Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
ELARIYA
Istared at Thayden, still in silence.
I hadn’t spoken yet.
Apart from telling me to sit, he hadn't spoken another word. He’d simply lounged in the armchair, one ankle resting across his knee, watching me with the same arrogant confidence he'd always worn.
I refused to give him the satisfaction of thinking he’d won.
If I said anything now, he’d be able to tell just from the sound of my voice that I was scared.
I had no magic. I’d tried to reach for it during this stare off of ours. I tried with all my might, but nothing came.
I also couldn’t feel Wolfe through the bond. It had gone silent as if things weren’t bad enough. There had been a little spark in my mind moments ago, but not enough for me to truly know if it was him or just my hopes.
The godsdamn amulet Thayden possessed blocked my magic and I suspected it blocked the bond too.
There was no getting around it.
This merciless move was like tying me up to beat me. They all knew I’d be able to cut him down like grass if I could access my powers. So they robbed me of it.
All I had was my sword. Like when Wolfe and I were in the interstice.
I’d had more training with it since, more use of it. But that didn’t comfort me. The skinwearers in the Interstice were lethal. I would have died if Wolfe hadn’t come along to save me, but at least I’d tried to fight. Thayden was different. More so since I’d last seen him.
The Deathless had done something to him. I didn’t know what but I sensed magic in him. It would no doubt give him strength that would make any attempt to fight him useless.
That didn’t mean I was going to stand here all day and do nothing. Or let him take me.
The amulet.
I may not be able to fight him but if I could get it and destroy it, I could rid myself of this bastard forever.
I wished I’d done it when I had the chance. All that tiptoeing to get information. Yes, I got what I wanted but he was still a problem. Still a bastard that needed to be dealt with.
And now I was in his path again.
With a mocking sneer, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and gave me a scathing look. "You seriously have nothing at all to say to me?"
I held his stare, thinking. What could I say that would perhaps buy me more time?
"Not really," I replied, my voice flat and without emotion.
His jaw tightened imperceptibly as his gaze travelled slowly over me. I knew him so well. He was trying to keep his composure. Trying not to lose his shit.
"You left rather quickly." He chuckled, though there wasn't an ounce of humor behind it. "I mean Zyvaris. There I was thinking we were finally getting somewhere. But it was all a lie, wasn't it? And you certainly had me fooled."
Maybe he thought I’d feel something or take offense. The only thing I felt when I looked at him was disgust.
“I did what I had to.”
“Like now.” He looked me over, taking in my armor. “Look at you. Fighting for Galaythia.”
“I am its queen. Of course I’ll fight for my kingdom.”
He let out a sarcastic laugh. “You are deluded. These people here have filled your head with all sorts of shit and nonsense.”
“Say whatever you want. It doesn’t matter.”
“Did it ever? As you sat there listening to me pour out my heart with stories, did you really feel nothing?”
“You mean the lies about the meadow and shit like that? No. Of course I felt nothing.” He was an idiot if he thought he deserved recognition for his ability to get creative.
He smirked. “When exactly did you get your memories back?”
“Long before I went to you.”
His jaw clenched, tighter this time. “There was no reset, was there? Not that last time.”
“No. I went to you curse free and I remembered everything as though nothing had ever afflicted me.”
He shook his head, dismayed. “And your powers? The fucking potion didn’t take them away, did it?”
“There was no potion.”
An uncanny smile spread across his face.
“My father thought there was something off with you. I should have listened to him. You gave a good show, but now that I think about it you were too… compliant. The Elariya I know would have been more curious. But I just saw what I wanted to believe. A chance with you. You played on that. Didn’t you? ”
I balled my hands at my sides. “I didn’t do anything to you that you didn’t do to me. How dare you speak of manipulation, when you are the biggest manipulator?”
His face contorted and the vein on his forehead throbbed. “You know. I never once told them about your curse. Not once. My father didn’t either.”
“If you think you deserve some kind of credit for that, you are sorely mistaken.” I gave myself credit for the firmness in my voice. But honestly, that was the disgust speaking. The years upon years of watching him slip on one mask after another, and putting my family through hell.
“I’d say it deserves something. I never sold you out. Neither did my father. I loved you too much. I worried about what they’d do to you to break your curse. I didn’t even know about the ring until recently.”
“Don’t make yourself sound so noble. You aren’t. You always have ulterior motives. You love nothing but yourself.”
“I loved you!” He roared, nostrils flaring, eyes blazing. “You fucking, lying bitch. You knew it.”
The dig met its mark. I did know he loved me. But I was still right. It was still all about him. He wanted what he couldn’t have. I couldn’t even try to return his feelings simply because he wasn’t a good person.
“I fucking sold my soul for you. I killed for you.”
“The way you killed Mira?” I spat. “You evil bastard. How could you do that? And she wasn’t the first one was she?”
“No she wasn’t the first. And she wasn’t the last either.”
“How could you be so evil?”
“I did what I had to do to get my chance with you. I thought I was protecting you. By the time they figured out your curse, it didn’t matter. Everything was in motion and that ingrate you married got the ring.”
"All that for me? Really?” I let out a humorless laugh. “You and your father wanted my family’s land. I’m sure you were happy when my father went missing.”
A slow smile spread across his face. "Yes." He leaned back comfortably. "Yes I was. And yes we want the land, but is more about my father. My goal was always to have you.”
His eyes darkened.
"My father has returned."
Something shifted behind his expression. “So I’ve been told.”
"Then you know, you won't get your hands on our land," I said steadily. "You won't get anything. And you most certainly won’t have me."
His smile returned. Bigger than before. "I'd beg to differ." He rose from his chair far too calmly. "When the Deathless walk free, this world will belong to them." His gaze travelled over me possessively. "And I'll have everything I want. Especially you."
I shook my head at him. "How could you ever be with someone who will never love you?" I didn’t know why I was asking him that.
"If it bothered me, I wouldn't be here." Thayden's expression didn't so much as flicker. "I'll make you love me. One way or another." He said it so casually it chilled me. "Even if I have to use magic."
He snapped his fingers and a flame appeared in the center of his palm.
Magic.
I was right. That gave him an unfair advantage I didn’t have.
"When the Deathless are finished with your little boyfriend." He stood. "We'll help them finish what's left. Then we're going home."
A surge of anger rushed through me. "Husband. Wolfe Nightblade is my husband." I held his gaze without blinking. "And my home…. is with him."
He took a step toward me.
I reached for my sword, the gesture making him smile.
“You can’t be serious.” He laughed out loud. “Have you forgotten who I am? I’m the Lord commander. I’m a knight. Do you think I got the title by playing with sticks?”
No I most certainly did not forget. Neither did I think I had any chance against him. But my sword had magic imbued within the blade. I didn’t know how many times I’d have to strike him before it would deliver one of the blows I desperately needed, but I had to try.
Hopefully it would be on the first hit.
He stepped forward and marched up to me. The way you would when you planned to take something from a child who shouldn’t be playing with something dangerous.
He looked like he fully intended to take my sword. I swiveled out of his reach and swung my sword in an arc. It would have struck him in his shoulder if his reflexes weren’t so good.
He brought his sword up to meet mine and steel clashed against steel.
“Right. I see. You really do mean to fight me. I have no problem with that. You deserved to be punished for what you’ve done.”
“Fuck you.”
Thayden came at me, growling with fury. “How dare you speak to me like that?”
His sword cut through the air in a vicious downward strike that I barely managed to catch. I blocked it, but the impact jolted all the way through my arms.
I jumped back when he tried to grab me. That made him madder.
His blade swept for my ribs. I twisted aside, the edge grazing my armor before I answered with a quick slash of my own. He blocked it effortlessly, a smug smile tugging at his lips.
"Well, well. You do have some skill. But this is child’s play for me.”
I didn't answer.
Another strike came. Then another. I dodged each one, but it was hard.
His attacks flowed together with the precision of a man who had spent his entire life mastering the sword. Every movement forced me onto the defensive, my only goal staying one step ahead of the next blow.
I parried high, turned the blade, then slipped beneath another swing.
Thayden frowned. "I'll admit..." He drove me backwards with another brutal combination. "I wasn't expecting this. Whoever taught you deserves credit. But why don’t we stop this foolishness. I’m only going to hurt you.”
“Like I said before. Fuck you.”
Thayden's smile slowly disappeared and he shoved me hard into the wall, abandoning the measured exchanges for a relentless barrage.
I went smashing against it.
My shoulders burned and my wrists ached, but I kept a firm face.
He was trying to overwhelm me. Wear me down. Make me panic.