Chapter 16 #2
A lump formed in my throat just as I opened my mouth to respond. My face reddened as I struggled to produce any thoughts or words. I could hear someone clearing their throat through the fog I was in, and I suddenly remembered I had been asked a question.
“Uh, yes, it is, Your Majesty,” I finally replied.
“She’s not very quick, is she?” Queen Oriana sneered, staring right through me.
The king waved off his queen. “Enough, Oriana!” He faced me.
“The prince has been gone for months, for what we were hoping was another one of his dalliances in the countryside. However, it seems this was not the case, and he has been severely injured and is clearly suffering from some sort of brain damage, considering his closeness to you. I want to know everything that has happened to him in your company, Miss Aurelia. Withholding any information will have dire consequences for you, so I advise you to speak nothing but the truth to me.” King Julian’s voice boomed as he threatened me, echoing through the throne room.
My back straightened at the king’s tone and choice of words.
I took offence at his suggestion that Forrest must have suffered from some sort of brain damage to explain our relationship, even if it was technically accurate.
I found it curious, though, that the king, even in private, was sticking with the ruse that Forrest had left of his own accord.
Was Thalos not supposed to have shared the king’s concerns about the Obsidian Court with us?
Regardless of the reason, it didn’t make sense to avoid the topic in our current setting.
“As I mentioned earlier, I found the prince badly beaten and left for dead in a forest clearing behind my home. He had suffered a terrible head wound, and his arms and legs were bound by chains, and he …” I hesitated for a moment before sharing the next detail.
“He was not like he is now. When I found him, he was a fox.” I paused, waiting for the shocked reaction I was sure would follow, but received nothing.
“I picked him up and brought him back to my home to remove the chains and start healing his injuries, which were extensive.”
“Tell me more about these chains,” the king interrupted. “What did they look like, and what were they made of?”
“Well, I had never seen anything like them before. The links were geometric in shape and sharp. I do not know what they were made of. It was a dark metal that I had never seen before. They were very strange. I don’t really know how to explain this; it felt like they shocked me, I guess.
After wrapping my hands in a towel, I was able to withstand the shocking sensation and remove the chains from Prince Sterling. ”
The queen’s gaze fell to Forrest, her hand covering her mouth as a gasp escaped.
The king paid no mind to Forrest; his gaze was intensely fixed on me. “What did you say you were again, Aurelia?”
“I’m a healer,” I replied, confused.
“No. I mean, what are you? Human or something else?” Annoyance was evident in his tone.
“I don’t understand. I’m clearly a human,” I stammered, vaguely gesturing to my body.
“Aurelia, if what you’ve just described to me is true, you are not clearly a human.
That metal you are describing is most likely cold iron.
It has been used for centuries to subdue the fae.
It’s painful, and any fae unfortunate enough to come into contact with it is burned, while also losing the ability to use their arcana.
This would explain why Prince Sterling was unable to shift from his animal form when you found him, but what I don’t understand is how a mere human would be affected by cold iron …
unless you are not a human and have lied to us. ”
Forrest cleared his throat. “Why does any of that matter? I’m sure you have more pressing issues than interrogating the woman who saved my life.”
I smiled up at him weakly. “Thank you, Prince Sterling. I appreciate your words, but I’m fine. I don’t mind answering their questions if it will help them figure out who did this to you.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me closer. “I don’t like it when you call me Sterling. Please call me Forrest.”
“Forrest?” the queen asked. “Why would she call you that? Your name is Sterling.”
I took a deep breath before I answered. “I was just about to get to that part. When I found Prince Sterling in his fae form, I explained what had happened and how I had found him. I asked some routine questions to assess him mentally. He didn’t seem to remember who he was, where he came from, or what had happened to him.
Considering his injuries, it wasn’t shocking that he had some amnesia, so I gave him the name Forrest to use until the amnesia wore off and he could tell me his real name.
Despite my best efforts, his memory was the one thing I could not heal.
No matter what I tried, nothing helped. I’ve never met a fae before this, so I wasn’t even sure if what I was doing was of any actual help. ”
“So you just treated our son as if he were some sort of animal?” the queen spat.
“No! I saved your son’s life! He was beaten to within an inch of his life and left for dead.
If it weren’t for me, he would have died alone in that clearing that night.
What part of this are you not getting?” I had had enough of this place and the sheer rudeness of the fae.
I had saved their son’s life, and my thanks was to be interrogated, to have my skills as a healer questioned, and to be insulted at every possible chance.
Then the king raised his arm. “Oriana, do not speak again unless you are offering something to help the situation.” He focused on me again.
“Aurelia, I apologize for my wife. As you can probably tell, the news of where our son has actually been all this time is quite distressing for her.” The mood in the room shifted at that moment.
The air was charged, similar to how it felt before a summer thunderstorm rolled in.
“I don’t understand,” I said, undisturbed by the change in atmosphere.
My patience with them and the current situation had grown too thin.
“The captain of your royal guardians shared that you believed someone in the Obsidian Court had taken Prince Sterling. A night demon or something. So why is finding out where he actually was more distressing to you? I would have thought, given the alternative, this would be welcome news.”
King Julian stilled at the mention of the Obsidian Court.
The charged feeling increased. King Julian gripped the armrests of his throne so tightly that his knuckles went white.
The distressed, creaking sounds of the wooden chair cut through the silence in the throne room.
Queen Oriana gasped, her hands clutching angrily at her skirts.
A darkened look came over her face, and her upper lip curled into a snarl.
It suddenly became clear why the king had continued with the ruse—it was for Queen Oriana’s benefit.
“Julian, what is the human-woman talking about?” Queen Oriana shifted angrily in her throne, turning to her husband, looking for any reassurance she could find that what she had just heard was not true.
King Julian turned to his wife, reaching for her hand.
“I didn’t want to share my suspicions with you until I could confirm them for certain, darling,” he said in a patronizing tone.
“I know how … delicate you can be when it comes to anything relating to the Obsidian Court, and I didn’t want to upset you unnecessarily. ”
Queen Oriana sharply pulled her hand away.
If looks could kill, King Julian would be a dead monarch on his throne.
“I told you it was them! I said so from the very beginning, and you told me I was being hysterical and paranoid!” Her voice became shriller as she carried on.
“I want them all dead, Julian. I want every single one of those dark arcana wielders, supporters, and fanatics dead. I will do it myself if I have to!”
King Julian turned to me. “Are you happy now? It would be wise for you to keep your mouth shut regarding matters you do not fully comprehend. Since your arrival, all you’ve done is upset my wife and, in turn, annoy me.”
I ground my teeth and clenched my fists as King Julian went on trying to calm down the queen.
How dare he blame this on me when he was the one keeping secrets from his wife?
I was unsure which royal I found more unnerving at that moment: the one who was emotionally imbalanced and volatile, or the cold, calculating one who had no qualms about lying to those who supposedly meant the most to him.
I looked over at Forrest and felt sad. If this was what he was a product of, then I was in no hurry to see his memories restored.
Maybe this current version of Forrest, or Sterling, was for the best. As the thought ran through my mind, I began to feel even worse.
I felt guilty for judging who he had been before he had even had the chance to show me who he was.
Just because he came from two sociopaths did not, in fact, make him one too.
I stepped closer to Forrest and gently squeezed his hand in reassurance that I was there for him.
Forrest squeezed my hand in return. A weak smile spread across his face.
This was already awkward enough for me; I couldn’t begin to imagine how weird this must feel for him, to be somewhere that was supposed to be familiar yet being so uncomfortable with it all.
My thoughts were interrupted by Forrest jerking at my hand.
I looked over at him, concerned. He tilted his head toward the king and queen.
The king was leaning forward on his throne, his conversation with Queen Oriana clearly resolved, for the moment.