34. Regent #2
My jaw grinds. The mere mention of her name is enough to make my stomach and blood curdle.
“Yes. She wasn’t his at the time, but that is a story to be left in the past. All you need to know is she made an enemy of me.
” Silence fills the air as I try to reel back the anger that isn’t directed at the woman before me.
“Now you know I have plenty of enemies, but I ask, will you help me? And if so, what can I do for you in return?”
“Wow, you’re actually asking me? And if I don’t want to help you?”
“I can protect you,” I don’t hesitate to say. The thought of her being anywhere but by my side isn’t an option. I need her with me because she chooses to be. Beyond that, I want her close so I know she’s safe. A paradox, considering our association only complicates matters and combines enemies.
Tension crackles between us. Knowing Esther, she would never outright accept my protection, not if it made her feel less of an equal.
So she doesn’t address it. “I need to return to my kingdom, Regent. My people were slaughtered when I was five, and it was King Kain who saved me. All this time, I thought I understood his warnings, but I still demanded to explore the world. And I’ve discovered since, it’s not at all what I thought it would be.
Actually, it’s complete shit, no offense. ”
The edges of my lips curl up as I take another bite of bread, encouraging her to do the same. I can sense her magic shift, brushing up against my weakened muse that still clings to hers. When blades are down, and we simply sit, I sense a serenity I haven’t known for a long time.
It’s unnerving as much as it is peaceful, and so I lean into it, if only permitted to embrace it momentarily. “You speak of him like he was a father.”
“He was a father to me, but also to many. He cared about his people. He dissolved slavery in our nation, freed them from shitty circumstances. He protected us. He protected me. I regret not thanking him for that enough.”
My hand acts of its own accord, reaching for hers. I don’t understand the urge to comfort her. But the need to be close is visceral.
“He must’ve been a powerful greer to keep you hidden for so long.”
“He was,” her voice breaks, and I shift the basket out of the way so I can pull her into my lap.
I might not excel in human emotion, but I’ve come to learn that her needs are important.
That her magic thrives off either side of the pendulum.
And whether for my own use or hers, I want her to defy Felia and keep her sanity.
I want Esther to grow strong but know in moments like these that she can depend on me.
That I will hide her away from anyone who might see her tears, if only to protect her vulnerability.
“What happened on the night I found you?” I ask her, brushing part of her hair out of her eyes.
Although braided, there always seem to be pieces that escape around her face.
It annoys me how many times I’ve been compelled to push it away.
But if I were being honest with myself, it was only so I could touch her.
To bring her to me, like now, no armor or blades between us.
To just exist, with the elements whispering around us among the trees.
The world moving on without us. I don’t know the magnitude of her story, but I know just from holding her that we both deserve this peaceful moment at the very least.
“Master Kain announced he wanted to adopt me legally, meaning I was to become the heir to his throne and the kingdom. I wasn’t in agreement, but it all moved so fast, and who was I to deny the king who gave me a second chance?
But I was worried about the way it would cage me.
His cousin, Dahlia, didn’t take the news well.
I don’t even know if she knew about it prior to his unofficial announcement, because the night of his declaration, assassins attempted to take his life, and then our city was attacked by a water beast. The beast was different, though.
” Her eyebrows crinkle. “There was something chained to it or inside of it, as if someone was controlling it without contract. It felt unnatural.”
My body stiffens. The whispers of the elements catch on the wind. I wonder if any connection lies between Esther and this magic, since she has proven to do the same.
“Are you sure it wasn’t contracted to a greer?”
She shakes her head, her attention locked in the distance, her voice low and troubled as I can only imagine what memories resurface.
“No, it felt different. The way I sense magic is through invisible chains, they’re like an extension of me, always inspecting.
I can differentiate the elements a greer uses, especially if I want to link with it and use it.
But beasts are different, I can often sense if they are Felia or Neina blessed, or not at all.
But I should not be able to control them.
I’ve never been able to do that. And I’ve never seen anyone do it without a contract in place.
The water beast that night felt… mutated.
Like something was wrong with it, but I couldn’t figure out what. ”
I consider her for a moment. “Do you think that if you can do it, that perhaps there’s another omni greer that survived?”
She looks at me with eyes wide and hopeful, but it quickly washes away. It hurts me to know that the world has quickly taught her not to feed into hope, because it will always be taken away in the most devastating of ways.