43
It’s been a week since I agreed to marry Raylin and honestly, what a miserable week it has been.
An entirely dull combination of dinners, event planning and not much else. Though I have noted that I’m yet to see Lillian this whole week. I get a different excuse every time Raylin or Castor catches me noticing her absence.
I haven’t dared to ask further.
Not when I’m trying to keep any and all suspicion away from me.
We’re sitting at the table organising the finishing touches for the engagement ball and surprise wedding that’s tomorrow night.
Castor’s royal event planners have been going through the evening and the itinerary.
But all I can think about is that tomorrow night will be when I can finally get out of here.
Xander and Cole left the day after I agreed to marry Raylin, they needed to check in with their soldiers about the war and Hidale’s advancements. They’d already stayed too long waiting for Castor’s decision.
Xander hadn’t wanted to leave at first, not with Hidale’s soldiers lurking in the towns below.
But they assigned their spies to keep an eye on everything while they’re gone, just in case.
There’s been no issues yet and I’m almost disappointed.
It would have made my week more interesting at the very least.
Xander and Cole will be back tomorrow to activate the artifact and they'll stay for the ball, so Xander can get me back to Erador using the transporter.
That is, if our plan works.
Thankfully, I was able to extend invites to them. Though Raylin had been less than impressed, it was his father who made the final decision.
I was more than a little suspicious when he did. Castor was quite upset with the King of Erador’s display against his son last week. Part of me thinks he’s just trying to keep me happy so I don’t run but another part of me thinks there’s something else going on.
Especially with the Queen’s disappearance.
The meeting ends and Raylin gets up to leave without saying goodbye, just as he has the past week. It’s like he’s been avoiding me, which is strange as I thought he would have been all too pleased with our current situation. It’s what he wanted from the start.
Normally I just let him leave, not wanting to spend another second with him.
But this time my curiosity gets the better of me.
I leap up and follow him, shouting his name once we were in the hallway.
He stops abruptly but doesn’t turn around.
“Can we talk?” I ask him.
Raylin turns slightly at this, though still not giving me his full attention. Annoyance settles across my face, he’s ever the stubborn prince.
“Why are you avoiding me?” I demand, crossing my arms.
He turns fully and a slight sadness flickers across his features before he masks it and walks towards me.
“I thought you would be happy to have less contact with me.” He says, spitting the words at me, with venom lacing his tone.
“You never care about what I want, why start now?” I reply defensively.
“Is that truly what you think Maeve?”
“I— yes.” I stammer out, momentarily startled by his boldness before regaining myself. “You made that clear three years ago.”
Hurt flashes through his eyes and he turns his head towards the wall beside us.
“I made a mistake.”
I scoff at him, unable to believe the way he always downplays what he did.
“That’s the understatement of the century.”
His head snaps back up and he stares into my eyes, so intensely that if I didn’t know him, I would look away.
“You didn’t want me anyway, not then and not now. You were just too much of a coward to say it.” He sneers the words at me, looking at me like a predator looks at their prey.
I always hated when he did that, when he underestimated how deadly I was. When he thought I was nothing more than a damsel in distress, someone who needed saving and someone who would cave under pressure.
“If I was a coward, what the fuck did that make you?” I bite back at him, anger burning in my veins.
“You did that to get back at me, like a wounded animal, you lashed out instead of talking to me.”
He runs his hand through his hair and looks away again, unable to face me.
“We were over, you denied me.”
I throw my hands up. “Just because I said no, doesn’t
mean we were broken up!”
“I knew it was coming.”
I take a step back from him, my voice going quiet, barely a whisper.
“You knew nothing.” I seethe at him, the look in my eyes threatening him more than words could say. Yet he doesn’t balk, he just continues to stare down at me. A mix of pain and rage in his eyes.
I walk away, leaving him there. I shouldn’t have followed him, shouldn’t have even bothered asking him anything.
Raylin was right with one thing.
I do much prefer when he avoids me.
I look out from my balcony and feel the warm morning breeze kiss my skin. I have been counting down till my last day here. Even though it hasn’t been all that long, it’s felt like an eternity.
In the past, this place had been my escape from reality, from the Agency, from anything that threatened to remind me of her.
But now it’s different, now this place feels distant and cold in a way it never has before. Maybe it’s the absence of the people that made my life feel brighter.
I sigh to myself, I hate to admit it but I actually have missed Xander and Cole’s company. Guess those two aren’t so bad after all. I smile to myself slightly at the memories of the last few weeks before walking back into my room to get ready.
I dress in the clothes I had stolen from my old room a week ago.
My skin starts to feel sticky as I pull the white ruffled long sleeve over my body.
It’s of course very hot here during the day but I can’t wear tank tops or even short sleeves, the risk of someone seeing my scars is too high.
Though most probably wouldn’t bat an eye, knowing I’m an assassin who has probably had more knife wounds than they could count.
However, if they looked closely, they would see that the wounds are too intentional to have been caused in combat.
And that shows more about my life than I care to share.
My eyes flick down to the ring on my fingers, the giant diamond fashioned with a silver band flashing up at me.
Raylin had given it to me a few days ago.
I didn’t dare ask him if it was the one he had intended to give me all those years ago. I had turned him down before he’d gotten a chance to open the box last time.
This time, he’d just slid it across to me upon his fathers request.
I tear my eyes away from the ring that bears a weight beyond the jewel. Moving my hands to braid the front two pieces of my hair and pin them back, leaving half my hair out.
I walk through the doors to the meeting room and hate the way my heart rate increases when I see Xander and Cole already here. They’re seemingly in deep conversation with King Castor.
Xander is wearing his usual black and gold tunic with his crown and Cole is dressed in his grey and gold uniform. I’m a little ashamed to admit that I have missed seeing them in the more casual attire they wear when we all eat dinner together in Xander’s office.
“Hello again boys.” I say as a greeting and smile at them.
Cole waves and Xander turns, running his eyes over me.
“Hi love.” He says with a soft smile.
I feel the tension in the room rise and I turn to see Raylin narrowing his eyes at Xander from the side of the room.
If Xander notices, he doesn’t show it. His face is a mask of boredom and cool indifference as he looks at everyone else in the room.
Xander then reaches into his pocket and places the artifact on the table.
He’s already combined the two together. The chain is twisted around the golden handle, with the galaxy ball at the end of the chain resting tight against the stem.
Held there by a golden clasp I hadn’t noticed when I retrieved the second piece from Wendil.
I take my place on the right hand side of the wooden table but stay standing, looking at the artifact in front of us.
“Let’s get this over with.” Xander says and takes his place opposite me, resting his hands on the chair in front of him and leaning forward. Cole joins him at his side but instead stands with his arms crossed.
Raylin stalks over and stands next to me, making me freeze slightly as I recall our fight from yesterday.
Needing a distraction, I look across to the King of Erador and see Xander’s gaze go from me, to Raylin, then to the ring on my finger. His blue eyes narrow and his jaw ticks before he looks towards King Castor and gestures towards the artifact.
Xander seems a bit more impatient than usual today, showing a bit more of that lethal King side that I don’t always see.
Castor nods and stands at the end of the table to begin.
The doors fly open before he gets a chance to start. It’s not enough to make me jump but I turn my gaze anyway to see Resson and Rafe walk through. I hadn’t realised they’d be coming.
When they reach the table, Castor gestures to Resson who levitates the artifact in the middle. Causing the galaxy ball to shake slightly.
I look at Castor’s face and see his features strain as he motions his hands forward, towards the artifact. It starts spinning rapidly, creating wind around the room as it continues.
My hair starts blowing backwards from the harsh breeze. But I don't dare look away, not wanting to miss anything. Even as my eyes water from the air shooting straight towards them. The artifact then starts to slow down again, turning in a motion that’s so slow it almost stops.
Suddenly, without warning, it slams back onto the table and King Castor gestures to it with one hand.
“Done.”
“What— that’s it?” I ask, surely there’s more to be done than that.
“That is all.”
I look at the artifact, it looks the same, nothing has changed visually but I can feel an energy there. Radiating from the metal on the table.
“You may go.” Castor says as a dismissal.
“Not just yet.” Xander replies with a mischievous look in his eyes.
He grabs the artifact and points it like it’s a wand towards Raylin, who clutches at his chest and falls to his knees.
I drop down to help him but there’s nothing I can do, it’s his heart that’s the problem. I put my fingers to Raylin’s neck to hear his pulse. I count the beats, it’s so slow, too slow. I look at Raylin's face and see him start to turn pale and sweaty.
“Enough.” I say bluntly to Xander, who then drops his hand and examines the artifact. Acting like he didn’t do anything of consequence.
Raylin sits up slowly, coming back to himself as his breathing starts to divert back to a normal rhythm.
I stand up again, not offering Raylin anymore assistance.
He’ll live.
I hear Rafe choke out a laugh and watch as Castor narrows his eyes at his youngest son and then at Xander, who just shrugs when he notices.
“I had to test it out.” He says calmly and then looks up at King Castor pointedly. “Now I know you’re not lying.”
And with that, Xander and Cole just stroll out with the artifact. Not uttering another word.
I start to follow but Castor's voice stops me.
“Not so fast Maeve, we have plans to discuss.”
I smile grimly and turn back to face Castor and his sons.
“We’ll see you later Maeve.” Cole promises, looking sympathetic as he leaves with Xander.
Who doesn’t say another word to me.