Chapter 19
“You’re such an ass!” she snarled and tossed her sword on the dining table a few hours later.
“Get your head out of the clouds and maybe you would have blocked me.” Kaden barked back behind her.
She headed straight for the bathroom to examine the large bruise she was going to have on her ribs from his blow he landed on her today.
She lifted her shirt and could already see the skin changing color, the bruise taking up over half her ribcage. She stormed back out in the main area and saw Kaden leaning against the table with his eyes watching her.
“Sorry that you are an emotionless prick, but I tried my best considering what the last twenty-four hours has thrown at me.” She walked past him and went to get some clean clothes to change into so she wasn’t covered in mud.
“I have emotions, just not for stupid stuff like this.” He yelled towards her.
She stepped out from around the corner in a new shirt and cotton pants with her hair let down from the bun it was in.
“You didn’t think my situation was so stupid this morning.” She stopped a few feet from him and crossed her arms in annoyance.
“That was this morning.” he barked at her.
“Now who is the moody one?” she huffed.
“You need to be more careful who you let into your life!” he barked again, his hands gripping the table harder. “You might have been around this guy a few days a year, but as a royal you really need to pay attention to who you allow around you.”
“Yeah, and what about you?” she mumbled. “I don’t know anything about you so maybe I should keep you at arm’s length as well.”
“That would probably be the smartest thing you’ve said all day,” he growled and pushed himself off the table and headed towards the bathroom.
She groaned in frustration and walked back into her bedchamber to grab a book from its shelf. Silas would be back shortly and she wanted to make sure she had an excuse to avoid him.
Once they had gotten to training, it was like Kaden’s personality did a complete flip and was aggressive the rest of the day. She had thought the quiet moment this morning might have been a turning point for them, but that got proven wrong as soon as training started.
The bathroom door opened at the same moment she rounded the corner, their eyes meeting and something vibrated through the room. Neither of them made an effort to keep moving, both planted where they stood and they just stared at each other.
His face was dirty with mud from training, his hair had strands pulled out of the ponytail and his eyes were lighter than normal.
She realized she had never really studied him other than the first time then had met over a month ago and to her surprise, she liked what she saw even more. She felt a faint stir in her stomach, that random pull she would feel sometimes but she just focused on his eyes.
The entrance door opened and they both snapped their eyes to Silas walking in through the door, paper in hand. His eyes glance between her and Kaden, his brow raising at the tension between them.
“This is for you.” He gestured the paper towards Kaden.
She watched him leave the doorway of the bathroom and yank the paper from Silas’s grip, his hand frantically unfolding the document. She watched his eyes furrow and then glanced up at Silas with frustration.
“You did this?” He snarled.
“No. It was given to me at the end of my shift.” Silas shrugged and then looked back at her.
She glared at him while crossing her arms, her eyes darting from his and found Kaden staring at her with an odd expression. Curiosity got the best of her, his face forming into a slight smirk before disappearing.
“What is it?” She asked hesitantly.
“Emris is sending Silas to the border for assistance.” Kaden said bluntly.
She let out a long breath of relief and saw Silas’s shoulder drop in disappointment at her reaction. She would rather him gone than Kaden at this point, but she realized that meant she would get someone new to stay with her in the evenings.
“Who is taking your shift?” she hissed.
“That’s the first thing you have to ask?” Silas scoffed.
“What would you prefer me to ask?”
“How about asking me to stay.” Silas’s tone was angry, his eyes staring at her with intensity that made her uncomfortable.
“Emris ordered it,” she started. “Plus, I think it's best if you and I have some time apart.”
Silas looked to Kaden who was still glancing between them, no doubt accessing the situation for any warning signs.
“Apart?” Silas asked. “We have spent almost an entire century apart and after only a month together you are tired of me?”
“I think you made it very clear you were tired of me when you fucked other girls,” she snapped.
She could tell the physical blow her words landed on him, his body slightly twitching and she could see his muscle start to tense around his shoulders.
Before she could react, Silas was moving towards her and she was suddenly pinned against the wall. One of his hands was cupping the back of her neck and the other holding her waist painfully tight.
“Don’t you think for a second I ever got tired of your body,” he whispered with anger.
She kept her face calm but she could feel panic start to rise in her, the touch of his hands making her nauseous. Her eyes narrowed on him and watched a knife appear at the base of his throat from behind.
“Get you fucking hands off her.” Kaden’s feral voice drifted from behind and she saw Silas’s eyes darken.
“You think I would hurt her?” Silas growled.
“You already have.” Kaden replied back, still an edge to his voice.
Silas just looked at her for another moment, his eyes scanning her face and then drifted to her scar.
Memories of the better days with him flooded her memory and a sting of pain hit her chest. Betrayal was all she could think of, the trust she had in him had been deep and it was all thrown away in one day.
“Leave Silas,” she choked out, a tear sliding down her cheek as she kept her eyes glued to his.
He leaned forward against Kaden’s blade and tried to rest his head on hers, a natural thing they used to do but she wasn’t having it. Her hand pushed against his chest, white flame spewing from her palm and she watched him lurch back from pain.
Kaden pulled his knife away, stepping slightly in front of her and Silas stumbled back a few steps, his eyes darting to her in disbelief.
“I won’t ask again,” she said in a raspy voice before turning for the bathroom.
She needed to get away from the tension in the air and away from the sight of Silas in front of her. Since the bedroom had no door, the bathroom was the only place she had for an escape.
“You have five minutes to grab your things before I throw you out.”
She could hear Kaden’s voice through the door once she closed it, her body leaning back against it while trying to take deep breaths.
She was seconds from falling apart but she wanted to try and hold it together until Silas was gone. The last thing she needed was for him to hear her when he was supposed to be leaving.
“This is all your fault.” Silas snapped.
“I wasn’t the one that played with a queen’s heart.”
“You knew I used to go there and you just happened to pick that tavern to take her to?” she heard Silas snarl and could hear the sound of his bag getting packed on the other side of the door.
“They have good food. How was I supposed to know you weren’t working and sleeping with a whore?” She heard a hint of a chuckle in his voice, something she had never heard before and it pulled it out of her depressive thoughts for a moment.
“Like you haven’t slept with anyone at a brothel?” Silas retorted.
“I actually haven’t, it's too unclean for me.” Kaden’s voice was casual and she felt her heart calm for a reason she couldn’t explain.
“She and I will work this out, Kaden, we have too much history to throw it away.” Silas said in warning. “You are not worthy of her and you sure as hell couldn’t make her happy so keep to training and nothing more.”
She felt a wave of anger wash over her at the audacity he had of thinking he had any chance left. There was no way she would let him touch her again, let alone give him all of her in a bed and the thought made her sick.
“I will do whatever she says.” Kaden’s voice was low, a darkness to it that made her shutter. “Even if she asks me to fuck her; I’m sure I would be a better ride anyways.”
She heard it then, the movement of feet and the sounds of them fighting coming through the door. She debated on walking out and stopping them, but she was too exhausted at this point. Let the males work out their issues on their own, they apparently wanted to have a dick measuring contest.
She turned on the water and let the tub fill for a few minutes, the sound of their squabble soon ending. The sound of knocking on the door made her jump as she started to submerge herself into the water.
“I’m sorry Alyra, I promise I will come back for you.” Silas’s voice was soft, just like when he used to nurse her back to health and she could feel her chest tighten.
She kept her mouth shut, her lips quivering from the ache she now felt and it was all she could do to keep herself together. Part of her wanted to jump out the door and into his arms, but the other part was disgusted at the thought.
She tilted her head back and kept her breathing steady, even with her still quivering lip. With the sound of his feet finally moving away from her she let out a long breath and heard the main entrance door open and shut signaling Silas’s departure.
She had been broken before but in a very different way and she almost felt like this was worse. It was hard to process her people being betrayed, but for the betrayal to be so personal, that was a whole different matter.
Maybe this was a good thing in an odd sort of way, her focus could now fully be on training and no more distractions. She had locked down her powers, maybe it was time to lock down her heart as well.
She submerged her head under the water and tried to clear her mind for a minute, the thoughts of her home coming to her in faint images. She missed it, and it was time to do anything she could to get back to it.
She was a Queen, and it was time for her to start acting like one.