Chapter Sixteen
Analleia
My irritation took over every step as I stalked up the steps of the inn, muttering about the sixth floor and every insufferable thing that had happened that evening.
I had disappeared into the streets of the city for several hours before returning, needing to work through my thoughts.
I jammed my key into the lock and shoved the ornate door open with too much force.
It slammed shut behind me, rattling the walls.
Desmond and Nadiyah lounged on the couch. They wore their formal attire from the ball, and I was surprised Desmond hadn’t yet ripped off the suit he hated so much.
“Well.” Nadiyah tilted her head. “Someone is in a good mood.”
I took a deep breath in an attempt to pull my emotions in check.
It didn’t work.
“It’s only been a few weeks since we left the tower,” Desmond said, “but I’m sure you must remember how often the headmistress warned us about burning bridges, since you might one day have a need to cross them again.”
I ignored him, throwing my bow sack on the ground and unlacing my outer bodice with the attached skirt, leaving me in my breeches and undershirt.
“Analleia,” Desmond’s voice turned razor-sharp. “I would like to not have to pry this information from you.”
I unstrapped my belt before removing each concealed knife from my person.
“You and the prince are all anyone at the ball could talk about after your little show,” Nadiyah said.
“Would you like to explain why you practically threw yourself at him this evening after very harshly and blatantly rejecting him yesterday, which, might I add, Desmond and I both heavily disapproved of?”
I whirled around, frustration and anger lining my eyes.
“The man I’m looking for, the Richard Athello the Enchantress tasked me to find and steal his ring, is Prince Valeris’s uncle.
The king’s brother, Alekvandor. I haven’t been able to find him because he doesn’t go by his official name anymore but by Wylan Athello. ”
“Burning bridges,” Nadiyah cursed.
I pulled the pins out of my hair and dropped them into a dish on the side table. “Our little show happened because I had to catch the prince in a public place, somewhere he couldn’t immediately reject me without fear of making a scene.”
“And did it work?” Desmond asked.
I shook my stiff hair out. “In a manner of speaking—we did form an alliance. In exchange for his influence, I will help uncover who murdered his brother.”
Desmond cursed under his breath. “You do realize you could have been killed for revealing you know about that dangerous piece of information.”
“It was a chance I had to take,” I snapped. “Killing me would cause a scene, especially if he thought someone else knew and could create chaos if I went missing. That tidbit of information is what helped bring him around.”
Nadiyah’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “He reoffered to make an alliance with you, no questions asked?”
I chewed on my lip. “He wanted me to prove I would be useful.”
“How?”
“I had to fix the alliance I destroyed with Lord Eyreling and get it back for him.”
They stared at me as if wishing this was a sick joke.
Nadiyah stood, shaking her head in disbelief. “So you undid everything we’ve accomplished here so far? I thought you were here to assassinate the king, not find some man for the Enchantress.”
“I made a deal with her.” My voice remained sharp and unyielding. “If I fail to produce my end of the bargain, this whole plan will be uprooted and end in disaster.”
Fear spiked in my heart. I didn’t mention the consequences of me not fulfilling my end of the bargain, of having to work for the Enchantress.
“I can sabotage the king’s other plans,” I said. “Using his influence and getting insight from the prince to figure out exactly what he is trying to accomplish will only aid in our endeavor. If I can get close and manipulate him, it will only make our plan easier to carry out.”
“And if he doesn’t let you get close to him?” Desmond asked. “You should know better than anyone to never trust a royal.”
“A Paravellian royal,” I shot back. “We are not the same as them.”
“I don’t think we could be considered royals anymore.”
I rolled my eyes, ignoring the jab and the strike of pain it shot within me. “I’ll feed the prince whatever I have to in order to get him to trust me and tell me what I want. In return, I can learn things about his uncle and figure out how to get to him without him ever knowing.”
“This doesn’t just put you at risk, Analleia,” Desmond said. “It affects all of us. If he figures out who you are—”
“He won’t,” I interrupted. “And he can’t as long as I uphold my end of the bargain with the Enchantress.”
Nadiyah stood, done with our conversation. “Do what you will, but I don’t like it—and I’m not for it. Don’t come running to me if this blows up in your face.”
This put her plan at risk as well.
She stormed to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.
I didn’t meet Desmond’s eyes. I knew he would share Nadiyah’s view.
“What triggered it on the archery fields today, Analleia?”
I swallowed, flashes from both my encounter with the ambassador of Calderon and what happened years ago flooding my mind.
“You said the attacks were better, that you can control them now.”
“I can control them,” I choked out.
Desmond shook his head. “What I saw on that field today was not control. You’re reverting back to when you were younger, how it was when we first arrived at the tower.”
“No.” I shook my head. “It’s better.”
He placed a hand on my shoulder. “I know you better than anyone, Analleia. For three years I awoke to hear your screams of terror in the night, the chills of the nightmares you would never talk about. I watched you crumble inside of yourself. I saw it again today. You weren’t on the archery field.
You were in another time. Another place.
You haven’t done that for nearly two years. ”
“That’s because I learned to control it.
” My hands shook as they clutched at my breeches.
I tried to hide them behind my back as his words made more and more memories flash before my mind.
Memories I had tried to block out. “In the tower, it was easier, but when I saw the man with the scarred face, it all—it all came—”
I fled the room, locking the door behind me.
I crawled onto the bed, cradling my head in my shaking hands and rocking back and forth, trying to calm my mind.
I was fine. I could do this. But picturing the scarred man’s face left me trembling, gasping for air.
I could still feel his hands grasping at my skirt, still hear his screams when I threw the oil in his face.
I’d had reoccurring nightmares of him chasing me through the castle, down the stairs.
Waking up before he could catch me was the only reprieve from the horrors.
I gripped the sheets between my fists, grasping for balance.
I couldn’t tell Desmond and Nadiyah what I had bargained the Enchantress for.
They wouldn’t understand.
I couldn’t live like this.
I wouldn’t live like this.
“I just want to be okay again,” I whispered.
I’d never considered the nightmares could return, that something could trigger them, and that scared me. It threatened everything, and I refused to let this weakness be my downfall.