Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
BELLAMY
“ W hat do you mean he flew you in his arms?” Driscoll asked as he and Leoni walked beside me in the hallway.
“You both need to go distract the pixies,” I signed, ignoring his question as Leoni translated.
“I think we should go with you,” Driscoll said.
I whirled. “Then who is going to distract the pixies?”
He threw up his hands. “I can literally just ask this lady her name. I can ask her if she knows where Spirit Shadow is hiding these weapons.”
“He’s a god, not a spirit.”
Driscoll shot a confused look at Leoni. “Uh, what?”
I swallowed, not sure why I’d said that. It was something Kairoth had thought when I’d been in his dreams. I couldn’t read minds, per se. But sometimes thoughts came to me when I was in someone’s mind. That one had been loud and clear.
“Something Kairoth said,” I signed quickly, not meeting Driscoll’s eyes.
“Kairoth? You’re on a first-name basis with the god of shadows?”
Leoni pursed her lips.
“So first you’re telling me that you had a chance to ask him five questions and literally not a single one included what he’s doing with the weapons.” Driscoll ticked off his fingers. “Why he’s letting you stay in his castle, why he killed everyone in the star and shadow court? And now you’re revealing that you call him by his first name?”
We approached the sweeping staircase that led down to the first floor and leaned against the banister, looking down over the sparkling black floor of the foyer.
I ignored the way his voice was going all screechy. “First of all, I did ask about why he killed everyone in the star court, and I already told you what he said. That he’d been out of his mind, didn’t have control over his powers.”
The craziest thing about all of that was that I actually believed him. His voice had carried such regret as he’d told me about it.
I glanced at Driscoll. “Second of all, do you really think he would’ve told me the truth? I figured it was better to just talk to him, have a real conversation, get to know him.”
Driscoll pressed his palms together while Leoni translated, then set them against his cheek. “And be whisked off by him, cradled in his arms.”
That part I hadn’t planned. In fact, I’d nearly screeched when he’d lifted me in the air. Instead, I curled into his strong, hard body and marveled at the world laid out below us. He hadn’t taken me directly to the castle. He’d flown us around the island. The entire time, he held me so carefully, so tenderly. I gritted my teeth at the memory.
“Okay, let’s just calm down,” Leoni said. She pointed at Driscoll. “You are not helping. Bellamy is just doing what we asked, charming Spirit Shadow, trying to establish a relationship. He has another weapon, and we’re running out of time. So Bellamy is trying her best to get information.” She shot me a concerned look. “Right?”
I nodded, swallowing. It had been stupid of me to not ask those important questions. But he’d taken me aback when he’d asked about my life in the Wilds. I hadn’t expected that. Hadn’t expected to open up so much. Then I found myself wanting to do the same to him. Catch him off-guard. Ask him something personal. Understand him.
“As for the prisoner,” Leoni continued. “Let’s give it a little more time before we intervene.”
I scowled at that, and Leoni placed a hand on my arm. “We’re on the same team, you know. We’re not your enemies. You’re not alone in this, Bellamy.”
I sniffed, not sure I believed her. The whole reason they were here was to keep me from using that bolt.
“I can’t believe he has another weapon,” Driscoll said. “Do you think there’s some way we can send a message to the other rulers? Let them know that they have to guard Spirit Frost’s axe? That we need to find Spirit Star’s scythe before he does?”
The question sat for a moment before they both slowly looked at me, and I realized what they were thinking.
“You can talk to Aron.” Driscoll bounced on the balls of his feet. “He’ll get the message to all the other leaders.”
“Yes,” Leoni said. “Enter his dreams.”
It made sense, but the thought of seeing Aron after how I’d betrayed him made my stomach curdle. Aron was the only friend I’d had, and I’d ruined it. But I wanted to get them off my back, so I just nodded.
“After I visit the prisoner. Tonight. I’ll enter his dreams and see him.”
Driscoll blew out a breath, and Leoni gave me a nod in return. She tugged at Driscoll’s arm. “Let’s go, then. We have some pixies to distract.”
Driscoll groaned. “Are we going to have to listen to Wesley sing? Because I don’t think I can handle another concert from them.”
Their voices disappeared as they walked down the staircase and rounded a corner, while I turned to face the curtain. Time to visit the prisoner and hopefully figure out what in the spirits below I was doing.
I made my way down the stairs in the dark, this time knowing where the steps were so I didn’t trip again. Every time I had to touch the stone walls to steady myself, my hands prickled with heat. I’d been making decent progress on the first sweater, and while knitting hurt, it also gave my hands time to heal before I would have to start harvesting more nettle weed for the second sweater. The process was slow and laborious and made me feel like I’d be stuck in this castle for months before I finished. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. More time to get answers.
I finally stepped down onto flat ground and slowly inched forward until I ran into the bars.
“You’re back again,” the woman said. “My silent visitor.”
I backed away from the bars, chains rattling and clinking as she shifted.
“I was hoping you’d come again,” she continued. “Your little visit the other day lifted my spirits quite a bit. I was thinking about what I might tell you if you came back, what I wanted you to know about me.”
I waited with bated breath. Would she tell me why she was imprisoned, perhaps? Or maybe she’d just tell me about her past, give me some clues as to who she was.
“I thought a lot about it. About my life. My regrets. My triumphs. Ultimately, I decided I wanted to tell you my most important story. I wanted to tell you a story about love.”
I stilled, not expecting that.
“Well, not just about love. About love and betrayal.” She paused. “I loved once. A good man. He was gentle and kind and nothing like anyone I’d ever met. He cared about others. He cared about me. And I ruined it. I had everything I could’ve ever wanted in this man, but I didn’t see it at the time. I didn’t appreciate him. I let others get into my head, others who decided he wasn’t good enough for me. I never thought he would leave. That was the irony of it all. I thought I was so perfect that he’d choose me no matter what.”
I couldn’t relate to that. I’d never thought I was perfect. Far from it. I wasn’t even sure I wanted love. Love felt too dangerous. It felt too risky. Everyone I loved left or died, and every time it happened, they took a piece of me with them. It wasn’t worth losing any more of myself.
So maybe I could relate to this woman’s story in some way. In her voice, through her words, I could hear the heartbreak. I didn’t know how long ago this man left her, but it was clear he’d hurt her.
“He didn’t choose me in the end,” she continued. “He betrayed me, you know. He trapped me, left me in the dark when he knew that was the one thing that could destroy my spirit. I hate the dark.”
That took the breath from my lungs. Was she talking about Kairoth? Was he the one who she loved, the one who betrayed her? The timeline didn’t quite make sense. Unless she was a shadow court resident whom he’d spared after his escaped his tomb. He fell in love with her, then spurned her.
The entire story made my mind spin. It was one thing to stop loving someone when they didn’t treat you how you deserved. It was entirely another thing to imprison them, torture them by trapping them in the worst possible place.
I’d never wanted to speak so badly. To ask if Kairoth was who she spoke of. I couldn’t imagine he’d be so cruel, but then again, what did I know about him? I’d had a few conversations with the god.
I swallowed back my questions, even though they sat on the tip of my tongue.
“I just want to see the sky,” she continued. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen anything other than darkness.”
The heartbreak in her voice wedged a splinter in my own heart. It probably wasn’t smart, but I reached my hand through the bars as far as I could. She couldn’t see me, so I didn’t really know what I expected to happen.
Suddenly, a cool soft hand gripped my hot, infected one. “Your hand.” She gasped. “What has happened to you? Did he hurt you?”
I snatched my hand away and turned to run. Kairoth hadn’t hurt me. He’d done the opposite so far. He’d taken care of me. But if this woman’s story was true, then everything I thought I knew about the god had been wrong. And for some reason, that felt like the biggest disappointment of all.