CH332

CH331
Ryuu
Before I could speak or think more about it, the image turned and morphed into Ren, bruised but defiant, curling her fingers around the lapels of my jacket and whispering something I couldn’t quite hear. The ache in my chest was sudden and sharp.
I blinked. The vision was gone. I looked up at Mai who only smiled at me and pinched my cheek with a fond light in her eyes.
“Always listen to your instincts, Ryuu.” I nodded slowly and she withdrew, turning away. “The rest of your food should be out soon... And I can’t wait to meet her.”
But that made me smile. But part of me felt like she had already met Ren.


Ren
I didn’t expect a lot when I was getting discharged. The last time I’d seen Ryuu had been the night before when he’d come back after having dinner with his brothers. I felt... ridiculous being grateful to wake up with his jacket still, and while the hospital’s staff had been nothing but kind, I was grateful to be leaving. Things still ached, my hand was still in a cast, and they said it would take quite a bit longer before the stitches were ready to come out.
I walked away from the discharge desk and stopped just inside the foyer, looking out of the hospital’s sliding glass doors and into the too-bright sunlight, blinking hard against it. The pain meds still made everything a little hazy around the edges, but not enough to make me unaware or incoherent. What I really wanted to do was sleep, but where was I supposed to do now? Where was I supposed to go?
The real Ren was an anxious hum at the back of my mind, and I wouldn’t lie and say that facing the world beyond the hospital wasn’t setting my heart to racing. The ache in my arm and the weight in my chest seemed to expand, then a pair of men in black suits, both bearing the crest of the dragon approached me, walking up to me. They were Ryuu’s men... at least they seemed to be.
“So glad to see you up and about Ms. Black,” one of them greeted, lifting his sunglasses.
I let out a sigh of relief. I recognized him from the hallway outside my room. The other one had been around too. While it wasn’t as comforting as if Ryuu were here, it did set my heart at ease that this wasn’t a trick or a trap.
The taller of the two bowed his head slightly. “Ms. Black, we’re here to take you to your new residence on Lord Ryuu’s orders.”
I swallowed, blinking. The words scraped against something raw inside me, unleashing panic and confusion. I glanced at the car nervously. Take me somewhere? New residence. I knew what that used to mean. The real Ren’s panic was surging forward. Paranoia. I saw flashes of a similar black car, of men in suits like these before. It seemed as though Hotaru had once used the trappings of Ryuu’s Syndicate to lure the real Ren somewhere before.
I stepped back.
The taller of the two held up his hands. “If you’d prefer public transportation, we can accompany you that way. Or call a rideshare. Whatever you need to feel safe.”
Safe.
I took a deep breath and pushed Ren’s fears to the back of my mind. Then, I looked at the car behind them. Sleek. Black. Clean. No noise, no crowds, and no running. No matter how the real Ren felt about it we weren’t in a position or in a state to try to walk far or get on public transit. If we were just going to get in a vehicle, it might as well be one provided.
The scent of the passing bus’s exhaust turned my stomach. My hand shook as memories resurfaced of how desperately I had tried to escape through the public transit system.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Car’s fine. Sorry for being... jumpy.”
The taller one’s expression softened. “Lord Ryuu warned us... and after everything you have gone through recently, you have nothing to apologize for.”
“W-Will I see him today?”
He smiled and nodded. “Yes, you will. To my understanding, he will be coming to visit you within the hour.”
I nodded, thanking them and walked outside. The shorter one opened the car door for me without a word. I slid inside, the leather cool against my legs, and folded my casted arm against my stomach. The seatbelt clicked into place. It felt tighter than it should have, but maybe that was just me.
We drove in silence for a while, the city rising and falling outside the window. I watched people going about their day like nothing had changed. Like the world wasn’t tilted sideways.
Eventually, the car pulled up in front of a tall building with clean glass windows and a discreet awning. Not flashy. Just expensive.
“Here we are,” the taller man said, stepping out and opening my door. “There’s security on-site and in the garage. The staff have been briefed. You’ll be safe here.”
Safe. Again with that word.
I nodded and let them walk me inside. The lobby was cool and quiet, all marble and brushed gold. The luxury of the place did nothing to ease the tension twisting knots in my back. They led to the elevator and it whooshed us to floor labeled “P”.
The elevator door opened to soft lighting and polished tile floors and a single door. They walked me to it, unlocked it and ushered me. I removed my shoes in the foyer, pleasantly surprised by how warm the floors were despite them being tile. Floor-to-ceiling windows spilled light across a sunken living room. There were thick curtains tucked to either side. They looked motorized. The kitchen was gigantic and the counters all gleamed in the light streaming into the place. The couch looked big enough to be two or three beds and soft enough to swallow me whole.
“This is yours,” the man said gently. “No one comes in without clearance. If you need anything—anything at all—there’s a number on the fridge. Clothes, food, books… we’ll take care of it. You’re not alone anymore.”
Not alone.
It didn’t feel real. But I nodded anyway.
After they left, I stood in the middle of the room, the silence pressing around me. Everything felt heavier, but the one thing I was certain of was that I was indeed safe. At least for now. I was also dirty. I still smelled like hospital soap and swimming in the scrubs the hospital had been so kind to give me. I didn’t sit down. Not yet.
Instead, I walked to the window and pressed my palm to the glass. The city stretched beneath me, glittering and chaotic. Somewhere down there, Hotaru was probably still spitting blood. Adele was probably screaming.
But I was above it all, removed from it all. I stepped out onto the balcony, letting the wind sweep around me so strongly I thought I might drift of the balcony at the next gust.Ryuu had given me a place in the sky.
A palace.