it, waiting for her heart to slow down. Outside, Lyla was hurrying to explain the situation.

"It's nothing, Lucien."

"Nothing?" Ari's voice rose. "Those men have been following us ever since we arrived here. What is the meaning of this?"

"Hm." Lucien made a thoughtful noise. "Is this true?"

"We were following orders," the shorter guard croaked. Aveline hope his throat ached.

"Captain Moraine ordered you to follow them?" Lucien sounded thoroughly bewildered. Aveline waited for Eli to argue, but he said nothing.
Lucien then addressed her friends.
"There must be some sort of misunderstanding. I will take you to the king myself. You are guests here and deserve better treatment."

"Thank you, Lucien," said Lyla softly.

Aveline kicked the wall behind her, biting back a frustrated scream. She must have looked absolutely insane, tackling that stupid guard to the ground in a public space. In every scenario out of this, she would come out none the better.

Justified or not, even her friends thought she was losing it. Maybe she was.

Out in the street, they were still discussing the matter in low voices. Lyla's knight in shining bloody armor seemed to be diffusing the situation.

"Where is Aveline?" Eli was saying. "I have to speak with her."

Distantly she could hear Jamie telling him to let her go. But booted footsteps grew closer in her direction, and a second later Ari appeared around the corner. He looked exhausted. Purple smudges under his eyes, his angled cheekbones catching on the flickering light of the rising sun.

"Avie?"

Aveline passed a hand underneath her tired eyes. It came back damp, and she was glad she was in the shadows, that he could not see her face.

"Listen, no one blames you for what happened back there."

She said nothing.

"Don't worry about Eli. He's only trying to protect you from his father, but the idiot cares far too much for you than to let you go."

Did he? Aveline remembered the intensity of Eli's eyes as he looked at her, the pain in the clench of his jaw. But when she remembered what had just transpired, all she could feel was anger.

Ari's voice sank into a whisper. "Come back with me."

She sniffled. "Now?"

"Now. We can board the ship, get the hell out of here. We've done our jobs; we've done more than that. We don't owe anyone anything."

How badly she wanted to say yes. To run. To go home, where no one could hurt her, and the princess wasn't there every time she turned the corner, and the ship rocked her back to sleep during every waking moment of a nightmare. Aveline fumbled to wipe another tear off of her cheek.

"What is that?"

Aveline flinched as she followed Ari's gaze to her hand. She gingerly pulled her sleeve over her wrist to cover it. "I have to go, Ari."

"What," Ari repeated sternly, his brows crinkling with worry, "is that?"

"Nothing."

He grabbed for her wrist, and she yanked it away.
"Are you hurt?"

"No."

"Liar."

Aveline worked her jaw as she stared at him. His black gaze unyielding, like flint.

"You have no idea," she muttered.
Ari's face slackened, his arms dropping to his sides, and Aveline took advantage of the quick, surprised silence to turn on her heel and leave.

The sounds of her shoes clicked lightly on the cobblestones as she walked away, and this time, he let her.

**next chapter will be more lighthearted, I promise. LMAO. But,, uhhh,, WAY worse things are coming. Very soon.
Anyway, now that I'm home, I'm still trying to figure out a posting schedule. I might just stick to my Monday/Friday posts, but I still have to decide. I'll keep y'all posted. (Get it? Posted. Ha ha.) **