To prove his suspicion, that was the answer to the last one.
She could feel it.
The answer to the rest, however, wasn't something she knew, but she planned to find out.
Arik babbled, snapping her out of her thoughts, and she smiled back at him.
He wasn't hurt.
Thank Argon.
She left him on the bed, guarded by pillows, and began her inspection.
There were iron bars attached to the window, although the glass panes slid back easily when she pushed them. The view outside was that of a gently lit garden, and directly below the window was a fountain. There were no walls in sight, and that unsettled her, for an unspecified boundary added uncertainty to her plans.
Idalia pulled the curtains close and continued her survey.
The room had a door on either side. The one on the left led to a combined bathroom and toilet, the one on the right was… locked.
Uh.
There were only two keys attached to her key holder, with none being for this door.
What was on the other side?
She sank into the only chair in the room and began to apply the treatment in her bag to her cuts and blisters, her gaze burning into the door while three words rang in her mind.
A fanciful cage.
The room looked nothing like that, though. Instead, it felt cozy, so cozy it reminded her of her room in Bellator Lunae Pack. It was far smaller in comparison, though, and it lacked the presence of her handmaidens.
If only Alpha Kalio hadn't set his eyes upon her, if her voice hadn't filled the whole castle, gone through the gaps in the doors, the windows, and the walls, dragged him out of his room, lured him straight to the ladies' quarters, and right to her.
If only they hadn't met that night.
If only…
Everyone would have still been alive.
"Ah!" She gritted her teeth in pain as she jammed the drenched cotton wool on her cuts again.
Now that she knew they were in Echelon, Idalia no longer felt the need to escape. This place had the type of security she needed from Alpha Kalio and his searchers. Instead, she planned to lay low here. To survive here, though, she would have to do three things.
Get her hands on those documents the tattooed man had given to him, in order to acquire the knowledge he had over her.
Conceal hers and Arik's real identity so that man would never be able to confirm any suspicions he had about them. Which meant that she would have to ensure they would only know them by their fake identities, which Grandpa Alfred had taken the pain to create for them - Julie Summers and Leonard Summers
Avoid that man.
Just three things. How hard exactly could it be? At the end of the day, these men were still humans, and without their guns, tech, and science, they were nothing!
There were compulsory side quests that she must complete during her stay, though. She had to figure out who the betrayer in the Sanctuary was so she could find a way to stop Alpha Kalio forever. She had to do that as soon as possible before more and more Sanctuary members would start turning against her.
Many would.
She knew.
Despite her efforts to scrape the message off the wall, they would figure it out, and in fear of facing the same fate as Grandpa Alfred, they would sell her out! And for the ones who didn't want to do that, the other side would fight against them.
It would be chaotic, violent, cruel, and entirely something she wouldn't blame them for.
What was an immediate threat to a person's life and the lives of their loved ones, next to a prophecy whose fulfillment seemed far away?
Done with treating herself, Idalia packed her bags away and quickly munched on some of her packed snacks. Took a quick shower, ensuring to drench that stupid bracelet in as much water as possible, then swiftly went to bed.
She stared blankly at the ceiling, the day's event playing over and over again in her mind.
She didn't know when it had happened, but then she began to cry, her body quaking with sobs of grief, her throat aching with silenced wails.
She pulled her baby closer, and she wept.
For everything that had happened, for Grandpa Alfred and every other death her existence had caused, for everything that was to come.
Oh, she grieved.
—-
—-
Against her better judgment and due to how weak her body was, Idalia had fallen asleep.
Overslept, in fact.
Arik's babbling while his small hands pulled her face had woken her up, along with that atrocious smell of poo from his diaper.
Good grief!
She would never get used to that.
'7:50 am' was displayed on the small black box that had been placed on the side table. She had concluded that it was a clock, and it seemed that she was correct.
Quickly, she got out of bed and got ready for the day.
Quick baths.
Fresh clothes.
Arik? Clean and Breastfed.
Her? Terribly hungry.
Although she had eaten another of her packed quick meals, she might just need something more filling.
Arik now strapped against her with the shawl, she locked her room and hurried downstairs.
Being blindfolded, she hadn't noticed it yesterday, but this house was massive. Gentle lights, white painted walls, so much space, and yet so little furniture.
"Good morning, Coin," a strange voice said behind her, and she ducked quickly as a black bird flew right above her.
A raven!
Idalia tensed up. She loathed ravens.
The bird flew over to the man seated at the dining section and perched on his outstretched gloved hand.
Idalia's eyes narrowed.
That man.
That man again.
"Good morning, Coin." He said to the bird, and it cawed something back to him, eating some seeds from his palm, before perching on his shoulder.
Then he turned to her.
The air around him felt fused with tension and sizzled with terror; the raven on his shoulder wasn't helping at all.
However, Idalia was determined not to be afraid this time.
"Good Morning, Miss Summers."
"Good morning, Sir."
Truly, she planned to avoid him, but it would be stupid and suspicious to do that outright. Besides, to ensure that he would completely believe her, she needed to know more about him.
For example, she didn't even know his name.
Did he have a family? She saw no pictures of them anywhere. In fact, there were no pictures on the walls. What about those other men from last night? What were they to him? Did they live here, too?
So many questions. She needed answers, and so the game began.
"I'm so grateful that you offered me this job. You have no idea what you have saved me from."
He hummed, took a sip from his mug, and set it down.
"Join me." He was already pouring her a mug of tea. She watched the vapour vanish into the air as she stood next to him.
Not so close that he could grab her and kill her or yank her baby away, but not too far that she would need a speaker to hear him from across this unnecessarily long dining table.
It made sense for such to exist in Den and Pack houses. Many people lived there or came around during the holidays, and even then, it was only used when everyone was there.
To make use of this when the house was so empty, felt… strange.
Was this something humans did?
"Sit."
"Leo prefers it when I stand or he'll cry."
"Stand then."
Stand then? Like she needed his permission. She was already standing. What was wrong with this man?!
Then he turned his gaze to her and waited as he set the jug back on the table.
"It's hot. I'll wait." She said, despite her intent to stay quiet, just as quiet as he was. Her words lingered in the air, and to her, they felt like defeat.
She hated it.
Hated him.
His gaze made her feel like the walls were closing up on her. She had only known him for less than 24 hours, and she already knew that she hated being around him. His presence was so suffocating, and his silence felt like a manipulation tactic, a strategy to intimidate her.
She knew that.
Yet, she was intimidated.
Maybe that was what annoyed her the most. That she knew what he was doing, and yet, she couldn't fight it.
By Argon, could he be done already!
She must reclaim her stand and not be so useless! She had a plan, and she must work towards it.
"I believe you have your own selfish reasons for offering me this job."
"Indeed."
An answer.
She hadn't expected that.
"What is it then?" She dared to ask. "Your selfish reasons."