80. Betrayals
Chapter eighty
Betrayals
E very word had been a lie.
Every.
Single.
Moment.
The Prince of Elithiend had been to the mainland before. He knew her; he knew them all. Was it all part of a long game? Had she allowed herself to be so easily fooled? She saw red, anger white-hot and aching dried her tears as she threw the picture at the wall, the glass shattering around her as it collided with the stones. Carefully, she lifted the picture free from the pile of glass before she stormed from the room and back down to the library to confront him. She couldn’t allow this to stand. She had questions, and he was finally going to answer them, or she’d see him thrown into Luxenal with only the long dark for company.
His actions were already payable with his life, royals after all, needed permission to enter other countries. Luxenal would be a mercy that would prevent all-out war with Elithiend. The storm beyond the walls of the keep had finally roared its last, the silence that now descended upon them almost deafening. This time, as she approached, she removed her boots; footsteps light as possible as she listened for their voices from down the hall. They were louder now. Perhaps they had assumed she’d returned to bed, what with the quieting of the storm. Her steps grew even slower, desperate to not give herself away as she tried to listen for any snippets of information.
“You’re outnumbered,” the duke declared, accompanied by the sound of a fist hitting the table.
“You know nothing of Elithiend’s resources.”
“And you are not prepared for what Torrelin will unleash upon your people if given half a chance. You may have infiltrated their lands, but not their armies.”
“They’d have to cross the Strait first, face the gate, or worse, the maelstrom.”
“You just showed the most dangerous weapon in their arsenal exactly how to do it!”
“She wouldn’t—”
“You don’t know her. She was but a girl the last time you set foot on these lands, and you barely escaped with your life then. Things have changed in the years you’ve been stuck beyond the Strait. You have allies and spies but it’s all for nought without eyes on the armies, on the king himself. Even Solveig has done unspeakable things in the crown’s name. She seeks only to further her own ambitions. She wouldn’t think twice about spilling your secrets if she believed it would somehow benefit her.”
“Then it seems, Duke, that you don’t know her that well either.”
“You’re being na?ve, you spent the last decade sailing a free man. The prince of a thriving kingdom, she has spent the last two years becoming darkness. There is no light in her anymore. Whatever you hope to gain from her, you will not get it. You must leave before she entraps you.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
“Then you are more a fool than I thought, and you would damn your people over misplaced lust. My family has protected you in every way we could, housed and hid you for years. I implore you to reconsider.”
Solveig almost crushed the picture in her fist with the rage. Forget confronting him. She was still weak. If she confronted them now, they’d attempt to silence her. She had to ensure that both would get what’s coming to them. Whatever was going on here, even the duke, was against her. He was familiar with Emmerich. What other secrets had he been keeping? Did she even know him at all? Did she even know either of them?
She was utterly alone. In a place that had once held warmth and freedom, now it suffocated her with secrets waiting to be laid bare.
She could do it. Could run home and spill her guts to her family, save her own neck by serving Emmerich’s and the duke’s up in her place.
But in doing so, she aided them. They who she had spent the last few weeks searching for a way to topple their reign. Had given the very documents to Adira for safe keeping.
There was only one choice remaining. One safe place, and no way to get there. She had to go back to Farrenhold, attack from the outside with the Etana’s behind her.
Solveig hurried back up to the room she was supposed to be sharing with the prince. She dressed in a hurry, packing her things before leaving a note scrawled atop the haphazardly made sheets. The picture, she packed in her bag for safekeeping, valuable information for later.
The princess became the wraith once more, became that which stoked fear into the hearts of her people. The Reaper of Luxenal, dressed in all black, hood covering her head, scarf wrapped around the lower half of her face, daggers at her hips and sword down her back. She slipped out of the window, scaling the vine-covered trellis that adorned the outer walls before racing off into the shadows. She moved swiftly, silent as she approached the stables and freed the nearest horse. Walking out of the grounds, she paused, having been sure of her destination. Yet something called to her, and she turned, heading to the small graveyard to say goodbye to Aldrik for the last time.
She walked past aged and crumbling headstones before finally coming to a stop before a stark white one, infused with gold and copper threads, it read.
Here Lies
Lord Aldrik Torin of House Whitlock
Beloved Son and Betrothed.
Your Soul Burned Too Bright.
May You Find Endless Peace Amongst the Stars
At Home Within Their Light
There she sat, despite the chill of the rain-soaked ground that seeped into her skin and through to her bones, hands shaking as they held the Lord’s last note.
“You were supposed to be the love of my life too,” she whispered. “I have failed you in every regard. I allowed them to rot me, twist me,” anger and sorrow laced her words, fogging the air as she spoke.
“After all, what was I to do? You left me with no explanation, no warning. I. Had. Nothing. Until this.” She fisted the note as though he were sitting before her. “For years, your memory haunted me. I ran from every single reminder. Every piece of me you loved became a weakness I locked away, to protect myself, until I became that which you feared most. For years, I couldn’t understand why. But now I do.” She stared at his name etched into the cold stone.
“It seems keeping secrets was a talent of yours I never knew about. If you were here, would I be about to lock you in a cell alongside the rest of your family? Tried as traitors?”
“What else did you lie about? I wish there were some way that wherever you are, on the other side of the veil that you could speak. Someway that you could tell me that every happy memory isn’t stained with lies and half-truths.”
Tears glistened in her eyes, brows knitting together as she fought to keep her composure. “Tell me it’s not true, tell me you didn’t know, that all that time we spent planning for our freedom, you were also plotting our fall.”
Her head fell against her knees as angry, ragged sobs racked her body. The night passed, clouds clearing to reveal the stars at last. The surrounding air grew colder, the damp ground freezing as she sat there, quiet in her grief. Hair prickled on the back of her neck as she heard a twig snap behind her, followed by the crunch of leaves.
“You should have stayed inside,” she hissed over her shoulder, but no response came. “Come any closer and I’ll take you down.” Still, the footsteps advanced.
She reached back for a dagger, not knowing it was too late. Not realising that the person who had followed her was not the prince come to explain. And her manoeuvre had instead made their task only that much easier. As they grasped her arms, pulling her backward, an involuntary yelp escaped her. She kicked out. Tried to twist her way out of the person’s grip as they placed a shackle around her wrist. A dark-coloured mesh bag was pulled over her head before they secured her other wrist at her back.
“Don’t fight, Princess,” General Anik sneered as she continued to struggle. “The king wants a word.” Her breath was stolen from her and what little light had seeped through the dark fabric was snuffed out completely by her closing eyelids.