Chapter 24 Erik
ERIK
Isat on a bed that old man Gorm stated was free to use, and kept to myself until he asked, “What should I call you?”
“Erik.” My attention drifted to him, and he offered a polite smile. I did not return it.
He nodded, though continued looking at me. “You know, Ariana has been quite the welcoming presence here.”
The knot in my chest eased at the mention of her and the positive light she seemed to emanate even in the Sidhe lands. “She is a welcoming presence everywhere she goes.”
“Is she leaving us?”
I eyed him. “I don’t know.”
“She has been pressing her luck since she got here. And somehow things have always worked out for her.” He shook his head, a solemn look casting shadows over his face. “The tides have changed, though. I can feel it in the air.”
“Are you a Seer?”
Gorm laughed, his entire upper body shaking. “Oh, spirit no. I am but a simple air conjurer, probably no more powerful than Ari’s Sparrows. But the wind speaks to me, to all of us. We need to simply learn to listen to the whispers.”
“How much do you know?” Ariana seemed to trust this man, but I did not know him.
He smiled. “If you are asking whether she has told me anything, she hasn’t. But I keep my eyes open. And despite my age, the brain in this skull is still kicking.” He tapped a finger on the side of his head.
I eyed him uncertainly. Proceeding with caution was the best bet at this point. Especially with how withdrawn Ariana seemed. Yet, my curiosity got the better of me. “How’s she been?”
He smiled warmly at my question, as though pleased by it. “She is good, growing stronger every day.”
“In what way?” I leaned back in the bed, hoping some of the tension would leave my body.
“Her conjuring for a start. The Sidhe King told her of how she harbors a gift from both the Spirit of the light and of the dark. To where she can become that which she commands, and if she did, then her soul would remain intact, tethered to the world for her to reclaim.”
If Gorm knew of this, then certainly the wolf would have too. Why would this have been something Willis did not share with the rest of us? “And she believes this?”
He released a low, throaty laugh. “Son, she is doing it.” My jaw unhinged in surprise. “Not completely. She can just manage her fingertips right now, but soon and with practice, I have no doubt she will do it to her entire body.”
“You’re serious?” I stared at him. He didn’t seem bothered by the weight of my attention, the edge as I considered him.
His smile remained, not at all offended by my doubt of what he said. “Sure. Though you do not know me, and I have no way of proving anything.” He shrugged a single shoulder. “You’ll just have to ask her to show you.”
We fell into silence then.
My mind only thought of her. Of how she viewed me before leaving, as though afraid.
The uncertainty in her eyes cut me deeper than any blade, leaving a wound that festered with worry.
I stepped into a world I knew little about, one that she seemed to have started thriving in, growing more powerful.
For a moment, with my arms around her, it felt as though nothing changed.
Then a strange cold cloud settled over her, and a wall of ice separated us.
Day turned into night, and others began trickling into the servant’s room. Some of them looked at me as though I didn’t quite fit in despite my ragged clothing. Others completely ignored me. All of them, however, left me alone.
Suddenly Ariana entered the space without an ounce of hesitation until her gaze landed on me and she stopped in her tracks. It was then that even those who ignored me finally took notice.
I stood at once, yet lingered by the bed I had sat on, uncertain whether I should approach, whether she even wanted me near her.
Her brows crinkled, and it looked almost as though she were fighting back tears. “I–” Her voice broke, and she cast her eyes down. “I need a minute.” She stated before turning and rushing into another room behind a closed door.
I followed until a scrawny boy stepped between me and where I was going.
“The lady said she needs a minute,” the boy boldly stated, chest puffed out as if it could make him look the least bit intimidating.
“Step aside, kid.” I shifted to the right to go around him.
He moved with me.
My brows shot up in surprise that this kid had the nerve to remain standing in my way.
“Timothy,” Gorm’s grave voice snapped the boy’s attention. “This is a friend of our Ari. Let him pass.”
Timothy’s eyes narrowed, and he turned to me. “Friend? How come I have never seen you then?”
“Timothy!” Gorm yelled out, louder than before. “Don’t make me get up out of this bed. If you do, Ariana will be upset with both of us. Let the poor man pass.”
Timothy eyed me once more but stepped away. Clearly displeased, yet respecting the old man enough to listen.
The floor creaked as I moved to where Ariana disappeared. I pushed open the door, the hinges squeaking in loud protest, and then again when I shut it behind me.
Ariana stood with her back to me, hands on either side of a sink. She had to have heard me enter, though made no move to acknowledge it. Her posture was stiff with tension, rigid in a way that was not typical for the woman who was made of quiet composure and confidence.
“I want to help you, but I do not know how,” I spoke instead of physically going to her. Something strange settled in the space between us and the last thing I wanted was to give her any reason to retreat from me more than she already had.
There was something so fragile about her.
“I do not deserve your help,” she said, her voice low. Sadness enveloped her. She did not elaborate, leaving my mind to race with what this could have possibly meant.
“Why would you think this?” I asked after a moment.
“He kissed me,” she murmured.
Was that what concerned her? “I know. At the party, he tried to kiss you, but you stopped him.”
She released a shaky breath. “No, after that. He tried again.” She swallowed. A tremor racked her body. “Except I didn’t stop him.”
The heart in my chest missed a beat, and then another. Air pressed out of my lungs and somehow kicked my pulse back into gear. My skin suddenly felt too tight, blood too hot.
The poison of anger snared my heart. Trapping it to a small cage where it hit its confines with every beat, sending a pulse of pain through my chest over and over.
My hands balled into fists at my sides one moment. Only for my fingers to spread wide the next, claws sliding out.
Rage shot through me, wild and hardly contained. My veins burned, and I wished more than anything that I could release it. That I could burn everything around me.
“You must hate me,” she whispered, her voice small and frail. Still, she did not turn, did not look at me.
My hands shook.
I tried to center my thoughts in order to respond somehow.
“Edda warned me...” My voice trailed off.
The effort to keep from exploding required too much focus.
Though the Seer warned me, I unquestionably believed that my connection with Ariana was strong enough to withstand whatever unnatural pull Clause might have had on her.
“Warned you of what?” Ariana’s voice turned cold and sharp. Something about it drew my attention to her, and the way she went completely rigid.
“Before I left, Edda found me.” My voice was rough, the words like sandpaper in my throat. “She said there’s something tying you to him. That the two of you affect each other. That in the end…” I swallowed against the bitterness rising in my chest. “That you might choose to stay.”
I needed to fucking leave. Right now.
Ariana stood there, frozen, until finally turning. Red-rimmed, swollen eyes locked onto mine. “I don’t want to stay,” she whispered, her voice fragile, laced with a misery that shattered something inside me.
The tightness coiling in my chest loosened just enough for me to breathe.
“I don’t want him.” Her gaze didn’t waver, though it brimmed with pain so raw, so consuming.
Relief flooded through me at her words.
“What do you want?” I asked.
She hesitated before answering. “Someone I am unworthy of having.” She paused as if trying to collect strength, before whispering, “I’m sorry.”
The way this woman could unmake me was unlike anything I had ever known.
“I forgive you,” I said nearly at once. Ashes, I hated this. But I had seen firsthand what this sort of thing could do. I refused to allow my path with Ariana to travel the same road Kole and Eislyn fell down. There was no world in which I would not hear her out. Would not try to understand.
A breath hitched in her throat, her gaze dropping to the floor. A shudder ran through her, her entire body trembling as she whispered, “Why?”
“If Edda is correct, then something else, something greater that we do not even understand may play a part in all of this. A conjuring of some sort, a spell. I can’t say that I don’t feel like burning the entire castle down with him inside of it.
That the fact that he touched you…I want him dead.
” I took a step and stilled. “I meant what I said. That I would always recognize you, no matter what happens, no matter what you do. I will see you. I would want you, because I trust you, Ariana.”
“And what do you see in me because I am not sure I recognize myself anymore?”
“I see a woman, still standing strong even under so much pressure.”
She released another breath, shaking her head, eyes filling with tears anew. “I am not strong.”
I moved towards her. “I see a woman who has been placed in such difficult positions that most would have long crumbled by now.” The tears dribbled over, falling down her cheeks, and I took another step.
“A woman who cares for others so deeply that she risked her life to save a Lysian who kept her prisoner.” Another step.
“A woman who held my heart in her hands then, and still does today.”
Her eyes slid shut, and more tears fell. It hurt seeing her so defeated.
“May I touch you?” I asked, uncertain of her state of mind.
She nodded yes.
Another step and all space between us evaporated. My arms circled her, and she shuddered at my touch. She embraced me in return, clinging to me.
“I have missed you so much,” she whispered. “I am so sorry.”
“I’m here now.” My chest expanded, and I filled my lungs with the scent of her. I savored the feeling of her against me. The way her skin warmed my own. The way she leaned into me. All of it filled me with relief.
I was right. Edda was a fool to fear Ariana’s choice, for her heart brought her back into my arms.
Whatever this tie Clause had to her, I was going to sever it. Permanently. Whatever it took. It was going to be obliterated out of existence.
She moved to look up at me with those beautiful large eyes that draw me to her, and my lips instantly found hers. A soft surprised gasp slipped between us before my mouth took hers. Her body instantly relaxed against mine.
My hand tangled into her hair, the other keeping her pressed to me as we shared a moment I had long craved for.
She tasted better than I ever remembered.
Better than my dreams. However, the kiss did not last nearly long enough.
We parted and she kept her eyes shut while her pulse raced, matching my own as our bodies pressed together.
Sliding my eyes shut, I leaned down, our foreheads touching, breaths mingling in between. We stood, holding one another until the both of us regained our composure.
“Will you tell me what’s going on?” I finally asked, pulling back slightly to study her face.
She tensed before releasing me and stepping away. “Clause said the life I lived was a lie. He said he would show me the truth today.”
Was this why she suddenly withdrew earlier? “And you thought I was that lie?”
“I didn’t know what to think. I feel like a fool. He is messing with my mind in ways I never expected.”
“What was the lie?”
A tremor moved through her, and suddenly emotion left her altogether. “It was Edda. She’s been working with him.”
A cold dread descended over me, for the old bag knew everything. All of our plans.
“Also, apparently, she is my grandmother. That little detail I never knew.” Her voice was dry.
I ran a hand through my hair. “So, Clause knows everything,” I stated, though that made little sense. Edda knew I was coming to find Ariana. Yet no one stopped me. Even now, there was no doubt the Sidhe King would have done something if he knew I was there.
“I don’t think so.” Ariana shook her head. “She seems to think she loves me. It looks like she did not tell him of anything to do with the army or you.”
“What do you want to do now?” I asked, certain that this changed things. Sure, Edda might have stayed quiet for now, but how long would that remain?
Determination settled in Ariana’s eyes. “I am done living here. I want to leave, but first, there is something I need to do.”
“What?”
“All of this started because of your sister.” She mumbled under her breath and looked as though she suddenly understood something. Turning, she moved towards the door.
“What are you doing?”
Calm eyes found mine. Despite the chaos surrounding her, she suddenly seemed strong. Her footing somewhat regained. “Going to ask where Iona is.”
My brows pulled together. “But you already have. They won’t tell you.”
“They will this time. For Edda has seen it.” She swung open the door and marched into the room.
The hum of conversation died at once, and all turned to her.
“I want to know where Iona is,” Ariana stated.
One of the servants snorted. “This again. Listen, you want to rub the old man’s feet, knock yourself out. But we are not getting involved with your mess.”
Her jaw clenched. “Is everyone here so afraid?”
“If you were smart, you would fear too.”
“Are you truly ready for this?” Gorm cut in with a question directed at Ariana, searching her face for something.
“Ready for what?” She looked at him with surprise.
He nodded as though she answered, though she never did. “I will take responsibility for whatever comes next.” He announced to the room.
“There’s going to be serious blowback for this.” Another man snapped.
“Ariana and I are prepared for that, aren’t we?” Gorm asked her and she responded with a nod.
“What kind of blowback?” I asked.
“The kind you don’t want.” The first man muttered and leaned back in his bed.
I didn’t have time to ask anything else before Gorm answered Ariana. “You will find Iona at the House of the Velvet Wildfire.”