Chapter Seven
The Protector
My heart is racing, my breathing ragged as I lean my forehead against the cool glass.
Breathe. Every time I get upset, I can almost feel the feathers brushing up against my skin, begging to be released.
Shifting is new for me. Something that has been brewing beneath the surface, literally , for months now.
I can control it, for the most part. At least what I shift into, which I am grateful for.
I accidentally shifted into a horse one day when I was sparring with Ni, and he pissed me off. That was a shock.
My father said the ability to shift came from my grandfather. I guess it’s a trait that can only be passed onto male children. I asked him about my grandmother, and he said she was a witch, like Sybil and Elaenor. I wonder if that’s how he met her.
I can sense his presence before he speaks, and I sigh. He can always tell when I’m stressed and on the brink of losing control. He may not have his seeing abilities, but his intuition when it comes to my sister and I, has never failed him.
“What happened?” His voice is soft. Not that he is without emotions, but he never lets them show. The only time I saw him genuinely break down is when Sybil died. It was the first and only time I had seen him cry.
“He’s using a collar. A collar fitted with spikes to control her.” I spit out, clenching my eyes shut and pressing my forehead harder into the glass.
“Has Dav received word?” I can hear him collapse in one of the green settees placed around the small sitting area. The library in the Rakushian palace isn’t large by any means, but it’s comforting, warm. It’s also rarely used so it’s my favorite place to escape, to hide.
“Ren sent a raven. I guess Thel met with Elaenor and Tobias today. She’s alive, but she doesn't look good. She looks sick.” I told him what exactly Ren said, watching for his reaction.
I don’t miss the fury that flashes in his eyes, even if it only lasts a second.
He loves Elaenor, probably as much as he loves his children.
“I don’t know how much I trust Ren to be honest with you, son.
He’s been working for Tobias’s father for years, and now Tobias himself.
He may claim to be on our side, but he has stood by and watched as Elaenor is tortured.
He may be a man of the church, but he is watching as a young girl is in need of help.
He could be doing something to assist her. ”
“He has never lied.” I turn and face my father. His dark hair is cropped close to his head, his yellow eyes are soft, tired. He’s wearing a long sleeve tunic and breeches, light but still warm enough to stave off the last of the spring chill.
“That we know of. Regardless of his honesty, he hasn’t stepped in. He hasn’t helped us, or her. He’s provided information. That’s it.”
“Information we wouldn’t have otherwise.” I counter.
“I’m just saying, don’t get hung up on anything until we receive a raven from Thelonious himself.” He says softly, as if he’s being cautious how he speaks to me.
“I doubt they’ll let him be alone in any capacity for quite some time, father.
Tobias doesn’t sound like a trusting man.
” He snorts and runs his hand through his short strands.
I step away from the windowsill and drop into the settee across from him.
His eyes are fixed on the window, wonder and calm settling in.
“Have I ever told you what Sybil called Elaenor when she was younger?” I shake my head. It isn’t often he speaks about his time with either of them, but I long to hear all of the stories he has to tell.
“Starlight.” He smiles and looks down at the floor, thinking.
“She used to say her hair was as deep as the night sky, but was so shiny that it glittered like a thousand stars. She was so beautiful, so at peace when in her mother’s arms. You two would have gotten along.
She was stubborn, but she was free and adventurous.
You would’ve influenced each other to do risky things, I presume.
” He chuckles softly, his eyes softening as he looks up at me.
“Tell me about her.” I say quietly, hoping he’ll keep talking.
“Elaenor?” I nod and he relaxes a little more into the plush cushion.
“She loved the trees, to be outside. I think she got that from her mother. Whenever I was around, she was either reading some book far too adult for her age or begging to go exploring deep in the woods and mountains. I went often, accompanying Sybil and Elaenor as they traipsed around, explored. Chatis is mostly trees, much like Noterra, but it’s cloudy and humid.
You had to run to keep up with her as she played, she would disappear in the fog, only to sneak up and scare you moments later.
” He laughs and I allow myself to smile.
“She sounds mischievous.”
“That she was.”
“Do you think she’s still the same?” I think I know the answer, but I don’t truly know. He ponders for a moment before looking at me.
“After Sybil died, and I escaped Viktor’s claims of my involvement in her death, I went back a few times to check in on her.
I never saw her leave the palace grounds.
Not even once. I was able to get into the palace one day when Viktor was elsewhere.
It was when she was fourteen years of age.
Still young, but it was seven years after her mother passed.
Seven years since I saw her last.” Unshed tears in his eyes catch the light, and he blinks them away quickly.
“How was she?” I whisper.
“She was broken. I don’t mean that to sound as horrible as it does, but she was no longer the little girl I knew and loved.
She wasn’t in her room when I searched for her, but in the infirmary.
She had deep wounds across her back, so much so that stitches were barely enough to keep the skin closed. ” My eyes widen and my lips part.
“My gods.” I whisper. I can feel my throat close as a lump forms.
“It was Viktor, he whipped her. Scarlett was asleep beside her bed, watching over her and holding her hand. I didn’t mean to scare her, but I did.
She remembered me though, she remembered who I was.
I asked her what happened, and she told me.
I guess Elaenor begged to leave, begged to go to the lake for a few moments just to feel the water on her toes.
The Delaquar was one of her favorite places to go with Sybil.
” He sighs and rolls his lips. “Viktor whipped her for even asking to leave the walls. I sat with her for a few moments, ran my fingers through her frizzy curls. She was medicated, so she never woke while I was there. Scarlett told me she’d take care of her.
Even at such a young age, she was strong enough to defend her, to protect her as best she can.
Scarlett may not be okay right now, but she’s strong.
She’ll get there.” I ignore his comments about Scarlett and focus on Elaenor.
How could a father whip his child into pieces?
“I don’t understand how someone could do that to their child.”
“She isn’t his child, Enzo. Despite the fact that he raised her. She has been in captivity for almost nineteen years. She has never known freedom.” He explains.
“She still won’t, not here. Not with Davenport in control.” I scoff and lean back. I hate the king, almost as much as I hate Tobias.
“Enzo,” he warns .
“You know it’s true. He is either going to force her to marry Nithe or he’ll marry her himself.”
“We don’t know what’s going to happen. All we need to worry about is bringing her to safety.”
“This isn’t safety, father. This is just another cage decorated with crowns and expensive clothing.” I spit, venom coating my voice.
“She will be safe here. I’m not going to let anything happen to her, not again. I never should have let her get on that carriage to begin with.” He tries to reason, but anger seeps through my skin like sweat. Everything that has to do with her—it just makes me angry. Feral even.
“You always said we couldn't intervene.”
“We can’t, it upsets the balance of life, but I can still be regretful of my lack of involvement–” His voice cuts out as the ground rumbles, and a deafening boom breaks up the otherwise silent palace.
Rubble and dust fall from the ceiling as everything shakes.
My fingers dig into the arms of the settee I am occupying as my widened eyes meet my fathers.
Nithe stumbles in, his face red, and his breathing labored.
“The palace, it’s been bombed.”