Flame Touched

Chapter Eight - Rei

At sundown, there was a knock on her door. Hardly anyone came to the house, let alone after dark. When she opened the door and saw men from the Royal Guard, she froze.

"Reina Marcos?" the man nearest to the door asked.

She took a moment to count them. Seven. Seven men were there, asking for her. "Y-yes."

"We have been given strict orders to have you pack a bag of essentials and come with us," he said.

"I...okay." She waved for them to come in and wait in the foyer. "I'll only be a couple of minutes."

"Time isn't an issue," he said. "Though, the faster you move, the sooner we can get out of here."

He didn't have to tell her twice. Rei ran for her room, grabbed her duffel bag and started packing her clothes and a few precious mementos. Those weren't many, so she felt no guilt for leaving the handful of items she had behind. She wasn't sure why the guard was there to take her away, but who was she to complain? As she was finishing, she heard her mother's raised voice.

"You can't take her! I don't care who you or your boss is, you don't get to leave with her."

Rei was surprised she was putting up such a fight. "Mom, it's okay."

"I'm not talking to you," her mother snapped, the slur in her voice evident now.

With a sigh, Rei pushed her way toward the door. Her mother tried to grab her, but a guard blocked the attempt with his arm.

"Do not touch the lady. She is considered royal property from this moment on," he stated. "As we said before, she is of the Elite, holy, and precious to the dragons themselves. Harming her will ignite their wrath."

"She's my only child," her mother whimpered, stepping away.

Rei closed her eyes, set her bag down, and walked over to give her mom one last hug. "I'll be okay. You'll be okay. We'll all be happier this way."

Her mother nodded, sobbing. Rei carefully pulled herself free from the woman's grasp then bent to pick up her bag again.

Deeper in the house, her father shouted out, "Don't be such a baby. We're going to get a nice big check from the government now. Life is made!"

Lowering her gaze, Rei walked out the door. She wouldn't cry, and she wouldn't look back.

The guard brought her to a black limousine. She'd seen pictures of them in magazines and on TV, but never in person. It took everything within her to not stop and stare. How long was that car? How many people could it hold? A lot more than eight, because she and the guard all fit inside with ease and with plenty of room to spare. This is incredible. She pulled out her phone to send Matt a text about the joyous news. Hopefully, he wouldn't gloat about being right.

"We're going to have to confiscate your phone," one of the guards said.

She didn't dare fight, though she didn't understand. Slowly, she handed it over. Even as he took it from her hand, her grip around it remained tight. It was the last connection she had to Matt or to any pleasant aspect of her life. All of their pictures and memories were stored on that device. "I...okay."

"It's for your own safety," the guard explained. "After the dedication of the Elite, we will return it to you after it's been secured."

"Oh." Rei liked that answer. Not quite ideal, but much better than being completely separated from Matt for the rest of her life. "When will the dedication take place?"

"That isn't something you need to be concerned with."

Rei pressed her lips together and held her tongue. Perhaps it's better if I don't annoy them with all of my questions. They might change their mind about picking me. So for the rest of the ride she gazed out the window instead of trying to engage the men in any form of conversation. They didn't seem particularly interested in her anyway. Every so often she caught one whispering to the other while they gazed her way. Even then, the expression they held was more fearful than anything else. What was so scary about her? Rei wasn't anything special.

The limo stopped. When she stepped out, she saw she was in the middle of Inero City, directly across the street from the castle itself. Up close, it was far more grand to behold. Its size was intimidating. The black rock composing its walls had a slight shine to it, like obsidian, though more subtle. That explained why the castle seemed to glow as if on fire whenever the sun rose and set. She'd always wondered how such an effect was achieved. Fascinating, and beautiful. Rose bushes lined the walkway to the main gate, and they were fully bloomed with bright red flowers.

"Wow," she whispered.

"This way," one of the guards tugged on her arm with a gloved hand. She noticed they were the same kind of gloves Matt wore. Was he one of the Guard? Maybe that's why he said he wasn't afraid of them. What other mysteries about him was she about to uncover?

The guard led her to a hotel. She was more than a little disappointed she wouldn't be going to the castle itself. Although, the hotel was just as nice. It was a bit softer in appearance, made with red bricks instead of black ones. Bright red flowers lined an archway around the front door, creating a sort of unity between the two buildings. The Inero Grand Hotel. Wow...

Rei walked inside, and her breath caught in her chest. "Wow..." she repeated, this time aloud. The concierge approached the group and handed the head guard a key card. He also wore the same gloves as the guard—as Matt. What did that mean? Maybe I wasn't too far off with my mob comment as I thought. He's got to be part of some kind of exclusive gang.

The guard walked to the elevator, another followed close behind with her bag of things. She didn't dawdle for long. Something in her gut told her she should keep up. After a rather awkwardly silent elevator ride to the top floor, she was let into her grand suite.

"For the next few days, you will need to stay in this room. Room service will bring you anything you might require," the head guard said. "We'll be keeping a post outside of the door in case there's an emergency."

I can't leave? She averted her gaze to the floor. "What if I wanted to see the pool?"

"I'm sure we can arrange for that," the guard said. "We're only concerned for your safety. You are the Elite. You are holy and precious to the empire. Remember that."

Holy and precious to the empire. Me? Wow...

"Thank you," she managed. Rei took her bag from the other guard and stepped into the room. It was massive. The den and kitchen flowed together seamlessly. Toward the back corner she spotted a balcony and the door to the bedroom, which she was pretty sure had a king-sized bed inside. All of it was for her. Everything was as close to perfect as it could get.

The only thing that was missing was Matt.