13. Thirteen
”There she is,” a haunting voice fills my head, and I search for the source but can”t seem to find it.
”She is lovely,” another speaks behind me, leaving me spinning around to spot them.
A third cackles. ”Look how she”s blushing. Seems the king did not heed your warning, Onala.” What warning?
”Ladies,” Queen Maren chides from her chair across the room. ”Play nice.”
All at once, the three witches appear, surrounding me and standing far closer than I was expecting, causing me to jump from their sudden proximity.
”We”re playing nice,” the one in front of me says. If it weren”t for the fact thatshejust materialized before me, I would never suspectherof being a witch.Her features are so soft and plain that she would blend in with all of us mortals without even trying, whichI supposecomes in handy.
”We”ve said nothing untoward.” Another moves to stand beside her sister, finally leaving my peripherals so I can see her properly. While this one looks like she might be 100 or 1,000 years old, there”s something so beautiful about her. Like she”s the world”s grandmother, graceful and giving.
Then, the new, most terrifying woman I”ve ever seen enters my vision on the other side of her sister. Sharp angles, bright white eyes, skin pulled so tight against her cheekbones that I fear one slight misstep will cause it to rip through. ”We will be nothing but courteous to Miss Aistin. As long as she can say the same, she”ll have nothing to fear from us.”
”Hello,”I tell them all, erasing any proof of my nerves, though not for their benefit. If they can see all, know all, there”s no point in pretending I”m not scared of them. But I don”t need anyone else in this room to know that I”m shaking with terror at the casual display of their power. ”I suppose there”s no point in introducing myself.”I laugh, ”You probably know more about me than even I do.”
Their cackles surround meonceagain before they speak in unison, ”You have no idea, Miss Aistin.”
”I am Olath,”the one in the middle tells me. ”These are my sisters, Ovoor and Onala. We are the Eyes of Time.”
Ovoor tells me, ”I know all that has come to pass.”
”And I know of every possible future that still might,”Onala explains.
Olath speaks again, ”And I know things as they do.”
”That must be very exhausting,”I comment. My abilities might be uncomfortable at the worst of times, but at least I can be free of them in isolation.
The sisters look at each other, sharing a look that I can”t decipher.
”You haven”t tried to shake any of our hands,”Ovoor asks. ”I wonder if it”s out of respect or disrespect.”
”Oh.”Fear threatens to drown me. ”I mean no disrespect at all, Your Majesties. I just...”I search for the right words. ”You know who I am, what I am. I would hate for you to think I was trying to use my abilities against you.”
My eyes dart aroundfor a moment, hoping Kairon isn”t listening in on this particular conversation. On the other side of the room, he stands with King Colm, but through the gaping holes of his mask, there”s no mistaking the heat of his gaze locked on me. I didn”t even notice him walking away, too captivated by the witches” abrupt arrival.
”Your secret is safe with us,”Onala assures me. ”Your powers are yours and yours alone to do with what you please.”
Ovoor adds, ”And we appreciate your honesty.”
”You”re afraid of us. Why?”Olath asks.
”Don”t you already know that?”I chuckle, and they do, too, to my surprise.
With a grin, Onala answers, ”We simply want to hear it directly from you. Pretend we know nothing and speak freely.”
”Well, as I”m sure you know,”I smile, adding, ”in Rhyma, they believe you to be... wicked. Evil.”
Ovoor hmms. ”You say they, and yet, you are Rhyman, are you not? In fact, you”re meant to be their voice while here with us.”
”Yes, of course, I am Rhyman. But saying we believe that wouldn”t be accurate.”I continue, ”I think perhaps our isolation has left us with ideas of others that aren”t entirely true.”
”Or perhaps you”ve been misled.”Ovoor raises her brows. ”Fear of outsiders is a powerful tool to keep people under the control of their leaders.”
”Well, yes, but…”I clear my throat, and the invisible pressure on it becomes more intense. ”I am one of those leaders. I am not some random girl from the side of the road that they chose to negotiate peace. I”ve worked my entire life for this. Studied all of our history books and even some from Fastid that I was able to get my hands on. If we had proof that you are as the king says, surely I would have found it and shared it with my people.”
Olath reaches out a hand, placing it on my shoulder. ”We aren”t suggesting that you”re not educated, Elva. Or that you”re not worthy of this position. We are simply saying that perhaps your superiors hide things from you.”
”I think you misunderstand how we do things in Rhyma,”I argue. A voice in the back of my head begs me to see reason, see that they can”t misunderstand. But I need to cling to this denial a bit longer. I can”t have any more life-changing discoveries at this time, or I”ll lose what”s left of my sanity. ”There are no superiors and inferiors. We are all equal, just doing different jobs.”
Onala sighs a heavy sound as if she holds theweight of the worldon her chest, taking my hand in hers. It”s ice-cold and blissfully devoid of emotion. ”Child,”she begins. ”You make the mistake of thinking everyone is as well-intentioned as you are. You think your abilities make you immune to being deceived, but in fact, feelings and emotions are the perfect manipulation. Many feel one thing and act in a way completely opposite to it.”Her words echo alongside the ones Kairon told me when I first arrived.But Idon”tbelieve that everyone hasgood intentions.Just most people.
”No.”I shake my head. ”Then why send me, knowing everything I”ve been taught is a lie?”
If a stare as blank as hers could be filled with sorrow,I thinkit might be in this moment.”You”ll find out soon enough, my child. I can”t interfere, you see.”
”But, take comfort in this,”Olath tells me. ”There is no one else who could do what you”re doing. It has to be you.”
”Why?”
They all stare at me, their faces showing nothing of what they mightbe thinking or feeling. ”We cannot interfere,”they say at once.
”Don”t bother.”King Kairon”s voice reaches my ear from behind me, and I refuse to turn around or acknowledge himat all. ”They”ll say the same unhelpful thing over and over again.”
”Your Majesty,”their voices join in unison to greet him. ”We were wondering when you would finally join us.”
”I was not,”I bite. ”In fact, I was hoping I could be left to speak to the queens in peace and be uninterrupted by you for once.”
The witch queens all smile, taunting, twisted things directed at the king behind me.
”I like this one,”Olath comments.
”She”s always been quite fiery,”Ovoor adds.
”She”s only going to become more so, I fear,”Onala quips, a fierce grin pulling her features even more taut.
”I think that”s enough, ladies,”King Kairon tells them. ”You”re going to scare the poor girl away.”
Ovoor cackles loudly, ”You”ve already tried and failed at that, little king.” Little king? These witches must be immensely powerful if theyare allowed tospeak to him with such condescension.
He clears his throat, the warning wasted completely on them. ”The Eyes are quite difficult to deal with,”he tells me. ”But, as I told you, they only want what”s best for all of this world”s creatures.”
”Does that include mortals?”I ask them honestly.
”Of course,”Olath assures me. ”But humans have this way of thinking that anything that includes them should really mean only them, or especially them. And for us, mortals are no more or less important than any other beast.”
”What”s your favorite?”I can”t stop myself from asking, curiosity winning over sense once again.
”Favorite what, child?”Ovoor asks.
”Favorite creature? You must have one, right? Like a favorite animal.”
Onala smiles again and says, ”I love the basilisks. They”re the most feared. The only thing people fear more than them is the future itself.”
Ovoor thinks silently for a moment. ”There was once a creature so fierce and beautiful that none could ever tame it. The dragons. They”ve been gone for some time now, the mortals need to destroy whatever they can”t control overtaking them centuries ago.”
”That”s terrible,”I admit. ”What were they like?”
”I”ll show you,”the king says before the witch can answer. ”We have several tomes on the subject in the library.”
Finally, I look back up at him, those gray eyes barely showing through the slits in his helm. I could lean back only slightly, and he would be pressed against me. The heat from his chest radiates out, making me hot all over as I try and fail not to be overwhelmed by just how close he”s standing. How possessive this proximity feels even without him touching me at all.
”Thanks,” I choke out.
Showing me the kindest mercy, Olath answers my question last, ”The mortals are, in fact, my favorites.”Her sisters look at her like she wasn”t supposed to say that. ”They are wild and unpredictable, as ever-changing as the seasons. You live such short lives that you fight tooth and nail to live every moment to the fullest. But that doesn”t mean you”re the most important. Just the most... tempestuous. Entertaining.”
A smile splits my face, the honesty of her answer so hilarious that I can”t help it. She smiles back, shrugging at her sisters” dislike of her response.
”We should be retiring,”Onala says suddenly. ”You two will want to start preparing now if you want to make it to your meeting on time. It”s going to take you longer to get there than you”re used to, King Kairon.”
”Who are we meeting with?” he asks me as they vanish once again.
Rather than answer, Imake my wayto King Colm and Queen Maren, saying my goodbyes and feigning traveling fatigue. They both wish me well, though the king seemshighlysuspicious of my quick departure.
Not sparing a glance for Kairon, lest we draw any more attention than necessary from the other king, I quickly make my way to our shared common area, waiting for Kairon tomake his appearance.
I”vespent the last20minutes waiting for the kingplotting. While I can pretend all I like that I”m doing this just because I need to make sure he hears me and no one else does...the truth is that I want him as unrattled as I feel.
Pleasure and desire are nothing new for me to manipulate in others. When you can feel their longing before they find the courage to voice it, the act of seduction becomes almost too easy. But I”ve never felt the things you”re supposed to feel during the act. I assumed that because my body was too busy feeling others” emotions, I wasn”t given the ability to have my own, and I was perfectly okay with that.
With the lack of distraction that comes from needing someone this desperately, I used my sexuality to do what I needed.To make people like me,to make them trust me, tofeign intimacy for their approval.
When King Kairon finally enters the common area between our bedrooms, he”s back in his casual clothingonce more.The blood-red shirt with the two top buttons undone and black pants that flow as he walks. He”s kept the gloves on, the black leatherof themmaking both between my legs and the small cut in my lip throb in reminder of what he did with those fingers.
Eyes locked on mine, but not saying a word, he sits on the couch across from me. After a moment, he raises a brow expectantly, waiting for me to explain.
Instead, I take one last sip from my drink, gathering the strength to keep my mind clear. This has to be the most foolish thing I”ve ever done, and yet, I”m more exhilarated than I think I”ve ever been.
With a calm, slow demeanor, I stand and make my way over to the king. Unsure of my motivations, his eyes fill with suspicion and a hopeful heat when I stand before him, staring down at him and acting far more powerful than I feel.
”What are you doing, my Elva?”False amusement colors his tone, attempting to hide his growing anticipation.
A smile lifts one side of my lips as I step closer.
Instinctually, the king spreads his legs to allow me in. His powerful thighs cradle my legs, and for a second, I lose myself, wondering what it would feel like to sit on one of them, to use the muscular surface to find release. I imagine what the hard ridges of those muscles would feel like if he tensed them against me, using his large hands to guide my body until I fall apart on him.
Would he urge me on, speaking in that husky tone while dragging me against him over and over?
”Elva.”That exact tone, almost a whisper and nearly a growl of my name, escapes him. ”What are you doing?”
His hands clench at his sides, his body at war against itself while he tries not to touch me even while I”ve placed myself precariously within reach. I reach for the hem of my skirt, slowly easing it up. His eyes track every movement, his jaw loose and breathing heavy. But even still, he doesn”t make a move to reach for me.
His composure infuriates me and urges me further. Holding the skirt up, I ease one leg and then the other over him until I”m straddling him, the very insistent proof of his desire so close I could move only inches and have it pressed between my thighs, right where we both so desperately need it.
”Your Majesty,”I taunt. ”What”s wrong?”
With a growl, his hands finally find where my legs meet my hips, the size of them overwhelming as he grips me hard enough to bruise. He pulls me flush against him, nearly forcing my control to completely slip.
I place both hands on his shoulders, careful of my placement.Whateverhe is feeling right now could only be disastrous for me if I become exposedto it.It”s written all over his face in the barely pinched brows and desperateclenching of his jaw.I”munsure I couldhandle feeling it as well.
Completely frozen, he waits for me to act. To push him away, to move from his lap, or to rock back and forth on him and bring us both closer to the madness calling our names.
Instead, I lean in to whisper in his ear.For a moment,he stops breathing completely, like even too heavy a breath could break the spell he believes me under.His fingers flex against me, and every inch of his body against mine is taut with the control it”s taking him to stay still.
Lowering my voice to barely above a sigh, I say, ”Queen Maren needs us to speak with her. Tonight. Where you generally meet with the Syren Queen.”
”What?”
I chuckle, the sound so filthy even to myownears that I want to stay and explore this person that only this infuriating man can bring out of me. ”You have spies in your castle, Your Majesty. The Fae Queen wants us to meet somewhere completely private.”
When I lean back,his eyes are on mine, still cloudy with desire but fighting for lucidity.He licks his lips, staring at mine so hungrily as he moves me only slightly against him, drawing a small moan from me.
With a groan, he does it again, firmer, rolling his hips up between my legs. His eyes slip closed, and he lets his head fall onto the back of the couch behind him. After a moment, he moves his hands to my ass, gripping so firmly that I cry out as he stands.
Moving with an unearthly ease, he carries melike thatinto his bedroom, kicking the doorshutbehind him.My heart rate picks up. This isn”t part of the plan. This was just the way to deliver the news that we must leave. But now he”s gazing up at me like I”m about to be his next meal, and I can only imagine that I look like prey right now, utterly confused and lost in his firm grip.
A heavy breath escapes him, and it”s the last thing I register before he throws me, and I bounce onto his bed with a yelp.
”Don”t. Move,”he tells me, the grit inhisvoice leaving no room to argue. Not that I could even consider it right now.
He disappears into the closet, storming all the way there. When he returns, it”s with a change of clothes for me—the first pair of my own clothes I”ve seen since I arrived, my favorite cold-weather outfit. Dense, soft pants, a long-sleeve shirt of the same material in the deepest green, and a fur-lined coat, the outside the same color with swirls of white and light pink.
Tossing it onto the bed beside me, hebarks, ”Get dressed,”before disappearingbackinto the closet.
I bite my lips between my teeth to keep from laughing. I”ve never felt so powerful. He”s pissed. If I could bottle this feeling and drink it every night, I would.While it”s probably wrong to use his desire as a way to torture and punish him, it”s definitely making my time here more entertaining.
I can”t continue to do this indefinitely. Surely, I”m going to break before too long. But if I can hold out just long enough to fix everything, then I can go home and never think of this time again.
While I throw the clothing on, a lump forms in my throat. I clear it once, twice. Hoping it”ll go away, but it doesn”t. The thought of leaving this beautiful place for the grays and beiges of home does fill me with a sense of loss.Ihaven”tseeneverything there is to see here.I have yet to even put my toes in the sand or read about dragons, whatever those are.
Once dressed, the king orders from his closet, ”Come here.”
When I do, I”m met with a furious king and a closet full of the things I brought from home, alongside his clothing. I raise my brows, not asking the question, but he hears it allthe same.
”I haven”t gotten around to burning them yet. Here.”He hands me a pair of black boots lined with some material I”ve never seen before. So blissfully soft, yet warm and dense, perfect for frigid winter nights, but it”s only early fall. ”It”s going to be miserably cold. Put them on.”
As I do, the king pulls on a closet drawer, a quiet click sounding nearby. He presses against the furthest wall with his shoulder, and to my surprise, it silently swings open.
”That”s convenient,” I comment.
He mhmms, not looking at me. Can”t say I blame him. ”Let”s go,”he says and darts into the darkness of the hidden entryway.
”Where does this lead?”I ask, feeling my way through the dark.
He says nothingfor a moment, the only sound being loud footfalls of his furious stomping. ”Outside.”
Not willing to push him any further for the moment, I keep my mouth shut, following silently behind him into the dark, secretly thrilled at how affected I”ve made him.