Page 51 of Imbalance
“Who kissed you?” he growled.
“What?” Damien snarled, and I inhaled sharply, knowing he wasn’t talking about any of my mates.Thatwas impossible, though, right? I mean, it had been a dream...right? I put my hands over my face, thinking about the man whose gaze seemed to burn into my subconscious so strongly it nearly shook me to my core.
“Guys,” I tapped Jace’s chest so he would back up. “I need a minute, please.”
Before they had a chance to argue, I slipped from the bed and walked to the bathroom. Closing the door and locking it, I looked at myself in the mirror from across the room. My face was flushed and my hair tangled, my entire body heating from the inside out as I thought about that damned dream.
No. No. I was not doing this right now. Not today.
Thankfully, no one followed me—something that was quite shocking—considering how overbearing they could be sometimes.
Trying to push away those thoughts relating to the dream, I washed my face and brushed my teeth, slowly pulling myself out of that mindset as I woke up. Luckily, I had set out my clothes the day before, and I ran my fingers along the dark material, loving that it was a simple pair of pants and a tunic instead of the dresses I’d worn here since arriving.
Jace had found me the outfit, and while I was almost positive they weren’t originally meant for a woman, since most here seemed to wear dresses, I appreciated the gesture more than he would ever realize.
Tugging the dark pants over my hips, I made sure to brush over my hair and pull it away from my face and into a thick braid. The tunic was on the loose side, but comfortable and a bit heavier, reminding me that when we left here, there would probably be a change of temperature. Once I was completely dressed, I stood in front of the mirror and focused on centering myself in this moment of time.
I was here, in the Kingdom of Impurus. Not in a weird dream.
I was with my seven mates. Not some weird dream hottie.
I was finally traveling, with an army, back to the Kingdom of Pura today. Not in a cave.
Already, I felt better as I reminded myself how important today was—how essential our efforts here had been to save everyone from the evil plans of the House of Runes and restore peace. I frowned at that. Okay, maybe not peace...because it was clear the Kingdom of Pura needed some serious change. Was that an impossible task? I didn’t want to think so. I wanted to believe there were people there who would completely understand the need to push forward and not be stuck in the past.
After all, despite the bullying I’d undergone, I had known good people as well. I was doing this for them. For my father, my mates’ families, and Zurie. And if, at the end of the day, they still wouldn’t accept me, my mates, or the change that needed to occur?
Well, I wasn’t completely positive what I would do. I would figure that out later.
What did I know? I no longer lived day to day, thinking about how I didn’t belong in my own home. I knew that I now had a place with men as complicated as myself. Men I was coming to feel so strongly about that it pushed away much of the anger I’d held for years about how I’d been treated. I had no idea what came after this, but I did know I was going to save all of them.
“Ama?” Colt’s voice had me turning towards the door. I opened it and immediately took a step back, finding the man right in my space and making my entire body flash with heat. As if recognizing my immediate reaction to him, he offered me a small smirk and stuck his hand out. I wouldn’t deny that I stared at it in confusion before looking back up at him, finding him even more amused.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked, looking almost excited. After taking his hand, his fingers twining with mine in a sweet and unexpected gesture, I recognized that he was happy to be going back to the Kingdom of Pura. Colt may have been angelic looking, but the man had vengeance and bloodlust written across his face, and I had absolutely no doubt that he planned to find justice for his parents. I couldn’t blame him. I was both eager and determined to get my father out of imprisonment as soon as fucking possible.
As I entered the hallway, I found all of my mates dressed and ready to go. I took a steadying breath, and as we made our way towards the throne room, I realized that the last time we had been in the Kingdom of Pura, everything had changed in a few quick seconds. I had a feeling this time would be much the same...
Except, this time, we would emerge the victors.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Finias
As we walked into the throne room, I took a quick inventory of my surroundings, as was my typical routine, to ensure that we were safe. The queen and king sat on their thrones at the far end of the room, and Jace stood next to them, his gaze entirely focused on Ama.
Where was the army? We had seen no one gathering outside, and I had thought that we would be meeting with a few of the warriors who led the army to discuss strategy with the royals before we left. At least, that's what we would have done back home.
Home. What a fickle word that was now. My parents were despicable traitors, and I wouldn't hesitate to use the skills they'd beaten into me throughoutmylife to endtheirs.
I had to fight the urge to grab Ama's hand as I walked by her side. After our moment the other night, I found myself wanting to wrap her body around mine every waking second. I wanted to learn every curve and flare of her body so well that I could close my eyes and paint a vivid picture of her beauty.
Alas, we didn't have the time nor the privacy for such activities, and I couldn’t help but wonder how our lives would be when we returned to Pura. It was easy to bury the hard questions right now, with our focus being on this war and taking our house territories back. But with us obtaining the army we’d come here for, it was bringing us a step closer to having to face those questions.
What would happen after the war was done? Would Ama live in her home and have us visit her? Would she visit us? Would we live together?
I didn’t hate that last idea, which had me scratching my head in disbelief and scoffing at myself under my breath. That brought Adrien’s attention to me, and he raised a dark brow in question from his spot on my left as we crossed the final distance to the thrones.
Shaking my head at him subtly to signal it wasn’t important, I saw him give me an affirmative nod of understanding. I found myself gravitating towards him the most out of the guys in our group. It was odd that I was gravitating at all, honestly. I worked alone, and my parents constantly reaffirmed that emotional connections made me weak.
