7. Raelyna #2
“Oh, but I am, Rae,” he responded as chocolate brown eyes held mine. “We made a bargain. One that, if my memory serves me right, you begged me on your hands and knees for. A bargain that you seem inclined to attempt to avoid, and I won’t stand for insolence and blatant disregard for my decrees.”
My heart sank like a stone, the fight fleeing from my limbs as my gaze caught on Orela’s. The silver rimming her sea-glass eyes had me swallowing. I had never told her of the bargain I’d made. She had never known.
At least, she hadn’t, until now.
“My apologies, Your Majesty.” The words fell from my lips in a hollow tone, laced with defeat. “There won’t be any further misunderstandings on my part going forward.”
“I should think not.” Luc settled back against the sofa, the pillows shifting as he made himself comfortable before raising his hand. And a flick of his wrist later, Orela was dismissed.
I felt his affinity withdraw from my skin the moment Orela departed the room. Only then could I let out a relieved sigh, taking the first full breath of air I’d had since my younger sister had been dragged into the space.
“Now, I believe we have much to discuss.” Luc smiled as his satisfied gaze cut straight through every crack in my armor, hitting me directly in the heart as my fate sank in.
I was his, from now until my last breath.
I moved through the court halls as quickly as I could without paying much attention, my limbs still shaking, my body tight with tension. I wished it would disappear, but I knew it wouldn’t.
Perhaps you’ve forgotten who holds the power here. Do you need a reminder?
Perhaps you’ve forgotten.
Do you need a reminder?
The cold bite of Lucanus’s words rang as a harsh reminder in my mind. I played them over and over again, unable to forget the sound of each word falling off his lips, the sinister smirk that cut across his mouth, or the glint in his eyes as his fist tightened around my upper arm.
Perhaps you’ve forgotten who holds the power here.
But how could I forget? How could I ever forget?
I told myself not to think of that day—when I’d made the bargain to begin with. But I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t stop the flashback as memories of my sister flooded my mind in a torrential onslaught.
“Rae,” a weak voice cried out in the dusk light. “Rae, are you home?”
I picked myself up from the couch, exhausted from a shift at the tavern, as I peered into the display by the door. My sister, Orela, had tears streaming down her face as she stared at the door, waiting for me.
I unlocked the door as quickly as I could, worry knotting my insides as I undid the last latch and threw the door open—
And froze.
My sister stood there, charcoal gray wings bent at an awkward angle, her head hanging low. Her wings . . . her freshly emerged wings were coated in a thick crimson color. Small droplets of blood splattered against the tiles of my front door, staining the ground.
“No.” The word fell from my lips in a hoarse plea as my heart shattered into a million tiny pieces, fracturing irreparably. “Orela . . .” I couldn’t even say the words. There wasn’t anything I could say that would make what they did to her any better.
“I marked as an aetherial affinity,” she said, eyes downcast, face stricken with tears. “A seer.”
I pulled my sister into my arms, holding her close even as I was careful to avoid her wings—to avoid causing her any more pain.
All seers had their wings clipped, and it was something most viewed as an honor.
An act we were taught was a gift to the gods.
Sacrificing flight was a display of loyalty to the gods for their gift of seeing into the future.
We didn’t see it as such . . . not since our father’s death.
“I’m so sorry, Ore. I’m so, so sorry.”
Her body shook as she clung to me, her breath shallow and uneven as she cried in my arms. And in that moment, all I could do was stand there, holding her, offering her the slightest bit of comfort as she endured a world of unjust hurt.
“I-I won’t be able to—” Her breath caught, a sob racking through her as she tried to finish her sentence. “To—fl—fly the same. They will expect me to begin serving in the temples by the end of the week.”
If it was possible . . . in that moment . . . my heart broke even more. And I vowed, then and there, that I would do anything in my power to keep her from the temples—from Luc.
A harsh knotted X marked my skin—a stark reminder of the vow I’d made. Of the promise to keep my sister safe despite her affinity. A bargain I’d only been afforded because of my childhood friendship with the current king—a bargain I’d made with him despite what he took from me.
The bargain mark burned against my inner arm.
I rubbed fiercely at it as I rounded the corner in the Solis Court, making my way toward the exit .
. . only to smash into a solid brick wall of muscle.
The breath was knocked out of me as I bounced off, and I felt a firm hand dart out and grab my wrist. My body tensed as a twinge of ancient power seemed to burst forward at the point of contact, a sharp pain flaring deep in my veins.
An electric current pulsed at the point where our skin touched as the hold on my wrist steadied me while I regained my footing before he let go.
“Stars-above! Watch where you’re—” The word halted on my lips as my gaze finally collided with the male who had caught me from falling on my ass, and recognition flitted through my body.
Him.
For a singular second, we merely stood there in silence, our eyes stuck on each other. I watched amber-colored orbs focus on me, holding me in time, my wrist still tingling from the electrifying feel of his skin on mine. Then, my mind refocused.
“What are you doing here?” I accused as I gave a quick glance down at my wrist, wondering why it still felt as though it were burning from where he’d touched me, though it was empty, save for my typical markings. I rubbed at my skin, the sensation strange as he spoke.
“I should think I’d be the one asking that of you,” he replied, his eyes crinkling slightly as though my statement humored him.
“And yet,” I replied, “I asked you. So, what about giving me a stars-damned answer?”
“Do you always talk to those of a higher ranking than you with a tongue like that?” His voice rumbled, dark and amused, as he watched me intently.