Caspian
Somehow he had taken the steps toward her, meeting at the center of the crowded village chapel.
The oracle was there waiting. Her silvery hair was braided in an intricate crown atop her head.
An eye shaped pendant hung from her circlet resting on her brow, the gleaming obsidian iris ever watching.
They joined their hands, Priscilla’s fingers so small and soft in his, and the ceremony began.
The oracle spoke about the path of destiny and how some are blessed to carry out their journey with a partner.
Priscilla took her scarlet cord with great gentility, holding it in both hands as he did the same before facing each other once more. They then each passed an end to the oracle, who now connected them.
“As they twine the threads, the betrothed bind their fates and make the vows that will carry them along their destined paths in a union of balance, fidelity, and love.”
The cord fell from his hands as they went slack in shock.
The chapel doors had been thrown open. Keira stood at the end of the aisle, flanked by members of the Blades.
It looked as if she’d just stepped off a battlefield, her dark hair ragged and eyes wild.
Her clothes were covered in blood that was clearly her own and she was favoring her left leg heavily.
The guests in the pews began to panic at the sight of her, shaking Caspian from his bewilderment.
“Stop this,” Keira said, taking the first limping steps down the aisle.
Behind him, Caspian was vaguely aware that Priscilla had taken shelter in his shadow. He felt the light touch of her hand resting on his arm, but his focus was locked on the sight before him.
Keira was here. Emotion roared through him until he wasn’t sure if he wanted to rage or sing or cry.
“Where have you been?” he demanded, before entirely deciding to.
Keira’s face screwed with pain as she clutched her bandaged leg. Gareth stepped to help her, but she waved him away. “I didn’t leave you, Caspian.” Her voice was thick with strain. “Her cursed bastard of a brother sent me away.” She jabbed an accusing finger at Priscilla’s hiding place.
Caspian shook his head. “You told me that you were leaving, that I had to move on- That- That we couldn’t be together.”
“You know I would never do that!” Her eyes lit with passion, love and fury burning within. “Think, Caspian. Think and remember. What exactly did I say? Where were we? Was it morning or night? What did you say to me? Think about it!”
He did. He thought. Her words swam through his head, but when she asked him to remember, he couldn’t place them to a memory. That night was a black hole with only a voice echoing in the darkness. It didn’t make sense…
“It never happened, Caspian,” Keira pleaded, nearly to them. “Yvette used her magic. She can make you believe things, make you do things. Whatever they told you, it isn’t real. It was all a lie to get you here, to this.” She gestured at the altar with disgust.
Around them, the crowd was watching the events unfold speechlessly. Priscilla’s touch on his arm was shaking.
Caspian shook his head… His thoughts were churning until he felt lost in his own mind.
“Caspian,” Gilbert said, rising from the crowd. “Listen to her. What she’s saying makes sense. You haven’t been yourself since she left, and your mind on the matter changed so quickly. It wasn’t like you. Maybe it was an enchantment.”
Keira looked up at him with emotion so raw, it flayed him to the bone. “Caspian, I love you!”
His eyes locked with hers, and memories played through his mind.
Seeing her face for the first time on the mountainside.
The fear that had overcome him as the venom threatened to take her from him all over again.
He replayed the wave of passion that had washed over them in the cave, her laughter as they shared ales at the little country inn.
It was all so clear, so vibrant, her golden dress the night of the feast, the blooming vines she’d conjured at the festival.
The taste of her was seared into his mind, along with every other detail from that last night…
but then there was only the darkness, the voice… and it wasn’t even hers.
It never had been.
Realization dawned on him as if he had been stumbling through a fog, on the verge of understanding for so long, only to finally see the sun.
But if she hadn’t left him…
Caspian stumbled forward a step.
“Caspian, no!” Priscilla’s grip clenched onto him. “She’s the one w-wwith magic! She can’t be- be t-trusted. Whenever she’s around, you- you’re different. She’s a w- a wwitch!”
He turned to her, seeing the desperation and fear in her eyes.
“You knew, didn’t you?” Caspian said.
Priscilla shook her head, tears spilling from her eyes. “You wwwanted me, to be with me, before she came and as sssoon as she was gone. Victor- He sent her away to- to free you! P-please-”
Caspian backed away another step, eyes rounding. “You knew she hadn’t left me.”
She looked back at him, so vulnerable, devastated, but all he could think of was that she had admitted it, the manipulation and the lies. He had trusted her, comforted her, felt sympathy for her pain… He had been ready to bind his fate with hers.
Priscilla followed him, refusing to release her grip. Desperation bled from her eyes. “D-don’t, please!”
“Take your hands off him.” Both of them turned at the sound of Keira’s voice. It was cold as ice as she stood, bloody and wild, only a few feet away.
Priscilla whimpered in fright. Gilbert came to her side, whispering something to her.
She shook her head, tears spilling on her blood red gown. “You deserve b-better than her. I can be more for you. Caspian, please. She’s a criminal!”
Keira whirled on her with a startled, bitter laugh. “Your brother doesn’t keep any secrets from you, does he?”
She fell quiet suddenly, utterly stricken.
Dread pooled in his stomach. “What are you talking about?”
Priscilla sniffed, looking to Gilbert, to the others gathered in the chapel, in search of a sympathetic eye.
“No more tears now?” Keira baited. “You expect pity after what you’ve done? You cannot claim to be a victim in this! Not when you knew what he’d done. Not when you were ready to reap your reward.”
“Keira?” Caspian asked, voice breaking. Seeing her closer, it was clear she was not only injured, but weak in a way that spoke of a deep settled suffering.
“Go on. Tell him what you and your brother did to me.”
Priscilla dissolved entirely, shaking her head and avoiding his gaze.
“They turned me in, took me back to Stormhaven, to Deepgate Prison.” Keira’s voice was layered with malice and pain so potent it clenched his heart.
“They buried me. I guess they were hoping it would stick. But I came for you, to stop this. I thought you’d be in the castle, but- Well, I ran into some trouble. ”
He looked to Priscilla, her crumpled frame and glistening tears. They tasted sour on his tongue. “Get her out of here.”
Gilbert took her arm, guiding her gently away. She didn’t object.
Caspian turned to Keira. He kissed her hair with relish before pulling away and drinking in the sight of her.
His thumb moved to graze her cheek, but stopped as he saw the fresh bruise swelling there.
“We need to get you to a healer,” he said, the full extent of her injuries settling on him suddenly.
She opened her mouth to protest, but he shook his head. “Someone send for the healer,” he ordered. About a dozen people complied at once.
“She’ll be fine, Caspian. She’s a fighter,” Rhea reassured, drawing his attention to the chapel full of spectators surrounding them.
“What we need to do is find her bastard of a brother,” Lilith said darkly.