Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
I sat on my borrowed bed and picked at a small thread that was loose. Fiach perched nearby, silent, letting me process my recent eruption. The way my magic seemed to take over filled me with terror. Was I, too, becoming a monster like the Dark Fae?
Was this how it started for him? This feeling deep in the center of my being that railed at the injustices that I had experienced, the cruelty I had suffered at the hands of others?
Was I, too, turning into a villain?
A soft knock interrupted my maudlin musings, and I glanced at the door then Fiach. He shrugged, as much as a raven can shrug, and I took a deep, steadying breath. “Come in.”
Aldric silently opened the door, and I waved him to my lone chair.
He walked to it and gently sat down, moving like an old man for the first time since I had met him. We regarded each other for a few moments, and I barely resisted the urge to fidget under his heavy gaze.
It felt like he could see into my soul. The thought unnerved me, and I broke eye contact.
“I remember the marketplace in Rennesen.”
The words seemed to echo in my little house, and the incongruency of them had my gaze finding his once more.
He nodded, eyes focused on a spot on the wall. “I used to love the sights and smells. They made me feel a little less homesick as I traveled around the country, searching for more Fae outside of our borders. The petty squabbles between hawkers as they tried to out cry their neighbor reminded me of when Helmine and Lothur got into a shouting match over who could bake the most elaborate cake - Helmine won, of course.”
His chuckle seemed to chase out the shadows from the room. Even the corners looked brighter at the sound. I sat and listened to him, letting the words flow over me like a balm.
“Of course, the soldiers were always surrounding the market, and I could never forget their presence. Did you know they were under orders to keep an eye out for Fae?”
I shook my head, mute, hanging on to his every word.
He nodded again, slowly this time. “King Almains is a very thorough man. A very ferocious sort of King. He made sure his soldiers knew the price that would be exacted of any soldier who did not comply to his expectations.”
A sinking sort of horror began to settle in the pit of my stomach.
“One day, the market had a special buzz in the air as rumors of Fae began circulating. Someone claimed to have seen one nearby, and I tried to find out where he was last sighted.” He shook his head, his forehead pinched. “But I was too late. The soldiers found him first.”
His darkened gaze met mine as I sank into the story. Flashes of memory returned, and I wanted to run away from it, but his eyes held me fast.
“Do you remember what would happen to the Fae the King found?”
“Yes,” my hoarse voice fell between us. I tried to block out the sounds my memory brought to the forefront of my mind, but they were relentless. Just like the soldiers had been.
“By the time I got to him, it was too late. I couldn’t save him.”
A tear slipped down his face at the confession, and my heart squeezed. I wanted to reach out to him, but something held me back. A feeling of impotence, perhaps.
“I was about to move on, try to find someone else I could try to save, to give sanctuary to, but Ruhan wouldn’t have it.”
I fisted my hands at the mention of his name, and Aldric’s sharp gaze speared me. I didn’t want to hear this. Why was he telling me this story? I remembered the influx of murders along the villages after several different Fae were murdered by the King’s soldiers. I remembered the wicked, vicious rumors about the innocent lives that the Dark Fae had killed and tortured every time after a rogue Fae was found and killed.
“Listen to me, Katharina. Listen to what I saw . Not rumors, but the truth.”
The passion in his voice had me nodding. I would listen, but reserve judgment.
“Ruhan refused to leave the Fae’s body in the King’s possession for him to desecrate. So he stole a soldier’s armor and slipped into prison to retrieve the body. To my shame, I was too afraid to join him, so he did it alone. Together we buried him outside of the city so he could rest in peace. But the King sent soldiers to follow us.”
Wait - that wasn’t what I remembered happening. All of the rumors said the Dark Fae would seek out villages without the soldier’s presence. That there was never protection nearby. A growing dread took root in my stomach.
“While we were putting the young Fae to rest, the soldiers went to the nearby village and decimated it. Men, women, children, no one received mercy. No one, but the few who were spared only if they would say they saw the “Dark Fae” wreak havoc on their fellow villagers in retaliation for the Fae they had killed.”
My hand covered my mouth, and I stared in open revulsion at Aldric’s tale. He held my gaze, letting me see his emotions as they played across his face, hiding nothing of what he felt.
“Ruhan is innocent of the allegations you believe him to have committed. The Fae I know would never do the things he has been accused of. Never .” Passion blazed across his face at the words and he leaned forward. “But what I just saw you almost do out of your anger and fear? The faces of my people as they fled from your magic? That’s what comes from bigotry and suspicion.”
I shrank from his words as they found their mark, cutting into my soul. He refused to let me escape from his pointed gaze.
“I will not allow my people to suffer that again. You have two choices. Get over your prejudice against Ruhan and let him help you with your magic, or you will be banished from Tresilben and your memories of this place wiped.”
I startled at his words, both the acerbic tone and the improbable words. I didn’t even know magic could do that.
He nodded, “There’s a lot about magic you don’t know, and if you don’t learn, it will rule you and you will turn into someone you never thought was possible. Think about what I’ve told you, and let me know your decision tomorrow.”
He stood up, and as his hand landed on the door, he turned to me. “We all have monsters hiding in our past. It’s how we choose to face them that decides our fate.”
The door closed behind him with an ominous finality, leaving me to consider his words and my future.