Chapter 37
Carrow’s violet magic released in an instant, and I crashed to the hard floor, precious air finally flooding my lungs. My knees ached at the impact, throat throbbing, and my chest painfully expanded as I tried to breathe, tried to calm my frantic heart.
When my vision finally cleared enough to focus, Carrow was looming over me, his attention on Rhydian, who was a few feet away. His hands were fisted at his sides, his gaze fixed on me. It was a strange look that I’d never seen on him before.
Then Rhydian’s words registered, twisting my stomach into knots.
I would die? But Rhydian had told me that I’d be free to leave Avalea if the curse was broken.
“You lied to me?” I asked, struggling to keep the trembling from my voice and pushing to my feet.
My legs shook beneath me as I took several large steps away from Carrow, even though the space would do little against his magic if he decided to attack again.
“I thought you said you’d send me home.” My voice broke on the word.
I had to be misunderstanding things. Carrow must have been twisting things to make it seem like Rhydian was the villain.
I took a step toward Rhydian, those gold-ringed eyes pulling me in.
“Rhydian?” My voice was soft, gentle, hoping it would disarm him enough to let me in for once, to be honest with me.
Rhydian opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Dread perched on my shoulders as I started to wonder if Carrow was somehow telling the truth. That Rhydian wasn’t who I thought he was, and that he truly was capable of the terrible things Carrow claimed.
I looked over my shoulder at the Prince of Nefaroth, narrowing my eyes. “You’re lying.”
Carrow smirked and shook his head, pointing at Rhydian. “Ask him about the bea—”
And then golden light smothered the room.
I fell back onto the floor, covering my eyes at the sudden brightness. Peeking through my fingers, I saw that it encircled Carrow, ripping and cutting at him before violet light snuffed it out.
Rhydian stood there panting, that display of magic looking like it had cost everything he had, though it greatly paled in comparison to Carrow’s magic.
“Something you don’t want her to know, Rhyd?” Carrow spat the nickname like a curse. “Just tell her about the lovely beast that’s been locked up since the curse was laid. It’s not that hard.”
Rhydian was still breathing hard. “Get. Out,” he spit through clenched teeth. “Now.”
Carrow tsked. “Poor Rhydian,” he mocked. “Once she finds out, you’ll be nothing. You’ll have nothing. And you will finally die like you should have all those years ago.”
Violet light flared once more and then darkness descended. When my eyes finally adjusted, the Prince of Nefaroth was gone.
***
It had been at least an hour, and Rhydian hadn’t spoken a word. He stalked up and down hallways of the castle, me following him, hoping he’d explain. Thus far, he’d only offered angry huffs and frustrated grunts.
“Why won’t you talk to me?” I finally asked.
Rhydian stopped in his tracks and spun toward me. “What do you want me to say, Maren?” The anger in his voice caught me off guard, and I flinched back. At my reaction, the fury in his eyes softened.
He let out a breath, putting more space between us. “It doesn’t matter anyway. The third task will never be completed. The curse will remain intact.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
“Because, at first, I didn’t care if you lived or died. I just needed you to break the curse. But now…I can’t stomach the thought of losing you.”
The defeat in his voice was heartbreaking.
“Please explain it to me, Rhydian. I don’t understand.”
He groaned, running ragged fingers through his hair. “It was the queens’ final failsafe. If the curse were ever broken, a timer of sorts would begin on the human’s life.” Eyes full of anguish met mine. “Once it reaches the end, you will die.”
The familiar despair that I often felt at home on the farm wrapped its cold, gnarled hands around my heart and squeezed. Was all of this for nothing? I had risked my life to free Rhydian under the pretense that he would then send me home once his magic was freed.
“You were never going to send me home. Were you?”
He opened his mouth, taking a step toward me. “You’ve endured enough pain. If your life had to end, I wanted you to think it was for something worthwhile.”
“And that something would be you?” I couldn’t keep the anger from my voice. I had finally accepted the thought of never returning home, never seeing my family again to stay with him.
But it was all a lie.
“Maren, I—”
I flinched away as he stepped toward me, his eyes widening.
“Please…” he pleaded, starting to pace the room. “I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get you home in spite of the curse, I swear. This world needs your light, not my darkness.”
“Why are you so sure you’re a monster?” I asked, wishing for once he would just open up to me. That he would stop hiding so many secrets and let me see the real Rhydian.
“Is this about the others?” I asked.
He came to a sudden stop, eyes flashing.
“If you think that makes you a monster, Rhydian, then you need to think again.”
“I killed them. All of them.”
I shook my head. “Were you telling the truth that Carrow tortured them?”
His throat bobbed as he swallowed. A single nod.
“Then it sounds to me like you ended their suffering. Carrow was the monster, not you.”
“I kidnapped dozens of humans, and it led to their horrible deaths. How can you not think I’m a monster?”
“Okay, yes, the kidnapping isn’t great, but sometimes, desperation breaks and twists all of us into something we were never meant to be. I might not like that you did it, but I understand why you did.”
Rhydian scoffed, as if my words were foolish.
“Just…tell me what to do,” I pleaded. “How do we stop this?”
Rhydian resumed walking, ignoring my plea. What did I have to do to get him to be honest with me?
Maybe I could ask Nico—
“Just leave it alone, Maren.” The sadness in his voice stopped me like a cold bucket of water dumped over my head.
He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair again.
“I will…” He hesitated, biting his lip, as if the words he was about to speak were painful.
“I will do my very best to find a way to send you home. Before the last petal falls. I’ll ask Carrow to open the portal if I have to.
You don’t deserve this fate. Eroth’s fate.
” He didn’t need to add his fate. “You’ve done enough. ”
“But—”
A wave of his hand cut me off. Rhydian turned and walked away. “Don’t follow me.”
***
My dreams were fitful and restless, and I woke up every hour drenched in sweat that night. Dreams of different kinds of beasts haunted me, laying waste to Eroth before coming for me.
In my dreams, I tried to stop each beast. I screamed myself hoarse, tried bargaining with the monsters, even offered myself as a sacrifice if only it would leave Eroth and the rest of Avalea alone.
Nothing would quench each beast’s bloodlust. They appeared to only desire power and destruction. They wanted no part of me. It had a sinking feeling settling in my gut, though I wasn’t entirely sure why.
The dreams—nightmares—kept coming, and after the sixth one I gave up on sleep for the night, the sheets and blanket utterly drenched in sweat.
I stared at the ceiling in the dark, feeling the breath pool in front of me despite the dying fire in the fireplace. Rhydian’s magic must have weakened even more for it to be so cold inside the castle. It had always been cold, but not this cold.
An ember popped, making me jump.
Calm down, Maren. You’re safe. Everything is fine.
I tried to reassure myself, but I knew it was a lie. If Carrow could just waltz right into the castle, I was not safe. If Rhydian’s magic was weak enough that the very air was so frigid it stole the breath from my lungs, everything was not fine.
A shiver settled into my bones, and I silently cursed the damp sheets, which weren’t helping matters.
A soft whispering made me freeze. I strained my ears, listening for it again when a quiet voice sounded through the door.
“Are you awake, Maren?”
It was Nico.
With a wince, I slid from the damp bed, donned a thick robe, and opened the door to find a dejected Nico. Despite the cold, he wasn’t wearing any extra layers, though his breath clouded the air between us as he sighed.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, instantly going into protective mode like I did when my younger siblings gave me the same type of look.
His eyes held a silent plea for help. “It’s Rhydian.”
“What happened?” My stomach curdled at the thought of something happening to him, but I didn’t let myself examine why that might be. I grabbed my boots next to the door and tugged them on.
Nico hesitated before answering, “I think it’s better if you see.”