Chapter 17
Seda
When Seda’s door closed, she rushed into her room and flung open the bathroom door, undressed, and jumped into the shower.
Cahir’s magic was impressive. Seeing Neoma on the ground begging had scared her, and she didn’t want him to hurt Neoma, but it felt nice to see him defend her, to see him prove the things he told her in that storage room were true.
She wanted to be the only one he desired.
A smile spread across her face when she thought back to their kiss and his declaration of love.
A fire within her, the same one she had stamped down, flared to life, growing stronger the more she thought about it.
How many years had they wasted avoiding each other?
His gentleness with her, his protectiveness, his respect for her—everything should have been evident, but she was so blind to it.
Years of dealing with her own trauma blinded her to his affection.
But he lied.
She shook her head at the thought. It was out of his control. She knew how tricky the Wisps could be. She understood that now.
She jumped out of the shower and hurried to the closet to grab some clothes.
She slipped into shorts and a tank top, then brushed her hair.
Looking in the mirror, she saw that her hair had more random glittering strands, like the twinkling of starlight, with a few strands of purples and blues scattered through.
Strange. It’s changing even more now.
She grabbed her shoes and stepped through her door. The guards were stationed there, eyes on her with smirks cresting their lips. One snickered something about eggs, but she ignored them and walked to Cahir’s door.
She knocked, and when no one responded, she knocked again.
She opened the door and walked inside. The room was impressive.
A bed larger than Elco’s was placed in the center of the room, covered with green silk sheets and throw pillows.
His bed was perfectly made, and the tall windows behind it were lit, revealing the beauty of the land beyond.
She moved toward the windows and looked out.
Vast landscapes of jagged cliffs, ending in a battlefield of chaotic waves, crashed against the rocks a hundred feet below. Low-hanging clouds brushed against the cliffsides, hugging them as if the sky was trying to wrap them in warmth from the cool ocean air.
She could hear the running water in his shower and decided to grab a blanket from the bed and step outside. The sea below carried the whisper of salt, a fresh aroma that reminded how immense this world truly was.
As the wind tore through her hair, she sat on a plush chair and gazed across his kingdom to the west, where the ocean lay no claim upon the land.
Verdant landscapes and the twinkling of the green essence, like fireflies scattered across the land, fought for triumph against the sparkle of the stars.
She inhaled the fresh, salty air and sighed.
The essence swirled around her and settled on her skin, softly tickling her once more.
Umbrea was beautiful, its charm not only in its lush scenery but also in the peaceful atmosphere that enveloped everyone here. Unlike Joro, where citizens faced punishments and restrictions on their essential resources. Food, shelter, and safety shouldn’t be hard to find. It was wrong.
If the Jotnar had a reliable supply of food from Joro, why were they trying to break the dome? It didn’t add up. She saw firsthand how people were treated in the Camp. The Wyrd was just an excuse for cruelty to kill and control.
She thought about Mordred. How old was he, anyway? When she was a child, he was the lord then, as well. How long had he been running the city prior to her father? If the lord wasn’t the one in charge, then who was this Monster King pulling the strings?
She refused to believe her father was intentionally hurting people now that he was the lord. There was more at play that she didn’t understand yet.
Warm hands gently rested on her shoulders as she gazed into the distance. She looked up and saw Cahir standing behind her, smiling down with a tenderness of love she hadn’t allowed herself to see before.
“It’s beautiful here, Cahir,” she said as she looked across the land to the distant mountain range beyond, bathed in soft moonlight.
“This could be your home, too,” he replied. “We could stay here… together.”
Seda hadn’t thought about that. She had no plans when she escaped the Camp; her only goal was to find safety. Peace sounded nice. She had finally found the safety she had been searching for.
For several heartbeats, she breathed in the fresh air, allowing the silence to settle.
Her journey to the Wisps and meeting with Tahti had taught her more about herself than she had realized. She was called a key, someone, or something necessary for the safety of all of Xyberus.
She thought about Joro and how living there only taught her fear. She tensed when she remembered the painful cries from Esper in the Camp.
The others who lived there deserved to live in a place like this, too.
Remaining in Umbrea was a childish hope.
“I can’t. I’m needed for things I don’t even understand yet,” she finally whispered.
Cahir stayed silent for a moment. He gradually took his hands off her shoulders and let out a sigh. “I wish things were different.”
“Me, too.”
He gently touched her hair and twirled it around his fingers. “This is changing,” he said of her sparkling strands.
“Yeah, I’ve been noticing that as well.” She collected a handful of it and admired it in the moonlight’s glow.
“Would you like to go to the library now?” he asked, extending his hand to her. “I have a book I’d like us to see when we get there, as well.”
She accepted his offered hand, and they left the patio, heading toward where she hoped to find answers.