Chapter 18
Braxton
Her skin is as white as a ghost. I stare down at Eliane who is lying in a bed at the healer’s section.
I have no clue what the fuck has happened.
I feel the urge to grab her hand, but I am scared I will wake her and she will think I am some creep.
Of course I tried getting in her mind, but from the moment she passed out with her walls up, even I couldn’t reach her anymore.
Disgust courses through my veins as I remember the look on that snake’s face when she bolted past me while I sat there holding Eliane.
I thought she died.
In my arms.
She closed her eyes and hasn’t opened them since.
Aaliyah and Aiden won the first round of the trials.
They will get a hint for the next trial that will start in three days.
If I will start at least. Eliane has to wake up first. Naturally, I’m disappointed that I didn’t win, winning is why I entered in the first place.
But at the moment Eliane sank onto the ground all my worries about winning washed away and she was the only thing on my mind.
I held her on my lap, crying out for help, brushing my fingers through her dimming hair.
Only after Aaliyah and Aiden won, help rushed towards me.
As soon as Fintan heard, he came. He and I carried her into the carriage, and he took her from me as we reached the palace after 6 hours of riding around.
Even the normal road on the other side of the mountain was difficult for the horses dragging our carriage.
I have no clue why Eliane crashed on the ground, but I haven’t left her side of the bed since we reached the palace.
The door of the healer’s room flies open, and three girls rush inside. Annie is in front.
“Is she okay?” she asks worriedly.
“Sorry we didn’t come earlier,” Kailey explains.
“We heard about the news a few hours ago but they wouldn’t tell us where she was and when they did tell us, they wouldn’t let us in.
So then we asked Fintan and he brought us here.
” The big black tattooed man appears behind the girls and gives me a curt nod, smiling lightly.
His eyes tell a different story.
They look shiny and worried.
Last night, when we drove back and he saw her, he went hysterical. As I already understood, she is a daughter to him. Hazel steps forward.
“I really need her to wake up. I have finally found her, and she can’t leave me just yet. There is much more we need to talk about,” she whispers, grabbing Eliane’s hand. “I don’t even know her favorite color yet.”
“Yellow,” I growl, leaning my head back, looking up at the ceiling. Hazel, Kailey, and Annie look confused as they take a seat on the other side of Eliane’s bed. I ball my fist.
“Pastel yellow to be precise.”
I sigh, closing my eyes. I open them again and look at the three girls in front of me.
They change weird looks and Kailey whispers something.
I don’t know what it is and don’t get the opportunity to ask.
The door swings open and the healer that treats Eliane, steps inside.
He holds a flipboard and looks through some information I guess.
“So what is wrong with her?” Fintan asks, voice heated, but also heartbroken. The male healer looks Fintan directly in the eyes.
“Her ribs are broken, she has multiple intern bleedings and she must have had a panic attack. I don’t know how she stood through the trial with that pain and nobody noticed.
What caused her to black out and faint we don’t know.
It must have had something to do with your bond and you getting hurt,” the healer informs us, shooting me a fast look.
“But as y’all know these bonds are something that doesn’t get worked with often and the contestants are the first ones we know of that are bonded for life.
” Rage bubbles through me. The king broke her ribs.
I didn’t help her through her panic, and she fainted because of the arrows in my back?
Why didn’t she tell me she was in that much pain? How come I haven’t seen it?
“How do you mean they are bonded for life?” Fintan snaps. His words fly out his mouth and his voice is raspy, but fuming.
Wait what?
Bonded for life? I must have missed those words. I glare at the healer, waiting for an explanation. He stutters and makes up some excuse. He rushes out before we can ask more questions.
“Who broke her ribs, Braxton?” Annie asks. I ball my fist and jump up from my chair. I press my lips together and a loud and shivery breath escapes my nose. My heart rings in my ears. Without answering, I stamp out the door. I lift my hand and the tingle inside of me swooshes the door open.
I’m going to kill the king.
I don’t bother to knock at the door. I burst through the door and bolt inside the king’s office.
If my brother is also in there, I will kill two birds with one stone.
He is sitting behind his desk, reading something off a paper.
He lifts his chin and looks at me, studying my face.
He lifts his reading glasses and his nose as he looks at me.
“Hello, Braxton.”
I have never hit or hurt the king before, I know the father I wanted approval of is still in there, because the boy who wanted to make his father proud is still in me. It is probably why I have never fought back harder. It makes me not only a monster but also very, very pathetic.
Luckily there is a first for everything as Eliane told me.
A dagger from the fireplace behind him flies through the room. I lift my hand and control the dagger. It swings to the king and presses against his throat.
“I know you hate me, but there is no reason for hurting my partner,” I snap.
I narrow my eyes as I push the dagger harder.
My father widens his eyes in shock that I finally am strong enough to fight back.
My body has been strong enough for a while now, but my mind wasn’t.
Shadows creep up behind me, tugging at my legs, but I keep pushing forward.
A trickle of blood appears, and before I can do any more damage, someone yanks me to the ground.
Taken by surprise, I lose my grip and the daggers clatter to the floor.
“Let go of me! You have no idea what the king did to me!” I erupt.
Sweat drips down my back and my jaw is so tense it feels like it is going to lock.
The person behind me holds me under my shoulders as a tear drops from my eyes.
I wipe it away as fast as I can, hoping that nobody saw. Someone reacts calmly.
“I know what he did to you,” a voice breathes. My heart thunders in my ears. “And I am sorry I never protected you like the older brother should have.”
Brother? The words and voice fall together, and I realize who is holding me to the ground.
Zephron.
I talk to that man so little, I didn’t even recognize his voice. I shake my arm, and he lets go of his grip. I stand up and turn around, looking over my shoulders as Zephron just stands there. His black hair waves over his forehead. He looks royal, more than me.
“Well, it is a little late for that now, don’t you think?
” I spit out. I stamp away and Zephron gives me a curt nod, before walking towards the king to help him clean up.
Who does he think he is? Acting like he cares.
He hasn’t cared one bit for me since the day our mom left.
Always being the pleaser and perfect son to the king.
The ideal prince and heir. Maybe I disgust him even more than the king. In some ways we are both the same.
We want to fulfill our role, have someone that is proud of us. Maybe I even disgust myself more than I disgust him.
I look to the ground as I wander towards the door directing towards the garden. Something inside my body changes and loneliness disappears as fast as it came.
“She is awake!” Annie yells, sprinting towards me, her long brown hair dances as she moves fast. I blink my eyes, trying to make sure I heard what she said.
“I looked for you, but I couldn’t find you,” she gushes.
She stands in front of me. “She is awake and asks where you are.” Just at the same time, Eliane slips in my mind breaking my walls down brick by brick.
The doors off the hiding cabin swing open and light rays burst in.
“Where are you?” she asks, her voice soft and quiet. She doesn’t need to say more. My feet are already dragging me towards the room where she is staying.
I peek through the crack of the door. Eliane is talking to Fintan. The door squeaks as I push him open. Eliane meets my gaze.
“Hi, Brax.” The words leave her mouth and roll over her soft plump lips. She licks her lips with the tip of her tongue.
I really want to taste those lips. Are they as sweet as she smells? Despite the fact that she hasn’t had the chance to shower, the room smells like her. Like flowers and warmth. It already did when she was asleep, but every time I walk back in again I get overwhelmed by her scent.
Her eyes are bloodshot beneath the swelling, and are thicker and darker, more purple than before. I should have done more damage to the king. My throat feels thick and dry.
“Hi, Honey,” I reply, walking towards her softly. I sit next to her on a chair, the same one I sat on before on the left side of her bed.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” My gaze is on the floor. Her soft skin touches mine as she reaches for my hand. I glare at our hands.
“It isn’t your fault. I should thank you rather than forgive you. You didn’t shoot yourself with arrows or beat me up.” A chuckle raises from her throat about this not so funny situation. “Oh and by the way, you didn’t make us bond,” she jokes.
Well, she couldn’t be more wrong about that.
The only thing Fintan and I didn’t cause or knew about, are the lifetime implications this decision brings with it. I clear my throat and Fintan looks me in the eye. I give him a nod as his eyes wide. Eliane looks the other way.