In the Open Cage

Chapter 35

Misa couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned, flipped her pillow over, pulled the sheets over her head. It was no use. Sleep eluded her, teasing her, taunting her. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Royle, shirtless, his chest well-defined from years of training at the purgehouse. There was a reason officers in the purgehouse were popular among noble women, and it seldom had to do with their occupation.

Growling, Misa tore the blanket from her and leaped out of bed. At this rate, she was going to stay up all night. And for what? Strange fantasies that had sprung up from nowhere? There must have been a reason this was happening to her. What changed? Why was she feeling like this when she so desperately wanted nothing to do with romance?

Misa paced in her room, tugging at her hair, trying to figure out a way to stop these unbidden thoughts from entering her mind. She was going insane. This had never happened before. So, why was it happening now?

Misa shot a look at the door that connected her room with Royle's. Her heart skipped a beat. The captain was sleeping just beyond that door. She wondered if she could sneak in and snuggle up next to him. It wasn't like they hadn't slept on the same bed before.

No! Misa slapped her face. "What are you thinking?" She kicked at the wooden chair. It clunked against the desk, and Misa swore when a sharp pain shot through her toe.

She was in the middle of rubbing the pain away when she heard a light tap against the door. She swore again.

"Misa?" came Royle's muffled voice. "Are you awake?"

Don't answer that. Misa gritted her teeth. Just pretend you're asleep.

"Yes." Idiot! "I'm awake."

She moved towards the door, resigning to her fate.

"Can't sleep?"

With a sigh, Misa leaned her back on the door and slid to the ground. "Yes. I thought I was exhausted, but I'm a bit restless. What about you? Did I wake you?"

Royle chuckled. Something shifted against the door, and Misa surmised he had also taken a seat against the door. "I have trouble sleeping when my mind is full."

Me too.

"Full?" Misa teased. "Are you planning again?"

"I suppose." There was a slight thud, as if Royle had bumped his head on the wood. "I'm just having some trouble piecing everything together. The last few days have been quite distressing."

"Few days?" Misa drew her knees to her chest. "You mean a few weeks."

"Yes. That is more accurate."

Misa had nothing else to say to that. It was difficult to believe that everything had happened in less than a month. Colvin Watcher and Taketh Weatherbay's untimely deaths, Leira being taken away, Misa gaining all of Tika's magic. It felt like a century had passed.

"Royle?"

"Hmm."

Misa watched her finger trace circles on her foot. "Do you think we're ever going to defeat Nisha?"

A pause. Then, "We don't have a choice. As long as Nisha lives, we'll never be free."

"I sympathise with her," Misa confessed. "Sometimes. I don't know if it's because Tika was her sister or if it's something else, but when she talks of freedom and a life full of wonder with so much passion...It makes me wonder if it wasn't her choice to be the way she is right now. I feel a bit sorry for her."

"Nisha is evil." Royle's voice was strained, holding back some kind of emotion that Misa couldn't decipher. "She has no remorse for slaughtering innocent people. That's why she's so dangerous. She lowers your guard by making you understand her intentions and beliefs. You can't trust her, Misa. Ever."