Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Emilie
“Are you sure you can’t stay any longer?
” I asked, neatly folding my brother’s shirts before placing them into a worn leather suitcase.
Adrien was distracted, searching the room for a missing item—a locket or a ring or some other piece of jewelry.
I hadn’t realized he was so interested in such luxury items.
“Adrien,” I said, demanding his attention.
“What? Oh, sorry. I can’t stay any longer, little sis. My crew has been commissioned for a trip to the east islands, and I can’t refuse.”
I sighed, disappointed. He’d only been in Renoa for a week, and I wished we had more time to discuss my situation. “Will you be back anytime soon?”
He only half-listened as he pulled up cushions and replaced them haphazardly. “If I have time. You know life on the sea isn’t exactly made for leisure.”
“I guess.” I placed the last of his shirts into his luggage and then moved on to folding socks. Twenty-three years old and he still hadn’t learned how to keep his socks in pairs. If he had, he might not be missing half a dozen. “I’m proud of you, you know.”
He’d set off for Twin Beacons to appease our parents and build relationships with the troops settled there—allies for when he took over in Dreslen.
Imagine our parents’ surprise when, a few years later, he wound up with a ship of his own and a loyal crew who frequently took on private commissions for affluent treasure seekers.
He hadn’t outright defied our parents—he was still making friends with influential people—but I was proud of him for finding his own way.
“Aha!” he shouted, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned to see him clutching a delicate gold chain with an ornate medallion swaying on the end. It looked heavy and gaudy. I’d never seen him wear such a thing.
“That’s what you’ve been looking for?”
His eyes flicked to me and quickly back to his treasure. He slid it into his pocket and shrugged. “It’s important to me.”
Must’ve been a souvenir from one of his quests. If he didn’t want to share more than that, I wouldn’t pry. I knew what it was like to have your privacy invaded.
I returned to folding clothes. After a minute, Adrien flopped on the bed beside me, sending a pile of socks toppling to the floor. I shot him a disgruntled look. “Do you even care if your things are packed properly?”
“Not really. They’ll be scattered about my cabin in less than a week. But I do appreciate the effort,” he added at the sight of my irked expression.
Giving up, I shoved his suitcase to the side and took a seat next to him. “Fine, just toss everything in a pile and call it a day, then.”
“That’s the spirit,” he said with a wide grin. His carefree attitude was contagious, and I smiled back. “And for what it’s worth, I’m proud of you, too.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I didn’t think you were listening.”
“Of course I was,” he responded, hand covering his heart like I’d struck him with a dagger.
Then he dropped his hand and his false pretense, replacing it with sincerity.
“I’m proud of you for making your own decisions.
This… thing that you have with Ladon—I can tell he makes you happy.
I’ve been watching the two of you this week, and I’ve never seen you smile so brightly. Not since we were kids, at least.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t hide the tremor in my voice. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”
“Someone has to be on your side since you know Mom and Dad won’t be. You really should’ve consulted with me before ruining their hopes and dreams for you.”
I laughed. “You know all about that, don’t you?”
“I do. You should’ve heard the way Mother spoke to me when I told her I was leaving Twins Peak. Well, technically she wrote a letter, but I could hear her voice through the angry scribbling.”
My shoulders shook with laughter. “I expect a scathing letter myself.”
“It would only be fair. Let me know when you do. I’ll return as soon as possible, and we can have a bonfire to burn them together.”
I lunged forward, and he caught me in a hug. “Thank you. Thank you for everything, Adrien. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Watching Adrien set sail was harder than I expected.
I waited on the pier until the white sails melted into the clouds on the horizon, and even after, I stood hugging myself as the wind gently blew my hair around.
It was hard to guess when I’d see him again—or if I’d see him again.
The seas were unforgiving, especially when he ventured into uncharted waters.
The only reason I backed away from the old wooden pier and back toward the castle was because my stomach growled and I realized I hadn’t eaten all day. I’d been so caught up helping Adrien pack that I’d skipped breakfast and lunch.
Servants greeted me as soon as I stepped into the kitchen.
“Miss Emilie, I told you we can bring something to you anytime you’d like. You don’t need to come down here.”
“That’s all right. I—”
Another man interrupted, “We’re preparing dinner, and you shouldn’t be here. Fires are burning, and people are scurrying about without looking. It can be dangerous. Extra bodies create additional obstacles.”
As soon as he finished his sentence, a clatter of dishes in the background proved his point. Two men had just run into each other, and one dropped a pot of steaming water.
“Right,” I said with a wince. “Could you just bring up something for me to eat?”
“What will you have?”
“Surprise me.”
After a delicious roasted chicken salad and creamy vegetable soup, I grabbed the new daggers I’d bought with my brother and set off for the training field. Most warriors practiced in the mornings, so I had the place almost entirely to myself—exactly how I preferred it.
There were two men fighting with wooden swords on the left side of the field, far away from the targets I needed to use on the opposite side. They didn’t even look at me when I walked into the pit. I looked up at the stands, and no one was watching from above either.
My shoulders relaxed, and I took my stance in front of a set of three targets, each varying in distance and size. I warmed up with the one closest to me, and after a few throws, I struck the center with deadly precision and smiled.
I picked up another dagger and flung it at the middle target, hitting an outer ring.
It took a few more tries before I was able to hit the center, but I was getting more comfortable with my new daggers.
They were a perfect fit for my palm, and the weight felt like an extension of myself.
Easy to throw the blade to my intended destination.
When I threw the next dagger at the farthest target, I struck the center on my first try and released a satisfied sigh.
“You’re quite the natural at that.”
I startled at the sound of Ladon’s voice. I hadn’t seen him enter the training grounds. “Thank you. Someone once told me to picture the person I hate and let the dagger flow through me. Turns out they were right.”
I grinned, recalling the moment he’d taught me to throw, except back then he was throwing daggers at my imaginary face. Now, I was picturing Reyna and every single person who laid their hands on me. I wanted them to pay.
“You had a wise instructor,” he boasted.
“True, though he was a bit full of himself.”
Ladon looked away, but not before I caught his smile. When he turned back, he was biting his lip, stifling a laugh. He inched closer and noticed the daggers laid out on a stand next to me. Tracing the ornate details and gems, he let out a low whistle. “Did you get some new knives?”
“I did. Adrien and I found them at a shop in town.”
“Bluebell’s?”
“Might’ve been. I can’t recall the name.”
“It’s the best place to find weaponry in Renoa—high quality and fair prices. And I would know since they sent the bill to me.”
“Oh,” I said softly. “I’m sorry if that wasn’t okay. I just… Before everything happened, I—”
“Emilie, it’s fine.” He chuckled. “Regardless of your… agreement with Cyrus, you are still a guest here, and I will make sure you are taken care of. May I?” he asked, picking up one of the daggers.
“Go ahead.”
He stepped in front of me and squared his shoulders. With perfect form, he flung the knife toward the farthest target. It landed so close to mine, the clink of the silver handles rang through the air.
“You’re a natural,” I said.
“No, I’ve had a lot of practice.”
Since that had been the last dagger, I collected the lot of them from the targets and made my way back to Ladon.
I’d been so caught up in practice that I hadn’t noticed the field had filled with over a dozen warriors practicing various skills—a trio taking turns with a bow, two pairs engaged in hand-to-hand combat, another couple doing a circuit of conditioning.
And then off to the side, six more were standing around and watching… watching me and Ladon.
Immediately my cheeks heated, and I felt sweat running down my neck. Their eyes on me were like pin needles piercing my skin. Every move I made pulled at the wounds, slowly ripping them open until I was completely exposed. Not just my skin, but my muscles and organs. My bones.
I shivered and lost my footing, stumbling until I fell into Ladon’s outstretched arms.
“What’s wrong?” His voice was laced with panic, but I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to tell him that the world was closing in on me. That I couldn’t handle their penetrating glares.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” I said, seconds before I doubled over and expelled my lunch.
Dropping to my knees, I felt Ladon lower beside me. His hand stroked my spine while the ground disappeared from my sight. It faded in and out, and I reached for him—reached for anything that would ground me and stop the world from spinning.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said, pulling my hair back while I continued to heave. “I’m here, princess. I’m here.”
I wasn’t sure how much time passed before my vision cleared. At some point, the vomiting subsided, and I found myself cradled in Ladon’s lap. When I saw him clearly, his eyes were glistening—the silver blue almost completely consumed by black. The color in his cheeks had disappeared too.
“Hey,” he said quietly. “Are you with me?”
I nodded, still queasy. I was afraid of what might come out if I opened my mouth. Although my body trembled with weakness, I found the strength to summon a light breeze, cooling me down and making it easier to breathe.
Finally, I sat up with Ladon’s help.
“I don’t know what happened. I just saw those people staring…”
The crowd of warriors were no longer looking in our direction, and I half-wondered if they ever were or if I imagined the whole thing.
Ladon followed my gaze and shot them daggers with his eyes anyway. “I can tell them to get lost.”
“No, it’s okay. I can’t go through life demanding everyone to clear the room when I’m around.”
“You could,” he said with a half grin.
I found his hand and brushed the back of it with my thumb. “I don’t want to.”
He held me tighter, and if it weren’t for the audience, I would’ve let him hold me forever. I dared to take another peek at the others training in the pit, and none of them were looking in our direction.
Sometimes, the memories felt more intense than living through the ordeal. It was as though my body knew I was safe now and therefore free to fall apart.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asked. “You know you can talk to me. If anyone understands, it’s me.”
“I know,” I said, brushing dirt off my pants. We both stood, and I could tell he wanted to keep me close and be my support, but he gave me the space to stand on my own.
“You scared me,” he admitted.
I had scared myself. I hated the feeling of disorientation, hated being taken back to that time and place when dozens of eyes were on me as I lived my worst nightmares.
We made it out. We were supposed to be safe and happy now, but the past still haunted us. It lingered like an unwanted shadow, darkening our brightest moments.
Pain tinged Ladon’s voice when he spoke. “It brought me back to that first day in Murvort—the hedge maze. Do you remember?”
I wished I didn’t. I remembered waking up in a fog-filled path lined with hedges. We ran from the beasts that chased us, but ultimately they won.
“I thought you were going to die in my arms that day,” he continued. “You were in so much pain, and I could see the life fading from you.”
I’d never asked what that was like for him. I remembered the pain of the venom from Reyna’s snake, Vessina. The excruciating fire that ran through my body when her fangs sank into my skin. But everything after was hazy—I never asked what happened next.
“I swore I’d do anything to protect you,” Ladon said softly. “To save you.”
I didn’t have to ask why. He might’ve hated me back then, but Ladon had never been a monster. He was heroic even when he didn’t set out to be. It was in his nature.
“The amount of relief I felt when Reyna threw me that antidote… It was indescribable. Half of me wondered if it would even work, but I had no choice. You were seconds away from death, and I had no other options.”
Something flickered in the back of my mind, like a long-lost memory trying to break through. “I was unconscious.”
Ladon nodded. “That’s right. You were barely hanging on.”
“I was unconscious,” I said again, a little louder and with more resolve. “Ladon, I was poisoned but still alive.”
Just like Cyrus. It couldn’t be a coincidence. How many varieties of poison did she have that resulted in the same condition?
“Yes,” he said slowly, staring at me like I was about to have another breakdown. He hadn’t made the same connection I did.
“Don’t you see? I was unconscious. Cyrus is unconscious. Cyrus has been poisoned with Vessina’s venom.”