Chapter Fifteen
Ladon
After another day of travel, we made it back to Fort Malek, where Bianca, Aven, and Mira took their leave. We devoured a quick meal before setting off again, this time on our way back to Renoa. Thankfully, we had our horses again, so our two prisoners didn’t slow us down with their shuffling.
I’d half-expected them to make some sort of plea by now, but they still hadn’t made a peep. I didn’t think they’d be stupid enough to try anything while surrounded by enemies, but just in case, I kept them separated and on a short leash.
The weather was unkind to us, as it rained the entire trip from Fort Malek to Renoa. By the time we made it home, we were all miserable and tired.
Nighttime had fallen over the city, but a string of lamps lit the entrance to the castle where two figures waited for us. Though I could only make out their silhouettes, it wasn’t hard to guess who they were. The larger one was Hudson, and the smaller frame belonged to my mother.
She stood quietly as I climbed the handful of steps that led to the front door, and I could tell she was still unhappy with me for traveling to Murvort against her wishes. But I’d made it in and out safely, and I was home again.
“Mother, I’m—”
I was interrupted as she threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly. She shuddered, and it only took a moment to realize she was sobbing.
I gently grabbed her shoulders and pulled back. “Why are you crying? I’m fine, Mother. Look—I’m safe.”
She sniffed and wiped away her tears, but the agony on her face still broke me into a million tiny pieces. I pulled her in for another hug, and she slumped against me.
I craned my neck to peek over my shoulder, silently encouraging the others to disperse.
Aside from those handling the two prisoners, the rest were no longer needed and could enjoy a nice break and a handsome reward for their service on this mission, even if most of them hadn’t ventured past Fort Malek.
The only two that remained were Emilie and Jade, who had the decency to look around at the gardens surrounding the castle rather than my mother and me.
“Hudson, can you find Jade a room? She will be staying with us for a while.”
He nodded and offered to take Jade’s belongings, but she declined, hugging them closer instead. They disappeared through the door, and my mother finally pulled herself together. Then she caught Emilie off guard, giving her a hug as well.
Emilie blinked a few times before embracing my mother. “Sophia, it’s all right.” She looked at me, baffled at my mother’s meltdown. I didn’t know what to say either. I’d never seen my mother behave in such a way. Even when my father died, she kept it together for my sake and Cyrus’s.
My mother finally released Emilie and blew her nose into a handkerchief. “I’m sorry. I know I’m a mess.”
She wasn’t slurring her words, so I knew she hadn’t been drinking. At least not enough for it to be the cause of her meltdown.
I suddenly became anxious. “Is everything okay? What happened while we were gone? Is Cyrus—”
“No, no,” she said. “He’s fine… or he’s the same, I guess. I was just so scared that you wouldn’t come back. It took me back to that day when they broke the news that you’d been taken, and then I didn’t see you for months. Do you know what that was like?”
Tears filled her eyes again, and I felt horrible for putting her through this.
She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m rambling on about how awful it was for me, and I know it was even worse for the two of you.” My eyes found Emilie at the casual mention of our trauma, but she kept a calm composure, listening attentively to my mother. “I’m just so…”
“Scared?” I suggested, and she nodded her confirmation, tears spilling over again.
I sighed and reached for her hands. “You can’t live like this—in fear of the worst that could happen. Emilie and I won’t live like that, and you don’t need to either. And we brought good news.”
She perked up a little, and her eyes bounced back and forth between Emilie and me.
“We've got the venom we need to revive Cyrus. We’re going to get him back. Marco has orders not to rest until he’s discovered the exact recipe for the antidote.”
My mother didn’t immediately rejoice, and I didn’t expect her to.
It wasn’t in her nature to celebrate prematurely.
She had every reason to be cautiously optimistic, and she had just shown how much this had all been affecting her on the inside.
It was okay, though. She didn’t need to have blind faith. I would prove it to her.
“Let’s get to bed,” I said, waving to the door. “It’s been a long day, and we’re all tired. Now that you’ve seen me, you can sleep in peace.”
She allowed me to guide her inside, and Emilie followed. Before she headed off toward her bedroom, she turned to me one more time and kissed my cheek. “I’m so glad you’re safe, sweetheart. And you too, Emilie. This home wouldn’t be the same without you.”
Emilie’s brows rose, and she managed to squeak out a “thanks.”
Once my mother was out of earshot, she murmured, “I thought she hated me.”
“She doesn’t hate you. My mother is incapable of hating anyone.”
“But she was so upset about us. And Cyrus and me.”
I clenched my jaw at the use of her and Cyrus in the same sentence. It was a natural reflex at this point, always followed by a wave of guilt that I was so agitated by his engagement to her when he didn’t even have a clue about our feelings for each other.
“She’s protective of my brother, as am I. But she knows you’re not in love with him. And she knows that I’m in love with you. It’s complicated, Emilie. Try not to worry about it. Everything will work itself out once Cyrus is awake.”
She stopped outside her door and turned to me with a beaming, flirtatious smile.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re in love with me.”
I huffed a laugh. “That’s not a secret, princess.”
“I know. But I like hearing you say it anyway.”
“If I say it again, can I kiss you goodnight?”
She bit her bottom lip, eyes flicking to either end of the hall. We were completely alone. “Perhaps.”
“Emilie Duval, I’m inescapably in love with you. You’re in my veins.” I moved closer until her back was pressed against the wall and a tiny gasp escaped her lips. “My heart beats only for you.”
Her hands roamed over my chest and found their resting place near my hips. I meant every word I said. Without her, I was certain my life would cease to exist. Even pretending not to be in love with her was slowly killing me.
“How about it, princess? Can I get that kiss?”
I cupped her cheeks and tilted her head up, closing in on her lips until there was just a paper-thin space between us. We teetered on the edge, waiting to see who would cave first. Who would give in to temptation first.
But we were playing by Emilie’s rules. She was the one who created this boundary between us, and she would be the one to cross it. I might tease and taunt my way along the line, but she had to be the one to step over it.
When she did… Fuck, it was ecstasy. Like I’d been going through withdrawal and didn’t realize it until I got another dose. It hadn’t been that long, but I couldn’t get enough of the way her soft lips melted into mine. The way she tasted like sin and salvation. I craved her.
I pressed harder against her, my hips rolling as I hitched one of her legs up to my side. She moaned, and I devoured that too. My fingers wandered across her body and cupped her breast over her clothes.
That seemed to snap her out of it. She separated her lips from mine, breathing heavily. Her eyes were filled with desire and an unquenchable longing. I don’t know how she managed to stay in control while I was unravelling right before her. How could she resist when I had never felt weaker?
I dropped her leg and reluctantly allowed her to slip from my grasp. Before she closed the door to her room, she smiled and said, “Goodnight, Ladon. I’ll see you in the morning.”
That night, my reason for being unable to sleep was much different than the typical one. Instead of being plagued by nightmares, I was too fixated on the coming days—being able to hold Emilie, to touch her and kiss her freely. I was too excited to sleep.
But tomorrow was a big day. There were two prisoners being held in the dungeons, and I needed to have a word with them.
I still wasn’t sold on bringing Emilie into the interrogation.
Even if she had survived Reyna’s torture, it hadn’t been her choice.
There were some things that no one should ever have to see or do in their lifetime, and that included violent methods of extracting information.
I wanted to keep her out of it as much as possible.
I went for my morning jog and skipped breakfast. It was better to head into the dungeons on an empty stomach, just in case things got grisly. Nausea wasn’t very intimidating.
The corridor leading to the dungeons wasn’t used much since it only led to one destination.
It was dimly lit and smelled faintly of rain and rust the further I went.
At the end of the hall, two guards stood on either side of a weathered iron door.
Once they noticed my approach, the one on the right pulled out a key and unlocked the dungeon door.
“Thank you,” I said, slipping inside.
The mage lights inside the dungeons were few and far between. I was sure it had something to do with sensory deprivation, but I hated that I had to pause for my eyes to adjust. It left me feeling vulnerable; the prisoners down here could see me while I couldn’t see them, even if just for a moment.
Once the room materialized, I spotted Clarise and Zayn.
It wasn’t difficult since the other cells had been emptied of the war prisoners while I was gone.
Xavier had been quick to dispose of them, as he’d promised.
I hoped these two would have more answers than the others.
They certainly were closer to Reyna—close enough to know her whereabouts.