I Am Bree - Book 1

Chapter 31 - Unexpected Developments

Kotaro was standing perpendicular to me, his hands resting nonchalantly in his pockets. He didn't turn immediately when the door opened, and his regal profile was starkly silhouetted against the dreary tree line. I looked him up and down, unable to move and wondering if I were hallucinating.

Without warning, he turned and pinioned me with this piercing gaze. His dark eyes met mine, full of words in a language I couldn't translate. Why was he here? The last time he'd spoken to me, it had sounded like he never planned to see me again. He'd told me to get out of here and never come back as if I'd been nothing but a nuisance to him, and yet, here he was, standing ready to help me again.

Ayan poked me in the ribs, but I was too shocked to move. His second jab, this one a little more violent, had my moving slowly out of the garden. My feet dragged across the ground, and I couldn't take my eyes off the familiar, dark figure. For a moment, a single moment, I didn't feel the rush or pressure of the morning. There was peace in the air, stillness, but as I drew a breath, I discovered the calm was almost stifling as if it were waiting for something.

A hint of frustration suddenly welled within me as I looked at Kotaro. Nothing in my world made any sense. No one did what I expected them to do, and I wasn't even who I'd thought I was. I opened my mouth to ask why, to force them to give me the answers I sought, but the words refused to come as Kotaro continued to hold me captive with his intense gaze.

"You need to get going." Ayan said before I could muster the will to speak, and his voice was even more relaxed if possible. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who felt the shift in the atmosphere after Kotaro's appearance.

Kotaro nodded slightly, breaking eye contact with me. His teeth raked across his lower lip as though he were considering something, and his structured chest sank as he exhaled heavily. With a click of his tongue, he turned slightly, his mouth opening as if to respond.

"Wait!"

The three of us whipped about simultaneously as Aidan charged haphazardly out of the fog. His face was sweaty and flushed from running, and his clothes were rumpled as if he had taken a few tumbles along his way. After Kotaro's appearance, Aidan was far from the next person I'd expected to see, and my eyes darted between Ayan and Kotaro for an explanation. Had this all been to get me to run away with Aidan? One look at Ayan's face, however, answered my unspoked question: he was just as surprised as I.

"What are you doing here?" He hissed, fury and disbelief mastering the shock on his features.

Aidan ignored the words, his eyes focused on me alone as he moved further out of the forest. In a moment, Liesl appeared behind Aidan. She was panting heavily, and for the first time since I'd met her, she looked neither neat nor put together. There were stray leaves and twigs in her hair, and her clothes were in a similar state to Aidan's. More alarming than any of that, though, was the look in her eyes—the wide, almost fearfulness reassured me that I was not mistaken in Ayan's reaction.

"I tried to stop him." She wheezed, her eyes on Ayan.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ayan closed the distance between Aidan and him, grabbing the prince's collar. His features were twisted with rage. "This was not part of the plan."

Aidan appeared startled at the sudden outburst, but he quickly recovered. "Have you forgotten who came up with this plan to begin with?" The indignant words in the face of Ayan feral wrath was like a mouse compared to an enraged bear. "Plans change!" He tried to shrug out of Ayan's grasp, but his attempts were feeble.

"Don't you—" Ayan's grip tightened until he threatened to lift Aidan off the ground.

"Stop it! We don't have time." Liesl grabbed Ayan's arm, and he flung Aidan impatiently away from him.