Chapter Forty
The Caged
My footsteps are near silent as I make my way down the hall. I can hear chatter coming from the library, but just like last night, I pass by. I take my steps one at a time as I descend the stairs. My mind is empty, quiet, and a familiar calmness settles over me.
I round the corner and stop short. The same exact guards who disappeared last night are back, standing side by side in front of the closed door. My eyes pass over their armor, silver and gold reflecting the sun beating down through the windows.
I hit the bottom step and they both turn and look at me. They nod shallowly before looking back down the hall. My brows pinch together in confusion, but I turn from them, heading towards where I think the council room is.
The large double doors are closed, and I push them open, ignoring protocol .
Davenport and Kassiu s are bent over the map, hands holding what appear to be mugs of coffee. They look up in surprise as I enter and rest my hands on the back of one of the chairs.
“Princess.” The king says by way of greeting.
“I made a decision.” I say as strongly as I can. Kassius’s eyes widen as he glances between the two of us.
“Enlighten me.” Davenport’s voice is filled with humor, as if he can’t wait to hear what I have to say. I take a deep breath, my fingers flexing on the back of the chair.
“I will marry your son. I will help you go to war against Tobias. And when this over, when I end his life, you can have it. You can have every drop of the magic in my veins. You can take it all and I will live out my life as a nobody. You can have the kingdoms; you can have Viridiana—”
“Elaenor!” Kassius cuts me off.
“I don’t want any of it.” I say through gritted teeth.
“I don’t want any of it.” I repeat. Davenport smiles, and I can see the resemblance.
The resemblance between Tobias, Evreux, and Viktor.
It’s the look of someone who feels they have won.
“I never asked for this. I never wanted this life. But you do. So take it once the war is over. Take everything.”
I don’t wait for a response. I turn on my heels and head out of the room. My feet guide me back to my room where I find the rolled parchment, the certificate of mine and Tobias’s marriage. I unroll it, my eyes catching on his signature.
I can feel him. I can feel him inside me, destroying every ounce of me that is left. His shadows are flowing through my veins, last night was proof of that, and the only way for it to stop is if he’s gone.
If he’s dead.
The paper crinkles in my hand and I exit the room, making my way down the hall.
Everyone is there. Enzo, Scarlett, Laenie, Erik, Emery, and Nithe, who’s eyes look dark and shadowed, as if he hasn’t slept. As if he only just returned this morning. I hold his gaze and lift the parchment.
“Burn it.” He looks at my outstretched hand and then back to my eyes. He slowly sets his mug down and takes it from my hand. I quickly glance around the room, everyone’s eyes on me.
“Are you sure?” It’s Emery who asks and I look at her. Her golden hair is braided in one long plait, hanging over her shoulder. Her eyes are bright, clear.
“I’m sure.” I respond. Nithe takes a step towards me as if he is going to say something, but he doesn’t.
He walks past me to the unlit fireplace.
He takes a slow deep breath, and everyone stares at his back.
When he exhales, a stream of fire the color of his eyes shoots into the fireplace.
I flinch, feeling the warmth from across the room.
He looks back at me once, asking again. I nod and he tosses the parchment in. We are all silent as we watch the paper turn black under the purple flames. I stare unblinking as I watch the black turn to white. I watch until the paper is nothing more than ash and the fire winks out.
My stomach cramps and I feel a cold sweat wash over me. I inhale slowly, fighting against the exhaustion, before turning around and heading back to the room.
A knock sounds on my door. I don’t look up from where I am sitting on the settee, staring at the orange flames. Sweat drips from my neck, soaking into the tunic I am wearing. The door opens and I can feel his presence, almost as well as I felt Tobias’s, which should concern me, but I feel nothing.
“I assume we will be wed this evening.” I say into the silence, my eyes still focused on the fire.
“Is that what you want?”
“What I want is of no consequence, Nithe.” I say just as monotone.
“I don’t think that’s true, little witch.” He sounds sad, broken. Like me.
“We will soon be at war, and despite how much I loathe your father, how much I don’t trust him, he’s right. People are coming together to fight; armies are being built. If I walk away, if I allow myself to just be used, there won’t be anything of me left.”
“Being wed isn’t just a ploy, it isn’t just a step towards winning a war.” His voice sounds almost hurt, but I disregard it. I have to.
“It is a piece of paper. One I will watch burn when this is over.” I respond. He sighs, coming to sit in the settee behind me. “What happened last night, Nithe?”
“I told you; I am a wyvos.” His deep voice is hesitant, but I can’t ignore the feeling of it snaking down my spine, as if it’s wrapping itself around me in a warm embrace.
“Not that, although I still can’t wrap my head around that. After. You lost control, you were going to hurt them.”
“When I am in that… form , I am more animal than human. Instincts take over—”
“Enzo said that you were territorial over things you loved.”
“Enzo is wrong.” He interjects.
“You can’t have feelings for me. You can’t.” I turn in the seat, staring in his eyes.
“I assure you, little witch, I feel nothing but duty bound.” My gaze holds his. He has to be telling the truth. I can’t do what I need to do if he falls for me.
“My heart will always belong to someone else.” I admit.
“Tobias?” I don’t say anything for a moment.
“Tobias owns every single part of me, every cell in my body, but not my heart. I love him, I do, but it’s not him who I wish were beside me.”
“Theo.” He says softly, knowingly.
“I don’t know how or why, but I saw him. When I was dying. He’s the reason I got up, and part of me feels like when this is all over, I will see him again.” I admit, remember the feel of his lips on mine.
“The only reason that would happen is if you died, Elaenor.”
“That’s the second time.” I say, my eyes meeting his.
“What?”
“That is only the second time you have used my name.”
“It has been way more than that.” He gives me his playful, lopsided grin. “Don’t get used to it.” I smile softly, my eyes returning to the flames. “Will you be alright?”
“I have no choice. If I have any chance of killing him, I need to be stronger, don’t I?” He doesn’t answer, but I don’t need him to.
I can’t be meek; I can’t be timid. I have to fight.
I have to be able to fight.