Chapter 11
Due to more ball preparations and chaos in the corridors, the night before the event found her walking in a new part of the castle with Kaden close behind.
The last couple days of training had been repetitive and still not much progress had been made. It didn’t help she was still having issues doing hand to hand combat and had puked again today from panic.
They passed a few of the servants frantically carrying fabrics and decor and guards wandering around to their next post. Kaden seemed unphased, but she was already feeling the anxiety stirring in her stomach, the thought of having to be around so many people making her nauseous.
As they walked past a large doorway, she glanced to see large shelves of books and realized it was the castle library. Halting, she stared into the room for a moment, Kaden almost running into the back of her.
“What are you doing?” He growled.
“I want to look for something.” She barked back and started into the room without glancing back at him.
She could hear an irritated groan behind her but she didn’t care, she had finally found the library and wanted some answers. There was no guarantee that she would find it, she actually doubted it but it wasn’t going to look to hurt.
Looking for the history section, she could see a lot of spots missing books and she confirmed her theory on just how shady Emris could be.
“What are you looking for?” he asked next to her as they walked further down the shelves.
“There is some inconsistency on why this war even started,” she mumbled while dragging her finger along the spines. “I figured I would do my own research.”
“You really think they would keep that kind of information in the public?” he scoffed.
“An honest king would,” she whispered, her eyes glancing over to him with annoyance.
He didn’t say anything else and just leaned against the shelf as she continued to glance at the spines to read the titles. None of them seemed to have anything to do with the war and all about how the kingdom came to be.
“Why are you so interested in why it started? Your people didn’t research that before you aligned with Emris?” he scoffed again.
“My mother saw how evil Mavros had become and made the decision on her own.”
“So you’re saying you just blindly followed your mother into a war that you knew nothing about?”
“My mother was a great Queen, an even better warrior and I never questioned her motives to protect our people,” she snarled and glared over to him, his eyes watching her curiously.
“Considering what happened, maybe you should have,” he snarled back and pushed past her towards the main door. “Let’s go.”
His words slammed into her and she could feel her guilt come flooding back into her, her body immobile for a short moment. There was no reason to ever think her mother made the wrong decision, but maybe he was right and she should have asked more questions.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” she snarled.
He whirled around and walked back up to her, his eyes reflecting her glare she gave him.
“I am your trainer, not a babysitter and I have better things to do than watch you waste my time in a library.” His lips formed into a hard line and she could see his eye twitch with annoyance.
“Then leave.” she challenged him, her eyes not leaving his.
“You know I’m not allowed to leave you unattended.”
“Are you always so confrontational?”
“Only with you, princess.” he bared his teeth to her, his last word purring off his tongue and she narrowed her eyes on him.
“Oh how I feel so special.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm and she shoved past him, slamming her shoulder into him. The contact didn’t affect her so she figured that was progress and she started towards her room silently while he followed in step behind her.
- - - - - - - - -
Silas entered her room a while later, Kaden immediately getting up from the couch and walking towards the door in haste. She glared at him from the table, his eyes catching her gesture towards him and she watched his fist clench before he disappeared into the hall.
“What was that about?” Silas asked as he walked towards her, placing a kiss on the top of her head.
“He’s annoying.” She shrugged and continued to eat the dinner Raine had brought a few minutes ago.
“Well I guess I don’t have to worry about you getting too attached to him.” he chuckled and sat next to her to devour his own food.
“Never.” She smirked and leaned to rest her head on his shoulder.
They finished their food in silence, her mind racing from the events of the last couple of days. Between her training and realizing there was nothing she could find out about the war easily, she felt lost.
“You still have that book you had on the way here, the one about fae history?” she asked quietly.
“Yeah, but I read the whole thing and there was nothing in it about the war.”
“How can there be no records in the castle?” she sighed.
“I’m sure there is something but I doubt the king wants it as common knowledge.” He wrapped his arm around her and rested his head on hers. “How is training going?”
“Nothing has really changed. I got sick again today and my power is still almost non-existent.”
His hand squeezed on her shoulder and she heard him let out a long breath. It was almost like he was frustrated with her answer but she must have taken it wrong, he probably just had a long day just like her.
“How are you feeling about the ball tomorrow?” he asked again.
It took her a minute to respond, her mind still trying to process what was going to happen tomorrow and what it all meant. Her only hope was she could hold it together long enough to do what was expected and leave.
If she panicked and got sick, it would be utterly embarrassing.
“I know after tomorrow, there is no going back and I’m not sure how to feel about it.” she admitted hesitantly.
“I’m sure once you get your power back, you will feel better.” He pressed another kiss to her head and got up from his seat, heading towards the bathroom.
She wasn’t sure what was going on but there was a shift in him tonight, she could feel it.
“Are you ok?” she asked as he stepped through the bathroom door.
“I’m just exhausted.” He smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll come warm your bed soon.”
His face faltered some, but she brushed it off and just smiled as he shut the door. Everyone was allowed to have off days; there was no reason for her to worry.
She got up and made her way to the bed, changing into some cotton pajamas and crawling into the sheets. The sound of the bath running across the room helped her focus for a short time and when silence blanketed the surroundings she was so tired she passed out before Silas finished.