XLVI | EYES OF THE OCEAN
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A healed scar ran from her temple to the tip of her nose, right over her eye. The ocean of her eye was no longer blue—now, it was a milky white, as light as her hair. Her freckles were smudged with dirt, and bruises littered her body.
Was this from saving me?
"Mel," she whispered, and her knees shook. She held onto the cold metal of the jail bars to keep herself from falling, but tears brimmed in her eyes, and her vision warped. Melantha was alive. She was alive after Celvene had believed she was dead for days.
She swayed in place, but gripped the bars as tightly as she could to distract herself from her swimming head.
Melantha didn't respond. Her gaze was cold, and all she did was cross her arms. She was wearing a similar garb to what Celvene had been thrown into, though it was tan.
"Melantha, it's me," said Celvene, voice trembling. She had no idea what spell Oriel had used, and even if she did, she certainly didn't know it, so she was stuck appearing as Elas. "Celvene."
Melantha's stare grew more frigid, and her lip curled in a sneer. "Right," she said, an unsettling rasp grating against her voice. "And I'm the queen of this dermina."
"I'm not lying to you," said Celvene, wishing she could pry open the bars to the cell. "I-I know I don't have any way to prove it, but I swear."
"For all I know, she's dead. Your empty words mean nothing to me unless I can see her."
"Look." Celvene glanced around the cell before dropping her voice to a whisper. "You saved me in Noriya. You used a scroll to push me out, and I escaped with your dragon."
She didn't know who would be listening, and while she doubted it mattered, as she wasn't sure the prisoners left the castle alive, she wanted to be safe. If Melantha had fought for Noriya, then word of her treachery would not be a good thing to circulate.
Melantha searched Celvene's face, and Celvene's cheeks burned hot. The soldier's posture slumped, and she hung her head before muttering something inaudible.
"Are you okay?" Celvene asked.
"What does it look like?" Melantha snapped, rearing her head back up. Her face was scrunched with fury, and Celvene's skin pricked with a hint of fear. Yet Melantha's eyes were empty and blank. "You're not Celvene. You're some... gangly wimp. Get out of my sight. Leave me to rot."
Celvene's gaze hardened, but she wasn't giving up that easily. She blinked away the tears still swimming in her eyes. "How can I prove it's me?"
"You can't. Celvene is dead. She would have come for me," Melantha said, and though the words were angry, her voice was sad—breaking at the seams.
Regardless, Celvene's patience bubbled, and she clenched her teeth.
"Dammit, Mel. I am standing right here.
The king's advisor disguised me so I could get to you.
I was arrested when I arrived in Aizasea, so I can't be waltzing around the castle like I'm a welcomed guest. I did come for you. "
"How do I know you didn't torture her? You could have forced all this information out of her and now you're pretending like you're her."
Celvene resisted the urge to drag her nails across her face. She knew Melantha was rightful in her suspicion, but how specific did Celvene need to get? Her lips tightened into a thin line. She knew what she had to reference to get Melantha to see the truth, but it was going to hurt.
"Isla died because of my mistake," she finally said, and merely thinking of the memories made her heart burn.
The tears from before hadn't stopped, and now, they worsened.
"At the academy. I was looking in the library for a forbidden text.
It would help me... it would help us pass the next exam with ease. "
Melantha's gaze softened. Not many knew what happened, and if Celvene was tortured for information, she wouldn't have revealed that. It was a part of her childhood she was ashamed of. How such a simple mistake had such complicated consequences.
Celvene tried to swallow the lump growing in her throat, but it hurt more when she tried.
She removed her glasses and wiped a hand over her teary eyes.
"I thought I was being smart. I thought I was being clever.
The professors would be impressed, our classmates would think we were prodigal, and maybe, just maybe, it would help my family.
If my knowledge was that expansive at such a young age, my opportunities would be limitless.
They'd be endless. And then the price my parents had to pay would be worth it.
And I found the book. I tried to escape, but Isla noticed me and tried to stop me.
I felt cornered. I felt helpless. So I opened the book for answers, but its answer wasn't the solution I was looking for. "
She took a deep breath, lips trembling. Her cheeks were damp now, and more tears welled in her eyes; she could faintly smell salt.
She didn't need to finish the story. Melantha would know the rest. The text was forbidden for a reason—when Celvene had opened its pages, it had summoned a cursed beast that had taken down Isla with one fell swoop.
It hadn't been labeled as dangerous magic. It had been labeled as a powerful elemental tome. But it didn't matter—Isla succumbed to her injuries, and her blood was on Celvene's hands.
Melantha stood, crossing her cell. Through the gaps in the bars, she took Celvene's hands in her own, brushing her finger over Celvene's knuckles.
"Thank you," she said, voice a quiet, melodious caress. Celvene's breathing slowed, and when she looked down, her trembling had quelled as well.
But she couldn't reply. The knot in her throat was too strong.
"I'm used to lies. I'm used to deceit. In Noriya, lies and blackmail are its currency.
If you can't craft a lie, or spot one, you're going to suffer.
I... I knew deep down it was you, but I couldn't bring myself to believe it," said Melantha.
"In some ways, believing you were dead was easier to stomach than you being alive, even if it wasn't what I wanted. "
"What happened after you pushed me out?" whispered Celvene. Judging by her newfound scar, Celvene wasn't sure she wanted to know.
"I was able to escape with my life, but it came at a cost." Melantha gestured to her eye, but her mouth curved up in a smile. "It's okay, though. I did it for you."
"How did you do it? There were so many guards!"
"That's a secret, little sun," said Melantha.
"Once I escaped, I went as fast as I could to Aizasea.
I had to stop to rest and heal, but I never stopped moving.
And when I arrived, Noriya was already attacking.
I was hoping I could arrive before they did to warn the city, but it looks like your city survived. "
"I thought you died," Celvene choked out, and a few more tears dribbled down her face. She could still die—soon would mark the fifth moonrise after the last battle from Noriya, and if Celvene didn't expose Aleksandr before then, she had a feeling it wouldn't end well. "All this time."
"I wouldn't leave you."
"I'm going to get you out of here. The warden said I can take a prisoner out if they're valuable enough."
"Wow, you're saying I'm valuable? Even with only one working eye?" Melantha's smile broadened, a sight for sore eyes. "You're such a tease. What do you plan to do with me? Neither of us can roam the castle without questions being raised."
"I'll take you to Oriel's study and they'll protect you. Then we're going to take your father down. I'm traveling to the castle's library to get anything I can against him."
"They have that out in the open?"
"No." Celvene hesitated, but there was no point in keeping secrets. "I'm going to the forbidden section. If there's anything that will prove his guilt, it will be in there."
Melantha's eyes widened, and her lips parted. "Couldn't he have just burned the evidence? Or gotten rid of it some other way?"
"Well, there's a law against that. For castle officials, at least."
"You think that will stop him?" Melantha's brows lowered, but there was still a hopeful shimmer in her eyes.
"No, but there's a chance he wasn't the last person to have his hands on whatever it is. And if he wasn't, there's a good chance it's in the library." She rested her other hand on Melantha's. "If I'm going to succeed, I need to try."
"Last time you did something like this, it didn't end well. It wasn't your fault, but... Are you sure it's a good idea?"
"Yes," said Celvene. "This time, I'm not going for myself. I'm going for my people. I'm going for Aizasea."
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