Chapter 29
Elara
King Aries looked younger than I had expected. Still, he had to be at least a decade older than Cai. I wasn’t sure why I’d thought he would be further along in age. Maybe because everyone appeared so threatened by him all the time. Not to say I was entirely at ease. Every time his silver eyes looked at me, it felt as though he was staring right through my very being. Like he could tell all my secrets from one simple glance.
I followed behind him, trying to keep as much distance between us as possible.
I half expected Aries to make small talk but thankfully he remained quiet, strolling on. He was so much taller than me, and his hair was short and neat.
I walked after him until we stopped in front of a bedroom door.
He opened it and stepped to the side, allowing me to look inside. I didn’t have to walk into the room to see her.
Princess Eloisa sat on a comfortable chair, looking out the window. Her back was turned to me, but Eloisa’s side profile was enough to make me feel as though I were looking in a mirror. It was eerie, and I felt a twinge in my gut.
I expected her to look up at the sound of us, but she didn’t move, only staring into the distance. It didn’t even look like she was blinking.
“How long has she been like this?” I asked Aries.
“Since the day after she arrived here. We have servants take care of her and she eats a little, but other than that, she’s catatonic.”
“She hasn’t had any outbursts?” The kingdom of Argon knowing about Princess Eloisa’s mentally ill state probably wasn’t something we needed, but there was nothing to be done now.
“No, just staring into the distance, refusing to speak. It’s like she can’t even hear you.”
“Eloisa?” I tried anyway, but there was no movement.
“Has she always been like this?” Aries asked.
“My brother tells me so.” I shrugged.
“And no healer could find a cure?” How was I to know what kind of doctors and physicians Eloisa had seen throughout her life?
“Eloisa,” I tried again. Still no response.
“I should probably get to my room. I’m quite tired after our journey.” I stepped back in a hurry. This was all becoming very weird, very quickly.
“Of course. I hope our rooms are to your liking.” Aries was smirking again, and it unnerved me. I really hoped coming here wouldn’t be a mistake.
* * *
“This is a disaster.” I dramatically fell back onto the bed of the guest bedroom I was occupying for the duration of our stay in Argon.
“I wouldn’t call it a disaster just quite yet.” The bed dipped as Cai took a seat next to me.
“Your optimism inspires me to be a better person, really,” I said sarcastically and patted his leg.
Cai let out a chuckle before his face got serious. “Are you all right, though?”
“You mean with Eloisa?” I pulled myself up into a sitting position. “I’m not sure how I feel just yet.”
“It must have been strange.”
“I think Lance should be relieved to find out she’s safe and unharmed at least.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say I have a particular care for Lance’s feelings.” He scooted back to lie down and I joined him. We were exhausted. It had been a long day.
“Unfortunately, Lance did a little too much damage just to be forgiven without consequence. Though I will admit his advice has been helpful at times. Even if he only cares to help me as long as he can get something out of it.”
“What advice are you talking about?” Cai asked.
“I already told you: he said I should marry you.”
“Yes, the one and only reason you’re marrying me: because Lance said so.”
“Ha.” I pinched him softly. “Very funny.”
Cai’s brow creased. “Lance said that Eloisa managed to escape under the watch of her palace guards, right? And then someone saw her at the docks?”
“Yes,” I said, not entirely sure where he was going with this.
“Do you think it’s a coincidence she ended up here with Aries?” We’d had this conversation before, wondering just how Eloisa managed to fall right into the hands of our enemy. It was too convenient. Too coincidental.
“I’m rather sure Aries orchestrated it. But to what end?”
“He could’ve lured us here for many different reasons.”
I shuddered, not wanting to admit that Aries could be so much smarter than me and that maybe there was a good reason people feared him.
“I think I need a break from being queen.” I rubbed my tired eyes and then remembered I was probably smudging the kohl that Anesta had lined them with.
“We could always go away after the wedding.” Cai wiggled his eyebrows, and I gave him a look.
“You know what I mean.” I tried to ignore the heat crawling up my neck.
“Try and get a good night’s rest, at least, and you’ll already feel better by morning.” He sat up.
“I’ll feel better when this is over.”
“That too.” He placed a soft kiss on my cheek before saying goodnight.
* * *
I was on my way to breakfast the next morning with a rumbling stomach. Anesta hadn’t spared any effort with my attire, though I’d begged her to keep it as simple as possible. I didn’t feel like fancy dresses and glamorous accessories today. It was too hot anyway. It didn’t feel like winter was approaching in this desert of a place.
As I walked down the halls, I found myself craving freshly squeezed orange juice, and then wanted to laugh at the realisation. How very spoiled and privileged I’d become.
Back in Camp Fairfrith, breakfast wasn’t even always available, and here I was planning to satiate my hunger with a decadent breakfast spread.
“Good morning, Eloisa.”
I froze at the sound of King Aries’ voice behind me, combined with disbelief. Eloisa?
Had something happened last night after I saw her? Had she woken up from her episode and talked to Aries, so he now thought I was her?
He can only see the back of your head , I reminded myself. Or had he been lying and she hadn’t been in that state since the day after she’d arrived?
I turned around and plastered a smile on my face. I’d pretended to be Eloisa before. How difficult could it be? My mind continued to remind me involuntarily that, the last time, things didn’t exactly work out very well. But if something suspicious was going on, I wanted to find out.
“Morning.” I swallowed audibly.
Aries approached confidently. He was dressed in a fine tunic, a large knife sheathed at his waist. I started to sense why everyone dressed the way they did in Argon. The sunbeams streaming in through the large open windows alerted me that it was going to be another scorcher of a day.
“Shall we go to breakfast together?” He extended his arm, and I hooked mine in the crook of his elbow.
Bad idea. Bad idea. Bad idea.
Too late to back out now.
If he did believe I was Eloisa, he might divulge information which could be of value to us.
Something inside me dreaded seeing her again, even though I knew I couldn’t avoid Eloisa for the rest of my life. Her behaviour made me understand why Lance carried such a haunting expression when he talked about her. I believed Eloisa needed help. But this was something we could look into once we were all safely returned to Everness... or Norrandale. Cai and I hadn’t exactly discussed what would happen when all of this was over.
Aries slowed our pace, and my stomach dropped. I could just pretend I didn’t hear him call me Eloisa. Elara, Eloisa, it all sounded very much alike.
“What are your plans for the day?” he asked, looking at me.
I avoided eye contact with all my might, afraid he might see through me before I could get anything out of him.
“I’m not sure. What are your plans for the day?”
He chuckled at the way I asked him. “I’ll probably have to see Cai again. Try and figure out what exactly the idiot’s plan is for thinking he could just march into my palace. He really isn’t fit to be king. Argon should have taken over Norrandale a long time ago.”
I had to bite back a bitter reply, forcing me to clear my throat.
“And why exactly is it so important to end Cai’s reign again?” I posed the question with the sweetest, most innocent voice I could muster.
“It’s nothing personal against Cai. Norrandale just has something that I want.”
Which was exactly what I was worried about. If Aries had any inkling of Norrandale’s secret, we were in so much bigger trouble than just a war.
“Oh?” I feigned casual interest.
We only took a few more steps before he shoved me against the nearest wall, that previously sheathed knife now against my throat.
“Now.” He bit his lip, and I sucked in a breath of fear. “How about we stop pretending and you tell me what it is, exactly, that you want, Queen Elara?” He practically purred my name.
“If you knew it was me then why did you—?”
“I wanted to see if you were capable of lying. Now I will ask again — what do you want?”
I breathed slowly, wanting to keep as much composure as possible with the knife against my throat. I didn’t want to show him my fear. So, I licked my lips and gave a smile. “Don’t we all want the same thing on the same basic level?” He held my stare, and just to show him how much he didn’t intimidate me, I pressed myself closer to the knife.
“Power.”
“Is that why you’re here?” He raised his chin in question.
“Don’t be stupid.” I returned to my innocent expression. “I’m just here for my sister.”
“Hhmm.” He stepped back, dropping the knife, but not giving me enough space to move. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Queen.”
“I’ve seen the depths of hell. I don’t fear anything anymore.”
“Do you honestly believe that even with your alliance, you and Cai can defeat the armies of Argon?”
I thought about how his soldiers trained, moving as one. Disciplined and powerful.
“Argon had agreed to the peace treaty because of what happened to the villages. If we didn’t end the war, our own people would start turning against us. But I defeated Cai on the battlefield once and I can do it again.”
“I don’t need to defeat your armies,” I said. “I just need to end you. An army, after all, without their king is as good as no army at all.”
“You may be a good liar—” he tilted his head slightly — “but even I can see you’re not a murderer.”
His words ignited a fire inside my chest.
“Oh, I’ll keep you alive. But by the time I’m done with you, you’ll be begging for a merciful death.” For Everness, for Cai, I would stop at nothing.
He sucked his teeth. “It would appear I chose the wrong sister.”
I continued my death stare.
“Well, come along, then,” he said nonchalantly while stepping back and holding his arm out to me again. “Breakfast is waiting.”
* * *
I avoided all eye contact with Aries as we sat through breakfast. Cai tried to set up a meeting so they could revise the conditions of the peace treaty, but apparently Aries already had business elsewhere and so the meeting was pushed back until the next day. Part of me was relieved that I didn’t have to see Aries for a whole day. It was one less conflict to worry about.
I needed to see Eloisa, but I didn’t have the courage to go alone. So, I asked Cai to come with me.
“Prepare to be unsettled,” I told him while knocking on the door. I wasn’t sure why I knocked. Did I expect her to answer it?
“It’s going to be fine.”
A servant opened the door, to my surprise, but Aries did say they had people looking after her. The woman was old and plump, and she had a calmness about her.
“I’m here to see my sister,” I informed her, and the servant stepped aside with a slight bow. She didn’t even appear shocked at my striking resemblance to Eloisa.
I led Cai into the room after me. Eloisa was on her chair again, looking out the window. The servant went back to making the bed.
“Good morning, Eloisa.” I took a seat opposite her and tried not to feel creeped out by the fact that I was practically staring into my own reflection. But she was much thinner and more pale, dark circles under her eyes. The bedroom was big and open, but furniture was scarce. No sharp objects lying around. No open windows.
“I’m not sure if Lance ever told you about me,” I said.
Cai took a seat next to me.
“But I’m your sister, Elara.”
She didn’t move or look my way. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from her.
“This is Cai.” I placed my hand on his forearm. “He’s the king of Norrandale.”
Silence continued to fill the room while I thought of what I could say next. I cleared my throat.
“Lance wants you to come back home.” Maybe it would help if I reminded her of something familiar. “Your room is waiting for you back at the palace in Everness.” I scooted forwards in my seat. “You’re going to come home with me, okay?”
Nothing could have prepared me for her scream as she jumped up from her seat and came at me. Her momentum pushed my chair back, and she tackled me to the ground, clawing and screaming at me.
I tried to fight her off, but she was strong for someone so frail-looking. Cai and the servant pulled her off me. I sat up, catching my breath. The servant held her arms, whispering soothing things while she brushed her hair back with the palm of her hand. Cai helped me up.
“How often does that happen?” I asked the servant.
“Never,” she replied. “I think it’s best that you leave her be for a while.” She didn’t have to ask me twice. I didn’t even care to look back as I walked out of the room, slightly shaken.
* * *
After spending some time exploring the palace grounds with Cordelia and Anesta, I returned to my chambers. I closed my bedroom door, taking out the clip that had been holding my hair in place. It was too hot for this dress. I started pulling at the lacings of my bodice.
“I must admit, that’s the quickest a woman has ever started undressing in front of me. Which is saying a lot.” I jumped at the sound of King Aries’ voice. He was seated on a chair in the corner of the room, so still that I hadn’t seen him as I came in.
“What are you doing in my rooms?” There was a sense of violation. Where was Rhen? Had he gone through my things? Was he looking for evidence of the Myrgonite stone? Was someone going through Cai’s things as well?
“I thought we could have a chat, you and I,” Aries said. He stood up from the chair. I quickly tightened my dress, thinking about all the ways I could escape this room should it come down to it.
“What more could you have to say that we didn’t already establish this morning?”
He approached and I had to keep myself from recoiling. Every single one of my instincts wanted to put as much distance between me and him as possible. But I couldn’t let him see that on my face. Couldn’t let him believe for one moment that he had the upper hand.
“Well as you probably heard, I had business in town this morning,” he started.
“Yes?”
“It also gave me time to think certain matters over.”
I waited for him to continue, watching his every move with anticipation.
“And after some careful consideration, I believe you should accept my offer of marriage.”
My mouth almost fell open but I clenched my jaw shut. His offer of marriage?
What was he talking about?
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you correctly,” I responded.
“Oh, I think you heard me just fine.” He was getting closer now.
“You cannot possibly be serious,” I insisted.
“Why not? Everness and Argon united, no one would dare stand against us.”
“You’re only doing this because you want Cai off the throne, because you want to conquer Norrandale,” I said, before I could think better of it.
“Can you blame a man for being ambitious?” He stopped in front of me, and if he dared to move any closer, I was going to pull out my dagger and let him know just what I thought of him. Consequences be damned.
“Is this because he killed your brother?” I asked. I didn’t know if the subject would anger him and make things worse. I risked it.
“Dexus was family,” he acknowledged. “But this isn’t just about revenge.”
“Then what is it about?” I stared into his eyes, daring him.
“I think you know.” His smile was vicious, deadly. He was deadly.
“I’m not going to let you use me against Cai.”
“Why?” He leaned his head down towards me. “Don’t tell me you love the boy?” His tone was mocking, and I hated how he referred to Cai as a boy.
Yes. My mind told me to respond. Say yes.
“Don’t fool yourself, Elara. I know where you come from, who you really are.”
What did he mean by that? Was he talking about my life before becoming royalty? I didn’t want to ask.
“People like you and me, we’re not capable of love. You and I both know you’ll ruin him.”
His words were a punch to the gut, and I didn’t want to believe him. But maybe they hit so deep because what he said wasn’t unfamiliar to me. Subconsciously, I believed the same thing.
“Get out of my room,” I said, through clenched teeth.
“Think it over, will you?” He brushed my chin with his fingers, and I jerked back.
“I’ll see you at tonight’s dance.”
“Dance?”
“Don’t you remember? I told you about the banquet when you arrived. There’s to be dancing afterwards.”
Trap. It must be some kind of trap.
“See you there,” he said, before walking out of the room.