Chapter 14 #2
I can’t look away from his hands. They are so large that they shield my knees, curling around the sides.
“You’re asking me to show you my heart, to trust my brother’s memory with you, a stranger.
I don’t have one. The flesh your fingers press into,” I flex my leg, but he holds firm, “is more like leather: dead and dried out, forced to be molded and reused.”
Why did I tell him that?
“You have a heart. It’s so deeply buried, you’ve forgotten what the sun feels like. You’re scared of the warmth because you accepted the barren wastelands of the cold. I have fire magic. I control the heat, Selene. Unearth your emotions; step outside. I won’t let the world burn you.”
“What if you burn me?” What if you betray me and Everett?
“Don’t give me a reason to.”
That’s fair.
His grip tightens. “And as for your flesh…” My heart skips a beat. “It’s not dead, merely hardened. Do not hate it for that.”
My eyes flick up, holding his sincere stare.
“That thickness kept you alive.” His grin is gentle, revealing the tips of his fangs. He presses his thumb along the inner side of my knee. “With the right amount of pressure, you can soften hardness.”
My insides melt, then flutter to life. The sensation is so raw my next heartbeat fractures me.
I drag my knees up, scared they were about to part for him.
“You only say that because you need my help.” I hug my legs to my chest.
This means nothing; he’s using you just as every man has.
“I do need your help, but I want you as a friend.”
“Why?” My eyes follow his jaw to his full, firm lips.
“You were important to Everett, which makes you important to me. Also, I see my queen locked away, suffering. As your guard, I am duty-bound to keep you safe. From everyone.” He looks at me through hooded eyes.
“Do you understand what I’m saying, Selene?
Give me the order and I’ll free you from this castle. ”
“You would throw our people back into war. Break the peace treaty.”
His smirk is a pair of scissors, cutting the lies of the peace treaty loose.
“Peace? Peace isn’t silent. It’s agony—requiems cried and sung.
Peace is fury, forced to dissolve into resolve.
We live in times of silent sorrows, still caught in the clutches of war.
Peace has yet to begin, Selene. You’ll know when it does. ”
All my suffering has been for nothing. This marriage is a trick kings play so they can rebuild their armies. My eyes are dry. “How will I know?” I rasp. “I’ve never known peace, only the plots of war. What if it passes me by?”
“You’ll feel a wrath so parched, no amount of blood can quench it. So you’ll have no choice but to ignore it. Bury it just to start again. And pray that taste never bubbles up on your tongue.”
“That doesn’t sound peaceful.” Memories flood my eyes, and I turn my head swiftly so Titus can’t see more of my pain.
“Peace isn’t always idealistic—it’s raw. It’s grounded; stability. The ache of closure. Sometimes it hurts more than the war did. Hey, look at me. If you want to leave this castle, I will help you. I just… I need you to know that.”
“Why?”
He reaches up and rubs his chest. “I don’t like to see you suffering.”
Don’t look at me like that, Titus, like I’m a trophy you’d never place on your shelf, because a man like you has honor.
You don’t show off your kills; you melt them down and set them free. I can not be reforged. I am who this world has shaped me to be.
I peer out the window at the sunny day. “If freedom were my destiny, my brother would have granted it.” A strange current swirls around us, like fingers trying to shove us closer. “My place is here, helping you.”
“If helping me causes you pain, I will find another way.”
“I’m strong. I can survive.”
“I don’t doubt you are.” He looks around the room, taking in all the riches. “Do you love him?”
“It’s hard to love a boat with no anchor. Galen sails away after he makes port. I… tried for the sake of our people.”
“What about you?”
“Princesses are not born with space for happiness in their hearts. We’re duty-bound.”
“What did I say about lies? Don’t spread more in hopes they will comfort you.”
My breath sticks in my throat. He sees through me so easily. “We’re getting off topic again.”
“No. I asked to see your heart, and you showed it to me. I’ll keep it safe. Just remember, whenever you want, I’ll free you.” His eyes turn sharp.
My throat thickens once more. “You didn’t finish telling me what Everett said.”
His eyes trace over me, judging. “Everett said they were wrong to erase the runes from our lands and that everything can be used for good or evil. He said runes create balance. Make us equal. He made it sound like runes were the answer, not the problem. But these were your brother’s final words.”
My heart stops as Titus speaks.
‘“I give my magic of time-weaving to you, Titus, to use until you find the Vitalis; then, I release my magic back into the lands. But my magic of foresight, I release back into the world. If you were to see what you must endure, you would grab the sword from my heart and thrust it into yours,’”
My skin pebbles. Confusion, fear, and, yes, resentment take root.
“I… I'm sorry. I’m so terribly sorry.”
Why, Everett?
“My brother wasn’t wicked.”
“One could argue he was a fanatic.”
My shoulders curl in. All I can do is nod.
With a gentle finger under my chin, Titus tilts my face upward. “I’ve seen the eyes of a madman. At first, I thought Everett was one. But it wasn’t passion that stole his tongue, it was fear. He saw a future so terrible that he gave his life to prevent it.
“My anger toward him has passed; it does no good to harbor it. I did not choose this path, but I am forced to walk it.” His tone sharpens, but his hand opens as he cradles my jaw.
It’s a foolish move. If anyone saw him touching me like this…
“You will help me, Selene, because, like me, Everett has given you no choice. Do you understand?” The edge of his thumb swipes over my bottom lip as his hand drops.
Titus sits tall, shoulders back, jaw set firm. He could be sitting on a throne. I feel like he is. “Where is the Vitalis?” he demands.
“The…” I cough. He’s cornered me like an animal in my room. A part of me wants to curl into him, as any scared animal would beg for shelter, food, and… love. “The Vitalis,” I repeat.
“Do not play games with me. The word is not foreign to your tongue.” His eyes lock onto my mouth.
In days long forgotten, the book that housed the runes was called the Vitalis. “That word means nothing now,” I reply slowly. I know of it only because one day, I dared to look at the inner pages of a book Everett was reading, a book he stole.
“It’s not a word,” Titus growls. “It is a name. Every name holds a memory of those who bore it. What memory does it hold for you?”
I grind my teeth as I look at the corner. I wish I had never looked at that book! It set Everett’s tongue into a frenzied, passionate fury. He spoke of the old book of runes, of the magic it possessed, of the gods who created it. He told me how the runes worked, how they were not everlasting.
They only stayed marked on the skin for as long as the flesh could endure the power. Some runes lasted only minutes, whereas those less powerful could remain for weeks or months.
What Everett confessed was a grain of rice, compared to the vast field of knowledge he kept hidden from me.
I knew if Father heard Everett speak like this, he’d cut his tongue out. My family no longer praised the gods, who vanished from our lands centuries ago. As for runes, only madmen spoke of them, and those men were hunted down for sport.
Fae were not dreamers; we left that to the mages and humans. Fae are sensible and factual in their thinking.
Titus shifts, widening his legs as he leans closer to me. “Answer me, Selene.” His voice sounds like fog, thick, too deep to decipher the truth probing behind it. “Or do you wish me to pry the truth from your lovely lips?”
My hand flies up to cover my mouth. “You grow bold and forget your place,” I retort. He’s stopped calling me Queen Selene. Something that can not happen in public.
“Your brother blurred my place.”
“I thought you wanted a friendship.” Why are your eyes so dark, Titus?
“You’re biting your tongue, not me.”
“I’m processing.”
“You’re trying to cover up the truth with a lie. I’m trained to know when someone is dishonest. I can read your body like a book.” His eyes sharpen with confidence.
My thighs clench. “Then you should know that my plot has been rewritten. I am duty-bound to protect you. No matter what.”
“I know how to interrogate. Read between the lines. So let’s try this again, as two friends who do not hold back. The Vitalis, where is it?”
I shove my emotions into the deep well where my heart used to be. Drowning them out is harder than usual. “How do you know what the Vitalis is? I’m asking as a friend who is concerned for your well-being.”
His posture stiffens. “Whether by luck or Everett’s planning, we took the Gates of Kalhiem on our way back to Blackthorn.”
“That’s past Blackthorn’s main roads. Why did you divert?”
“The main road was underwater, a strange time of year for such heavy rain, which makes me think water magic was involved. Kalhiem provided the men with food, lodging, and amusement. However, Ishmor is near Kalhiem, a quick boat trip. The Kalhiem bartenders hear many rumors and old stories when the Ishmor scholars arrive. I spoke with some bartenders, and one told me about an old scholar’s visits, and that she said a mage from the west came to Ishmor and enquired about a forgotten book, the Vitalis. ”
My smile fades. “Titus, I do not know the book’s whereabouts or if it exists.”
Some of the hope flees from his lungs. “It is real,” he firmly states. “What do you know of runes, Selene?”
“I…” I lean my elbows on my knees. “I think they are madness. The Vitalis is likely a book written to read to children before they slumber. Nothing more than a tale of greed.”