Align Ourselves Page 18

  The fear that clawed at her chest when she came across human bones in a clearing. How she felt when she knew she'd never see her home again.

  She told him about the blisters she'd gotten after walking for days—the hopelessness that had engulfed her and how she hated herself for giving up.

  After talking for what felt like hours, she finally stopped. It was late. Very, very late. She was pretty sure that the sun would rise in a few hours. But he listened the entire time.

  "Not what you expected to hear?" she asked after he'd been silent for a few minutes.

  "Not exactly," he said, peeking down at her. They were on their respective sides of the bed. He had his arms crossed behind his head while her hands were clenched in fists at her sides.

  "I-I heard about you. We may live in our own corner of the world. But it's not every day that people crawl out of the ground. So, I heard. And it made me curious," he said, still looking at her.

  She knew what the Terra had thought of them. They were invaders, intruders.

  "Well, I guess we were both expecting a totally different version of one another," she said, looking over at him.

  "No, Aria," he took his hands out from under his head and placed one on the side of her face, caressing her cheek before tucking a wisp of hair behind her ear. "You're exactly what I expected. Thank you for telling me," he said, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

  He shifted until he was pressed up against her side again, his arm draping across her stomach while she unclenched her fists and relaxed beside him.

  "Goodnight, Aria," he whispered.

  "Goodnight, Lex," she whispered back.

  Chapter 28

  When she woke the next day, the sun was already well into the sky. She figured that she would sleep late; they had stayed up way later than usual the night before.

  So she wasn't that surprised to find that she was alone, that he was already gone. For a second, she felt a little nervous. But the memories from the night before resurfaced, and she calmed. I like you, he'd said. I want it to be real.

  Judging by the sun's position in the sky, she figured that it was past midday. Probably around two or three in the afternoon. She got out of bed and got ready. She looked through her dresser and decided to wear another dress. She felt unnaturally giddy. She put it on and glanced at herself in the mirror.

  She looked rested. More rested than she'd looked in a long, long time. The dress was loose and flowy, stopping about half an inch from the bottom of her feet. It was made of sheer material, the color of clear blue water. Her hair was down, now going a little past her shoulders in waves.

  She looked, quite simply, like a 19-year-old girl. She wasn't sure what the date was; she wasn't sure of the month, either. But she knew that her birthday had passed.

  She walked out of their rooms and down the hallway, thinking about what she'd say to Lex when she saw him. She wasn't nervous, exactly. It felt more like anticipation.

  She was so deep in thought she ran right into him when she turned down the corridor that led to the throne room.

  "Hello there," he said after her forehead smacked right into his chest.

  "Oh um, hey," she said, pulling back. "S-sorry I...I wasn't paying attention."

  "Clearly," he said, smirking at her.

  She didn't find his smirk that infuriating any more. She didn't feel like slapping him. In fact....it kind of turned her on.

  She bit her bottom lip.

  "Where are you headed?" he asked.

  "I was going to the throne room. I'm hungry."

  "Well, I'm afraid you missed breakfast. And lunch, for that matter. Dinner is in a few hours, though," he said, smiling now.

  "Yeah," she said, "I figured I did. I'll just get something from the kitchen."

  "Alright then," he said, moving to the side to let her pass.

  "Where were you headed?" she asked, making no move to leave.

  "I was actually going to wake you."

  That made her blush a little, thinking about the ways he could have woken her up.

  "What for?"

  "Well...partly because it's late."

  "And the other part?"

  "I have to leave."

  "Oh," she said, looking down at her feet. It wasn't exactly what she was hoping to hear. "Where are you going?"

  "I have a few things to take care of. Something came up, and I need to be at another village tonight. I won't be back until the day after tomorrow."

  "What happened?" she asked, hoping he couldn't tell how disappointed she was.

  "Nothing important."

  If she hadn't been so wrapped up in her disappointment at his departure, she might have questioned him.

  "I'll be back soon," he said, grabbing her hand.

  The feeling of his hand in hers made her whole body tingle. It felt so, so different from the other times they'd held hands. Probably because she now knew what they felt like all over her body. Not soon enough, she thought.

  "And why do you say that?" he asked, a smile playing at his lips.

  She was a little horrified when she realized that she'd actually said what she'd been thinking aloud.

  "Oh..um.," she mumbled. She could feel the tips of her ears burning.

  "Will you miss me?" he asked, moving towards her.

  She backed up until she could feel the cold stone of the palace walls behind her back.

  "Yes, I-I will," she said, looking up at him.

  "Pretty dress," he said, placing his hands on her hips.

  She thought about the hard grip he'd had on her hips the night before.

  "When do you have to leave?" she asked, biting her lip again.

  His eyes dropped to her mouth.

  Wordlessly, he grabbed her hand and led her down the corridor in the opposite direction of the throne room. He took a left turn, and they ended up in a part of the palace she hadn't been in before.

  He pushed her up against the wall and brought his lips down to hers. He kissed her hungrily as he ran his hands up her thighs, hiking her dress up to her waist. He lifted her up until she could wrap her legs around him.

  She knew they didn't have long; she knew someone could walk down the hall at any minute. That didn't stop her from running a hand through his hair while the other lazily made its way down his front, stopping at his belt, pulling at it a little. She hoped he'd get the message.

  She wasn't disappointed.

  The cool palace wall chilled the skin on her back as he fucked her against it. His mouth went to her neck, biting it as she tried to stifle her moans.

  "You-you'll leave a mark," she whispered in between gasps of air.

  "Does that bother you?" he asked, "That everyone will know you're mine?"

  Mine.

  "N-no," she sighed as his lips moved to the flesh just above her breast. She thought about the faint bruises sprinkling her hip bones—marks left by his fingertips.

  She was used to scratches and bruises. These were a different kind, though.

  He bit and sucked and kissed at the flesh there while she tried not to moan too loudly. Eventually, he placed a hand over her mouth and picked up his pace until she came, and he followed.

  He set her back down and gave her a long, lingering kiss full of something that she could only describe as a promise before he said goodbye and left.

  She made her way to the kitchen, feeling like a completely different person.

  A person who wore dresses and fucked her husband in abandoned hallways. A person who thought about how she'd enjoy her day instead of worrying about how she'd survive it.

  Chapter 29

  After her meal, Aria went in search of her friends. She found Brent and Martinez outside, feeding the livestock. She got the feeling that they wanted to be alone, so she asked if they'd seen Mara. After they pointed her in the right direction, Aria left to give them some privacy.

  Mara was stroking a horse's mane when Aria found her in the stables.

  "Hey," Mara said, "Where have
you been? We missed you at breakfast. And lunch."

  "Oh um, I kind of slept in late," Aria said, shrugging. She hoped that her hair covered her spotted neck.

  "Long night?" Mara asked. Her tone was playful, innocent. But Aria could see the mischief in her eyes.

  "Kind of," Aria said, hoping she was coming off nonchalant.

  She looked away. Mara totally knew if the look in her eye was anything to go by.

  "You wanna go for a ride? Or did you already go on one this morning?"

  "Mara!"

  "Do you wanna go? Or are you too worn out?"

  "Oh my god, stop it," Aria said, rolling her eyes. But she couldn't stop the heat now crawling up her chest, her cheeks. She knew it was all in good fun and that she and Mara were close. But after Ben, Aria wasn't sure how comfortable either one of them discussed their sex lives. Or lack thereof.

  "Okay, okay," Mara said, putting her hands up, "But seriously, do you want to?"

  "Sure."

  Aria searched the stable for the horse that Lex had said was hers. It wasn't hard to find, considering it was the only white one. The rest were all shades of brown and black.

  They led the horses from the stable to a path carved in the woods. Aria wasn't sure where the trail led since the only time she'd ridden her horse was when she and Lex left for the house.

  "Do you know where we're going?" she asked Mara.

  "Yeah," Mara said, "This path leads down to the shore."

  They rode in silence for a little while, but it was a comfortable silence. Aria was glad that she had Mara. Despite what had happened between them, she felt close to Mara. A lot closer than she'd expected to. And she meant what she had said to Lex, about not wanting to feel so alone anymore.

  "Have you named her?" Mara asked, pulling Aria from her thoughts.

  "Who?"

  "Your horse?"

  "Oh," Aria said, "I haven't really thought about it."

  "Didn't Lex tell you? His is named Shadow, I think. Grace named hers Cleo."

  "What's yours called?"

  "Artemis"

  "Artemis?"

  "Yeah...Grace gave me the idea, actually." Mara looked away like she was embarrassed.

  Aria didn't push the subject. If Mara wanted to talk about what was going on between her and Grace, she would.

  The ride down to the shore took up most of the time they had in the daylight since Aria had slept in. They rode back to the palace in the dark.

  While they were being held captive, Aria hated the night. It was too dark, too scary. She always got the feeling that she was being watched. And maybe she was.

  But here, the night was peaceful. She wasn't afraid.

  After they reached the palace, they fed the horses and took them back to the stables—only a few people left in the throne room by the time they made their way inside.

  Grace greeted them as they walked inside. It looked like she was finished, too. She asked them about their day, and Mara told her about their ride down to the shore.

  "Do you guys want to join me in my rooms?" Grace asked, "You can get some food from the kitchen and eat there if you want."

  "Sure," Mara said.

  The three of them went to the kitchen. While Aria and Mara filled their plates with the leftovers from dinner, Grace grabbed a bottle of wine, and together they made their way to Grace's rooms.

  Once inside, Aria noticed how different her rooms were from Lex's. Where Lex's (and hers, technically) was full of books and paintings and vintage furniture, Grace's was simpler. She had a few pieces of furniture and an assortment of weapons around the room.

  Aria noticed that Mara wasn't as curious as she was. Mara was either being polite...or she'd been in Grace's rooms before. Aria was pretty sure it was the latter.

  They sat at a wooden table across from the fireplace in Grace's bedroom. Aria and Mara ate while Grace fetched three glasses and poured them each some wine.

  Aria tried to join in on the conversation, listening to some story Grace was telling them. She laughed at all the right times, but she mostly thought about Lex. About what they'd done in the corridor earlier that day.

  They drank too much wine, telling their own embarrassing stories. Aria pushed the thought of Lex away, knowing that he'd be back the day after tomorrow. She wanted to focus on her relationships with the other people in the palace.

  While she and Mara were close, she couldn't really describe her relationship with Grace. They'd been civil with one another, but Aria was pretty sure that she couldn't call the girl a friend just yet. But something about Mara's presence brought down the wall Grace had built between them. She was funnier, more open with Mara around. And she smiled more that night than all the nights they'd eaten dinner together.

  Aria let herself feel happy, feel normal.

  By the end of the night, the three of them ended up on Grace's balcony. Eventually, Mara decided to head to her own room, leaving Aria and Grace alone. Aria couldn't remember the last time she'd been alone with Grace. After thinking about it for a few minutes, she realized that she hadn't been alone with the girl since those nights that they traveled here. The first time they'd ever really had a conversation.

  "So," Grace said, leaning over the railing, "How do you like being queen?"

  Aria smiled. "It's a lot easier than I expected, honestly."

  Grace nodded, "Yeah, well. We don't have much trouble here."

  Aria nodded in agreement. They didn't. In fact, the only trouble they'd had here was the whole Ben thing.

  "I take it you and Lex made up?"

  Aria blushed. She knew Grace and Lex didn't keep secrets from one another.

  "What'd he tell you?" she asked.

  "Nothing. I just figured you did."

  "How?"

  "He seemed a lot more....chipper this morning."

  Now Aria really blushed. She looked away, looking towards the village below them.

  "Relax, Aria," Grace said, rolling her eyes, "I don't want any details. Trust me."

  Aria laughed a little.

  "He cares about you," Grace said after a few minutes of silence. "He cares about all of you. But especially you."

  Aria didn't really know what to say to that.

  "But...I hope, I mean, I hope you understand what kind of position that might put him in."

  "What do you mean?" Aria waited for her to go on, but she didn't.

  "Nothing. Nevermind. I'm drunk. I just hope that you understand how much he cares about you. I hope you know that."

  "I do," Aria said. But she felt a little suspicious. What is she trying to say? What position does that put him in?

  "Well, I should head to bed," Grace said.

  Aria took that as her cue to leave. On the way to her room, she replayed the conversation she'd had with Grace over and over. What was she trying to tell her?

  Chapter 30

  The next day, Aria spent her morning at the school in the village. After midday, she decided to spend the rest of the day with her friends.

  She decided to join a small group of people headed to one of the other villages here. Since she'd only been to the one below them, and she was the queen, she figured she might as well go.

  Grace and Mara were among the group that was going, and a few of Grace's friends. Since the village was a few hours away, they went on their horses.

  The entire way there, she spent her time getting to know Grace's friends. They were just as fierce, just as bold as Grace was. When Aria asked them about how their families got here, they told their stories without any sign of pity or sorrow.

  She admired that kind of mentality that the things they'd been through only made them stronger. Some of them had been here most of their lives; they couldn't even remember where their families had originally come from.

  "It doesn't matter to us," one of the girls said, "Where you come from has nothing to do with who you are or where you're going. Like you two," she said, nodding at Aria and Mara. "You came from below the ground. Bu
t if I cut you right now, your blood would be as red as mine. So what if you came from somewhere different than me? We all bleed red."

  Aria nodded. It was so different from how they'd been seen when they were first sent up. The Terra hadn't cared that they were young. They hurt them all the same. They didn't think about the fact that not a single one of them really had a choice. They were sent up mostly unwillingly. It wasn't their fault that they were deemed disposable just because they'd gotten into some trouble.

  This village was similar to the one residing below the palace, but this one was much bigger. They fit right in. Aria could tell they'd obviously come here a lot. On the other hand, she and Mara felt a little out of place. They'd become pretty familiar with the people in the palace, with the people in the village below them. But these were brand new faces.

  All the same, they were welcomed. She couldn't really believe that everyone here was so accepting that they didn't see her people the way the others had.

  She realized it was because, at some point, most of the people here had been outsiders too. Sure, there were kids and young adults that had probably been born here. But for the most part, they had all come to this place from somewhere else. So what if she and Mara came from somewhere else too?

  It made Aria happy. It was how she had hoped they'd be seen when they realized they weren't alone on Earth all those months ago.

  She didn't really want to leave when Grace said it was time to go. There were so many people here, so many stories she hadn't heard yet.

  "Please know that you are always welcomed here, my lady," the young woman Aria had been talking to said, "I hope you visit again. Thank you for gracing us with your presence."

  "I will," Aria said, smiling at the woman. "Thank you for having me."

  She said her goodbyes and left the village with a tote full of presents. She didn't really feel like accepting everything she'd been given. Still, the people there were so adamant about showering her with gifts that she couldn't really say no.