Chapter Two

Chapter Two

 

"Why?" Rynn asked, her hazel-green eyes wide with pain and heartbreak.

Her gaze was focused on a pale, dark-haired man. He stood close to her, but displayed such an icy attitude that he seemed far away. He loomed over her, and the crackling fire to his left cast a long shadow over the stone wall to his right.

A window on the same wall as the fireplace looked out on a dark, sleeping city street. The closed door on another wall stubbornly kept the cold night air outside, allowing the flames to fill the room with a cozy warmth. Rich paintings adorned the walls, an old-fashioned carpet lay in the middle of the room, and an ancient cushioned chair faced the fireplace, giving the place a classic charm. The room was usually comfortable and cheery, but the events of the moment drove all happiness away.

The man, Lahden, smiled slightly as he looked her over, his expression untouched by her suffering. "You know very well why. You have played your part in this, and I am finished with you." He stepped closer to her and she turned away to hide her tears. Anger rippled through him at this, and he roughly pulled her back around to face him. "I am too close to my goal to abandon my plans for anyone, even you! Do you understand?"

Rynn felt his gaze pulling at her and unwillingly looked up into his midnight blue eyes. Immediately she was drawn in and captured by their intensity. The answer to his question vanished from her mind, swept away like a toy boat in a storm. A wave of desire washed over her, and it was all she could do to stay motionless. The silence lengthened as she stood there, and she knew somewhere at the edge of her mind that there was something she was supposed to say. Irritated, she pushed the thought away, wanting only to stay immersed in the chaotic joy of his full attention and his stunning gaze.

Then a voice pierced the quiet. "Cut!" it said loudly.

Lahden looked away from her, and she snapped out of her trance, coming abruptly back to reality. The scene she had set in her mind vanished, leaving behind only the flickering illusion conjured by amateurs as a background to the stage. From the shadows behind the drawn back curtains, the faces of her fellow actors peered out, all eyes on her. Some were laughing or giving her sympathetic looks, but the majority seemed as frustrated as Lahden.

The drama instructor strode onto the stage, obviously displeased. "Again, Rynn?" Mrs. Bee snapped. "The show goes up in a week! I've been lenient so far because you told me you would get it, but this is ridiculous. The line is easy. 'Yes, Sahv, I do.' That's all you have to say!"

Mrs. Bee took a deep breath, visibly gaining control of herself. "Rynn, you're one of the best actresses here. You've done wonderfully on every line but this one. What's wrong?"

Rynn looked at the floor. She was only grateful that the extra color in her cheeks wasn't visible under the costume illusion she had wrapped around herself. There was no way she could speak the truth. She couldn't tell the whole class about her crush on Lahden. Her mind scrambled for an excuse.

Before she could find one, Lahden spoke. "I think I know what the problem is," he said politely. "Would it be alright if I speak to Rynn in private for a moment?"

The teacher nodded, obviously relieved that the matter would be dealt with. It was always stressful to know that one of her students was likely to mess up in front of a live audience. Not only did mistakes make her look bad, they were mortifying for the one who made them. She was close enough to her students that she didn't want to put them through that kind of humiliation.

Lahden offered his arm to Rynn and she took it, trying not to think about how contact with him made her skin tingle. He led her to a secluded corner backstage and checked to make certain that none of the other students had followed them. Rynn couldn't tell. The only light was that which leaked back from the stage, and she could barely see. Lahden didn't seem bothered by the darkness, but perhaps that was because his father belonged to the Arcane Order of Shadows. He was probably used to the dark.