Chapter 23 #2
“Yes, like Reign. Of course, Damien wouldn’t just agree to this.
Once he met with my father, it was obvious Damien wasn’t the kind of person to just blindly serve him.
Especially not after what my father did to his.
He needed motivation, as my father likes to put it.
When Damien went to shake my father’s hand at the end of their second meeting, my father had already had his witch, Athea, cast a soul binding curse.
You see, Damien has a twin sister who has been living in the Infinite Sea Territories.
The curse activated once their hands touched.
It bound his sister’s soul to my father’s.
If Damien did anything to go against my father, his sister would die.
It didn’t matter if my father was there to witness it or not. ”
Each one of their faces is strained, trying to make sense of it all. Everyone’s except for Reign’s. She still has that glassy stare as she stands there unmoving.
“That’s why he did everything. Why he set her up to be tortured. Why he told the king about her power. Everything. He did it to protect his sister.” Amaya’s voice is low, but the words she speaks are true.
“Atlas? That was because of him, too?” Akari asks after she stands up from the table.
“Atlas overheard one of their conversations. It wasn’t Damien’s fault. My father was never going to let him live.”
“So, he just had us believe it was because the king thought of him as a traitor?” Akari’s eyes meet mine and I can see the pain behind them. She was close to Damien, and he betrayed her, too.
“Telling you the truth would’ve been going against my father. His sister would’ve died as a result.”
“I can’t believe this.” Emeric turns around, running his hands through his grown-out hair.
“I know it’s a lot to take in. The only reason we’re able to rewire his memories now is because he’s chained up and doesn’t have any control of it. Everything we do is carefully planned out. We can’t afford to slip up.”
“What do you mean he’s going to die?” Reign’s voice is a whisper, but she finally looks at me.
“The book I stole from the palace when you set the Throne Room on fire—it had information about binding curses. I found a passage where it spoke of an elixir that could act as a loophole. The last ingredient I needed was located in the Dread Woods. I would’ve taken you anyway, but I was able to kill two birds with one stone.
Now, we have everything we need to undo the curse. ”
“You still haven’t answered my question.”
“The only way to unbind the curse is for one of them to die. As much as we all wish it were my father, that has been proven more difficult. That’s where the elixir comes in.
If Damien drinks the elixir before he dies and is revived in time, the elixir will ensure that the curse’s magic doesn’t return with him. ”
“This is insane!” Akari scoffs. “You can’t seriously think this is going to work. What if you can’t revive him?”
“That’s a risk he’s willing to take.”
“How do you know that?” she argues. “If you ask him to go through with it, wouldn’t that count as going against the king?”
“Yes, which is why he doesn’t know about it. I met with him earlier and asked how badly he wanted to break the curse. He gave me the answer I needed to move forward with it.”
“So, why did you tell me all of this?” Reign throws her hands in the air. “Why couldn’t you just keep this to yourself?”
“Because, if I do this and it doesn’t work, he’ll be gone forever. I didn’t want to take away your choice to say goodbye.”
“Uh, maybe you guys should have a moment,” Emeric suggests.
Reign doesn’t say anything, but I nod and the three of them escort themselves out of the room.
“I don’t want to keep anymore secrets from you,” I start again once the door closes behind them. “You can hate me all you want, but I wanted you to know everything first. It’s up to you what you want to do.”
“Do you really think it will work?”
“Honestly? If you would’ve asked me six weeks ago, I would’ve said it was a long shot. But since then, I’ve watched you come back to life. Suddenly, anything seems possible.”
“How are you going to do it?” She takes a deep breath like she’s bracing herself for the gory details.
“The healer who has been in charge of him is going to slip the elixir into his tea tomorrow. Once an hour has passed and the elixir has had enough time to settle into his system, one of the witch luminaries will release a deadly gas into the room. It will be like he’s falling asleep. He won’t feel any pain,” I promise her.
“And then what? How will you bring him back?”
“We’ll have to wait long enough to make sure he’s truly dead.
If we bring him back too soon, it may not work.
Henry, the healer who was assigned to you, has created a serum to inject into his bloodstream.
If it goes as planned, it should essentially restart his heart.
” I take a small step forward and I’m pleasantly surprised when she doesn’t retreat.
I’d say that’s progress. “I won’t lie to you.
There’s a lot that could go wrong. The timing has to be just right and even then, there’s a chance the serum won’t work.
But I think you know what it feels like to be under my father’s control.
If dying means protecting his sister, he’ll welcome death with open arms.”
“How long do I have?” she asks simply as if she’s trying to appear void of emotion.
“Until tomorrow afternoon. I know it’s a lot to process so take your time tonight. I’ll come by tomorrow morning and check on you. If you decide you want to talk to him then, I’ll take you. Either way the decision is yours.”
I step to the side and open the door. I’ve said what I needed to. Now, I’ll give her the space she needs.