Chapter 24 Eiri
Eiri
Over a decade of raiding and never once had Eiri seen the inside of a prison cell.
The closest he’d come was when the council locked him in a room while they argued his fate after he’d killed Vonyers.
Even that had been bearable, though, thanks to Akari.
She’d stayed with him the entire time, despite not fully understanding what had happened.
But now, an ocean separated him from Akari, and he was entirely alone.
Thick manacles circled his wrists, left in place by the guards who had literally thrown him into this cell.
The sharp edges bit into his skin through the thin shirt he still wore, now torn and ragged.
Abrasions littered his hands, arms, and face where he’d hit the unforgiving stone.
His left knee ached. His head throbbed. The cell they’d picked for him lay deep underground, and not even a torch remained to battle back the freezing cold that sank into his bones.
Eiri didn’t feel any of it. The pain, the cold… it was all distant, not even worth a second’s thought. All he saw as he stared at the stone wall was Syrus.
There had to be a mistake. Syrus couldn’t be dead.
He’d just seen him a few hours ago. Or yesterday?
Time seemed to halt in his dark, windowless cell.
No one had come to tell him what was happening.
No one had said a word to him after they’d accused him of murdering Syrus.
His questions fell on deaf ears, and the last thing he’d heard was the cell door slamming shut, locking him in.
“This is impossible,” he breathed, voice raspy and weak. His breath misted in front of him before disappearing into the shadows.
Impossible. Syrus couldn’t be dead.
If he said it enough, it had to be true.
His earlier anger, so potent it had driven him in search of Kien, desperate to escape, had disappeared the instant the guard said those damning words.
Without it to buoy him, Eiri floundered, slipping beneath the treacherous waves of his mind.
Unbidden, his memories went back to their fight, the last one they’d had.
The last one I’ll ever have with him.
He saw again the stricken look in Syrus’ eyes when Eiri pulled away from him. He’d been too upset to recognize it for what it was then, but he knew now. Syrus had begged him for a moment, just one moment, to explain, but Eiri had done what he always did: he ran away in a storm of righteous fury.
What ground did he have to stand on, though? Hadn’t he gone into this with his own ulterior motives? He’d weighed every word Syrus said, every gesture he made, searching for a weakness, for some way to escape their marriage.
As harshly as Syrus had judged him, Eiri had done the same in return.
From the moment they realized they were betrothed, Eiri had gone on the offensive.
He’d never tried to get to know the man he was married to until it was too late.
Worse, when Syrus reached out in earnest, Eiri had broken the promise the two of them had made.
‘No going back’, they’d said, and at the first sign of trouble, Eiri had done exactly that.
If he’d kept his word, if he’d gone through with the plan, Syrus would be alive right now.
The realization hit him like lightning and Eiri doubled over, curling in on himself as tight as he could as though it would do anything to stop the pain.
Syrus was dead.
This was his fault.
There was no sink in his cell, only a bucket in the corner to relieve himself. The metal was dented and pitted with rust that flaked under Eiri’s hands as he grabbed for it, barely pulling it close before he vomited.
His stomach heaved, churning with misery as it emptied itself. Even after there was nothing left, he gagged and choked, his eyes watering. It went on and on until he finally collapsed back against the wall, shaking and spent.
Syrus was dead.
It was his fault.
The tears he’d held in check finally fell, streaking down his cheeks as more memories flooded his mind.
Syrus taking him to the beach, the closest Eiri could get to home now.
The way Syrus had wanted to defend him from the food vendor that day and the fire in his eyes.
The feel of Syrus’ arms around him the night he’d broken down. No one had ever held him like that before, like he mattered. He’d cried all over the man, and still Syrus took care of him after.
Then he’d kissed him and Eiri’s entire life upended, leaving him reeling. Every touch after that, every kiss and caress, every time they’d held hands… that hadn’t been a lie.
How could I have let Kien destroy the trust we built together? Why didn’t I just listen to Syrus and let him explain?
It hadn’t been a lie. Somehow, against all odds, he and Syrus had defied centuries of hate and prejudice and created something else out of it. Something that could have become love, if only they’d had the time.
I could have loved him.
Eiri choked on a sob, burying his face in his knees to stifle the sound when he couldn’t stop it. They’d come so close, only for it all to fall apart because he hadn’t believed in Syrus.
His thoughts ran in endless circles, always coming back to that one thought. I could have loved him.
How long he sat in the darkness, he didn’t know.
Time meant nothing here. The stone corridor outside his cell remained silent.
If there were guards out there, they were far enough away that he couldn’t hear anything.
No one came to tell him what was going on, not that he could bring himself to care at this point.
What did it matter? Syrus was gone. Eiri was alone.
It took longer than it should have to recognize the sound of footsteps on the stone outside.
He blinked and tried to turn to face the cell door, nearly falling on his side when he tried.
Only then did he realize how cold he’d become.
The icy stone penetrated his clothing easily, and he’d never noticed, too lost in his grief.
What did it matter if he faced the door?
Whoever was coming for him wasn’t the one person he wanted to see.
Resigned, Eiri slumped back again, face buried in his knees, awaiting his fate.
The footsteps stopped in front of his cell, and he heard the tinkling of metal against metal.
“Eiri?”
He jerked his head up, the familiar voice dragging him back to the present.
“Xan?”
It was impossible. Why was Syrus’ cousin standing outside his cell door? Where were the guards?
Xan cursed and Eiri realized the sound he’d heard was the keyring in Xan’s hands, the keys hitting the metal bars as the other man struggled to find the one that fit this door.
“What are you doing here?” he whispered.
“Something’s going on here. I don’t know what, but I know a political ploy when I see one.
” Xan growled out the words, all traces of the easy-going man Eiri had come to know buried.
Finally, Xan found the key and he unlocked the door, shoving it open and coming inside.
He knelt in front of him, but Eiri didn’t move.
“What’s going on? Is he… really…?”
“I don’t know,” Xan breathed, and up close, Eiri could see his pain. Xan’s curls were disheveled, his eyes red-rimmed and raw. Faint streaks of kohl traced down his cheeks, the only surviving remnants of the artfully applied cosmetics he’d worn for the party.
“I don’t understand.”
“I don’t either. All I know is they’re saying you killed Syrus, but no one will give me any information and no one will let me see him. They won’t even let Ellis see him.”
“I didn’t, Xan.” Eiri forced himself to sit up, nearly falling into Xan when his legs gave out. “I swear I didn’t hurt him.”
Xan’s hands gripped his shoulders, steadying him.
“I wouldn’t be here if I thought you had.
Rumors are saying someone poisoned him. If you were going to hurt him, it’d be the two of you skewering each other during a fight.
There’s something else going on. I don’t think he’s d-dead.
” Xan stumbled over the word, clearing his throat before he could continue.
“I don’t know what happened, but if they won’t let anyone see him and they’re setting you up to take the fall for it, then something is going on. ”
“We need to find him. I have to know…” Eiri drew a shuddering breath. Impossible hope surged in his chest, despite his best attempts to restrain it. “One way or the other, I have to know.”
“Believe me, we’ve been looking. We can talk about it after we get you somewhere safe, though.”
Xan got to his feet and helped Eiri up after him, keeping a hand on his arm when he saw how shaky Eiri was. He took one step and his knees buckled, sending him crashing into the hard stone with a sharp cry.
“Here.” Xan pulled him up, wrapping his arm around Eiri’s waist. “Lean on me, alright?”
Eiri stood a head taller than Xan, making it awkward, but if he wanted to get out of here, he didn’t have much of a choice. The cold had settled into his bones and hours sitting on a concrete floor left his muscles stiff and aching. With Xan’s help, he stumbled down the suspiciously empty corridor.
“Where are the guards?”
Xan smiled grimly. “I sent them away. It’s not an easy spell, and any mage who investigates will know it was me, but I didn’t have time for subtlety.”
A lone door stood at the end of the long, dark hall and Eiri vaguely remembered passing through it when he’d first come here.
Xan tapped on it twice and it opened. Standing in the doorway was Ellis.
Xan’s grief paled in comparison to the young man standing in front of Eiri now.
His skin had gone ashen, his dark eyes swollen, his face blotchy from tears.
He stood with his shoulders slumped, but he tried to stand up straighter when he faced them, closing the door behind him and leaving the three of them hidden.
“Do you know what happened to my brother?” he asked immediately, face falling when Eiri shook his head.