Electus (Regnum Series Book 1) (13 page)

“I didn’t ask your permission to join me this evening. Are you comfortable with being here?” he inquires, staring down at her mouth. She nods. Javan moves his jaw upward and gently kisses her forehead, breathing in the scent of her hair.

Tia closes her eyes, absorbing his touch. Her pulse echoes through her body, as she pulls him closer. His jaw moves down and she looks up into his eyes. Frightened, she slides her head down to his chest. He squeezes her tightly, stroking her hair. Neither of them wanting to let go.

**********

It was a rainy afternoon, during the summer of Tia’s thirteenth birthday. Her father was still at work and Edwin had the afternoon off. She sat somberly on the couch, annoyed that Mr. Avery kept her father from spending time with her on her birthday. Also, she was annoyed that the rain kept her from an afternoon of rock climbing.

“Do you want some dinner soon?” Edwin asked, peering above his book.

“Sure,” she answered, not really hungry.

Edwin sighed, “What can I get you? Pizza? Chicken? Smack along side the head?”

Tia cracked a smile, “Pizza sounds good.”

“Alright, sweetie.” Her uncle headed for the kitchen, as Tia watched out the window. The rain came down heavier than usual.

She heard a knock at the door.

“Could you get that?” Edwin called from the kitchen.

She answered the door to find a young man that Tia could only guess was around eighteen. He was slender and soaked from head to toe. His blue eyes glimmered at the sight of Tia. She found herself speechless.

“Hi,” he finally said, breathless. His white t-shirt stuck to his chest.

“Hi,” she responded. Edwin walked over.

“Who’s at the door?” He stopped in his tracks, then replied, “Tia, will you excuse us for a moment?” She wouldn’t budge. Edwin grabbed the young man’s arm and pulled him outside.

Tia watched the boy smirk at her. The door closed and Tia was alone in the living room, wondering what just happened.

**********

Tia’s neck is stiff as she wakes up the following morning. Her head is still resting under Javan’s chin, and his arm cups her waist. The sun pours into the window of the hotel room. He stirs and Tia glances up at him. They both smile, embarrassed.

“Looks like a little while turned into all night,” he jokes, his eyes barely opened.

“Apparently so,” Tia agrees, blushing. Tia can’t believe they fell asleep like this. She wonders what Javan thinks of her, using him as a giant teddy bear for the night. Tia pulls away and climbs out of bed. She has to hold the pants up as she walks across the hotel room.

“Where are you going?” he questions, watching her move.

“The bathroom,” she answers, closing the door behind her. Tia examines her body, which is mostly free of pain. She can tell the bruising reduced dramatically over night.

While washing her hands in the sink, Tia peeks at all Javan’s toiletries, spread across the counter. He has a razor, toothbrush, floss, combs, and some form of cologne.

Tia grabs the bottle and takes a small whiff of his cologne, allowing the scent to penetrate her nose. She sets the bottle down, then notices his wallet laying on the counter, beside a set of keys. Tia realizes he must have set it there during his shower the night before. Curious, she opens up his wallet.

Inside, she finds a drivers identification. His photo is rather plain, yet Tia thinks he is still handsome. She sees a packet of wallet sized photographs. The front picture is of two boys, one is around seventeen, maybe eighteen. Tia senses she knows the man, but can’t quite place him. In his arms is a toddler. She assumes they must be family members of Javan.

Tia moves on to the next photograph. It’s a woman with beautiful dark hair and fair skin. She has hints of grey in the hair around her face, and she is laughing. Tia can tell right away this woman is Javan’s mother.

The picture behind it is of, what Tia can guess to be, a younger Javan. His back is turned towards the camera with his arms wrapped around a girl, who Tia believes is the same age. Tia assumes they are no older than sixteen in this photograph.

“Tia?” Javan calls through the door. Startled, she places the wallet back where it originally lay on the counter. She opens the door. He is standing, leaning on the door frame. His hair, for the first time since Tia met him, is unkempt.

“I just wanted to see if you were alright, and I need to use the facility,” he grins, then yawns

“Of course, I was just finishing up,” she exits the bathroom, allowing him to pass. Tia decides to make the bed, and straighten up any mess she made last night. She collects the towels used to cleanse her wounds, now soaked in blood, and places them in a hamper. Tia worries what the cleaning staff will think when they find this. Javan exits the bathroom, and smiles at Tia.

“What are you doing, silly?” he questions her, rubbing his eyes.

“I don’t want to make things harder for the maids,” she replies, straightening the bedspread.

“Well, we have a busy schedule ahead of us. Allison should arrive in a few minutes. Then, I have a meeting at ten-thirty with the other leaders. Also, you probably want to get back to your hotel. I wonder how I can get you there without anyone finding out you stayed here. I’m sure we could arrange a car to pick you up out the back entrance.”

“I could just take the bus,” Tia offers, wishing not to inconvenience him.

“Non-sense. It’s safer for you to be escorted by my assistants. No one will know they work for me if they take you in a plain vehicle. In fact,” Javan thinks for a moment, “I’m concerned about you being alone in your hotel room.”

“I should be fine,” Tia attempts to re-assure him. “I only have two more nights there.”

There is a knock on the door. “That should be Allison,” Javan remarks. He welcomes her into the room. She is dressed plainly, just as the previous evening. Tia smiles at the sight of her and greets her, “Hello, doctor.”

“Call me Allison.” She returns the grin. “Please sit on the couch and I will examine your wounds. How are you feeling this morning?”

“My side is still sore to the touch. Other than that, I feel fine,” Tia responds, sitting down on the couch, next to Allison.

“That’s to be expected; let me check your stitches.” First, she examines both arms, which appear to be almost fully healed. Then, she lifts the t-shirt, slightly, to view Tia’s stomach. “All of them can be removed, I will need to apply some more medication to your stomach, though, just for precaution.” Allison goes to work removing stitches and applying a cream to the area on Tia’s stomach. She is amazed at how fast Regnumian meds work.

“Remember, no strenuous activity until the event this afternoon. I would prefer to check up on you tomorrow before the meetings, just to ensure you are fully recovered.”

“If you are sure. I don’t want to inconvenience you,” Tia comments, afraid she is putting Allison out of her way.

“It’s no trouble at all,” she assures her. “I will stop by your hotel room tomorrow morning. Mr. Leporem told me which room it’s in.” Allison stands, collecting her bag.

“Thank you, again,” Tia replies. Allison just nods.

Javan escorts Allison to the door, shaking her hand as she exits.

“I am guessing you would like to take a shower,” he remarks, walking over to her.

“I can shower at my hotel, it’s fine,” she offers. Tia doesn’t want to leave, however, she knows Javan is pressed for time. He peers down at her pants, which she is holding up with her other hand due to her petite size.

“You need an outfit anyway. I will call one in for you, have my assistant  pick something up. Go ahead and clean up, you can use my robe until the clothes arrive. You are welcome to stay here as long as you wish, Tia. I will arrange for a car to pick you up whenever you are ready.” Javan grabs the phone, without letting Tia respond.

She decides a shower is probably best to soften the suspicion of last night’s kidnapping. Last thing she needs is for anyone to suspect she was anywhere but sleeping in her room, the night before. Disrobing, she sees the bruises she has left are mainly where her clothes will cover. With all those eyes watching her today, she does not wish to have anything odd appearing on her body.

After her shower, she uses his robe, just as Javan advised, and wraps her hair in a towel. Her cheeks are red at the thought of Javan being in the same room as her with nothing on but a bathrobe. Nevertheless, she enters the room to find him on the phone, still. His back is turned away from the bathroom, and Tia over hears his conversation.

“Well, I thought you should know what happened. Have you thought about telling her what is going on?”

“Yes, I understand the problem.” Javan doesn’t realize Tia is behind him; he has not moved an inch since she came out of the shower.

“She has to know, and if anyone tells her, I think it should be you, sir. No offense. I don’t mean to step out of line here, but it appears obvious to me that she has no clue...”

He is now quiet, listening to the person on the other end of the call. Tia is curious as to why a leader of a capitol would be referring to anyone as “sir”. Tia goes unnoticed, she attempts to stay still, listening intently.

“Don’t you believe she deserves to know the truth?” Javan’s voice rising. “Yes, I understand, it’s not my decision. I don’t know her that well, but I feel a closeness to her...”

“I see. I respect your wishes, sir. However, I must advise against it,” Javan’s voice is somber. He places his head in his hand.

“We will discuss this another time, then,” he remarks with a sigh. Tia panics, she doesn’t want Javan to think she heard him the whole time. She gently closes the door and waits a few more moments before entering, again. This time, Javan is off the phone and sitting on the couch. His back is hunched over, and he appears tense. Tia decides it might be best to break the silence.

“Thank you, again, for letting me shower here,” she mentions, grabbing his attention. Javan turns and faces Tia. “Of course, anytime.” He stands up and approaches her. His face is still sullen, as though the weight of the world is balancing on his shoulders.

“Everything alright?” Tia pries.

“Just great.” He composes himself into a calm demeanor. His eyes peer down at her face, then along the line of her neck. It is as though a light bulb goes off in his head. “Tia, where is your necklace?”

“In my hotel room, why?” she inquires, puzzled.

“When did you see it last?” His eyes are wide.

“I don’t remember exactly, I think it was on my night stand yesterday morning.” Tia wonders what Javan is so concerned about.

“This is very important.” He places his hands on her shoulders. “Where did those men kidnap you at yesterday? Were they in your hotel room at all?”

“Yes, they somehow got in. Which ticks me off that they got in when my key hardly works. I have to fight that sucker every time...”

“Did you see the necklace before they grabbed you?” he cuts her off.

“I didn’t make it that far into the room, Javan. What’s going on?” she questions him, now frightened by his demeanor. He releases Tia and runs his hand through his hair.

“I need you to check, when you get back to your room, see if the necklace is still there. If so, never wear it again, in fact, hide it. If those men find that pendant, you will be dead, Tia. Since they didn’t kill you last night, I assume they must not have seen it. However, I can’t be completely certain.”

“Why would the necklace my mother gave me make strange men want to kill me?” Tia is in shock, and quite frankly, a bit annoyed at his behavior.

Javan ignores her question, appearing to have an epiphany. “Of course, I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before.” He turns away from her and reaches in his suitcase, pulling out a necklace, with a round silver pendant. It’s plain and the pendant is not much larger than his thumb.

“Take this,” he suggests, walking behind Tia to place it around her neck.

“What is it?” she inquires while he fastens the clasp.

“It is how I will know you are safe.” He moves over to the front of her, pulling out a matching necklace, which he places around his neck. Javan presses his thumb against his pendant. Suddenly the chain on Tia’s body heats up. She stares down at the silver circle, as his thumb print etches into it, each groove from his fingerprint raised up in the metal. Then it disappears, replaced by the words
Princeton Hotel.

“That is amazing,” she grins, always shocked at the uses for magic.

“It is,” he remarks, placing his necklace under his shirt. “Also, it will hopefully save your life. Anytime you are in danger, press your thumb into the pendant. I will know in an instant where you are. When you feel my print on yours, you will know I received the message. Keep this on you at all times, Tia.” His expression is stern.

“Okay,” Tia responds, nodding.

“Now, if you will excuse me. I must dress and prepare for my meeting.” He walks over to his suitcase. Tia sits on the couch, waiting for her clothes to arrive from the assistant. She holds the pendant in her hand, reminding herself that she cannot fiddle with this necklace like the other one. Otherwise, Javan will always think she is in trouble.

Chapter 11

Tia arrives at her hotel around a quarter to eleven. She thanks the driver for the ride and enters the hotel lobby with a bag, holding yesterday’s clothes. Tia knows that if they do not see the event clothes in the room at the end of the week, she will be charged for them.

It doesn’t take long to enter her room, ever cautious though, she checks to make sure no one is there. It’s quiet, and the room is slightly cleaner than the last time. Tia realizes the maids must have attended to her room while she was out.

Remembering Javan’s advice, she checks the nightstand and finds her necklace still laying next to Mr. Tersus’s handkerchief. She grabs both items and places them in a drawer, out of sight.

Tia knows the next event is at one, so she decides to keep up her strength by ordering room service and laying in bed. After finishing her lunch, her phone rings.

“Hello?” Tia answers, not sure who might be calling.