Chapter 41
CHAPTER 41
BIANCA
W e lay there as our heavy breaths filled the silent room. The cracking of doors and footsteps echo in the library minutes later. The sound of boots approaching grows louder, but neither of us makes a move.
“Bianca!” Brandon’s voice booms as he enters the room.
I rush up and into his arms. He hugs me tight to his chest like I could slip away. His deep breaths tell me he needs this as well.
In seconds, twenty people surround the room. Guards and the Oscuro brothers take in the fight’s aftermath. Guards move Ray’s body away from Janelle.
“Dead?” Brandon asks Roman, who is inspecting Ray.
His brother nods. Brandon rounds on Janelle like he is seeing her for the first time today.
“Give me a reason I should spare your life. To do you the mercy, many didn’t get on your path.”
I want to tell him what I think I know: Janelle wasn’t the one controlling the dragon, Ray was. She saved my life, but I fear that wouldn’t be enough. My eyes find Jesse standing by the door. His glassy red rim eyes seem to look at everything but the girl apprehended by guards.
I pull on his sleeve to get his attention. “Spare her for now. Think this through,” I say.
My words have a calming effect on his energy. His breathing settles as his eyes follow mine about the room, at the many people watching.
Despite whatever connection Janelle might have to the uprising, I can’t help but feel like there’s more going on than we know. But it’s just that: a feeling. All I can do is share the known truth and allow him to make his own verdict.
“Take her to the cells with the remainder of the traitors,” Brandon commands.
The guards move Janelle out of the room, almost dragging her by the arms. She doesn’t look up at any bystanders, especially Jesse. As she passes me, she turns in my direction.
Before she can say anything, I speak. “Call it a small act of kindness. We’re even.”
She saved my life. I will save hers.
Brandon orders the rest of the castle to be checked. No room left unturned. A meeting will be held in a few hours to go over all the information currently known.
He finally turns to look at me as the room clears. This vault, the place where it all began, feels like a casket for the emotions looking to bury me in grief. The last time I stood here, I felt like my world was falling apart. I had lost the most important person in my life. Here I am again with the same emotions and much more to lose.
We have all lost so much tonight.
“She didn’t tell him about my stone,” I say, picking up the broken bracelet from the ground. “When he figured it out and had the upper hand, she killed him herself. I don’t think she wanted to be part of all this. ”
“That’s no excuse.” His words come out sharp as knives. They aren’t meant for me. “She should have come forward the moment she became aware of any rebel moment.”
“She betrayed Ray,” I explain the exchange they had seconds before Ray dropped to the ground. His expression does not change as I speak, but I can tell he holds on to every word.
“She betrayed me and her people. She betrayed Jesse.”
There’s no reasoning with him right now. His red rim eyes give me pause. I take a step closer and his arms open for me. Our foreheads touch and we take a couple of breaths there.
“We need to go out there and face whatever awaits,” I say.
“It's going to be bad. It can only get worse from here,” he says.
“We will face it together.” I link our fingers together and give his hand a reassuring squeeze. To whatever awaits us, I’ll be here with him to face it.
W alking out of the vault feels like I’m stepping into another world. The library that once brought me awe is no longer there, the space I learned in for weeks no longer exists.
When I first stepped into the library today, I could barely see anything because smoke filled the space. I was so focused on destroying the threat I didn’t look twice at my surroundings. I didn’t spare a second glance at the floor my feet stormed through and what lay there.
The smoke has dissipated, and I watch in horror as guards carefully move about the space. Black burn marks make the path where the snake of fire made its way right through the middle of the rows of desks. The remainder of those desks stand burned to near charcoal. We know the desks were not empty from the equally burned items scattered about.
“Sofia,” Brandon says with a shaky voice.
“We don’t know that for sure,” I say between clenched teeth.
The more I hold tight to that hopeful thought, the more I’ll believe it.
“There is a sign-in sheet behind the front desk.” A guard picks it up from the floor behind the desk where most of the items that survived clutter the space. Without taking a single step, he scans the names on that list and looks back at the remainders of the wooden desks. His eyes glisten as they move back to Brandon. “Eight sign-ins and eight casualties.”
Two guards move to the one who holds the list and embrace him in support. They make condolences for a sister.
I can’t handle this anymore.
“I need some air.”
I move to the exit. Brandon and Roman follow me, as do a group of guards who refuse to be more than a few feet from their king. We make it halfway there before encountering a group of guards examining a man. Roman breaks away from us immediately and asks what’s happening. They pull my dagger out of the man’s neck and examine it.
“That’s mine,” I say before I grab my dagger back. I wipe it on my pants and secure it back to my thigh.
“You took out two of the Duelo siblings?” Roman’s voice of disbelief nerves me.
“Technically, Janelle took herself out.” I clear my throat. Every guard in the vicinity is staring at me in awe. “Yes, I did.”
“You’re something else.” Brandon takes my hand and raises the back of it to his lips. He quickly realizes we are holding an audience.
“Please set a tent outside to hold all the ones we have lost. We will give them all an honorable burial at first light.” He turns to Roman. “I want every leadership head to meet at my office in an hour. Together, we need to figure out how to move forward.” He turns to a guard beside him. “Call for all my advisors to meet me at the cells. They will accompany me as I visit the prisoners.”
Brandon looks back at his remaining brother. “I need you present for interrogations. It’ll be quicker if we know for certain they are telling the truth.”
Jesse reluctantly nods.
I stick next to Brandon as we head back to his wing. Guards stand outside his doors as we enter. Lexi Blue is standing by the large window watching the commotion happening out back by the gardens.
“What’s happening?” Her face is pale and eyes are widened. There is a small shake of her hands as she speaks.
“Everything’s okay,” Brandon tells her as he closes the distance to her. He’s about to pull her into an embrace when her horrified expression at his blood stained clothing makes him step back. “There was an attack at the castle, but it's over now.”
“W-where’s Isabel?” Lexi Blue stammers.
“She is fine,” I say. She must be in the back garden with the rest. “I saw her go into the garden safely.”
“She’ll be here soon.” Brandon gives her a reassuring nod.
Brandon makes haste to go into his room and change clothing. I follow him and change as well. We meet outside our bedrooms in a matter of minutes, ready to head out again. His hand stills on the door handle before pulling the door open.
“Lexi Blue,” Brandon calls. The young girl looks up from her place by the window. “Don’t venture into the castle for any reason. Isabel should be back soon.” Her only response is a nod. “Lexi Blue,” he calls again and, this time, pauses. “It’s an order. Don’t leave.”
“Okay,” she agrees.
A group of men and women I remember from the tour are already waiting for Brandon as we descend the steps to the cells. The smell of clean and fresh polish floors no longer perfumes the air. Sweat and dirt have replaced it.
I worry something might have happened to the old man who manages the cells until we open the doors and walk inside. His lungs are more than working. He shrieks in anger as the prisoners mud his precious floors.
His chatter of complaints dies on his lips as the group enters the room. He inclines his head and moves out of the way.
The cells hold four people, all of them dressed in guard uniforms. The color and details of their attire make it obvious. Janelle is amongst them. The red hair atop her head makes her stand out from the small crowd. Her head is held high despite her stained face and clothing.
“Each and every single one of you will be interrogated by the council and myself. Failure to cooperate will grant you death. Make your choice carefully,” Brandon tells them, then moves to a room off the side of the cells, and every advisor member follows quickly after. I’ve never seen these people ever be so quiet before.
The interrogation room is quite large. A long rectangular table is on one side, while a single chair stands on the other. I am surprised to find Jesse already sitting at the table. The advisors take the remaining seats and look at Brandon expectantly.
“Bring the first one,” Brandon says to the guard.
Each prisoner is brought into the room one by one and forced to sit in the solo chair at the front of the room. They are all asked the same questions. At the end of each response, the room turns to Jesse, and a nod or shake of his head dictates the prisoner’s fate.
The first guard tries to lie about their involvement. Brandon stays truthful about their fate when they choose to lie. They took that guard out through a different door that didn't lead back to the cells.
The remaining two guards are more cooperative, but they know little. They confirm that the only Duelo daughter has never taken an active role in any rebel plans. Today’s events were unknown to her.
They don’t bring Janelle to the examination room, and I don’t have to ask why. The reason is sitting across the table with tired, red rim eyes. Each breath must feel harder to than the last.
When the last prisoner is returned, different opinions are shared in the room. To my surprise, no one thinks Janelle should be punished to the extent her brothers were. Despite her sin, she’s a Royal House member. The cultivation of tradition and bloodlines rings importance above indiscretions.
Jesse clenches his hands tight and keeps his eyes downcast. Emotions rage within him, torn between hatred for the traitor and a conflicted desire to spare her life.
Brandon doesn’t join the advisors as they argue amongst themselves. He sits back and watches it all, his tired eyes alert.
He raises a hand when he’s had enough, and the room instantly quiets.
“The two men will stay prisoners and be forced to work for the Royal Force. As for her, it’s clear she cannot stay, but she cannot be allowed to go and be used against her will again. ”
He gets up and exits the room. Every person but Jesse follows him back to the cells holding the prisoners.
“Lady Janelle Duelo, despite your connection to the rebel movement, I acknowledge that you are not a leader or commanded any decision they took. I also acknowledge that, in a time of need, you chose to aid a member of this house at the price of what your Royal House would call your soulbond. However, you knew of their existence and failed to come forward. For that, you are guilty of treason.”
A rush of murmurs fills the small space from the other prisoners and advisors.
“As for your punishment. The member of this house whose life you aided was gracious enough to ask for leniency for you. I will cast you out of Puerto Quinn for the next five years. Your magic will be taken for the duration of your exile. You will live as a common human. Once the time is up, you may return here and prove you are worthy of your magic again.”
She keeps her eyes locked on the king, never once glancing away. Her face never broke away from the fearless expression molded to her. Janelle Duelo stands there with all the dignity of her title and blood. My eyes might be tired from the long day, but as the last words of her punishment ring out, I swear I see her shoulders relax.