34. Chapter Thirty-Four Rhea
Chapter Thirty-Four: Rhea
B oots tap against the wood floors, the sound getting closer and closer. I try to move my body—my legs or arms or anything— but pain singes my nerves, causing me to groan. Panic then pierces my gut. What if I slept through our escape plan? What if I slept for days and now the king is here to get me? To force me to marry him in some sick, desperate attempt to recreate what he never had with my mother? To force me to bed him? When hands grip my shoulders, I scream out—my vision blurring and head aching.
“It’s okay, Sunshine. It’s just me.” I know his voice, but what if it’s an illusion? Or a terrible mixture of dream and consciousness? I have to fight and get away. I need to leave now before it’s too late. A sob leaves me, broken and full of despair. It isn’t until his arms wrap around me, pulling me carefully to my knees, that I let myself calm. He cradles me, my head laying against his chest as I breathe in the crisp scent of autumn and relax in the safety of his touch.
“Flynn?”
“It’s me. I’m here,” he repeats, cradling my body to his. “Did he do this to you?”
I don’t answer, words beyond me as a slight tingling sensation prickles my back, but he knows. He knows only one person could be responsible for this. His arms band tighter around me like he can absorb the pain radiating through my body into his own.
“Never again,” he whispers into my ear as his hand strokes soothing lines down my back. “I swear to you that he will never touch you again. I will fucking kill him before that happens. I don’t care if this kingdom falls because of it.” Leaning back, he wipes the tears from my cheeks and kisses my forehead, lingering there as he holds me. Invisible tethers draw me closer to him, forcing me to take the support he so selflessly offers. His deep voice is a melody of vengeance and retribution as he makes a vow to me that feels inked in blood. “His head will roll for what he’s done to you.” I stiffen, feeling the truth of those words settle into my bones. The warmth of my magic focuses on my chest, healing what must have been a bruised or broken rib. I realize I have never really felt myself healing like this before.
“What time is it?” I grunt out, my hands going to his shoulders for support.
“Nearly sunset. I would say we should wait another day for you to—” He pauses, closing his eyes before continuing, “heal, but I don’t want to spend another second in this kingdom.” I take in the lines of his face, the tension and anger held in his eyebrows and jaw. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here,” he rasps, laying his self-imposed guilt out before me. And it hurts more than any time the king has placed a hand on me.
I wrap my arms around his neck, my fingers diving into his hair. “You’re here now,” I whisper, scraping my nails lightly on his scalp and melting at the way he embraces me tighter in response. Kneeling, we hold each other, the last of the sun’s golden rays blanketing us in its light. “And I’m okay. With you, I am better than okay.” My lips graze his jaw as I place a delicate kiss there.
It’s strange but exhilarating to be able to touch him in this way. It’s the most natural feeling in the world, and yet I can’t believe I get to do it. Everything around us feels momentarily still, a pocket of quiet where we simply hold each other. Months of near-touches and glances and fluttering heartbeats all led to here and now.
“Then lets get the fuck out of here,” Flynn states after a few moments, breaking the silence.
I inhale deeply, my nose grazing the base of his neck before he slowly untangles us and helps me up to a stand. I stretch and wince from the tightness in my body, but all the pain is now gone. “I’m alright,” I insist, noting the creasing of his forehead. “I just need to change.”
I take the steps up to the loft, grabbing my change of clothes. Once dressed again in trousers and Alexi’s undershirt, I pull my hair into a ponytail and secure it with a ribbon. Walking over to my vanity, I open the drawer and pull out the little black pouch holding Alanna’s bracelet. I clasp it on, smiling faintly at the small comfort it brings before placing the now-empty pouch back in the drawer.
“I’ve never heard you curse so much,” I muse as I join him back downstairs, hoping to ease some of the tightness that still lines his face.
“I’m sorry, Sunshine,” he says lightly. My heart beats in my throat when he kneels before me. I notice that he has his sword in a sheath now placed across his back but his golden armor is gone. Instead he wears the usual all-black tunic, trousers, and boots.
“First, don’t be sorry. I like it,” I respond, without a second thought. His head snaps up to look at me in surprise. “Second, what are you doing?” I gesture to where he is before me.
“I’m helping you put on your boots. Put your hands on my shoulders,” he instructs. I do so, watching as he places one boot before me to step into, followed by the other. I notice immediately that they feel much more comfortable than the first time I wore them. When I express that to Flynn, he pinches his lips together, his shoulders shaking with laughter. “You probably had them on the wrong feet.”
I scowl at him and narrow my eyes. It just makes him laugh harder, and though it’s at my own expense, I’m grateful for the sound and the way the agitation eases out of him. We walk over to where I set the satchel in the library—a move I am grateful for since it concealed the bag from the king.
Flynn sighs as he walks in, looking at all the books that line the walls and saying wistfully, “It’s a shame that we didn’t get to spend more time here.”
I hum my agreement, stepping farther into the room and looking around. For years—decades—this room was my only escape. I was physically barred in and forced to remain here, but mentally, I was able to leave through the stories that these books provided. Over and over, I traveled to different realms and became different heroes and heroines, and had it not been for the words written on those pages, I might not be here at all. The tightness of my emotions grips around my throat as I try to swallow the feelings down. I reach my hand out for his, interlacing our fingers before taking one last glance at the shelves and walking to the door. Flynn slides the satchel over his shoulder, not at all affected by the weight of it like I was. It’s then that I notice he has another bag slung over the opposite shoulder.
“I never asked you, how did you acquire all those books anyway?” he questions.
I shrug, leaning into him. “I don’t know. According to Alexi, this tower was already built like this—books and all—when I was put here as a baby.”
He turns towards me, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. “I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” I say, tilting my head up to catch his dark gaze.
“But I was one of those people,” he mutters, guilt thick with every word. “I was one of the people who knew you were here and just assumed that the king wasn’t lying about why.” It’s quiet for a breath before he adds, “I meant what I said, you know.”
My brows draw together in confusion as I survey him, my body drawing closer to his and my magic humming its pleasure at our proximity. His kind eyes and luscious mouth and the way he feels under my hands— I clear my throat to stop that train of thought. “What part?”
“All of it,” he states, leaning down to kiss me. Even the gentlest of touches from him causes a wave of desire to completely consume me. I’m sure he is referencing how he promised to keep me safe and kill the king if need be, but all I can focus on is how he said that he wanted to explore every part of me. Gods, do I want to do the same with him. A wicked smirk tilts his lips as he leans in closer, my eyes closing on instinct. “I can tell what you are thinking, Sunshine,” he whispers. “And it’s going to distract me too much.” I smile, a shiver rolling though me as he kisses the shell of my ear before taking a step back and shouts, “Come on, Bella!”
Flynn opens the door and pulls me through, my world still unbelievably off its axis from his touch, his words, his mouth. Focus, Rhea. Despite moving down the stone steps quickly, it still feels like an eternity until we reach the small platform that leads out to the bridge. We stop, mostly because I need to catch my breath.
“I probably should have asked this earlier, but what is the plan?” I huff out, looking down at the few spirals of the stairs remaining until the bottom of the tower.
“We will head all the way down to the lowest level that opens out into the meadow,” Flynn answers, taking a deep breath of his own. “Then, all we have to do is cross the wildflowers and get to the forest.”
“And then we head east, to your home?”
“Is that where you want to go?” There’s apprehension in his voice as he studies me, his black waves tumbling over his forehead.
“Yes.” I exhale, examining him as I lay one of my own truths at his feet. “I want to be wherever you are.”
His answering smile is breathtaking—as always. He’s the manifestation of a dream I never knew I had. Perfection brought to life in the form of sweet smiles and gentle touches and kind words. There is only you. That’s what he said to me as we sat together in the sunlight surrounded by books. I thought men like him might only exist in the worlds I read about, but he’s real and he’s here… and I think he might be mine. And a growing part of me hopes that he realizes that all the shattered pieces of me are his. Only his.
“I swear to the gods, Rhea. You cannot look at me like that, or this trip is going to take twice as long,” he groans, his voice echoing in the stairwell of the tower.
“Why would the way I look at you make our trip longer?” He quirks a brow, that provocative grin growing. It takes an embarrassingly long time for me to understand what he’s referencing. “Oh. Oh, I—” I stammer, knowing that my cheeks are pinker than the sky at sunset.
Flynn laughs, leaning in to kiss the top of my head as Bella whines and works her way in between us. “Okay, okay. Bella’s right. We need to go.” Flynn holds my hand and guides me down the darkened steps until we finally reach the true bottom of the tower. “Remember, we run through the wildflowers and straight to the forest. Do not stop until we reach the trees.”
“Alright,” I say, fear and determination intermingling inside me. My magic begins humming more intensely, as if also showing its agreement with Flynn’s plan. Suddenly a deep moan startles me, my hand reaching out to grip Flynn’s forearm. “What was that?”
“Shit,” Flynn says with a sigh. The bottom of the tower is nearly pitch black, just a small amount of light shining in from a cutout above. He lets go of my hand and walks over to a darker corner of the space. I hear the sound of something dragging across the stones, and then a bloodied face comes into view.
“You left him down here?” I rasp, bringing my hands to my chest.
“I couldn’t exactly let him go.” He drops his hold on the guard—Xander—as he points out what should be obvious to me. His wrists and ankles are bound, and a piece of fabric that must be covering some sort of gag is tied across his mouth. “They’ll find him here, Rhea. I promise. But we have to go.”
I keep my eyes on Xander until Flynn steps into my line of sight. My head tilts up to meet his gaze, a slice of golden light illuminating just one eye and a part of his forehead.
“I know you don’t like leaving him here, but I need you to understand,” he says softly, a hand gently cupping the side of my face. His calloused palm lightly scrapes against the smoothness of my cheek, his thumb tracing my bottom lip. “When it comes to your safety, I don’t fucking care who is standing in my way. We are leaving this place behind, and no one—absolutely no one—will lock you up or force you to do anything you don’t want to do ever again. And he”—his voice rises as he points to the guard laying on the ground—“would turn us over to the king the moment he was free.”
My breath hitches, my hands somehow finding their way to Flynn’s tunic and gripping the front of it. His words press into me. They force their way into the space of my mind not already occupied by boxed-up emotions.
“Tell me you understand,” he demands.
All I can do is nod. Because while I do understand, I can’t help but feel like everyone who comes into contact with me—one way or another—gets hurt. And even though I don’t have fond feelings for this guard and I remember in excruciating detail how he held Alexi as he was killed, I don’t want to be the one responsible for causing his discomfort. But Flynn is right, we need to leave and this guard would stop that. “I understand,” I finally whisper.
Flynn drops his forehead to mine for just a moment before placing a kiss there and turning towards the door, Bella waiting behind us. With another deep breath, he pushes the door open and we move. Flynn is the first one through, my hand still firmly gripped in his. I see the flowers just ahead, beckoning us with each step we take to freedom, when Flynn suddenly tenses—his grip on my hand tightening. I don’t have any time to react as I see a flash of gold swing through the air.
In horror, I watch as a King’s Guardsman steps in front of me and drives his sword into Flynn’s torso, the force of it so strong that it spins Flynn around to face me. A blood-curdling scream cleaves through the air as the guard yanks the sword back out, crimson dripping from the blade. Time slows down as I witness Flynn drop to his knees, his hands immediately going to his stomach and putting pressure on the wound. He looks up at me—eyes widening as his face contorts in pain. Silence rings in my ears as we stare at each other and my world implodes around me, crushing me in its destruction. The warmth of my magic begins to rise inside of me, but so does that primitive, lingering darkness. They twist and coil together, and I start to call on it so that I can heal him when I notice peripheral gold glints on both sides, temporarily distracting me. Flynn throws a bloody hand out to me right as a strong arm wraps around my waist and yanks me back into something hard.
“Going somewhere, my darling?” His rough voice scratches down my spine, but I keep my eyes pinned on Flynn.
He’s bent over his knees, holding his wound, and his jaw is clenched in pain. Another scream leaves me as I struggle to get away from King Dolian, but his arms just band tighter around my waist. Two guards flank Flynn on either side, their swords drawn—but only one dripping blood. We were so close to the meadow; just a few more steps and we would have been encased in flowers of all colors. Just a few more steps.
“Well, isn’t this interesting ,” King Dolian declares, holding me tightly to him as I watch Flynn lift his head.
Flynn’s slate eyes, usually bright and full of personality, look a little duller as he clutches his hands to his stomach. Blood begins to pool around him, staining the bright green of the wet marsh grass that ominous deep red. His gaze holds mine, but there is no fear there. No, the emotion in Flynn’s eyes reminds me of the calm look Alexi had on his face right before the king drove a sword through his body. And that is so much worse because I don’t want Flynn to accept this fate.
“Did you really think that you could leave me?” the king whispers in my ear.
I try to cringe away from the feeling of him pressed so intimately behind me, but no matter how I move, he doesn’t ease up his hold on me.
“Do you want to know how I thought I might find you two here?” he taunts, speaking loud enough for Flynn to hear. “I learned my lesson with Alexi and made sure there was always a second pair of eyes on your guard.” He gestures to Flynn with his chin and I watch as Flynn stills and flicks his eyes to the king’s. “And imagine my surprise when I caught him leaving his post earlier today after my little visit with you.” He drags his fingers down the side of my cheek until they reach my neck. They halt there, right over my racing pulse.
The sun’s light is nearly gone, the moon not quite risen, but even with the impending darkness, my eyes are still drawn to Flynn’s. I’ve always been drawn to him. From the first time I met him—scared and reeling after losing Alexi—he has never made me feel afraid or unwanted. He has always soothed me in ways that I never understood but intimately craved. And I know without a shadow of a doubt that if I watch him die, I won’t survive it either. He brought me out of my loneliness and anguish and showed me what it was like to feel cared for, cherished. Though parts of me are still jagged and broken and I know I can never again feel true peace, I could have gotten close being with Flynn. I thought we would have that time together to try—to try finding our own version of happiness.
“Rhea, it’s okay,” he whispers, looking up at me with those gorgeous dark eyes. Trying to soothe me even now. But it’s not okay. I’m not okay.
“Guards, seize him,” the king says in a harsh voice. He’s more than willing to kill Flynn in front of me to prove a point. I watch as two of the guards remove both of the satchels and his sword from him, tossing them to the ground. They stand on either side of Flynn and grab his arms firmly. He doesn’t fight them as they jerk him to his knees. His wavy black hair is disheveled, those unruly strands dangling over his forehead in rebellion. I hate the way the guards are touching him, like he’s nothing to them when he’s everything to me.
“No!” I scream, fighting with everything that I am to get out of King Dolian’s grasp. To get to the man kneeling in front of me bleeding out. I can save him. I can save him. My mind taunts me with those four words, because while I can save him, I need to be able to touch him to do so.
“It’s going to be okay. Rhea, look at me.”
My eyes scan him in a frenzy, but I can’t focus. My blood pounds in my ears, and all I can picture is Alexi’s cold, dead body in my lap. All I can see are his lifeless eyes. All I can feel is his blood going cold and thickening on my hands. I can’t do it again. I can’t. I can’t.
“A traitor and a liar,” King Dolian growls.
“Sunshine, I promise you that we are going to get out of this. Keep your eyes on me.” Flynn’s voice is steady, even as a guard kicks him brutally in the side to get him to stop talking.
I jerk against my uncle as Flynn growls, trying to hunch over but unable to because of the guards’ hold. It’s all so reminiscent of how Alexi died. It’s history repeating itself, and I’m at the center of it all. Again. The king wraps his arms around me so tightly that I can’t breathe—the heat from his body causing my own to revolt. Tears cloud my vision as I kick and scream.
“Another death to add to your collection, my darling. You and I might not be as different as you like to believe.” His lips graze my shoulder as he inhales deeply, his beard tickling my skin when he moves closer to my neck.
I still—my fight temporarily leaving me because what if he’s right ? Even if we somehow escape, Flynn will never be safe as long as I’m with him. And if he brings me back to his family? They’ll be in danger too. A new idea forms in my mind, my heart beating furiously as I do the one thing that will damn me but save him.
“You will die for touching her,” Flynn vows, jaw clenched in anger.
“It is not I who will die on this day.” The king chuckles darkly as he speaks, his breath cascading down my ear and cheek. His hand wraps around my chin as he jerks my gaze away from Flynn and towards him.
“What about a deal?” I beg, staring into his unforgiving hazel eyes. They narrow as he tilts his head to the side, his chestnut hair staying perfectly coiffed with the movement. Even in the face of chaos, he is regal and poised. “I want to make a deal for his life,” I repeat.
“Go on,” King Dolian answers, his fingers still abusively gripping my face.
Flynn starts to protest, calling out my name, but I block him out as I seal my fate. “I will go with you willingly. I will marry you and do so without any sort of fight. I will—” I swallow, fear clenching my throat like a tightened necklace, but I force out the next words even though it’s the final drive of a dagger into my soul. “I will serve you in any way you’d like, but you must let Flynn go. You must let him leave and go home to his family.”
“Rhea, no,” Flynn growls, but I keep my gaze on the monster holding me hostage. I said I would rather die than let him touch me in that way, and I meant it. But for Flynn—for him—I would sacrifice everything. Even the last broken piece of my heart. It wasn’t mine anymore anyways—it was his. So for him, I will do whatever it takes.
“Please,” I beg while a tear rolls down my cheek. A King’s Guardsman stands behind my uncle, his hand drawing my attention when he moves to grab his sword.
“You must care about him,” King Dolian sneers as my eyes go back to his.
Immediately, I know I’ve made a mistake. Knowing I care about Flynn is a weakness to him—for him to use against me. Oh gods, what have I done ?
“Rhea, you must believe I am the type of man willing to bargain. A man willing to make deals for traitors who believe that they can have what is mine. What has always been mine.” He leans in even closer, his breath tickling my lips. “I will kill him because I want to. I will marry you because I want to. Those things are a mere truth because I am the king, and therefore, I can do what I please,” he rumbles, moving closer until our noses touch. “I can also bed whom I please.” Without warning, his lips push down on mine, the act causing bile to rise and my blood to boil. “Kill him,” he says against me, his gaze penetrating mine before he lets go of my chin and I swing my head back to Flynn.
A desperate sob breaks out of me as I watch one of the guards begin to lift his weapon, the other two tightening their grip on his arms—keeping him from escaping.
In the darkness of the fallen night, with only the silvery light of the moon and stars, I see the gold sword draw back. Shadows drift around us in the pockets of pitch black, lapping around the guards’ ankles and Flynn’s knees. My eyes connect with his—always with his. I swear he glows like a midnight flame, the only thing in focus when the rest of the torturous world is blurred out. Words dangle on the tip of my tongue, but my mouth is frozen in shock. My breath squeezes out of me as I prepare to watch another person who truly saw me and did not back away die. Because of me.