Chapter Forty-Two
The Caged
Nithe’s hand stays planted firmly on my lower back as we are congratulated and greeted in the ballroom.
I don’t know how they were able to set up the room for a reception so quickly, or who any of these people are, but it was done.
Just another thing reminding me of the weeklong carnival celebrating Tobias and I, but instead it’s Nithe next to me.
I kept trying to step out of his grasp, but all it did was win me sidelong glances from our guests. I have a part to play. I have to act like I am happy for this marriage, for this union.
I sip from my glass of white wine. Both tart and bubbly, a drastic difference to the wine I had last year. A wine that ruined sugar for me.
“How long must I stand here?” I whisper as Nithe gives someone walking by a smile. He exhales through his nose.
“The same amount of time I have to.” He replies, his tone dry.
“Which is?” I counter. His hand slides to my hip, and he squeezes, digging his fingers into the flesh.
“Too long.” I step slightly away from him, his hand returning to my lower back.
“I need something to eat.” I say with a smile, walking away from him.
Tingling starts in my fingers, but it’s not the same.
Something is off, something feels wrong.
Not that any of this feels particularly okay since it’s so new, but it doesn’t feel bright like it did at first. It feels as if the light inside of me is slowly being dimmed.
Slowly dying.
A hand grazes my elbow as I reach a table filled with finger foods. My head swivels, but I catch sight of her chestnut hair before I react. The smile plastered to her face doesn’t reach her eyes.
“This should feel different than last time, but it feels the same.” She admits quietly.
“Unfortunately it seems I will remember this time around.” I pointedly glance at the glass is my hand.
“I’m sure they have hemlock here somewhere.” She says with a smirk.
“Not funny.” I say dryly.
“I thought it was funny.” She pouts and picks up a cube of cheese.
“He won’t stop touching me.”
“He likes you.” I snort, wine shooting up my nose causing me to cough. “I’m serious.”
“You can’t be. I’ve only known him for a couple of days.”
“Emery propositioned him a few weeks ago when she was bored and lonely.” Her face falls a little.
“He said no and that he was more or less engaged. That he had no desire to sleep with her.” She gossips.
My pulse skips and my lips freeze where they are resting on the rim of the glass.
I pull it away, my mouth slightly ajar, speechless.
“Why?”
“Why did he say he was engaged or why did he say no?” My words fail me, and she smiles softly. “I think he felt like it would be cheating on you, even if you didn’t exist yet.”
“Scar, I can’t do this. This is too much, too soon.” Her hand grasps mine and she pulls me in for a hug.
“Don’t do anything you don’t want to do. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe it has to do with honor and not his heart.” She pulls back. “Or maybe I am right and there is someone in this room who likes you and has no desire to control you.”
“That we know of.” I retort.
“You know he’s different. He reminds me of Theo a little.” She looks off into the crowd of guests.
“If Theo had a stick up his ass.”
“You only knew one side of him. He had a backbone, and he definitely had a mouth on him.” She smirks again and I glare at her.
She rolls her eyes before plucking another cube of cheese off the tray.
“You may have loved him in the end, Elaenor, but he was my fiancé.” She walks away, her arm brushing mine.
I can’t shake the feeling of dread lingering in my stomach. I lift my glass, downing it before grabbing another and doing the same.
I have no desire to remember this day, and if I don’t have Tobias’s poison, I can still use alcohol to numb everything.
My head is spinning, my limbs numb, as I grab another glass. I lost count somewhere around five, but I stopped caring. I seemed to have lost that ability too.
My feet feel light as I spin around the dance floor, people dancing around me. I feel free in this moment. As if nothing and no one plagued my dreams or my days. As if for once in my life I can be my own person.
Berry red liquid splashes on the ground as my cup tilts. I don’t remember switching the type of wine I was drinking. I giggle at the puddle on the floor. The dark color blending into the light wooden floors.
It could almost be blood.
I stop spinning. My head takes a second to catch up as my eyes stay fixed on the puddle.
Nausea fills my belly, making it heavy. My eyes blur and then I can see it. My hand drops the wine, the glass shattering on the floor. I don’t see anyone react; I don’t see anyone but him.
I can see his head as it rolls away from the puddle. Light eyes open and lifeless, staring at me. No body connected to it. Just the singular part of him. His lips parted, blood trickling out of the corner. A sense of foreboding, a warning echoes in my mind.
My eyes snag on his dark hair, short and tousled. It’s not Theo, it’s not Donovan, it’s—
“You are causing people to stare, little witch.” His breath is hot in my ear as he wraps his arm around me from behind.
“Come with me.” He grabs my hand, pulling me through the crowd.
My feet act on their own, following him blindly, as my eyes stay fixed on the wine until it disappears through the crowd of people.
Sounds return, momentarily deafening me as the laughter and cheers erupt around me. Sweat beads on my hairline, dripping down my temple. He keeps pulling me until we reach the hallway, cool air funneling through the open doors.
“What is it?” Nithe asks as he stops and turns, his hand still in mine.
“I saw—” I stop, my throat thick as I stare up at him.
“What did you see?” I shake my head and pull my hand out of his.
“Nothing. I saw nothing.” His amethyst eyes are soft, concerned, but they harden as they shift to look behind me. I spin, coming face to face with King Davenport, his eyes bright and unbothered as my nose brushes his chest.
“Oh, the happy couple.” He sneers. Nithe’s arm wraps around my stomach, pulling me back against him. I fight the urge to step away, even if his touch makes me nauseous. “I hope you weren’t retiring for the evening?”
“No, father. Just getting some air.” His chest vibrates against my back as I feel his hand tighten.
“Well I hope you have gotten enough; we have one more activity for this evening.” He smiles, a grin so wicked it could rival my father’s, before he licks his lips and stares down at me.
“An activity?” I ask, my voice quiet and weak.
“No.” Nithe snaps behind me. I try to turn and look at him, but he tightens his grip.
“What?” I question.
“The consummation ceremony.” Davenport responds and I feel the wine come back up my throat.