Chapter 16 #3
Trio, who previously had a mouth full of drink, was now choking and sputtering, pounding himself on the chest. Aziel’s eyes glimmered, a small smile toying at his lips. Nymiria blanched, quickly taking a large gulp from her freshly filled drink. She already finished off the last one.
“I don’t—I don’t think he wants her to be his sister.” Trio managed, eyes watering.
Raven merely shrugged, thankfully oblivious.
Please let this evening end soon.
The moment Thorn took his place at the head of the table, Nymiria’s body relaxed. She breathed a sigh of relief, pressing her fingers against her temple as her father raised his glass. The other guests had already taken their seats, eager eyes fixed upon him as he cleared his throat.
“Twenty six years ago, the palace of Nym went silent. The only sounds that could be heard were those of rigorous labor. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever experienced—watching my first child come into this world.
” Nymiria’s eyes began to burn the moment he looked at her.
“The Fates do not always give us the life that we plan. We can try our damndest to make sure that we achieve everything that we set out to do, but the gods usually have their own plans. These plans may not always make sense to us, but they eventually lead us to the places where we are destined to be. I was blessed to help raise my daughter for fifteen years and during those fifteen years, there was not a single birthday that I missed. Unfortunately, the dark forces in this world took her away from my care. I gathered you all here not just in celebration of Nymiria’s birthday, but to celebrate her first birthday at home after a decade of being held captive by Dorid Yaarborough. ”
She couldn’t breathe. She could feel their eyes on her, could hear their whispers. Nymiria loved Thorn immensely and she was grateful towards him, but in that moment, she wished that she could hide herself away.
“I want to thank you all for being in attendance and for welcoming someone dear to my heart back home.”
With those final words, there was an arousal of applause. Nymiria stared up at Thorn, tears streaking her face. She rose from her chair, doing her best to hold in her sob as she threw her arms around him. She stayed there, nestled in his embrace until the crowd settled.
The rest of the evening was a whirlwind.
The meal had been prepared perfectly, served to them in three separate courses.
Raven was ushered back to his rooms for the night before the social hour began, Nymiria having been passed around from person to person, each of them expressing their condolences and welcoming her back to Eadyn.
She took it in stride, using the bubbling liquid in her glass to numb her fears. There was no logical reason for her to be fearful, as everyone seemed rather accepting of her. Everyone except for the woman that entered the room last.
Nan’s granddaughter.
Their eyes met almost instantly, the woman’s deep anger like its own gravitational force.
She wore an emerald green gown that shifted colors in the light.
Her strawberry blond curls fell down around her shoulders, the swell of her stomach more than noticeable.
They stared at one another for a long moment before the woman turned swiftly and vanished.
Ilona.
She had been her friend once. And now, knowing that Thorn was her father, it made the sting of her betrayal worse.
Ilona had not just been a friend to her—she’d been family.
Her blood. And Nan, the only woman in her childhood that’d shown Nymiria grace and love, was her grandmother.
Nymiria knew what she’d done wrong. She remembered it all too well.
She remembered doing nothing, saying nothing, when Dorid stripped Ilona bare in front of hundreds of his people.
She remembered looking away when they took sheers to her head.
She remembered the punch that’d been delivered to Ilona’s head when she tried to fight off the guards.
Not just her friend. Not just a memory. Her blood.
Her body trembled as she shouldered through the crowd, flashing sheepish smiles that did not reach her eyes. Once she’d made it to the foyer, Ilona was preparing to walk out of the door and into the night. If Nymiria hadn’t caught her arm, she would have been gone.
The woman turned to her, pure venom in her gaze. “What do you want?” She snapped, her voice thick with tears.
“I… I wanted to check on you.” Nymiria stumbled over her words, her stomach and lungs hollow.
Ilona just scoffed, flicking a tear off of her cheek. “Check on me?” She asked. “You haven’t checked on me in eight years, Nymiria. You watched them shave my head, watched them beat me, and you never checked on me. Not even once.”
“I didn’t know where you were—”
“Didn’t you, though?” Ilona stepped forward until the swell of her stomach was mere inches from Nymiria’s.
“You knew where I was, you just didn’t want to admit it to yourself.
I was too unworthy to be placed with all of the other courtesans, but just worthy enough for him to keep pumping his seed into me.
” She looked down at her stomach, shaking her head back and forth as if she couldn’t believe her stomach belonged to her.
“I’ve had four of his children, Nymiria.
Four. They kept us locked away. He—” Her voice broke, her face going pale as her eyes fluttered shut.
“Aziel has chosen to take responsibility for us. He built us a home and ensures that each of the children have exactly what they need. They are his siblings, after all.”
Nymiria’s heart sank, every drop of blood in her body draining from her. She felt sick. “Ilona, I will not make excuses for myself. I could have done more and I’m sorry that I didn’t—”
“You don’t need to apologize to me.” The woman growled.
“Because I watched him beat you, too. I enjoyed it—I was thankful for it. That he was hitting you instead of me. I never thought I could hate someone so much and love them all at the same time. But I did—I do.” She looked around, searching for any watchful eyes, but there were none.
“I wanted to come see you tonight. I wanted to be your friend again, but… he used all of us, Nymiria. Not just me, but you too. You were my dearest friend and for those memories, alone, I will always love you. I hate that I hate you so much sometimes.” She pulled Nymiria into an embrace that had her gasping, a small sob bubbling up from between her lips.
“Please, just be happy and know that I love you.”
Ilona turned then, stilling as a large form crested the stairs leading into the palace. Oran looked at the woman with a confused expression, as if he couldn’t quite place her face. But before he could decipher where he’d seen her, Ilona was disappearing into the night.
“Who was that?” He asked. “Why are you crying?”
All that she could do was stare at Ilona’s retreating form, entirely unable to move her lips. How could she even begin to explain everything? How could she tell anyone that that woman represented all that was good in her childhood, but was also the proof of her failure.
“Did she say something to you?”
Yes.
The damage had been done. Even if Ilona wished her happiness, she would never be able to forgive herself now that she knew the truth. Those children, the ones that’d been huddled around Ilona when she first saw her in Aziel’s dining hall…
They were all Dorid’s.
Aziel was caring for her and the children.
And Nymiria never tried to help her. Perhaps there could never have been much for her to do, but she could have tried.
She could have done something. But just like the rest of her life in Yaar, she remained as complacent as possible.
She focused on her own survival, rather than worrying over the well-being of others.
Another regret, another harsh truth brought to the surface. All of that work—all of her achievements in the last month seemed meaningless now. Those wounds that’d been healing perfectly were now ripped open at the edges.