Chapter 21 #3
Unfortunately, when you take a life at such a young age, your brain seems to stitch every second of that moment in your cells forever.
I could still smell the burnt zucchini casserole Heather had made that night, the last straw for her husband before he took the sizzling casserole dish and used it as a weapon against his wife.
I could still remember the sound of Audrey and me running downstairs with heavy footfalls.
Audrey with the landline to her ear as she called 911.
The operator who paused her instructions for Audrey when she heard Heather’s screams.
I still remember something cold and numb settling in my chest, watching him swing the casserole dish across Heather’s face and knocking her unconscious.
How he didn’t want to stop. He marched toward her still body, his fists tight.
How I jumped on his back, determined to stop him from hurting her more.
I knew, deep in my gut, at the ripe age of fifteen years old, that he was going to kill her that night.
He threw me off, making me fall into the cabinets near the stove. He made sure to kick his unconscious wife in the ribs before he stalked toward me with a drunken, maniacal look in his eye. Then Audrey tried to stop him by throwing the landline at his head.
When he turned to advance toward her, wrapping both of his large hands around Audrey’s throat, something in me snapped.
A darkness crawled over my skin, the adrenaline buzzing in my ears went silent except for a sharp ring resembling a high C, and I pulled open a kitchen drawer to grab Heather’s chef knife.
The soft sound the blade made as it pierced his skin and entered his throat.
I was worried for a moment that I had pushed the knife too far, that I might accidentally hit Audrey, but no.
Her horrified hazel eyes were just staring at the tip of the blade as it exited the front of his jugular.
The sounds of him gasping, struggling to comprehend what had happened to him as he dropped his hold on Audrey to grasp his throat, brought me relief.
The cries and screams he made when I kept stabbing him. Over and over and over again. Determined to get him to stop screaming. To silence him once and for all.
Audrey and I dragged Heather out of the house, who was starting to stir but was still very disoriented.
“You killed him,” Audrey kept saying, going into shock as bruises formed around her neck.
“You killed him, Van.” And I had no regrets.
As Audrey attempted to soothe Heather, I went back into the house.
I didn’t bother looking at the bloody, mangled body of my old foster father.
Instead, I flipped on the gas on the stove and reached inside the kitchen drawer to find a box of matches.
The house was completely engulfed in flames by the time my foster father’s colleagues showed up in their police cars, and paramedics were treating Heather and Audrey.
I spent the next year homeschooled, on a special type of house arrest, complete with daily visitations from child mental health professionals.
An alternative to juvenile detention that a talented lawyer fought for.
Heather fought to keep us, and we begged the state to stay with Heather until we turned eighteen.
She felt responsible for us, and the guilt of what her deceased spouse did to us ate at her day by day.
When we graduated from high school, we told her she needed to leave.
To start a new life. To go where the memories of that man wouldn’t be able to haunt her every day.
She only waited a week more before leaving the country. Then Audrey and I moved into our first dorm together at college. Thoroughly trauma bonded.
“Van.” Audrey’s voice snapped me back into the present. Inside the depths of the Fjellenheim Mountains. “What you did was forced upon you. You had no choice. He would have—he would have killed—”
“So, you get it, then,” I interrupted her, gesturing toward the children on the other side of the door. “You get that, because we know what Ilia is going to do, that we have no other choice here.”
Audrey’s lip quivered. Silent tears started to pour from her eyes.
“…I hate this…” Audrey whimpered. “To take a life is so—so—”
“Necessary,” Sergei said. “Ilia thinks that upholding the law and ridding Hyvenmere of any whismerric sirens is his duty as both the Chosen One and the Guardian of the Fjellenheim Mountains. He fears retribution from ancient gods and goddesses if he doesn’t maintain, what he believes, is necessary to uphold peace in the realm. ”
I loved her. Audrey was my best friend. The closest thing to a sister I’d ever have. But I was grateful to Sergei for gently giving her a wake-up call. If what Sergei said was true, Ilia was no more than a delusional religious extremist. Unable to be reasoned with, held back by his own pride.
“I hate this,” Audrey groaned, the weight of the issue settling on her shoulders.
“I promise you,” I told Audrey, “Those mothers out there, clutching their children, hate it more.” Hush nodded with agreement at my words, before sharing a look with Sergei that I couldn’t interpret.
Audrey gnawed on her bottom lip; her eyes locked on my shoes as she wrapped her head around the severity of the situation.
All three of us stared at her, waiting impatiently, based on the way Hush’s fingertips drummed on her bicep.
“I don’t understand,” Audrey finally whispered through an exhale. “Why can’t we take what we know to the fae? The nereids? Why can’t we unite the realm by working together to arrest Ilia, and send him to the Gravhune properly, instead of just killing him?”
“Because Ilia has blackmail on them, now,” Hush explained.
“It’s why we stole the journals. Ada doesn’t want her people to know that her parents killed Queen Astrid.
It would ruin the relationship she has with them, make people question her rule, and consider challenging her.
Additionally, during the night of Fergus’s party, Drustan and Caelena were able to grab ancient, illegal recipes for dark magic that would put the same distrust in the nereid kings and queens. ”
Audrey paled, her hazel eyes widening with each word Hush spoke.
“…That was how Ilia was going to get them to vote to close the Mellhawn Gates,” Audrey realized. “Just…blackmail. It’s so simple. So stupid.”
Hush hummed in agreement, “However, if we can convince the fae and nereids that Ilia needs to die, by helping them see the benefit of swiftly executing him, everyone would win. Because we need the fae and nereids to be in support of us when we do this.”
“How are you going to do it?” I asked her.
Hush sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her finger and thumb. “I’m not quite sure.”
“Wait.” Audrey sat up straighter. “If Ilia is, well, out of the picture…” The question didn’t need to get finished, because we all knew what she was asking.
“Prince Drustan will obviously take the throne,” Sergei replied.
I let out a laugh, but it wasn’t a humorous one. “He’ll love that.” The sarcasm in my voice was thick.
Hush gave me a funny look, a crinkle formed near her eyes, as if she was grinning at my retort. “You have a very accurate understanding of our prince.”
Audrey gave me a questioning look before speaking up, “Van has always been excellent at reading people.”
Hush lifted an eyebrow at Audrey, “And what does Van think about Prince Drustan?”
I popped my shoulders. “I think that he’ll reluctantly be king for a day before clawing his own eyes out. He’s not exactly looking for more responsibility.” Sergei released a low chuckle and shook his head, as if we were in on a secret.
“We still need the fae and nereids to understand what needs to happen, and what will happen after,” Sergei reminded us.
“I can talk to Liam and Ada.” Audrey nodded. She interlaced her fingers as she rested her elbows on her legs. “And once they’re on board, he’ll probably come with me to talk to Fergus and his parents.”
“We need to be expedient.” Hush leaned a hand on the desk and shifted her weight onto her hip.
“I’ve tried to throw Ilia and the guard off our scent for years, but they’re becoming more and more curious about these mountains.
I’ve already had to go on several patrols, finding reasons to lead my unit away from here. ”
Audrey nodded and pulled out her cell from this realm. “I can get in contact with Liam tonight.” Then she frowned, lifting the device in the air.
“You won’t have any signal for a fifteen-mile radius. The ancient magic of the mountains halts any signal from outside. Our electricity is produced from the water running through the aquifers underneath the mountains, making us completely off grid.” Sergei explained.
Audrey nodded. “Makes sense.”
“When do you think you’ll be back?” Hush asked, leaning her hip against the desk and crossing her arms.
Audrey tilted her head side to side before saying, “A day? Maybe two, depending on how it goes with the nereids. But they’ve felt a companionship with sirens better than the fae have. So hopefully Fergus can help us navigate the conversation sensitively with his parents, so it doesn’t go poorly.”
Hush nodded. “Alright.” Audrey stood, brushing her dark red hair behind her ears as we both walked toward the door. “What if Sergei goes with you?” Hush suggested.
I frowned. “No thanks.”
Sergei dared to look offended and asked, “Why not?”
“I’m still mad at you,” I explained.
Sergei looked confused, before it clicked for him, “Because of what happened on the boat?”
“Obviously. You and your buddy attacked me. I had nightmares about it,” I replied. Sergei shook his head at me.
“Leon is a sad excuse for a male,” he said. “We are not ‘buddies’ as you said.” I gave him a suspicious look, not budging on not inviting him with us.
“What if you go?” Audrey asked Hush. “Ada knows we have someone giving us information, acting as a double agent for Ilia. If you came with, it would make our case stronger.”
Hush considered, drumming her fingertips on the desktop.
“I’ll consider it as I walk you both out of here. Sergei, you will stay with the women and children, with the rest of your men.” Hush decided.
I laughed at him and gave him my middle finger. He smirked before murmuring, “I do apologize for terrorizing you that day. I hope you understand that I had no choice but to follow orders.”
He seemed so genuine, and all I felt like I could say in response was, “Thanks.”
Sergei dipped his chin at me before opening a side door hidden behind more maroon drapes, revealing another way out than the way we came.
“We must hurry,” Hush reiterated. “I don’t think Ilia is going to wait much longer before closing the gates or ordering more units to investigate this mountain.
” The worry in her voice cut through me, and admiration for everything Hush had accomplished while also successfully being a double agent made me wish I could be her when I grew up.
We exited the Fjellenheim Mountains in silence. I wondered if Hush was giving us time to process everything that was discussed in her office. Once we all stepped outside, I inhaled a deep breath of mountain air through my nose.
“This way,” Hush instructed. The two of us followed her, and after walking for twenty more minutes, Audrey finally spoke up.
I looked over at her, realizing that Audrey didn’t exactly look like a Chosen One destined to unite realms. She wore a hoodie, just like me.
Her hands were casually tucked into the pockets of it.
“We should go to Queen Ada first—”
Hush cursed and shoved both of us behind her, reaching for the blades strapped to her thighs.
“What is hap—” I didn’t need to finish asking my question, because in front of us, appearing at a speed I couldn’t catch with my human eyes, were five siren guards. In front of them stood Leon, with an excited grin that made my blood run cold.
“Well,” Leon chuckled to himself, rolling his wrist that carried a sword. “What do we have here?”