Chapter Thirty-Four
The Caged
I walk quickly down the hall to the room that will be mine for the foreseeable future. Tears burn the back of my eyes and I feel as if I am seconds from losing it entirely or passing out.
Probably both.
The door across from mine is open and I stop short, peeking in.
Emery is lounging on her bed, golden waves a mess behind her as she reads.
She’s wearing a tunic and trousers similar to my own but trimmed in gold and cut perfectly for her toned body.
I can’t tell what she’s reading, but she seems bothered, upset even.
I take a silent deep breath and knock on her door.
Her eyes flash to mine in anger, before dissolving into surprise.
“Elaenor.” She whispers as she sits up, her perfect hair flowing behind her.
“Emery.” I respond and take a hesitant step inside. Her room is a little smaller than mine, with a huge balcony and sitting room. The sky is a bright, cloudless blue and I can see the tips of wisteria trees brushing the balustrades of the stone balcony. It’s peaceful in here, comfortable.
“How are you doing?” She asks quietly and I offer her a small smile.
“I’m not entirely sure. I’m just tired and probably due for a meeting with a mender.” My hands knot in front of me, and I can feel my limbs shake as I take another step forward. Her eyes track my steps as if I was a deer she is afraid to startle.
“Well, that’s to be expected, we can have someone sent to your room.” I can almost taste the awkwardness in the room, but I have to know.
“Your father, have you heard anything?” Her eyes widen and she bites her lip before shaking her head and looking down at her lap.
“Not since we received word that he saw you. I am holding out hope that he isn’t dead, but we haven’t heard from Ren either.”
“Ren?” She looks back up at me.
“Father Reynolds. He was sort of our inside man.” Shock settles deep in my belly as it all starts to make sense. How they knew things.
“Can I ask you something?” I ask and she meets my gaze.
“Of course, cousin.” She smiles.
“Nithe,” a soft laugh escapes her throat as she slides off the bed and walks towards me. Her cold fingers wrap around my hands, prying them apart and lacing her fingers through mine.
“Nithe is one of my favorite people in the world. He’s kind and caring, protective and strong.
I know you may not want it, nor do you even know him, but you would be lucky to marry him.
Anyone would.” I stare into her golden-brown eyes for a moment before stepping back and out of her grasp.
Her mouth falls as she tilts her head again, studying me.
“I am not in the market for marrying anyone, Emery. I am already wed. I won’t be forced into another union. Not like this.” I spin around and make my way across the hall to my room, shutting the door behind me and flicking the lock .
I cross the room quickly, climbing through the open window and onto the balcony. I drop down onto my knees, my palms pressing into the stone as the sobs start to build.
Brother.
Twin.
Uncle.
Amaya?
It’s too much. And now marriage? Again?
I can’t do this. I can’t. I have no family. I guess technically Enzo and Kassius are my family, but not the one I grew up with. Not the one I miss.
I have nothing. These people are nothing. The only thing I need to do, the only thing I can do, is kill Tobias.
Tobias .
He is the only thing I can think about. Even now. The way his face looked as I fell over the cliff. He looked terrified for me. He looked like he cared.
Does he care?
I can’t tell what’s real anymore.
I—
Knocking on my door causes me to jump as I look over my shoulder. Tousled black hair and light purple eyes walk through and close the wooden door behind. He’s holding a piece of rolled parchment in his hand as he slowly makes his way to the window.
“Little witch.” He says by way of greeting.
“Did you break my lock?” He smiles in response, and I clench my fists.
I turn away from him and clamor to my feet. My hands grip the cool stone railing as I look out over the land. Grassy hills littered with all of the colors of the rainbow, but it’s the purple trees that draw my focus.
“When I first came here, I hated it. I hated how quiet it was, how many flowers there were. It felt to open.” I stay quiet, letting him speak.
“My home is much like yours. Trees filling every inch of open space, cool and humid air. But we also have flowers and plants of all kinds, animals you wouldn’t even know about.
Everything across The Divide is like that.
Beautiful.” He says softly, and I can hear the smile in his voice.
“The Divide?” What is that? I turn slightly so I can face him.
“Down the center of the sea, there is an invisible border between the human lands and the lands of magic.” He gestures out past the hills, the direction I’m assuming the sea is.
“I don’t understand.” His face recoils as he looks at me. As if he’s only just now realizing how little I know. He stares for a second before his face softens and he starts to explain.
“This side of the sea was created for the humans. The other side was created for those who are of magical blood. Like you and I.” He points at me before dropping his hand, his pinky barely brushing mine where it rests on the railing.
“I don’t know anything about our world, Nithe. Not a single thing. I was sheltered growing up, barely even knowing about Rakushia and Noterra. I’ve never seen anything, been anywhere.” My throat catches and I look back out towards the hills.
“You can now.” I shake my head.
“I can’t. He’ll come for me.”
“We are going to keep you safe, Elaenor. You don’t have to be afraid here.” His hand covers mine and I pull it away, clutching the hem of my tunic, worrying the stitches.
“We arrived just a few short hours ago and all I have been, is afraid. Your father wants to force me to marry you. He wants me to take over all of Viridiana. I not only have a brother, but I have a twin. Enzo is my twin brother who I didn’t get to grow up with.
Everything has changed. Everything. I have this suffocating need to go home, but it’s not Chatis I am craving, it’s Noterra.
” I bite my lip as the admission rolls off my tongue.
“To a husband who tortured you? Are you serious?” Disgust coats his words like ash, and I look back up at him.
“With Tobias, I knew what to expect. I knew that at the end of the day, I’d be fine because he wouldn’t kill me. Even if he did, I would be better off for it—” His hand finds my shoulder, turning me towards him. His hand is hot, bleeding through my tunic and scorching my skin.
“Don’t. Don’t say you would be better off dead.” He snaps.
“What do you want from me Nithe? Do you want false confidence in my mental state? Do you want me to wear a crown and a wedding dress and promise to be yours forever? What do you want from me? I have nothing to give!” I try to shake his hand off, but he tosses the parchment to the ground, his hands gripping onto my face.
“Let go of me.” I snap, my fingers wrapping around his wrists.
“No. Listen to me. You are more than what you were made to be. You are more than what you can even imagine. Stop letting him control you—”
“He’s my husband.” My voice is weak, my shoulders shaking.
“He doesn’t have to be.”
“I want him! Even now, Nithe, I want him. He was the only home I had.” A tear trails down my cheek and his eyes follow it down.
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
He leans forward and presses his forehead against mine, bathing me in the scent of mint and bergamot. I shake my head, our foreheads rubbing.
“This is day one of a new life, little witch. Day one. You get to decide how the rest of the days are spent. You. Not Tobias. Not my father, or your brother, or me. You .” His hands slip from my face as he bends down to grab the parchment.
He holds it out for me, and I hesitantly take it.
“When you are ready, I’ll help you burn it. We all will.”
He climbs through the window and quickly leaves the room, shutting the door behind him. I stare at the white parchment in my hand, not even old enough to be yellowed by age. I unroll it, tears pooling in my eyes.
“ King Tobias Rosenthal of Noterra and Queen Elaenor Rosenthal of Noterra, bound together forever by a marriage approved by the gods. ” I whisper, reading the words scrawled across the page.
Forever.
Even if I burn it, I’ll still be his.
No one bothered me for the rest of the day.
I sat on the balcony, watching the sun go down.
At some point someone brought a tray of food in, setting it on the table by the fireplace, but I don’t move from my spot.
The air grows colder and colder as the darkness spreads, but still, I don’t move.
Even when the ache of my wounds barrel into my mind until that is all I can think of.
When all I can feel is pain, still, I don’t move.
When exhaustion pulls at my mind and my eyelids grow heavy, I stay on the balcony.
I watch the stars fill the sky, moonlight spreading across the plains, setting everything in a silver glow.
Moonlight.
“Mama?” I whisper, hoping that wherever she is, she can hear me.
“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to go on this way, with these people.
” I clear my throat, forcing the growing lump down.
“Why did you keep him from me? Why did you never tell me I had a brother? Why!” I raise my voice, screaming into the night.
“How could you do that? I don’t understand.
” The tears fall freely and white clouds my vision.
“No, no, no.” I whisper, shaking my head.
My limbs begin to vibrate as the aether spreads, turning my veins into a bright white, glowing through my skin.
I can see the stars forming on my fingers.
I force a deep, slow breath, but it doesn’t work.
I pull myself up onto my feet, shaking my hands.
Panic spreads just as quickly as the starlight as I try to get it to go away. But it doesn’t listen.
I don’t have control.
“Get off of me!” I yell as I shake them again.
Sparks fling off my fingers and tears form.
“Stop. Stop. Stop! ” I repeat as I stare at my hands, almost completely white and glittering.
My head feels light, my body dropping to an icy temperature.
My feet go numb as I fall to my knees. “What is happening?” I whisper as I fall forward, my cheek slamming into the stone.
The last thing I see before my eyes go dark is a purple glow.