Chapter 53
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
MORGANA
L ater that night after hours of solitude, long after I’d retreated to my chambers, the palace had returned to a normal state of mundane buzzing. The servants had served me afternoon tea and dinner in my room—a likely choice after our commotion caused in the dining room—and I was left to sulk.
Eventually, the sulking turned to wandering, and I roamed the intricate palace hallways in silence. There was a heaviness in my heart that echoed with each step I took, the severity of Aster’s betrayal pressing down on me like an invisible shackle. The grand tapestries adorning the walls seemed to mock me with their tales of love and loyalty, contrasting sharply with the bitter reality of my own situation.
As I rounded a corner, a faint whisper of voices caught my attention. Instinctively, I stepped toward them to find a door, left just ajar enough for my eavesdropping. The shadows that concealed me were warmer than a hug. I held onto that feeling, if for no other reason than curious hope. Peering through the crack, I glimpsed two figures engaged in hushed conversation.
It was Erynna and a cloaked figure. The urgency in Erynna’s voice sent a shiver down my spine, her words incoherent but laced with desperation. The figure leaned in closer, reaching for her cheek and forcing her silent. I was taken aback by the gentle caress, as if they’d been destined to balance one another.
Slowly, she pulled a vial of orange liquid from her pocket, slipping it into the man’s hand. For a fleeting moment, I thought about barging in—was she working with a spy? I gripped onto the wall so tight, a shock of pain ignited through my fingernails. She backed away, and I figured the exchange had concluded. I figured I could back away quietly and find Aster?—
Would he believe me? Would he care ?
But just as I was ready to turn, to leave the intimate moment I’d just eavesdropped upon, she returned back in frame with a handheld mirror.
The silvery border was tarnished, but beneath the rust-colored stains was an ashen color that almost pulsated with this wild, untapped power. She held onto it for a long while before passing it to him, and I saw his shoulders slump forward.
Then, before he vanished into thin air, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. I was frozen in place, in awe , watching the spark of magic dance into the air. It wasn’t dark and cold like mine and Aster’s magic. No, this was light. It was full of hope and promise and?—
He turned in my direction just as he faded, glittering, golden eyes capturing mine. His tawny-beige skin, darker than mine just marginally, unlike any of the other men I’d seen around the castle. There were glowing silver markings that crawled up his neck, peaking above his jaw. His eyes widened—as did his mouth, like he was ready to lunge at me. The strangest part? I didn’t believe he’d jump out to harm me.
He mouthed something—akin to an exclamatory question, a silent plea—but he disappeared entirely before I could fathom what he had said.
I didn’t have time to create conspiracies. I only had time to stumble backward, the air caught in my lungs like a terrible wind had swept through my body and stolen every bit of control I had left in me. I twisted around and thought to swallow my pride, to find Aster?—
Cold hands wrapped around my torso, the edge of a blade kissing my neck. I gasped. “What did you see?” she hissed into my ear.
I gasped. “I saw enough,” I replied, my voice steady enough despite the dagger so close to ending it all. “Who was that?”
Erynna’s grip on the blade tightened. “If you know what is good for you, Lady Tillington, you will forget what you saw. You saw nothing.”
“Did I?” I rasped. With one swift movement, I kicked my boot into her knee and twisted around, snatching the dagger from her hand as she collapsed, howling. I could hear the shuffling guards—the cries for help as they raced after the chaos I was, yet again, causing. I pointed the tip of the weapon at her. “You know, when you first offered me friendship, I thought it might be this elaborate attempt at a coup. Now, I am certain of it.”
“I’d never betray Aster, you fool,” Erynna hissed and flipped her head up to look at me. “But you wouldn’t care, would you? You only desire your freedom.”
I snarled. I did care—that was the worst part. Tears brimmed across my eyes, but I blinked them away and focused on anything other than the stinging the desire to cry caused. “I desire my freedom, but I also understand your lies will be the reason I do not get it. So I either go tell Aster of your treason, or you tell me who that was.”
Erynna’s face paled, and she shook her head twice. “You do not understand what you are doing. Act with such haste, and you will burn this all before we have a true chance.”
I was breathing heavily, my heart shattering. “What are you talking about, Erynna? Why have you done this?”
She stood slowly, and I kept my blade steadied, following her every move. “You wouldn’t understand. You only care about the pleasures and luxuries of escaping the shackles of your captors. I don’t get that choice, Lady Tillington . You and I are more alike than you’d care to admit.”
“I’m not a traitor,” I hissed, the sounds of the nearing guards echoing to my left and right.
“And I am?” she asked and swiped her hand for the blade, but I jumped backward. “You will never be free of their judgement, Morgana. The second you accept that and use your freedom to run as far away as you can, the better. But if you ruin this, you’ll never be free.”
Just as I was prone to tackle her, ready to serve judgment for the very thing she was right about—that I did not know everything, that it could ruin it all—the harsh hands of guards yanked me back. They were cursing at me, twisting my wrist, so I dropped the weapon, tearing at my dress in search of the second.
They dragged me away, and I flailed wildly. Recklessly. All the while, Erynna wiped at her cheek.
Erynna was a traitor. I wasn’t sure why, or how, but I knew it in my heart.
Aster was in terrible danger.