Two Can Play

Two Can Play
Emmalee
"They're planning something," I mention to Sybille. "I know it. They didn't want us to hear it."
I'm tormented by what Fang confessed. Oh, Brent. I must be the worst mother in the world. I have no idea what lies Soren fed him. Does my son hate me? Is he assuming I'm dead?
How I wish I could hold him close to me and assure him that everything will be alright. He might act like he's all grown but he's only fifteen. He's too young for all of this. 
I hate that Soren is bringing him into this. It's all to provoke me —I can sense it.  
Sybille is silent for a few beats before mentioning, "Romain won't accept anything that he doesn't want to. We're stubborn, Emmalee. We don't just do what we're told unquestioningly."
"I think that's what scares me most," I admit. I can see Romain wanting to see this war through—finishing what he started. Fang will know how to use his tactics and get Romain to do it. 
He's a toxic son of a bitch and I don't forgive him, not even now that he killed Sasha. This whole mess could have been avoided if he wasn't such a provocateur. 
Fang is the type of person to set shit on fire just so he can watch it burn. 
"What are you thinking?" Sybille asks me. 
I give my head a light shake before saying, "Brent. He's all I can think about at a time like this. I wonder what's going on thought that hard head of his. I'm sure he doesn't agree to this marriage."
"Why is that?"
"You don't know Brent. You need to formulate every command as a question to allow him to decide what he wants but before that, you need to choose an unsuitable second option so he can go for the one you want him to. He's always been that way."
Sybille frowns. "I don't get it."
"When he was a baby," I begin to recount, "I always had to give him a choice between two things. If I wanted him to have a banana, the alternative would have to be a bruised apple so he'd go for the banana. After growing up, he realized what I was up to, so I had to change tactics. This would happen again and again."
Sybille laughs. "He really is one of us."
"I don't want Fang to do the same with Romain. I won't stand it if he gets hurt. I could never survive such a thing, Sybille."
"Don't worry," she claims. "I know by now that he does what's right. Always has. And whatever decision he makes will be with you in mind."
I nod and silence falls upon us once more. The situation with Sasha is hanging above both our heads but we don't mention it. I have the urge to—just so we can talk about it and get it out of the way. 
But the memory hurts way too much. 
So I leave it be. 
Several minutes later, Romain joins us outside, where we're perched on the jagged edge of the cave. He sits right beside him and I relax against him when he wraps an arm around me. 
Sybille rises in the next second, excusing herself. 
It's just the two of us now. I gaze out over the forest below, the canopy thick and rich green, seeming to stretch endlessly. 
Finally, I decide to ask, "What's he got planned?"
His silence, even if only momentary, is answer enough for me. However, what he tells me is, "Nothing. You heard it yourself. There's not much to be done."
"Romain," I say in warning. "Don't lie to me."
He kisses the side of my head and doesn't say anything else. I have this urge to drill him and demand to know the whole story but something stops me. The fear of knowing too much. The realization that Sybille was right and he'll do whatever he puts his mind to. 
Regardless of what I say. 
"Just promise me something."
"What?" he asks gently.
"Don't die."  
"I won't."
I don't know how much longer we stay seated, staring out at the open sky. Sybille returns and says to me, "Time to go, Emmalee."
"Where?" I ask, confused. 
"Training."
I completely forgot about that. So much has happened over the last few days that we haven't even picked it up after that first night. I press a kiss to Romain's cheek, then stand up while trying not to fall. 
"Be careful," is the last thing he says to me. 
I go with Sybille outside and she chooses a different spot today, far from the entrance of our mountain. She says, "I think this is a safer place. We don't know if we're being watched. If we see anything, we could always leave."
"Why? Are we in danger?"
"I wouldn't worry if I were you," she answers vaguely. "Ready to start?"
For the next four hours, training is all we do.
Excitement courses through me. When I started training, I didn't think I could expect much from it, especially so soon. Feints and strategized bites were things I didn't even know existed along with feigning weaknesses and identifying pressure points in an opponent. I've learned a lot in the space of a few hours and realized that I wouldn't have stood a chance against an opponent the way I was. 
After Romain told me about the stab wound, I've lost some hope in the fact that he'll manage to get through to him.
I know my son.
Are we wasting precious time when I know what the outcome of their meeting is going to be like? I can't have someone who's virtually a stranger telling him about his paternity. That's my job. 
My distraction ends up costing me. Sybille throws me on the ground and arches a brow at me. "Regardless of what's going on in your personal life, you can never bring it to a fight. It'll kill you."
"Brent," is all I say. 
"Trust that Romain will take care of it."
"I have a bad feeling about this whole thing."
Yes, that's right. This presentiment of disaster is brewing inside of me. I shake my head slowly—I won't be able to relax until I know my son is safe. I've been calm enough. 
Time has run out. 
"I have to talk to Romain."
"Emmalee."
"Emmalee!" she calls again, her voice strained. 
Halting, I whirl around to face her. Sybille searches my eyes, steps closer to me, and says, "You're not going to find him."
I stare back at her. I should've known something was amiss and can't believe she played along with it. "Where'd he go?"
It takes her a long time to tell me where he's gone off to, but I patiently wait for her to give me an answer because, without it, I won't be able to do a damn thing. 
If he can make promises and break them, then I can do the same, too. 
Two can play this game.