Chapter 13
Seda
“The gardens here are so lovely, don’t you think?
” Neoma asked Seda as they walked along paths lined with colorful roses, bordered by a tall brick edging.
She wasn’t really looking at the flowers.
Instead, she focused on the two Corvids that flew high in the sky above them, their shadows dancing across the ground below.
“Yes, they’re beautiful,” Seda grumbled, not even staring at the plants. She didn’t want to be walking around the gardens with Neoma, and she found it increasingly hard to stay polite. She kept thinking back to how Neoma had been watching Cahir, and how he seemed distant from her that morning.
Jealousy dragged its ugly claws through her body, stabbing through her like the rose thorns that were likely on those bushes. She thought about how Cahir had been up close and personal with this woman the night she arrived, and her fists clenched tightly together.
“What do you like to do for fun?” Neoma asked, obviously not getting the clue that Seda was over this wretched walk.
“I don’t have hobbies. I wasn’t allowed such frivolities in Joro,” she stated bluntly.
“That’s a shame. But now you’re here! I love to embroider. Would you like to try sometime? I brought some materials with me.”
“I don’t think so.” That sounded boring as hell.
“Oh! Look at this one! It has a honey-colored eye!” Neoma exclaimed as she examined a red rose.
Seda had no idea what the woman was talking about, so she stepped closer and peered at the colorful assortment of roses before them.
Each rose featured gentle, curled petals surrounding a glassy eye with long, black eyelashes.
Every flower switched its focus from Neoma to Seda as she neared, watching her warily.
“These roses are sentient?” she asked, curiosity piquing and forgetting her previous irritation with the woman. “They’re beautiful.”
“Just another monstrous plant. Probably sapient. Beautiful but disgusting creatures. Their tears can burn your skin if they’re not plucked from their bushes,” Neoma said with a cheerful tone. “Would you like to pick a bouquet for your room?”
Before Seda could object, Neoma reached out and yanked roughly at one of the stems, revealing red sap that slowly oozed out.
The other flowers tried to shy away from her touch, but she kept reaching out and plucking the roses, their eyes closing and lashes trembling as if in pain as they were gathered into a bouquet.
Could Neoma not see that she was hurting them? Anger surged back through Seda as she glared at the saddened florals in Neoma’s hand.
“You’re hurting them!” Seda yelled, her heart sinking as she watched the flowers struggle to escape Neoma, their roots deep in the soil, holding them back.
“Stop trying to escape from me! You were planted here just for this, you foolish things!” Neoma snapped as she tussled with the plants. She glanced at Seda. “These are monsters, Seda. Don’t tell me you feel sympathy for beastly creatures, do you?” She raised her eyebrows.
This woman was ignoring the room—or the garden—and Seda’s patience was already paper-thin.
She took a deep breath to steady herself.
No, she didn’t have sympathy for monsters.
She remembered the Gnashing Flora from her journey and swallowed down her pity toward the flowers.
That plant had tried to eat her and killed one of her friends.
She thought back to the blistered body of Seren and pursed her lips.
Her anger finally shattered, and she looked away from the pitiful plants, clenching her sparking fists.
She shifted the topic and blurted, “What do you want from the king?”
Neoma paused mid-way through picking another rose. She glanced at Seda and roughly snagged the stem without looking at it. “I want nothing from him.”
“It seems otherwise, Neoma.”
Neoma fluttered her eyelashes and sighed. “I mean, he is incredibly handsome, and I heard he’s amazing in bed. Have you seen those muscles? I bet his cock is just as intimidating.”
Seda ground her teeth together and looked away. She wanted to strangle this woman, but she refrained and chose not to respond. At least Neoma was being honest for once.
“Do you love him, Seda?” Neoma asked as she aggressively yanked another scared flower from the bush.
“He’s just my friend,” she replied matter-of-factly.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” Her voice was thick with fermented honey. Neoma placed the flower next to the others in her pile and grabbed another just as forcefully.
Seda allowed the silence to surround them before muttering, “I do have love for him.”
Neoma looked at her with lips pressed in a bloodless line before smiling sweetly, a hint of cruelty flashing through.
She reached down, picked a small purple rose, and placed it above Seda’s ear.
She could feel the red sap oozing into her hair, and tensed when Neoma’s finger grazed along her ear.
“This one matches your eyes. You’re so beautiful, Seda.
You shouldn’t fall for that stupid man’s charms. I’m sure there’s someone better for you out there. ”
This woman was utterly confusing. If she didn’t want anything from Cahir, then what was her goal?
She followed her as they continued along the path.
Neoma finished gathering her large bouquet and pulled a red ribbon from her pocket, tying it around the flowers.
“Perfect,” she said as she held out the bouquet to Seda, the blood red sap slowly dripping from the bottom.
Seda reached for the flowers, and before her fingers touched the bouquet, her vision blurred.
The sky darkened as thick fog enveloped her. The cool, sandalwood-scented mist brushed against her skin, and her breath billowed around her in small clouds.
All she could see were the roses that had fallen on the floor and were bleeding dark blood, with a large crimson pool spreading around them.
The distant sound of violent screams echoed as footsteps crunched on the gravel nearby. Seda instantly activated her magic and looked around, sparks dancing along her fingertips.
The setting felt oddly familiar.
“Who’s there?” she called into the fog. “Neoma?”
“There you are,” a deep, male voice echoed with silk through the fog. Where had she heard that voice before?
“Who are you? What do you want?” she asked, raising her hands in preparation in case someone suddenly rushed at her.
“The better question is, do you know who you are? Do you remember yet?” he asked in response.
Seda felt something slither across her ankle, and she looked down. Black, wet snakes began writhing all around her, just like all of her dreams from before.
This time, she jumped back and screamed as the creatures tightly coiled around her calves. She heard the deep, chuckling voice as it said, “You usually love them. Don’t move too quickly… They have an intriguing bite. You may never want to leave if they do.”
“What do you want?” she asked once more, scanning her surroundings, but the fog was so dense she couldn’t see anything.
“I have something you want,” he replied with a deep, rumbling laugh, ignoring her question.
Seda’s eyes widened as a large man emerged from the mist. He was clad in black snakeskin armor and wore a cracked skull mask with vibrant eyes that peered through it, as if looking into her soul. She felt her heartbeat quicken when she stared into his familiar eyes.
He slowly walked up to her, and she looked up at the color of seafoam that she knew so well.
Her breath came out in a whisper, “Kalon?”
He gently extended his hand and carefully plucked the purple flower from above her ear, holding it up so she could see. The flower had tears falling from its petals, mixing with the red sap seeping from its base.
Anger clouded her vision. He stole her necklace, toyed with her heart, and kissed her. He pretended she was important—someone worth getting to know better—and she was furious.
“I want my necklace back!” she shouted as electrical shocks slithered up her arms.
“Soon,” he replied with a shrug, his voice carrying a playful lilt.
“What does that mean?”
He dropped the flower onto the ground, and a snake quickly coiled around it.
“What do you want?” She stepped closer to him and narrowed her eyes, catching sight of the black moth tattoo on his neck. He was playing games with her.
“I want my guiding light back.”
“I don’t know or care what that means. Give it back!” She didn’t even think before she unleashed the magic from her palms, aiming straight at his heart. Lightning struck his chest, and sparks trailed along his body and over his mask.
He chuckled as the electricity swarmed across his body. She threw another blast at him, hitting his chest once more, but he spread his arms wide and groaned. “Oh, Seda. I feel so alive!”
Seda lowered her hands. Her magic wasn’t affecting him. Why wasn’t it hurting him?
“Where’s my necklace!?” she seethed.
The largest snake Seda had ever seen came into view and lunged for her with murderous fangs drawn.
“I’m coming for you,” was all she heard before the dark claimed her once more.
Roya was over Seda, lightly slapping her cheeks as her vision returned. She looked around and saw she was back in the rose garden, lying on the gravel pathway. On all fours, she swiftly backed out of Roya’s arms and bumped into Ferona behind her.
“There was a giant snake, and I saw Kalon!” Seda shrieked, looking around for the enormous serpent.
Roya and Ferona exchanged glances, and she saw Neoma standing there, holding the bouquet of red roses still, looking down at her with furrowed brows and wide eyes.
“I didn’t see a snake,” Neoma said, and she looked around the ground nervously in case one might pop out and bite her.
“It was a huge snake! Bigger than… than… Elco!” she exclaimed.
“Seda, there was no snake here. Are you okay?” Roya asked with concern as she ran her hand along Seda’s forehead.
“I saw it! And I saw Kalon! I also saw your roses covered in a pool of blood!” Seda yelled and stared at Neoma’s bouquet, which was fresh and clean. No crimson blood covered her hands, only the small droplets of red sap from their bases. Neoma glanced at the bouquet before looking back at Seda.
“You fainted, Seda. We saw it,” Roya offered gently.
“Let’s get her back to her rooms,” Ferona suggested as she stared at her sister, waiting for approval.
Roya nodded, and the two Corvids assisted Seda to her feet. Her legs trembled, nearly causing her to fall again. They supported her by shifting her between their shoulders and guided her back to the castle, leaving Neoma alone in the garden with her bouquet.
Was it just a nightmare?
She reached up to touch the purple flower on her ear, but it was gone.