Chapter 26
Eliane
Gwen went on stage after Braxton told her one of the biggest shocks of her life.
Her lips trembled and no more words left her mouth except for the important ones.
She told everyone she had Kailey and took her some of her mom’s family’s old jewelry.
Sadly enough for Gwen, she arrived back at the palace too late.
That didn’t matter for Braxton’s presentation, though.
It was brilliant. Hazel went after, showing everyone Delilah’s name with no fear.
Hazel looks sweet, but fierce and I am kind of scared that she will find out what I did and will hate me for it.
Hazel stole Delilah’s letters to her long-lost parents.
Smart.
Delilah gets called up next. She strolls onto stage and something feels off as she smiles from ear to ear.
I am not sure I have ever seen her smile before and it is not something I want to see again.
It creeps me more than it makes me happy.
I break through Braxton’s wall again and get in.
He always has a small light streak peeking through the stones off his mental walls and something tells me it is for me.
“She has me.”
He spins his face, looking at me.
“How do you know?” he asks, lifting his face a bit, narrowing his eyes as he scans her.
“It is a girl thing, with our water or something. I just know. Just like with Hazel.” I wave my hand at him, trying to stove the pot I just lighted, but he looks worried.
As I already expected my name is printed onto the paper she takes out of her bra.
She looks evil. Like a person out of a horror movie who would haunt me at night.
Even the color of her lilac dress does not have enough color to change that.
Think of good things, Eliane. I open and open every door over and over again, but I can’t seem to find any.
She nods at the guards standing behind the king, signaling them to act. Instead of walking toward her like they do with every other candidate, they step aside to reveal a girl standing between them.
A girl I recognize.
Dark brown hair, porcelain skin, and beautiful lashes.
A face I trust.
A face that brought comfort and relief.
Annie.
I turn to Braxton, who reaches for my hand, but I keep it to myself, pulling it out of his grip. I shake my head. Not now.
“Can you show us what you got?” the king interrupts impatiently, tapping his foot in an uneven rhythm.
Annie walks towards the king handing him a small bottle of something.
It doesn’t look like poison ,but is filled with sparkles dancing around.
She wants to step back, but Delilah grabs her arm.
She looks to the ground, and I know it is because of my eyes.
The eyes she doesn’t want to meet.
I don’t recognize the bottle, and neither does the king seem to. He nods at Delilah.
“You can do the word, Annie. You did the hardest work. Take the credit you deserve.” Delilah smiles at Annie, pushing her forwards. Her short black pixie cut standing off towards the pale face of Annie. Sweet, sweet Annie. Or at least that is what I thought.
She finally finds the courage to look up and I lock my jaw in place.
Don’t show your fear.
Don’t show your panic.
But it is hard for me to fight the raising panic. So I breathe.
I do a breathing exercise in the quiet room until Annie speaks up again.
Steady your breathing and let this get over with.
I hold the railing of my seat tight and cock my head up, nose in the air.
Annie meets my eyes and hers look glossy, like she wants to apologize, before she has even told me what she did.
Neither does she know her next words will decide her destiny for her.
I can wreck her, I don’t want to, but if she has destroyed something of mine I will consider.
“In this bottle are,” she stutters, looking down at her feet. “In this bottle are all of Eliane’s good memories,” she repeats herself, cocking her head up in the air, facing the audience. “She told me she thinks about them when she is panicking and that is why she values them with all she has.”
That bitch.
It explains a lot.
My memory loss, why I feel empty. She took a part of me, literally. A bitter taste fills my mouth, and bile floats up in my throat. I swallow it away, not wanting her to know my disgust. Not only did she take that from me. No, she also told everyone my secret—my weakness.
My panic attacks.
I hold on to the railing of my chair, push my nails in the wood. I blink. Try to blink the pain away.
Try to blink the betrayal away.
But I can’t because she did betray me.
My first friend betrayed me.
I feel my eyes turning glassy, the tips of my ears turning red. I want to look over in the crowd to find my da, but I don’t want to show them that this hurts.
It breaks my freaking heart.
The king widens his eyes, and I just stare at her.
“How is that possible?” he whimpers in some kind of shock, but it I dare to say a bit acted? I am not sure what is true and what isn’t anymore. I hate myself for it. But maybe I even hate Annie more. This time, Delilah speaks up.
“Well, ladies and gentlemen. Not only did I steal Eliane, her most valuable thing, I also would like to share a secret with y’all.” She holds her finger in front of her mouth as she strolls around.
“I would like to introduce you to the only witch I know,” she shouts, moving her arms into an introduction towards Annie.
Annie smiles, but it looks like a farmer with a toothache.
People start whimpering and discussing and all I can do is let my jaw drop to the floor.
People are looking at me. I can feel their eyes burn into my flesh.
I should have called her a witch, not just a bitch.
I look to my side because Braxton speaks up.
“I am going to kill our servant.”
And this time I don’t correct him for not calling her by her name.
My eyes aren’t on the king anymore.
No. My eyes track the girl who just took a part of me.
Betrayer.
My chest hurts in a way I have not experienced often.
It’s the kind of pain people describe in books when they talk about a breakup. I feel sick to my stomach and hold my hand in front of my mouth, scared I will puke. I hate myself for growing so close to someone so fast. Someone who I apparently didn’t know good enough.
Annie walks to the back and doesn’t look over her shoulder.
Ethan walks up on stage and it is only when he announces Braxton his name with a smirk that my eyes change direction.
My eyes turn to my partner, who is watching Ethan sit down next to the king.
Braxton rubs his brown stubble as his earthy eyes watch Ethan every move he makes.
“Well, Ethan.” The king sighs, lifting his old hands. “What do you have for us?” Ethan leans forward, whispering,
“May I?” He presses his hands to the king’s ears, whispering something we can’t hear.
The king grins and nods his head. Ethan smiles, nothing left but a few breadcrumbs off the emotion he has been through when his girlfriend was dragged on stage.
The king stands up and raises his hands towards the ceiling.
Shadows appear from the top off the ceiling.
Shadows wield and a wall gets built up from the top off the ceiling towards the ground.
“What is he doing?” I whimper.
Braxton holds his shoulders stiff.
“He got the chance to show how powerful he is, and he won’t let that chance pass.” Well got it. He wants to show how dangerous he is.
A shadow wielder.
The strongest one on the continent, people say.
I knew that already, but have never seen him use his powers.
A wall of dark shadows hold place on the edge of the podium, like a curtain in front of a window.
Some people squeak, others whisper and others cheer.
Ethan steps forward, through the shadows.
A shout appears from behind the shadow curtain.
A woman’s voice yelling and a man’s voice hissing something at her.
The king’s voice hissing at her.
My eyes track Braxton’s face.
He freezes.
He is literally frozen to the spot.
He normally doesn’t show that much emotion, but everybody can see this reaction, water filling his eyes. I don’t have the courage to ask who is standing behind the shadows. Braxton wipes away a tear that rolls over his cheek, shaking himself out of his frozen shield.
“Who is—” I stutter, but Braxton interrupts me before I can finish.
“Mom,” he bawls.
The queen who disappeared sixteen years ago and was never seen again.
My heart breaks into a few pieces. I feel the little boy inside off him.
I break through his walls completely, embracing his pain, hoping that it will make it more bearable.
He sobs in my head. Not out loud, but he is letting me in.
I embrace him mentally and despite the fact that we are sitting silently next to each other, waiting for what is going to happen next, I feel him cry his heart out on my shoulder while I hold him tightly.
There is no place for my own pain at this moment.
All I feel is him. My mind pulls me back to the moment he carried me out of the fire, and the memories flood in.
Him brushing my hair out of my face, his lips brushing my skin before I passed out.
A good memory crashes in again, like it didn’t disappear for a while.
I hold on to it tightly, put it in multiple rooms in my mind, making sure I can find it again.
My mind gets dragged back towards the shadows. A beautiful woman steps through, being held by guards. I doubt that she came here voluntarily.
What kind of mom would break her son’s heart this way?