Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Icould have the world.
Any want fulfilled.
But I still wasn’t content.
“There are only two things I desire right now and you’re denying me both,” I growled at my father.
“I will give you both in time if only you would be patient,” he insisted for the hundredth time. He was dressed in linens again, no sign of his armour, no glint of a sword. It was as if he had no intention to return to battle at all.
The heat of the day only intensified my ire.
They’d given me material to make a dress at least and in my boredom, stuck here in this luxurious handwoven tent on Undashine Shore, I’d stitched the blue silk into a thing of beauty.
It flowed down my body, clinging to my curves, revealing the dip of my cleavage and the sheen of my legs between the slivers of material.
Yes, I looked fucking radiant but I was frustrated beyond belief.
“Did I tell you to stop dancing?” I clipped at Alina Seaman who I’d requested as my jester for the journey to Crathguard.
Oh how she danced for me, her lips clamped tightly shut on the words she wouldn’t dare to utter.
But by the sun, the moon and the stars, she hated me.
I could see it in the depths of her angry, angry eyes.
Simmering there, bubbling, boiling deep and burning her from within.
She wore a grey dress with a long donkey’s tail that paired with the mask and the large ears that were weaved into her hair.
My choice, of course. I’d made them for her, presented them on a silver platter and watched her jaw tick whilst she pulled on her costume.
Through a tight grin that had looked achingly painful, she had thanked me too.
Now, she danced for me, shaking her ass and ee-ooring like I’d requested. But not even that was enough to make me smile. The first time had been hilarious, the second amusing, but this time… it was just another disappointment.
The half-naked men who had been assigned to hand-feed me all kinds of succulent fruit from across our land shared a snigger at Alina’s expense, but I couldn’t summon a wisp of a smile.
I stepped closer to father, my brows drawing together. “If we can’t go to war then give me Mavus Angelico at least. Your spies must have located him by now.”
“Like I told you before, we are yet to find him. But I assure you, we’ll bring him straight to you once he’s located. Now rest, daughter. The White Mare is almost ready to sail. The whole of Cascada is waiting to come and lay blessings at our feet.”
“I’m done being paraded around. What is the point of my power if it isn’t used to cease the war? We could have peace in a week if we march now.”
Father rested a hand on my shoulder, squeezing and leaning down to lay a kiss upon my cheek.
I felt that kiss in my chest, the way it charmed my heart like a snake, luring me into the promise of his affection.
I might just be loved by him now. He was yet to say the words though.
Holding me ransom by withholding the last piece of the puzzle which could complete me.
“Not yet, my child. Let the people celebrate first. It will bolster the hearts of the warriors and give them time to recuperate before we head to war again.”
“At least take me to the Magistrine,” I insisted, thinking of the monster at Never Keep and the vow I’d made to see it destroyed. “Let’s head there first.”
“I will only take you there once we have defeated our enemies. Imagine the celebrations we will be greeted with in Marella when we arrive with the news of Cascada’s victory?”
“But you don’t understand,” I implored. “The Reapers are up to something. I need to speak with our rulers.”
“Yes, yes, all in good time,” he said, waving a hand, clearly not having listened to what I’d said.
“Go spend some time on the beach. Relax before we head for Crathguard. You have earned it, my child.” He steered me toward the exit and I gritted my teeth as he manoeuvred me outside, already wincing before the cheers and laments went up.
Father nudged me toward the crowd, shouting out for all to hear, “My daughter, the great Void, has come to celebrate among her people!”
I was grabbed by eager hands, pulling me into the crowd. Many complimented my dress, others brushed their fingers over my arms and thanked the stars for my existence, while some even wept at the sight of my face.
The more they touched me, the more my heart raced and all I could think of was the way I’d nearly been crushed on the battlefield by the tide of warriors who had wanted to claim me for themselves.
The clawing hands, the fingernails raking at my skin, the hungry eyes and the wetting of lips.
I was the answer to the problems of the masses.
I was the key to end the war. The promise made through prophecy.
Here I was for the world to claim. I should have delighted in their praise, found worthiness in their love, but it wasn’t what I felt at all.
I shoved my way out of them, the panic slicing into me, the claustrophobia of it all making my gut twist.
Somehow, I made it back to the tent, sensing Father’s disappointed gaze following me all the way.
“Out!” I shouted at the fruit-feeders, kicking over a tray of strawberries and they scurried through the tent flaps, leaving me with Alina. She offered me a feeble ee-oor and I sighed.
“You too,” I insisted.
She hesitated, glancing at the exit then back to me. “I can dance better.” She started shaking her ass again, getting down on all fours and putting in some real effort to look like a jiving donkey. But not even that lightened my mood.
“I don’t want you to dance. Just go,” I huffed.
“Have I displeased you?” she asked nervously, knowing the power I held now. I could probably have her rank stripped. I likely even had the power to execute her. But all I wanted was for her to leave.
“You never cared about displeasing me before,” I said bitterly.
“That was before I knew you were important.” She bit her lip, clearly regretting the words as her cheeks turned bright pink. “I mean, not that you weren’t before, it’s just I didn’t know you weren’t, you know?”
“Just go,” I growled and she finally left me alone, squeaking an apology as she went.
I sank down onto the soft green cushions laid out for me, hugging my knees to my chest and burying my face against them.
The moment my eyes closed, I saw him.
Twisted on that cliff with my dagger under his ribs and I squeezed my eyes shut even harder, trying to push the memory away. I should have been elated by his death. Perhaps I was, in ways. But whenever his face came to my mind, I felt something more painful too. An emotion I couldn’t put a name to.
He was the reason for my mother’s death and the scar upon my palm.
He was the tarnish on my soul and the reason for my eternal anguish.
He was gone and never coming back.
There it was. That hurt again. A note of regret, maybe. A longing for answers I’d never receive. I didn’t know where this yearning came from, but instead of peace in the wake of his death I only found more torment.
My own father had been responsible for the death of his family.
I’d seen it for myself. Yes, I’d known Abraham Rake was a ruthless soul, but I’d never considered his brutality extended to children.
I was torn, my heart desiring his love and yet there were fractured, confused pieces of me resisting it too.
I couldn’t quiet these feelings no matter how much I tried.
I simply knew too much and couldn’t un-know it.
“Sorry, er, Everest?”
I looked up, finding Ransom there in a light blue shirt and white trousers, his sword strapped to his hip. At least he was one percent more ready for war than Father.
“Yes?” I said tightly, venom seeping into the word.
My half-brother kept visiting me and I had a feeling Father was ordering him to. He always brought a gift too, but I didn’t think he was trying to make up for what he’d done to me. I was pretty damn sure he’d been told to bring one.
He stood stiffly in the entrance, the white curtains that made the door fluttering in the wind and ruffling his brown hair. He had a seashell in his grip, a conch bigger than his head that sparkled like rhinestones.
“For you,” he muttered, then tossed it on a pillow.
I pursed my lips. “Anything else?”
He kicked his bare feet in the sand at the edge of the entranceway, looking awkward before he stepped onto the rug and moved to sit on one of the cushions. The silence stretched. The quiet pressing in until I couldn’t bear it any longer.
“What do you want, Ransom?” I demanded.
“I think you’re right,” he blurted. “We should be marching on the other lands, not heading to Crathguard for more celebrations. We’re wasting time here. You said we could have peace, right?”
“Right,” I replied, narrowing my gaze. “But Father won’t listen to me.”
“He has to listen to you,” he whispered, shooting a wary glance at the exit as if he was worried he might be overheard. “You can do anything you want now. It doesn’t even need to be a battle. We can walk into enemy lands; you can Void them all and they’ll have to surrender. No bloodshed.”
“You think they’ll just lay down their weapons and give up their lands?” I scoffed. “The warriors will fight, magic or not.”
“But we can subdue them with our power,” Ransom said quickly. “We won’t have to kill anyone.”
I nodded slowly, considering his point. “Have you mentioned this idea to Father?”
“No,” he admitted. “I thought it would be better coming from, you know, the almighty Void.” His tone was dry but not bitter.
I breathed a laugh and he smiled at me like we were actually normal siblings. But my laughter quickly soured and I scowled at him.