Chapter 18 #2
King Hawthorne glowered at me, but disregarded my rudeness. “There is a more serious matter to discuss. The King of Draemor has presented me with an option to cease his threats of war against Caelestis.” He paused to watch my reaction, which was a fake look of alarm as I already knew that as well.
“Cyprian Beaumont did not address you by name, meaning he still does not know who you are specifically. However, he did request that Caelestis hand over their constellastone-gifted individual, in return for a peace treaty.”
I yawned, showcasing my boredom with the conversation.
“I would be a fool to release the most powerful individual Caelestis has ever seen into the hands of our enemy. So naturally, I declined this bargain.”
He stared at me, awaiting a thank you to leave my lips. He was an idiot if he thought he would ever hear those words from me.
“Is that all?” I asked him, disregarding everything he'd told me. Why couldn't Sebastian be here for this meeting? He already knew all of this, too.
He scowled at me. “No, Miss Willawood, there is one more thing I wish to discuss with you.”
I adjusted my posture in my seat, suddenly uncomfortable from his words.
“May I remind you that in less than two years, you will be a soldier of Caelestis, and I expect you to act as one. That title does not come lightly.”
I had to avoid rolling my eyes. He was acting as if I wanted to become a soldier—as if it were a privilege.
“If war does commence, you will utilize your gift in whatever means necessary to protect my kingdom. If that means you must use your power to kill every single Draemornian who threatens Caelestis, then that is what you will do. If that means you need to train around the clock to be superior in combat, that is what you will do.”
That comment almost made me laugh. He had no idea what Sebastian and I had planned in regard to my training.
“If that means destroying the ones you love for the sake of my kingdom, then that is what you will do,” the king spat the words in my face, then leaned closer.
“Lastly, do not ever expect mercy from me again. I do not care if you are so sick that you cannot stand. I do not care if you have two broken arms and struggle to hold a sword. I do not care if you are laboring your child. The ten-year mandated service does not apply to you. For as long as I am alive, if I call upon you for service, you will show up.” His voice bellowed throughout the room, ricocheting off of the walls.
Just when I thought I could not hate this man any more, he proved me wrong.
“How dare you,” I growled, shooting up from my seat. “How dare you take the only ounce of freedom I have left. And for what? Because I have a different gift than your other soldiers?” I shook my head, refusing to accept that fate. “I'll be damned if you truly believe that I will comply.”
The king chuckled. “Oh, you will comply. You have no other options, my dear. Not if you would like to see your loved ones again.”
My eyebrows rose. “What do you mean by that?”
“You know exactly what I mean.”
“Don’t you fucking touch them,” I hissed.
“Watch your mouth, young lady.” He bared his teeth, standing as well.
I didn't say another word. I turned my back to him and exited the room, slamming the door behind me. I contemplated flipping him my middle finger, but decided silence was better in this scenario.
Sebastian jumped to his feet when he saw me. “What did he say?”
I strutted by him, too pissed to even put into words what just happened. Not to mention that I felt a bit nauseous.
Picking my walk up to a run, I moved my legs as fast as possible, trying to make it outside before I got sick.
Sebastian chased after me, calling my name.
I barely made it out of the castle. As soon as my feet touched the grass, I held my hair back and hunched over, bringing up everything in my stomach.
“Oh shit.” I heard Sebastian curse as he approached behind me.
I waved him away with my free hand. He, of course, ignored the gesture and was soon by my side. He took my hair for me so I could use my hands to steady myself on my thighs as I heaved again and again.
When there was nothing left to release, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. The grass, frozen from the air, crunched underneath my weight as I sat. I crossed my legs and hung my head, feeling slightly dizzy.
Sebastian sat next to me and wrapped part of his cloak over me. He didn't say anything. Just tucked me into his side, allowing me to steal the warmth from his body. With all of the adrenaline coursing through my blood, I hadn't even realized that I was shivering from the cold.
I puffed out my cheeks and released a deep breath. “I hate him,” I snarled coldly.
Sebastian looked over at me. “You and me both.”
My shivering had yet to cease, so he pulled me closer to his body, closing the cloak around us.
“I think I left my rucksack and cloak in his study,” I said.
“I'll get it later.”
“Thanks.” I sniffled as my nose dripped from the cold air. My silence was surely killing him, but Sebastian didn't pry. He let me wallow in my own self-pity for as long as I desired. Time faded away as I replayed the king's cruel words in my head over and over.
“If we stay out here much longer, you'll be frozen to the ground. We should move inside,” Sebastian suggested when he realized I wasn't ready to divulge any details. He helped me up, my knees wavering as he led me back into the castle.
We stopped briefly at his father’s study to grab my things, then Sebastian directed me through countless twists and turns of hallways and corridors. At first, I thought he was taking me to the archives, but that was in the opposite direction of where we were headed.
I recognized the door we approached as the entrance to the soldiers' housing. My stomach rolled in queasiness again. Was he taking me to his room?
He didn't unlock his door, though. Instead, he walked right by it, stopping in front of a different door which he hit hard with his fist. Giggling came from beyond the wall, then someone yelled at us to go away.
Sebastian banged on the metal even harder. “Kohen, open up.”
Kohen was in the midst of buttoning his pants when he opened the door. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair and granted us an awkward smirk when he saw that Sebastian wasn't alone.
“What’s up, Seb?”
“Busy?” Sebastian asked, his voice laced with sarcasm.
“Yeah actually, a little.”
“I need to steal Pia.”
“Can we at least finish first?” Kohen taunted with a grin, knowing his comment would get a rise from his friend.
Sebastian huffed a breath of disapproval. “Pia?” he called into the room.
“Hey, Seb,” her mortified voice responded.
Sebastian turned to me. “I’ll deal with Kohen, go talk to Pia. Blow off some steam.”
“No. I just want to go back to my room.”
He pulled me to the side. “I don’t know what happened in there, but I can tell that you need someone to talk to right now. If you won’t talk to me, at least talk to her.”
“I can't tell her anything, anyways. You told me not to.”
“I trust her. Go ahead.”
He looked worried for me. I would tell him tonight at wielding practice what his father said to me. Right now I just…couldn't.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Okay,” I said softly, and Sebastian's lips turned up faintly at my agreement.
“I'll come back in a few hours to get you for our session.” He ran a hand up my arm for a second before dropping it back to his side.
We turned back to Kohen, still standing shirtless in the doorway. Sebastian grabbed his wrist and dragged him out. “Come on, let's go find Sawyer.”
“What the hell, man. We were in the middle of—”
“I don't want to know what you were in the middle of.”
I slipped into Kohen's room, which looked very similar to Sebastian’s, except it lacked a bookshelf and his walls were navy blue.
Pia stepped out of the washroom, brushing her obvious post-sex hair. Concern coated her face when she saw me. “What’s going on?” she asked, climbing onto Kohen’s bed and patting the spot next to her.
As soon as I sat down, I spilled every single thing that I had been keeping from her. I had no control over the words as they flew out of me. She let me vent, listening intently to every detail I shared.
“To top it all off, I just vomited all over the castle lawn and now I’m fucking famished,” I finished, out of breath.
Pia stared at me blankly. “Woah…That’s a lot to unload.”
I flopped backwards on the bed, not caring about what she and Kohen just did on it.
“Yup,” I said flatly.
Pia laid back, too. We turned our heads to look at each other.
“Want some liquor?” she asked.
“Absolutely.”