I turned onto my side to face her as she lay on her back and peered up at the ceiling. I could see the worry on her face as she quietly thought to herself, her eyebrows furrowing.
“What is it?” I asked her. I already knew what was on her mind but bottling her thoughts up wasn’t going to help her. I was no therapist, but I could be sympathetic.
Biba chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment before turning her head to gaze at me.
“I can’t help but feel like I might die soon. Everyone around me dies.” She murmured the last part, swallowing hard.
Unfortunately, her words were true. A lot of death surrounded her, leaving her isolated in a way. She probably thought that she was cursed, but that didn’t scare me away from her. I wouldn’t go down without a hell of a fight, and I wasn’t scared of dying. I was scared of failing.
In my world, that was worse than dying. I could die with honor, but I couldn’t fail with honor. It just wasn’t possible, so I had to make it impossible for me to fail, to fall short of what needed to be done.
“You’re not going to die, Biba,” I told her in a firm voice. It wouldn’t happen. Arvo and I wouldn’t let that happen. I wanted her to stay alive, and I got my way through ease or through force. Something told me that I was going to get tested on this front, though.
Someone was killing people at Stormcloud, and they were all connected to Biba in some way. Only a fool would claim that she wasn’t in any danger, that she was safe. She might as well have a bullseye on her forehead at this point. Regardless, she was protected.
“How do you know that? You can’t control everything, Zephyr.” Biba sighed as she shook her head, closing her eyes for a few moments.
Watch me.
“You won’t be touched. I’ll make sure of that,” I replied. Of course, it would have helped if I actually knew who the murderer was. There were so many possible suspects, but one kept going around and around in my mind.
Sol.
He was all around suspicious. For that past week, he had been avoiding the Kings, not speaking a word to either me or Arvo. He had turned into a ghost, but I hadn’t forgotten about him. There was a possibility that he was behind all of the murders. I wouldn’t put it past him.
Biba’s face softened a little.
“You should be careful too,” she told me.
A hint of a smile crossed my lips as I met her gaze. Another trait of Biba’s that I couldn’t help but admire was how caring she was. People were vile. I had seen it and experienced it first-hand so many times, even within my own family, but she was a good person. She had a good heart, even if darkness surrounded her.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” I smirked. Whoever messed with me had a death wish that I would gladly grant. I was all about eliminating threats. Not only did I have to protect the Kings, but I had to protect Biba too. That meant being on alert at all times.
“Okay, tough guy,” Biba replied, looking slightly amused. Her eyes seemed to search mine, and I couldn’t help but notice that she seemed so perplexed a lot of the time. Like she was conflicted.
“Why don’t you get some rest?” I suggested. I didn’t want her to leave my room and go wandering around the grounds. It hadn’t been long since Amelia’s death, and who knew how close the murderer was? He could’ve been walking the halls right now.
Biba nodded, her eyelids fluttering slightly. She reached out and put her hand against my shoulder, gently pushing me so that I lay on my back. She moved forward, curling up by my side and laying her head on my bare chest. Her arm draped over my stomach.
I wrapped my arm around her back, anchoring her to my side. Maybe it was possessiveness or care, but I always wanted her like this, pressed against my side. Only me. Only her. She made it hard to want anyone else because no one came close to her, and it was no wonder why she turned so many heads that I wanted to snap in the other direction.
We lay there in near silence. I listened to the faint sound of her breathing, and I was sure that she could hear the strong throb of my heart. It was a natural lullaby. I didn’t intend on falling asleep, but I soon felt myself dozing off and sinking into the comfortable feeling of her body pressed against mine.
CHAPTER 3
BIBA
It was odd how life went back to normal after someone died. One minute, they were around, going about their day and floating in and out of people’s lives. The next minute, they were just gone, and life had to move on.