Chapter 35
This chapter describes abandonment, with subtle mentions of S.A. With themes of trauma caused by such abuse.
Awarm, comforting heat welcomed Rain as he climbed the spiral staircase.
It was nothing like Scarlet’s tower.
Where her walls had been scorched black and bare, these walls were painted a soft rose-pink, trimmed with delicate red frills that curled along the steps like ribbons.
Warm lanterns glowed every ten steps, casting a gentle blush across the stone.
The air smelled faintly of flowers, of roses, jasmine and something sweet and nostalgic.
It felt… lived in. Loved in. Curated.
At the top, instead of a heavy metal panel, Rain found a beautifully carved wooden door. Intricate vines of roses snaked around the frame, curling protectively around a polished plaque that read: Princess Rose.
There was no lock. No chains. No bolts.
Just a door; as if she were a treasured daughter rather than a prisoner. But it was still a cage, holding a princess captive like a colourful bird clipped of its wings.
Rain inhaled deeply, letting his energy brush against hers. She felt nervous, hopeful, desperate… and radiating love so intensely it nearly smothered him. Her power was everywhere — a warm, intoxicating haze that clung to the air like perfume.
He raised his shields.
Her influence felt too potent for an empath to walk into unguarded.
Slowly, he turned the knob and eased the door open.
The chamber beyond was an enchantment.
Soft rugs layered the floor. Shelves overflowed with books, crafts, and trinkets. Potted plants thrived in every corner. A four-poster bed draped in pink gauze sat piled with cushions and stuffed toys. Dresses in every shade of red and pink spilled from an open wardrobe.
This princess had not been starved or scorched or isolated in a barren furnace.
She had been… kept.
Comforted.
Spoiled.
But still, contained.
She stood by the window, posture delicate, hands clasped at her waist. Her bodice was soft pink with red piping, her skirt flowing like petals.
Red silk slippers adorned her feet. Her hair; a cascade of tight strawberry-blonde ringlets, framed a cherubic face glowing with a warm chocolate complexion.
Entirely different from Scarlet.
Except for the amber eyes; Drazier’s unmistakable mark.
“Hi,” she purred, fluttering her lashes. Her fingers twisted together; the only sign of nerves. Her power filled the room like a warm tide, brushing against Rain’s mind coaxing, softening, inviting.
“Hello, Rose,” Rain replied, clearing his throat when his voice came out too soft, too warm. “Can you please lessen your power? So, I can talk without… distraction.”
Her eyes widened, confusion adorably scrunching her features.
“If we could lessen our powers, do you think we’d be locked away in towers like fairytale princesses?” she giggled. “If you could lessen yours, surely you wouldn’t have killed so many of my people, Blue Prince.”
She recognised him; probably from her books.
Then she froze.
Fear flickered in her amber eyes.
“Have you come to kill us?”
Rain couldn’t help the small smile tugging at his lips. Her power washed over him, dissolving any irritation the accusation might have caused.
“I could never hurt you,” he said and winced internally at how much like a caress the words sounded.
He shook his head sharply, lowering his shields. He needed clarity, not enchantment. With his guard down, her influence became easier to read; like a melody he could separate from his own emotions.
He regained control.
“Rose,” he said gently, “it’s a long story, but I was sent to rescue your sister.
I didn’t know who I was rescuing. None of us knew.
Everyone believed the Red Princesses were hidden in the palace, not locked away in towers in the middle of nowhere.
I’m not here to hurt anyone. I’m here to rescue you. ”
She studied him, head tilted.
“But I saw you kill my guardians.”
“I know,” Rain said softly. “And they deserved that fate.”
She shivered, hugging her arms around herself as she looked out the window. A thread of sadness snagged in her aura, trembling like a trapped insect.
“It wasn’t their fault,” she whispered. “It’s me. I make people do those things. I think… I deserve to be locked away here. Like Daddy wishes.”
Rain stepped closer, voice steady.
“I understand why you feel that way. I used to feel that way too. Sometimes I still do.”
Her eyes lifted to his.
“But when I learned to control my powers and I could be around others without harming them, I met incredible people. People I would die for. People I will live for.”
His mind flickered to Jay, to Snow, to his squad, to the strangers who had shown him kindness when he had none for himself.
“It isn’t easy,” he continued. “The burdens of the past stay with us. But you can learn to control your power, just as I have. Nobody should have to live like this, Rose. We were made for this world — not to hide from it.”
He smiled, a real, bright, hopeful smile, as an idea sparked to life.
“I believe in a better world. And I believe we’re here to change it.
That’s why we’re more powerful than previous generations.
Rose… I’d like to ask you to join me. Let me help you and your sisters.
We’ll get you to safety. We’ll help you understand your power, how to gain control and when you are ready, I’d like to invite you to be a valued member of my court. ”
Rose’s eyes brightened; wide, innocent, hopeful.
A child who had never been offered a future before.
“You have good words, Blue Prince. I think I like you.”
Her smile warmed the room, her power wrapping around him like a soft, radiant embrace; not influencing him, but holding him, the way his own energetic hugs held others.
“Please, call me Rain.”
“Rain,” she repeated fondly, tasting the name. “Why are you not affected by me all of a sudden?”
She inched closer, walking delicately toe-first, doll-like in her movements.
“It’s my power,” he explained. “I thought being around you with my guard down would be difficult. But it’s the opposite. I can feel where your power sits against mine. You make me feel warm and happy—loved, I suppose, like Scarlet said. It’s pleasant but not consuming.”
She stopped in front of him, her fingertips hovering near his face, amber eyes searching his irises as if she could read his soul through them.
He instinctively leaned back, avoiding her touch.
She gasped softly.
“It’s true,” she whispered, dazed. Confusion and hope tangled in her aura; she had never met anyone who could withstand her.
“As much as I appreciate this is a big moment for you, Rose, we need to leave. I still need to release your other sisters, and I fear that may be difficult. We have a long journey ahead, and none of you seem fit to travel far.”
Her fingers hovered in the air, but her gaze snapped to her room. Panic flickered. She darted to her shelves, clutching books to her chest, then hurried to her vanity, stuffing items into a cloth pouch.
“Rose,” Rain said gently, “we can’t bring those. We’re travelling on foot.”
She shot him a sharp look and continued gathering belongings, reaching for jewellery next.
“Rose, we don’t have the means to carry anything. My team are human; they aren’t protected from your powers like I am. I’ll likely have to carry each of you at some point. We can’t afford the extra weight.”
“I am not leaving without them!” she cried, voice cracking. “It’s all I have. They mean too much to me.”
Rain’s heart cracked for her; a girl whose entire world was contained in a single room.
He crossed to her, gently taking her hands as she clutched her crown.
“I understand how hard this is,” he said softly. “I promise, I truly do.”
He let calm seep into her energy, smoothing the jagged edges of her fear.
“Your battle of strength begins today. Choose to be more than a room full of things. One day, you may return for everything we leave behind. That will be your choice to make. But right now, choose to live. Choose to change your circumstances. Come with me.”
Her breath shuddered.
She nodded, small, trembling, but willing.
“Okay… I can do it.”
She didn’t sound convinced.
She pulled away, moving to the mirror. With trembling hands, she placed the crown atop her curls.
“But I am bringing this,” she declared, grabbing her makeup bag and stuffing jewellery inside. “And this.” She snatched a stuffed animal by its long fluffy ear. “And I will be back for all of you,” she told the room.
Rain smiled, placing a steadying palm on her back and nudged her toward the exit. She kept glancing over her shoulder, nearly turning back several times, but his firm hand kept her moving.
“I don’t have time to teach you proper shielding techniques,” he said as they descended the stairs. “But you’re going to be difficult for my squad to be around. I’m going to share my energy with you. It’ll feel strange; like feeling my emotions as your own, but wrong. Don’t panic.”
She paused mid-step, studying him with wide eyes, then nodded.
“Okay… we can do this now,” he sighed.
He extended his power toward her.
She inhaled sharply, eyes widening like saucers; then he cut her off, snapping his shield into place.
“How?!” she gasped.
Rain dropped his guard again, freeing himself from her influence.
“It takes time to master. You’ll learn. Right now, you have no shield at all; you’re constantly switched on. That must be exhausting.”
“I do nap regularly,” she admitted quietly.
“That makes sense. I can sleep for days after a burnout. What I need you to practice is visualising yourself surrounded by pink clouds.”
Her brows lifted.
“That’s what your power feels like to me; a cloud of loving energy. Everything it touches falls under your spell. Eventually, we’ll learn to control that cloud. For now, imagine capturing it in a bubble that is impenetrable, holding the cloud close to your body.”
He felt her try.
Her power retracted slightly; then snapped back into place.
She sighed, frustrated.
They reached the exit.
“That was good,” Rain said warmly. “If it were easy, it would come naturally. Allow yourself the grace to learn and fail. Failure means you’re trying.”
He smiled to himself; Isarion’s words echoing through time.
“And trying is the path to success,” Rose added, a spark returning to her eyes.
Rain stepped aside, giving her space to exit.
She hesitated, inhaled deeply, then dipped her toe onto the dirt.
Her power washed over the squad and Scarlet, like a warm breeze. Wrapping them in contentment and gentle affection.
Scarlet dropped her bread and scrambled to her feet, forgetting herself entirely. Rain watched her closely, ready to intervene but Rose’s power seemed to stabilise Scarlet, keeping her emotions soft and controlled.
Interesting.
Perhaps Rose could be to Scarlet what Snow was to him.
Rose ran into Scarlet’s arms. The sisters clung to each other, sobbing with relief. Rain hovered close by, worried Scarlet might flare but Rose didn’t seem afraid.
He turned to the soldiers.
They were staring at the sisters with adoring, dreamy expressions; Rose’s influence settling over them like a warm blanket.
This was going to be a problem.
“Fall in,” Rain called.
The soldiers tore their gazes away from the sisters with visible reluctance, their expressions soft and dazed under Rose’s influence. But training won out; they snapped into formation, though their eyes kept drifting back toward her.
“Captain,” Rain said, turning to Short, “stay here and watch over the princesses while I retrieve the other two.”
Short nodded, already positioning herself protectively between Rose and the men.
“You three,” Rain continued, shifting his attention to the soldiers, “head back to Glass. Tell her to keep her eyes on us while you figure out how to get us home. We have vulnerable Aetherials who haven’t left their rooms in at least a decade.”
He lowered his voice.
“Rose has been cared for; well fed, comfortable. Scarlet, on the other hand, is severely neglected. I doubt she can walk far without assistance. The other two are children. I hope they were as fortunate as Rose… but based on Briar’s fire signature, I have my doubts.”
He exhaled, the weight of responsibility settling across his shoulders.
“They’re young. Low muscle tone. We need to accommodate for that. Come up with a plan. We’ll join you shortly.”
“Hopefully before nightfall,” Short added, pointing toward the sinking sun.
Rain grimaced.
They were in for a long night.
“Agreed. Go now; I need you out of Rose’s range before I can leave.”
The men glanced toward Rose again, longing softening their features. Renn and Hamish muttered their confirmation and began to move.
Vass didn’t.
He stood rooted to the spot, his energy radiating a powerful, unfiltered attraction toward the princess.
“Vass,” Rain snapped, “move your feet, soldier!”
Short immediately stepped into Vass’s line of sight, blocking Rose from view. A protective maternal instinct surged through her; fierce and unyielding. Rain had chosen correctly. Rose’s influence activated a guardian response in Short, not desire.
He watched the men retreat, monitoring their energy signatures until they crossed the twenty-foot threshold. Rose’s influence faded from them like a fog lifting.
“Sorry to interrupt the reunion, girls,” Rain said gently, turning back to the sisters. “I need to release your other siblings. Rose, do you know what power Ember has? Scarlet wasn’t sure.”
The sisters pulled apart but kept their hands tightly intertwined.
“She swallows fire,” Rose said, making a whooshing sound, her delicate fingers wiggling, representing flames shooting into her mouth. “She can’t hurt you. She lived with me as a baby. But Briar was lost and lonely.”
Her mouth tightened.
“They started with play dates. Then one day… they never brought her back. Briar wouldn’t let her leave, and nobody could stop her. They say they’re safe and happy together. Briar’s flames don’t cause damage, but the pain that lingers is…”
She hesitated, searching for the right word.
“…cruel. Be careful blue Rain, avoid her flames.”
“I will,” Rain promised. “Just for my peace of mind, can you both sit facing away from one another?”
“In case I lose control,” Scarlet whispered, clutching her figurine to her chest. She looked younger than Rose in that moment; fragile, frightened and exhausted.
Rain nodded. Rose squeezed her hand tighter.
“We will. Save our sisters,” Rose said firmly.
“Thank you.”
He gave them a warm, reassuring smile before turning toward the final tower.
The metal door groaned under his power, then tore free from its hinges. If he had his way, these prison towers would be torn from the aerth and destroyed until nothing remained. He stepped inside, bracing himself for whatever awaited him, and began to climb the spiralling stairs.