Chapter 27
Ididn’t want to look at him. I didn’t want his hands on me or his body anywhere near me. He had to be lying. My parents wouldn’t dare murder another king and queen. They were peaceful rulers, always merciful to everyone.
I didn’t know what to think about it.
My heart pounded in my chest as my breath came in short bursts. My father was gentle, heart-warming, and loving. Of course my mother had a temper, but she would never be so evil or cruel. I saw them pardon and give so many chances to people who broke their laws.
Nicholas practically pushed me onto the bed before lifting up my foot and resting it on the stool he once sat at. I hadn’t felt or really noticed the small glass shards in my foot, until he began to gently pull each one out.
“Thankfully, they are only small cuts and won’t need bandaging. They should heal in a few days, but for now, you will need to wear slippers.”
His voice was calming and soothing. I couldn’t handle the mixed feelings or the reaction my body had whenever I was around him. I felt so much anger and rage deep within me, but also feelings of wanting, a need to have him close to me. I couldn’t make sense of it all. Did I want to stab him, or kiss him? Or perhaps a bit of both?
“I don’t believe you for one second. My parents would never dream of murdering another royal. As for what happened to your auntie, I am sorry but I don’t think my father would have purposely done that either,” I insisted sharply.
“Ornella, please don’t call me a liar. I have already told you, I will never lie to you.” His eyes darkened as he leaned forward, lifting my chin so I would meet his eyes. “You have nothing to fear from me.”
“But you tricked me. You brought me here after telling me I would be free. Except, I feel more like a prisoner than ever before. And now I feel you are trying to turn me against my own family, because of the hurt yours has gone through.”
Tears threatened my eyes, and he brushed them away with his thumb as they fell. I wanted to scream and cry, demand more answers, see my father, and ask him everything.
“I don’t understand any of this.”
I didn’t mean to say my thoughts out loud, but even if I didn’t, he would possibly hear them too. I didn’t feel safe and I didn’t believe I could trust him. It didn”t matter how many times he told me I could. He was two different people. And this person was not the person I met in the woods. The one who filled me with excitement and glee.
“You need to leave,” I whispered.
“Ornella, I don’t ever want you to feel pain or hurt.”
“Please, Nic, I have to think about this. I don’t know what I’m meant to believe. If what you say is true, then my entire life has been a lie. My parents murdered yours? Is that why my mother ran to me when she saw you? She knew who you were?”
He lowered his eyes and let go of my face, turning away from me. I watched as his shoulders sank and his body language changed. He knew more, he wasn’t telling me everything. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know anything else, at least not right now. I had been told so much already, I needed time to process and think.
“I’m sure she recognised me—or at least had an idea of who I was. That’s how she knew to send your two servants here, likely with the hopes they’d come back with information.”
My heart thundered in my chest and the ringing in my ears began once again. I couldn’t wrap my mind around his words. Tiredness clouded my mind, and I could feel myself sway a little.
The more secrets he reveals, the more it becomes clear that he’d planned everything. From befriending me in the woods, pretending to be Lord Cole, hurting my brother, and then promising to heal him if I agreed to go back with him. He planned it all.
Was he going to kill me? Payment for his aunt dying?
“No. I will never harm you.”
Turning back to me, he rushed back to my side. He knelt down and placed his hands gently on my knees. His face looked soft—broken as if I just betrayed him.
“Ornella, I tricked you as I didn’t think you would willingly leave with me. Not when I’d become a stranger to you. But, you have to trust me. I would never hurt you,” he pleaded with me.
“I can’t trust you. You told me you met me when I was a child, but I don’t remember that. What else are you hiding from me?”
I knew he was keeping something from me. I could feel it deep within my bones. Why was I so drawn to him? He was a stranger to me, and yet, after our first meeting I couldn’t get him out of my mind, even when he was wrapped in his shadows. After I saw his face, I felt myself getting lost in it, losing myself completely to him. Even as Lord Cole, I was drawn to him, infatuated by him.
I wondered if he put me under some kind of spell or love magic. He was intoxicating in every possible way. While he filled my dreams with longing, I still couldn”t think of anything but him during my waking moments.
I needed to know the truth. Desperately.
“Nicholas, please don’t keep me in the dark.”
“When I told you we met—I had been watching you for weeks before. We were just children then. One day I was able to sneak into your castle disguised as a stable boy, and no one batted an eyelid. I watched you play with your brother and your lady’s maid—who I believe is the one locked in my dungeon.”
He sat beside me and kept his eyes forward, as if he didn”t want to look at me anymore as the words spouted from his mouth. My heart continued to race as his voice hit my ears.
“When I finally grew the courage to speak to you, I found you crying in the woods. At first, you were scared of me but when I showed you I could do magic, you seemed to relax around me. I never asked you why you were upset, you just promised me you’d see me again.” He paused, biting his lip as his hands tightened into fists, possibly reliving those days. Yet, I couldn’t picture them. “You did see me again. We continued to meet in the stable house or in the woods and we became friends.”
Abruptly, he had one of his hands on my face as he turned to look at me. The greyness in his eyes showing more as he brought his lips down onto mine.
Suddenly, my mind flooded with images. Flashes, and voices, so many voices. Just as it did once before when he returned the memory of my uncle. These were memories, so many memories he had taken from me. Many moments I’d lost.
Not only were there memories, but emotions also flooded my chest as tears streamed down my cheeks. Kissing him back, I could feel everything around me more intensely. I could feel his heartbeat against my hand as I placed it on his chest. He then wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer.