Chapter 49 Control
CONTROL
EZRA
Sparkling amber light from crystal chandeliers along the palace hallway created a pins-and-needles sensation behind my eyes, while the marble floor amplified my footsteps and heightened my discomfort.
Only the perfume from lavish rose bouquets in golden vases along the walls soothed my condition, stopping me from devising an excuse to avoid the lunch meeting with my mother when I arrived hours ago.
At least she wanted me to join her in the garden.
Plum trees and rose bushes brought from Earth surrounded the garden furniture where we ate, while I fielded her questions about my time there.
She wanted to know about the human who captured us, but I couldn’t bring myself to provide additional details that the council didn’t already know.
I wouldn’t tell her the scent of the garden reminded me of the human.
I wouldn’t tell her I’d begun to doubt the triplets’ claim that the human used illusion magic.
I wouldn’t tell anyone about my doubts.
Would I remain silent while the human died at Father’s hands tomorrow? I needed to, for the sake of my family.
The human? I couldn’t even bring myself to think of her name.
Father’s wrath would destroy Ash, Zeke, and Cyn if I defied him for a human—even if she were my Nyrith. That alone kept me from entertaining the doubt creeping through the back of my mind like a wayward specter.
“—adverse reactions to the environment. While not thriving, the human still lives.”
I paused, stepping back into an alcove near the doorway where Ranthus’s voice carried. I couldn’t risk him noticing me.
“Her health matters not,” Father said, boredom infusing his tone. “She will be part of Kalthea this time tomorrow.”
“Master, if she’s able to survive in Cholian, shouldn’t we assess her chances in Elyrdin?”
“What purpose would that serve?”
“It may be the only opportunity we have to know.”
“We have no reason to allow a human into the city.” Father’s sharp voice pierced my skull like an ice pick.
What was Ranthus plotting?
For once, I agreed with Father. A human’s survival in Elyrdin meant nothing. Once dead, their only worth to our city lay in their souls. The living offered no benefit to Elyrdin—or any other part of Niemna.
“What if she is truly their Nyrith?”
“Are you proposing that her actions were not deceptive, and that a human could be the sole mate for not one, not two, but four Elyrdin heirs?” An unspoken threat resonated in Father’s voice before it turned dismissive.
“It is impossible for a Shyrlivi to take four mates. Why would you think a human is an exception to the rule? With council heirs, no less.”
A throbbing pain pulsed behind my eyes, and I couldn’t figure out why.
“No, Master. I’m merely curious why a human would go to such lengths to manipulate the princes when she seemed to know nothing of our kind.”
“Explain.”
“In the reports from the princes—”
“I know what the documents say,” Father spat. “I witnessed their debriefing.”
“My apologies, Master.” Ranthus cleared his throat. “Each time I visit the human, I try to learn what she knows. Her story corroborates theirs. Her ignorance seems sincere.”
“Has the human gotten to you too, Ranthus?”
“We’ve reinforced the area with wards,” Ranthus said, voice steady. Lesser men would’ve cracked under Father’s menacing tone. “If any magic she used to manipulate the princes survived crossing into Cholian, the wards prevent her from accessing it.”
“While I’m sure she would provide an interesting study, we can’t risk bringing her into Elyrdin,” Father said, sounding dismissive again. “The decision to execute her stands. It is imperative that she be kept away from the princes. I will not risk their well-being.”
It almost surprised me that Father continued to feign concern for us, even with his senior advisor. His only interest lay in what we could offer him. I doubted the man was capable of genuine love.
“We must make an example of her,” he declared, volume rising with every word. “Punish her for daring to go against our people—their royal family.”
He displayed a penchant for theatrics whenever he embodied Elyrdin’s powerful leader. It wasn’t difficult to picture him pacing and gesturing broadly as he delivered his speech.
“Someone helped her summon them,” he continued. “I’m sure of it. It is imperative that we send a message. We will uncover those who assisted her in these treasonous actions, and they will meet their end. If we don’t, our people will question our leadership. Is that something you wish for, Ranthus?”
“No, Master.”
“Of course not. If our people revolt, the council falls, and the cushy life you know ceases.” He snorted in derision.
“I won’t accept such a fate. From this point forward, you will attend to her needs exclusively until the execution.
If someone in the palace helped her summon the princes, I can’t risk them aiding her escape from Cholian.
She can’t get near my son or the other princes again. ”
I pressed myself deeper into the alcove as footsteps neared the doorway.
I didn’t trust my shadows to conceal me while I was this unstable.
They wouldn’t hesitate to attack Father, reacting to my contempt for him.
“I will continue to get whatever information I can from her, but she doesn’t trust me,” Ranthus said, exiting into the hall.
“It doesn’t matter anymore. Come tomorrow, we’ll be rid of her and can move forward with finding her accomplice.” Father stopped mere feet from me. “My son will follow my rule, Ranthus. I trust you agree that protecting his mind from corruption is paramount.”
“Of course, Master.”
Father put his hand on Ranthus’s shoulder. “Then I trust you will help me eliminate all obstacles, even if that means his destined Nyrith.”
My body tensed when Ranthus’s eyes widened at Father’s words.
Father’s willingness to eliminate my mate if she threatened my planned future shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did.
Until now, I’d believed he’d try to control my mate like he did my brothers and me, but facing the reality… it seemed foolish to believe he possessed even a modicum of morality, or that something as sacred as Fate’s gift would ever be safe from his hunger for power.
Although I struggled to accept the human as my mate, I understood now that Father would approach the situation with nothing but enmity. His desire to mold me into the perfect puppet far outweighed reason.
Entering the house, I found my brothers sprawled across the three-sided sofa in the center of our living room.
Ash turned off the massive flat screen on the wall and looked at me. “How’d it go with your mom?”
I pulled off my ankle boots, setting them by the entrance before stepping down into the conversation pit. “Not as uncomfortable as I expected. She wanted to know about the human.”
“Raelynn,” Zeke mumbled from the corner of the sofa, buried in throw pillows and a blanket. He’d gotten worse, but refused to visit the palace infirmary.
Cyn had attempted to persuade him to go, but when Zeke insisted he come too, Cyn dropped it.
Cyn despised physical evaluations, allowing touch only if it served his interests. Our accelerated healing let us overlook his aversion before now, but like the rest of us, his condition had declined steadily since we returned from Earth.
“Right. Raelynn.” I’d said her name before, but now that we were home, I refused to speak—or even think—it. I opted to ignore the possible explanations and sank into the cushion across from Cyn and Zeke.
“What did she want to know?” Ash propped his elbow on the pillows beside him, watching me. I knew he saw the dark circles under my eyes and the sheen of sweat on my skin.
“She thought there might have been more information to share.”
Ash nodded. “Did you tell her about our visit?”
He understood as well as I did that Mother expected omissions from our report. No one told Father everything.
I shook my head. “I told her there wasn’t anything else to tell. What happened on Earth isn’t relevant anymore.”
Before we stood before the council, Father had us write a report, so there wasn’t much left to say.
Our written reports were brief. We explained that we were home one moment and in the human’s home the next, and that she seemed genuinely unaware of how we got there—or who we were.
We told them about the tome—presented by Ranthus to the council before the meeting—which sparked uproar. None of them could explain how something from the infernal plane reached Earth without aid from this side. Still, no one knew its true origin.
We all agreed to omit our personal experiences with the human. They didn’t need to know how deeply she’d sunk her claws into us while we were there. They’d execute her without knowing half of what she’d done to our minds and bodies. The details weren’t necessary.
Before our meeting, Father asked about the claims made before the triplets, and I confirmed what her boss told us.
It pleased Father to hear I’d destroyed him for escaping the infernal plane.
I omitted that it wasn’t a deliberate action—that my shadows had moved independently, protecting her before I realized it.
Father didn’t need an additional reason to focus on her—or lock me away if he thought I lacked control over my shadows.
I smoothed my sweaty hand over my slacks and looked at my brothers.
Cyn and Zeke spoke in low voices, while Ash looked seconds away from falling asleep. He’d slept more often than not since we returned.
I cleared my throat. “I overheard Father and Ranthus talking about the hu—Raelynn.”
Zeke popped up, blanket pooling at his waist. “Is she okay?”
Cyn groaned and dropped his head against the back of the sofa.
“I missed most of what they said about her, but it seems her body is compatible with Cholian’s atmosphere—though it sounded like she wasn’t well.”
Ash sat forward, elbows on his knees. “Do you mean she’s sick?”
“I’m not sure. Leaving her in a cage for days can’t be good for her, no matter the environment.”
Ash nodded as if he understood, then asked, “What else?”
I told them what I’d overheard, and how Father couldn’t look past his obsession with a perfect reign to consider our prosperity—or at least mine.
“He’s going to kill her just to keep us away from her?” Zeke grasped the covers, his already pallid skin paling further.
“I suspect he would, whether she had something to do with our summoning or not. He’ll do whatever keeps his control over us. I think he suspects an attachment to her. Mother said as much.”
Cyn scoffed. “Speak for yourselves. I wish everyone would stop talking about her.”
“Shut up,” Ash said, rubbing his eyes. “We know how you claim to feel about her. But you know there’s something there. I can’t ignore it.”
I sighed, admitting something I’d held onto since we left Earth. “When the triplets first arrived, I used their distraction to give Raelynn pants to put on over her shorts.”
“Why?”
I looked at Ash. “The mark. You know as well as I do that if they saw her leg, she’d already be dead.”
Though, if they intended to execute her, why did I prolong the inevitable?
“I didn’t even notice her clothes changed,” Zeke mumbled.
“That was the point.” I focused on the balcony overlooking the living room, refusing to think about tomorrow. “I don’t know why I did it. I only know that I needed to.”
“Because you’re not sure, either,” Ash said with conviction. “I can’t dismiss it, no matter how many times I try to let it go. She’s surviving in our world, Ezra. Shouldn’t that mean something?”
“This is bullshit,” Cyn spat, jumping off the sofa to pace behind it on the raised floor around the conversation pit.
I curled my fingers over the sofa’s armrest as pressure built behind my eyes, my headache returning.
Setting aside the woman’s humanity, I’d never imagined having to share my Nyrith. I dreaded the day as much as I desired it, and I’d hoped Fate wouldn’t bind me—or her—to another.
I wondered if I could share.
The only one who didn’t inspire unease at the thought of sharing my Nyrith mate was Ash. My brother. My best friend.
Not that I didn’t see Zeke and Cyn as my brothers. They simply didn’t understand me the way Ash did.
Ash would let me explore my unique needs while ensuring I never crossed the line.
If anyone could handle all of me, it’d be my Nyrith.
I indulged in natural pleasures like everyone else, keeping my control tight, afraid of what might happen if I loosened my iron grip on my shadows. I didn’t want to kill my bedmate.
But my shadows? They sought only to destroy.
“I can’t do this,” Cyn said, cutting through my increasingly dark thoughts before fleeing upstairs.
I didn’t want to entertain Ash’s line of thinking, either.
And yet, something deep inside burned, low and relentless, urging me to find a way into Cholian and stop Father’s plans before it was too late.