Chapter 37
Iwas pulled from dreams filled with the horrors of my past and present by the sound of ripping canvas. I blinked through bleary eyes to find Terym standing before me, arms folded across his chest and face twisted in a vicious smile.
I didn’t know how long I’d slept, but the sun shone through the gaping entrance of the tent and my body ached worse than ever. I pulled at the bindings on my hands, straightening myself in front of the king. I refused to bow down to him now that Eleanor was out of harm’s way.
“Where is your sister, my dear Adelia?” To anyone else, he would appear calm.
Cool. Collected. But the undertone of malice licked over my skin like oil, those icy-blue eyes beyond furious.
I wasn’t affected by it, not at his confirmation that Eleanor had escaped.
She was free from his sadistic manipulations, and that relief was stronger than any fear his demeanor elicited.
“I don’t know.” My voice was raw from a night of releasing bone racking sobs, and the crick in my neck ached. I twisted my head from side to side, feigning disinterest while I eased the tension there.
“You don’t know?” Incredulity coated the parroted words, and I offered him a small shrug.
It wasn’t exactly a lie. I didn’t know where Eleanor was, only that Harkin was taking her to the Western Territory. I couldn’t begin to speculate where he would hide her.
Those ice-cold eyes raked over me. Assessing. Searching for deceit. I didn’t back down. I would no longer submit. My stomach blazed with fury, and I let defiance settle on every inch of my features.
He could beat me. Abuse me. Force himself on me. But I wouldn’t yield.
Not. This. Time.
The only thing I’d do was stay long enough for Harkin to get Eleanor far away, then I’d take my first opportunity to escape.
The king scowled, then barked at Pierce, who had followed him into the tent. “Release her!”
Pierce cut through the ties holding my wrists aloft, the knot pulled too tight from my countless attempts to get free. I slumped forward as soon as the rope broke, gone too long without food or water, and my body trembled with fatigue and dehydration.
Prickling pain swept down my arms through my hands and to the very tips of my fingers, blood rushing through them like an agony-soaked river.
I gritted my teeth through the pain and forced my hands closed, clenching them repeatedly to speed up the process.
I missed Terym’s next words as I did what I could to keep from crying out.
Then those malicious blue eyes were in front of me, a twisted smile curling his lips. “I told you what would happen if either of you tried to escape. My men will find her, and I’ll very much enjoy seeing to her punishment.”
I bared my teeth at him, agony and anger pulsing through my entire being.
The king straightened, then addressed Pierce. “I want around the clock guards on my wife. Multiple. Should she escape, I will kill every man and woman responsible. Get her cleaned up, I need her alive.”
“Yes, my king,” Pierce rumbled, still holding me upright.
Before I realized what was happening, Pierce helped me up, hands under my arms to drag me into the blinding sun. I squeezed my eyes shut, shielding against the brightness causing my head to throb.
I was taken to my original tent, the one fit for a queen and the complete opposite to how I spent the last day. It seemed like a lifetime ago I spent that magical night with Shade. I wish I could go back to that perfect moment with him.
Pierce escorted me, along with four other men, all of whom circled us in an impenetrable barrier of armor and weapons. Not to keep me safe, but to stop me from fleeing. Which was laughable, considering I could barely walk.
Wista’s absence was loud, instead of her calm smile, Meline waited inside the tent, Pierce followed me in while the other men remained on guard.
“The bath is ready.” Her words were tight, but she offered me a bowed head and left.
I hid behind the privacy screen, pulling the vibrating lamp from my pocket, its humming warmth settling into my skin. I briefly considered letting Shade out, but being under Pierce’s watchful eye meant there was no way I could.
I craved his soothing presence, yet at the same time, I didn’t think I could bear to see his disappointment. Not in light of what I had done. I killed all those people, then locked him away again.
I rubbed my thumb over the carving along the smooth metal, my heart heavy in my chest. Would he forgive me? Would Eleanor?
Probably not. How could they when I didn’t think I would ever forgive myself.
After I bathed, I slumped into my bed, Pierce standing watch at the entrance.
It was so similar to how Shade had stood those first few days when he’d just been released, and I couldn’t stop the tears that streamed down my face at the reminder.
I hugged his lamp close, and despite being weak and hungry, I was beyond tired and welcomed the oblivion sleep provided.
Someone shaking my shoulder woke me, and I scooted away from Pierce, who leaned over the bed. He stepped back as soon as I opened my eyes, hands splayed out. “You need to get up. I had Meline bring you some food, you’ll need your energy.”
He motioned to the small table, and I dragged my weak body over to it and slumped into the chair.
“You need to eat,” he said when I didn’t immediately reach for the food. I didn’t reply, but I did pick up the spoon, stirring it in the sludge barely passing as oatmeal.
“Where we’re going, you need to be careful.” His voice was rough and low, and I continued to ignore him as I forced the gluggy food down.
“Adelia, I—”
“Where are we going?” I asked before he spewed whatever bullshit was coming. I didn’t want to hear anything he had to say. He’d stood by while Eleanor was hurt, left her injured and unable to seek healing.
I would never forgive that.
Dark-brown eyes met mine, the small scars on his face flashing when his furrowed brow deepened. “Ferveem Forest.”
Now that the king had succeeded in beating the enemy here, we would travel back to the forest like he’d originally planned.
Neither of us spoke again. Pierce seemed to get the hint that I wasn’t open to conversation with him, not after everything he had done.
I’d so terribly misjudged him, thought him to be a kind and good man, but his loyalty was to the king alone.
A king whose malicious and vile actions were irredeemable.
I was still weak from lack of substance when we left Yinora.
No lords joined us on the journey, only a few soldiers and a single servant—likely to serve the king.
I slumped atop the horse while Pierce led her.
Since the king demanded I be restrained the entire time, I couldn’t truly ride anyway.
Even so, I was watched closely by several of the king’s men. Gensen and Pierce included.
Nobody told me what we would be doing when we arrived. After my defiance and Eleanor’s escape, whatever the king had planned couldn’t be good.
With my wrists bound and treated roughly, the skin had broken, and blood seeped from them on and off.
As days continued, the skin around the wounds became inflamed and hot to the touch, so I spent most of them half asleep while my body worked to fight off the infection and heal.
Shade’s lamp was heavy in my pocket the entire way.
It had been too long since I had seen him.
After weeks of traveling to Yinora, we only got to spend the one night together.
One perfect night before I was declared a prisoner.
There were many times, as the horse swayed beneath me, I considered releasing Shade. With my blood ever present from the wounds around my wrists and some careful maneuvering, I could make it to the lamp and release Shade’s wrath on the men around me.
I banished the thought every time. Shade couldn’t kill them without my wishing it, and I wouldn’t waste the final wish on that, nor on trying to escape.
Besides, I couldn’t risk one of them going after Eleanor.
The king’s efforts to find her would increase tenfold if I attempted something like that.
No, I would wait patiently for the most opportune moment.
Though the king did well to conceal it, his excitement grew every day, his perpetual shifting in his saddle increasing the closer we got to the forest. Urgency laced every command as he pushed us all to move faster.
I had no doubt in my mind that he planned to make his final wish when we arrived. I just had no idea what it could be.
The field outside Ferveem Forest was different to how we’d left it to travel to Prallues. Then, the flowers had withered away but the swaying grasses remained. Now, the field was entirely barren. Lifeless. An echo to my own changed circumstances.
My wish to raise the soldiers had completely drained the field. Shade had said magic was utilizing the energy surrounding us; had the wish used so much there was none left to feed the ground? The pit in my stomach deepened at the thought.
Several small tents were erected at the edge of the trees, and I was directed inside one with a thin bedroll. At least I’d be protected from the weather, even if it was warmer than Yinora this close to the coast.
I lay awake, staring at the blue canvas and wondering what the king could want from this forest and the final wish.
What he hadn’t realized though, regardless of what he wanted, I wouldn’t give it. There was only one wish left, and I would take it for myself. I had every intention to use it for something good and selfish.
It wouldn’t be for whatever nefarious reason the king demanded, and it wouldn’t be to kill Terym as Shade wanted.
No, there was something far more important I planned to wish for, and nothing, nothing would stand in my way.