Chapter Forty-Three – Scarlett
Chapter Forty-Three
Scarlett
Whatever animosity I had harboured towards Mira had faded over the past week – a whisper rather than a roar. And I could ignore a whisper.
Most of the time.
When the third group of warriors went silent at my approach, I gave up entirely on being social. They would have welcomed me if Mira had been by my side, but without her . . . well, I was still a Ravalian princess. Still Zandri’s daughter.
I started to turn away when Odessa’s voice called me back. ‘Join us,’ she invited, motioning towards Jadis, Lillian and a handful of priestesses.
‘Not right now,’ I said, my gaze darting to Mira’s tent – and the young man waiting outside.
I could feel Aric’s heavy stare on me. He hadn’t been pleased about my new understanding with Mira – or her agreement to practise magic with me. But we could both die tomorrow, and I didn’t want to leave anything unsaid.
‘Wait,’ I said before he could disappear again. ‘I have something I need to say. It won’t take long.’
Aric waited expectantly. He was as attractive as ever, and under different circumstances, I would have spent tonight with him – passing the remaining hours until dawn in his arms. Perhaps that was why the loss of him felt particularly fresh.
No doubt I could find a replacement if I craved that particular kind of distraction, but somehow, I still found myself missing him .
‘I understand if you despise me for what I did,’ I began haltingly.
I wasn’t used to apologising, and I hadn’t felt a desire to apologise to anyone since Severin.
‘I shouldn’t have impersonated Mira, and I shouldn’t have used the situation to drive a wedge between you both.
’ Aric still appeared unmoved, so I added, ‘And I shouldn’t have lied to you about it. ’
It occurred to me that I was still omitting a few things; the way I had manipulated him in the Ravalian Court, how I had bribed the stableboy to orchestrate the fall that had nearly killed him.
I wondered if Lillian suspected my role in his accident – but surely she wouldn’t have kept my secrets if she’d known everything I had done.
Aric shook his head, his expression unreadable as he glanced away from me. ‘I should have left,’ he said finally, more to himself than me. ‘The moment I survived the Trials.’
‘Emperor Kalias would have sent Warriors after you. Masks, too. You wouldn’t have made it very far.’
‘Maybe not,’ he said quietly. ‘But at least Lillian wouldn’t have come to Ravalia. She wouldn’t have–’ He stopped, but I knew what he was going to say.
At least she wouldn’t have died.
At least she wouldn’t have become tied to you .
‘And what about Kain?’ I asked, frustrated with Aric’s attitude. ‘Or have you forgotten about him?’
That woke him up. Aric whirled to face me, his eyes inches from mine, his breathing uneven.
‘Everything I’ve done,’ he said tightly, ‘has been with Kain in mind. Everything .’
‘ Then prove it ,’ I snapped. ‘You know exactly who is responsible for his death, and you have the perfect opportunity to make Roran pay. So blame me if you need to, but don’t regret the decisions that brought you here. Focus on avenging your brother, so you and Lillian can finally be free.’
Aric barked out a harsh laugh. ‘Except we’ll never be free, will we?
Even after this battle is done, Lillian will always be bound to you .
She will have to follow wherever you go, and if I want to ensure my sister is safe, I will have to do the same.
Regardless of my own desires.’ He glanced across the encampment – to where I glimpsed Mira talking with Cassius.
That glance said enough of Aric’s desires. Mira was still in his heart, and she always would be.
It didn’t hurt as much as I had expected. I had always known that Aric wasn’t truly mine, but I had never wanted to destroy his happiness. To turn myself into a villain in his eyes.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said, looking him straight in the eyes. Trying to show him just how much I meant it.
A bone-deep sadness entered Aric’s expression. For a heartbeat, he looked at me how he used to, when I had still been precious and untarnished in his eyes. When he had been my protector and I had been his lover.
Then the heartbeat passed.
Though he hadn’t stepped away, it felt as though a yawning chasm had opened between us. ‘I’ll do my best to keep you alive – for Lillian’s sake. But that’s all I can promise.’
His words were as hard as his face. Whatever softness he felt towards me was gone – banished by sheer force of will. And I somehow knew that I would never see it again.
‘There’s one last thing.’ Aric moved towards me, almost close enough to touch, but his cold voice was a mockery of his closeness. ‘If you betray Mira or try to harm her, you will have me to deal with. And I will dedicate my life to ensuring that you regret it.’
His skin beckoned, temptingly close. A single touch, and I could send him to his knees. It wouldn’t kill him, but it would certainly prove a point. But I resisted the urge. Instead, I nodded back at him – sharp and perfunctory.
‘Goodbye, Aric,’ I said, turning decisively on my heel. ‘I hope you and Mira are very happy together.’
I made a beeline for the trees. Once I was out of sight, I broke into a run – not bothering to swat the branches out of my way. Blood dripped down my face. Blood – in the place of tears.
I had never wanted or intended to care so much. I had learnt to harden my heart, to see others as disposable. That was the lesson of the Ravalian Court: power was all that mattered, and emotion was weakness. Emotion was death.
But I had forgotten that lesson with Aric and Lillian. And I had learnt it too well with Severin. Severin, who I had lied to and used again and again. Severin, who had died not knowing that I loved him.
The forest opened up into a clearing – deserted except for a shadowy figure leaning against one of the trees.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘Trying to find some solitude,’ Cassius drawled. ‘An attempt that seems doomed to failure.’
I glared at him. ‘Shouldn’t you be with Mira?’
‘And why would I be with Mira?’
Of course he had to answer my question with another question. It was like he was born to antagonise me. ‘I saw you talking to her earlier. And she hardly goes anywhere without either you or Aric watching her back.’
‘Mira has made it clear that Aric will be taking over that duty from now on. So I suppose I will have to find other ways to occupy my time.’ As I came closer, Cassius studied me – taking in my dishevelled appearance and the scratches marring my face.
But he said nothing, and I realised that he had probably seen me speaking with Aric and deduced the rest. The realisation was not a comfortable one.
‘He’s a good match for her,’ I said, unable to resist needling him. ‘Aside from the obvious – like looks and fighting prowess – he’s also reliable and stable .’
‘You’re implying that I’m not?’ Far from sounding irritated, he sounded faintly amused.
‘A murderous prince who still has designs on his sister’s throne? I think Mira can do better.’
Cassius said nothing for a moment. ‘I told Mira I was willing to give up my claim for her. To become her consort while she ruled as empress.’
I frowned at my brother, expecting to see a mocking smile curving his lips. But there was none.
‘How noble of you,’ I said tightly. ‘And how ultimately pointless. Neither of you will get close to the Ravalian throne. You know that I will never stop fighting for my birthright.’
‘I know.’ Cassius’s voice was soft.
‘Do you still mean to challenge me for the crown?’
We surveyed each other for a long moment. It was impossible to tell what was going on behind that calculating dark blue stare, but I wondered if Cassius – like me – was wondering what it would be like to turn our blades against each other. Wondering who would be left standing in the end.
‘I could be convinced to stand down, if you were to grant me a position at court – one with lots of influence and very few irksome responsibilities. One that keeps me far away from Mira and Aric.’
‘You know that Zandri would never allow you to return to the Ravalian Court.’
‘I thought I was negotiating with you,’ he said mildly. ‘Not your mother.’
‘And what about your precious Mira? If you relinquish your claim to the Ravalian throne and put your support behind me, she won’t have the legitimacy she needs to rule in my place – not without a horrifying amount of bloodshed and upheaval.
Knowing her, she will consider that cost too high.
She will be forced to remain in Kalure. Is that really what you want? ’
‘I want Mira far away from Ravalia. Far away from you .’ The sincerity blazing in Cassius’s face almost convinced me, but this could all be a ploy – a scheme he and Mira had hatched together.
Except where would Aric fit into such a scheme? The moment Mira had chosen Aric over Cassius, she had turned her back on Cassius’s offer. We both knew she wasn’t cold enough to force Aric to become her lover, while Cassius sat publicly at her side as her king consort.
‘You really expect me to believe you’ve decided to give up years of in-fighting and scheming?
Just like that?’ My eyes narrowed. ‘You tried to kill me , Cassius. Whatever you said to Mira to convince her to save my life doesn’t change that.
It was clearly nothing more than a temporary lapse in judgement. ’
Cassius shrugged. ‘Believe what you want. My ambitions no longer include killing my way to power.’
I wanted to believe him, but Cassius hadn’t said that he didn’t want the crown. Just that he preferred not to murder me over it. I had thought Cassius above killing me once – and I had nearly died for that mistake.
‘Tell me something,’ I said after a pause. ‘How can you forgive Mira for locking you up for months, when you could never seem to forgive me for – what did you call it? Stealing our father’s love?’
‘That really hurt you, didn’t it?’ Cassius peered at me through the darkness, his expression irritatingly superior. ‘I didn’t realise you were so eager to stay in my good graces.’
I strode right up to him, and even in the shadows, I could see the way his eyes narrowed at my closeness. As if expecting me to lash out.
The anger I felt drained away, replaced by a painful ache that I hadn’t felt in years.
‘I would have done anything for you, Cassius,’ I said, my voice cracking.
‘ Anything . Do you even know how many times I put your survival ahead of my own? I promised to protect you, and every day I fought to keep that promise. I eased your fears, shielded you from Roran, and placed you above my own ambitions. I made myself even more of a target for you , because you were the only true family I had. And how did you repay me? By betraying me. By scheming against me and threatening my life.’
‘I did what I had to,’ Cassius hissed back, though he made no move to push past me.
‘For every one of your petulant, rebellious acts, Father punished me in your place. Roran was the heir, and you were his precious and only daughter, but me? I was nothing to him. You didn’t protect me, Scarlett.
I was a fool for believing that you could.
And you were a fool for making a promise you couldn’t keep. ’
‘I didn’t know.’ I stepped back from him, more shaken than if he’d hit me. ‘Why didn’t you say anything?’
‘Because I didn’t want your pity. And because there was nothing you could have done.’
Silence descended between us. I inhaled the crisp night air, trying to banish the emotions Cassius’s words had stirred in me.
‘He did it deliberately, you know,’ I said at last. ‘Because he knew that I loved you. Do you know what Father said, when you first turned against me? He said, “That’s what you get for trusting family”.’
My unstable emotions called to the death magic inside my body. It surged through me like an icy wave.
Cassius watched me, silent and unblinking. If he was thinking that I looked like a monster, with black veins winding up and down my arms, I couldn’t see any disgust on his face.
‘Perhaps,’ he murmured, ‘it’s time for us to call a truce of our own.’
‘Shall we shake on it?’ I asked, allowing the black veins to swirl prominently against my skin.
To my surprise, Cassius laughed. But all he said was, ‘Not today, Scarlett.’
He turned to leave. I watched him stride through the trees, and then I called, ‘Try not to die tomorrow.’
I heard Cassius’s booted footsteps pause, then resume. The briefest crack in his armour.
‘You too,’ I thought I heard him whisper, and then he was gone.