The Royal Assassin

Chapter Thirty One - I can't leave him

"Maybe we're looking at it wrong. What if 'Blue' doesn't actually mean the colour of the warehouse? What if its something else that we can't see?" Ace said from the desk.

I was sprawled on our bed with an arm over my eyes. We had been to multiple warehouses in the past two days.

Nothing.

Absolutely. Nothing.

Worry had set in. Ace and I had been working non-stop trying to find out where this damn warehouse was.

"Maybe we have. Maybe it's a riddle or something."

I groaned and sat up straighter. I looked over at the mini digital clock next to Ace. It was two o'clock in the morning. We've barely gotten any sleep and my head is pounding.

"Let's go to bed Ace. We can wake up early and sort it out. I just need a couple of hours of sleep to function."

"Okay, I'm just going to head to the bathroom." He said in a small voice.

I nodded as I slid into the sheets and turned my lamp off. I stuffed my face into my pillow and shut my eyes.

I was praying I didn't have another nightmare; I didn't want to put more stress on Ace, and I didn't want him to divert his attention from me to Kai. He should be focusing on Kai and Kai only, after all-

"Victoria?" Ace said from the bathroom. I barely heard it since he had shut the door, so his voice was muffled.

"Hm?" I responded back. I wasn't bothered to respond with a word or even a full sentence.

"Can you come in here? I need you."

Those last three words made my breath hitch.

"Okay, coming." I pulled the blanket off me and walked over to the bathroom. I opened the door and immediately rushed to Ace's side.

He was leaning against the bathtub holding his head. Tiny sobs left his mouth, and when he looked up at me his eyes were blood-shot red and puffy. Locking eyes with him only made him cry harder.

I grabbed both his shoulders and pulled him against me. I didn't say anything, I just let him cry into my shoulder and held him. Sometimes, nothing can be said to fix things that are wrong, sometimes silence and physical touch is the only way to soothe those things.

I sat there on the cold bathroom floor with him in my arms. Heartbreaking sobs racked through his body, and all I wanted to do was take all that pain, suffering and distress away from him.

It hurt to see him like this, even though I hated him a couple weeks ago, seeing him like this tear me apart. I was tempted to cry with him, but every time I felt the urge, I just pulled him closer and held him tighter. I stuffed my face into his shoulder and gently rubbed his back.

It was probably a good fifteen minutes before he stopped weeping and took a couple deep breaths. He untangled himself from me and stared down at his hands while I stared at his red, puffy eyes and his wet cheeks.

"What happened Ace?" I murmured.

It was a stupid question, obviously he was stressed out about Kai. I can't imagine the images replaying over, and over again in his head.

"It's Kai's birthday today. Sweet sixteen. And we didn't even get to spend it together. Obviously, I know he's not dead, but what if... what if he is? And I never got to say goodbye, I never got to spend one last birthday with him, I never... I never got to..."

I knew he was fighting the need to cry. He scrunched his nose and his nostrils flared. He sniffed and brought his eyes up to me.

"He is not dead, Ace. We'll tear down every building in this city if it means we can get Kai back safe and unharmed."

That earned a small, yet sad smile from him. Truth is, I didn't know what to say. I was never good with these sympathetic talks, and now without any clue where he is, it was... possible.

God, I can't think like that.

So, instead of saying anything else, I just grabbed him once again and pulled him into a tight embrace. My shoulder was drenched in his tears, but I didn't care. He didn't cry this time, he just held me firmly, as if I would somehow drift away while his eyes were closed.

I closed my eyes and took in his scent for what felt like the millionth time.

I could get used to this.

After a couple minutes of hugging, I let go but grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him back down when he tried to stand up.

"I'm going to run a bath for you, you need to relax. The stress and panic is getting to you. I don't want anything to go wrong with your mentality or physical state."

"Okay." He mumbled. I stood up as he scooted over a bit and leaned against the counter drawers.

I turned the tap and put the plug in the drain. I took one glance at Ace who was staring blankly at the wall in front of him.

I couldn't stand it anymore. I couldn't take it.

The bath was done and ready. I put my hand in the water just to make sure the temperature was right. It was perfect, so I took my hand out and wiped it on my pants.

"Alright, all done. Want me to go grab some clothes and a towel for you?"

No response.

"Ace?"

I turned around to check on him, only to see his eyes closed. His chest rose normally.

Asleep.

He had fallen asleep.

The exhaustion finally got to him. I won't be able to carry him back to the bed and I'm not going to leave him in here by himself.

I pulled the plug for the bath and walked out of the bathroom, making sure I carefully walked around Ace's sleeping figure. I left one lamp on, made sure all the curtains were closed, double checked the front door's lock, and then ripped the blankets off the bed.

I dragged the blanket into the bathroom and threw it on the other side of Ace's legs. It wasn't going to be comfortable, but I can't leave Ace here alone.

I positioned myself next to Ace, then reached over and pulled the blanket over our legs. I leaned into him and placed my head on his shoulder.

I fell asleep in no time. 

a/n: thank you for all the reads and votes! have a beautiful day :))