Chapter 46
Forty-Six
Roman
Valebridge is covered in an unfaltering mask of gray when we arrive. The white pumpkins that lined the drawbridge have been cleared, the last of the Autumn Moon swept away. The council stood in my absence, making sure everything has run the same as before. A small part of me wonders if I’ve ever been needed at all.
“Happy to see you, Your Majesty.” Councilman Horrice nods as I take my place at the head of the table. “We trust your trip went well, considering your early arrival? We weren’t expecting you for several more days.”
I open my mouth to speak but, of course, Galen does so for me.
“Weather was turning on us.” He slides into the chair next to me. “We made the choice to end the Dyrsjel hunt a bit early.”
A few of the older council members scoff and whisper. Likely debating how much truth lies within Galen’s explanation. I suppose it’s all true. Minus the very large detail about the dozens of guards and hunters who are now dead from Elora’s hands. I stiffen as his hand lands on my leg under the table. Through gritted teeth, I brush it off and focus on the council.
“Let’s make this brief,” Galen says. “The Dyrsjel is still out there and she’s dangerous. Without her magick, we won’t be able to pull from Mother Gaia directly. We need her ability to wield the Stones to continue harvesting magick?—”
“And what do you propose?” Councilwoman Maeve sits forward, the gold rings on her dark fingers reflect in the low light of the councilroom. “We have spared dozens of guards, not to mention the man-power it’s taken to train and disperse hunters throughout Teravie. Our resources and expenses aren’t expendable, Sir Galen. There is only so much we, and the people of Valebridge, are willing to give to continue this cat and mouse chase.” Her brows pinch together and my spine stiffens. She smooths the lapels on her navy robes. Her dark hair is cropped short, and when she catches me staring, she smirks. “Perhaps it’s time we take this issue to another vote.”
Galen laughs as he shrugs but his hands twitch in his lap. “We already did vote after Silas’ passing five years ago. We voted that controlling the Stones ourselves would put an end to reckless use of magick. It would give us the power?—”
Maeve holds out her hand, and Galen snaps his mouth shut. “You are a brilliant young man, Galen. But I wasn’t asking for your permission for a vote.” She glances at me, resting her hands in her lap. “Ultimately, the decision is yours, Your Majesty. But I propose a new vote as to whether or not this pursuit of the Awakening Stones is worth all we have already sacrificed.”
Six sets of eyes land on me, including Galen’s.
His fury rolls off of him like fog but only if that fog was poisonous and deadly. I can feel it in his stare. In the way his body has stiffened next to mine.
For so many years we have made decisions together. Have destroyed the trust of the kingdom for a pursuit of something that was never destined to belong to us. And for what? A false hope that with the power of the Stones we would be feared. Protected.
“A vote?” I make sure to glance at each member of the council to see if they also share Maeve’s thoughts. When five heads nod back, I let out a long breath.
“All in favor?—”
“No,” Galen snaps. He grabs my arm and turns me so our faces are close enough for him to whisper. “Stick to our plan, little bird.” There’s panic laced in his tone. “We need the Stones, Roman. We’ll have access to magick we haven’t even dreamed of.” His hands tremble as they grip mine but his touch does nothing to soothe me.
Instead, it ignites me.
“You do not decide for me, Galen.” I rip my hand from his and face the council.
“All in favor of ceasing the hunt for the Dyrsjel, say aye.”
Without a second's hesitation, five aye’s sound around the table.
Galen’s face reddens as I turn to him. His eyes meet mine with a glacial rage and as I tip my lips up his brows furrow deeper as I whisper only to him, “Aye.”
Back in my chambers, the air is suffocating as Galen paces silently across the floor. I take a seat on the bed, a new sense of purpose and power running through me.
For the first time in five years, I made the decisions today and that alone holds more power than a stone ever could.
Galen’s boots snag on the corner of the large, navy area rug, and when he nearly trips, he curses and pulls his fingers through his typically manicured hair.
“Why, Roman?”
I flinch at his tone but remind myself who’s in charge here.
You are the king, Roman, act like it.
“We’ve given it all we’ve got, Galen.” I wave him over before patting the bed next to me.
He hesitates a moment before relenting and joining my side.
“Sorin’s likely dead by now and without him, there isn’t a threat to the throne.” My stomach curls at the thought of Sorin not living. Another skeleton looming over my head. “Elora may still have the Stones, but what need do we really have for them?”
He bristles before letting out a long sigh.
“For once,” I say, “let’s just be you and me.” The thought curdles my stomach, but after years of abuse from my father, I know when to use honey rather than vinegar.
“I suppose a break wouldn’t hurt.” He grabs my hand and kisses my knuckles. “I’ll give the remaining hunters a week to recover their losses, visit their families. Then we’re back on the hunt.”
His nails scratch against my skin as I pull my hand abruptly away. “That isn’t what we voted on.”
Galen laughs, showing off his perfectly pointed canines.
“I don’t care what the council says.” He rolls his shoulders, as if he’s just rid himself of the burden of their respect. “You shouldn’t either. You’re the king, Roman. You don’t need their vote, not really.” He leans into me. His fingers comb through my dark hair and I’m reminded why it’s been so easy to follow his lead all these years. He pushes our foreheads together, mint and pine waft off of him and it’s the same as it’s always been.
Him and me and this spiral of intoxicating infatuation.
Except now I see him for who he has always been.
The cat does not give his motives away so quickly. He stalks, waits, and is patient with his prey. Gives the bird time to adjust, to relax. And when the bird is comfortable, no longer sees a threat to the always dormant cat, that’s when the cat leaps.
“Little bird,” he whispers. “All I’ve ever wanted was for you to trust that what I’m doing is for the greater good. Do you not trust me, Ro? After all of these years keeping you safe.” His fingers dance along my arms.
He’ll never stop.
Never see the pain we’ve caused for the sake of power and revenge for a sister he lost.
He grips the back of my neck, and because his forehead is still pressed to mine, I have nowhere else to look but down.
Down at him, at his chest.
And there, just under his loose, black shirt lies the answer to the riddle going round and round inside of my head.
“I trust you,” I say, sweet like honey. I delicately run my fingers down his chest; he sighs at my touch. His face moves to the junction between my jaw and neck where he kisses me softly. I bite my bottom lip to refrain from flinching, keeping my fingers light until they reach his shirt.
I push it back and kiss his bare chest.
“ Roman .”
I slide my tongue across his chest and kiss his collarbone before pulling him back so I can see him. He cradles either side of my face, watching me, before I lean forward and kiss him deeply.
He moans against my lips and my heart cracks in two. One half rejoices while the other mourns.
I open my mouth and his tongue slides over mine. I grip his shoulders tightly with one hand so he can’t pull away. He mimics my movements. Holding my back tightly, pressing me against his chest. Putting the least amount of distance between us as possible.
But as the Plague magick from the amulet begins to pool from my mouth to his, he struggles. The black shadows curl around us as he wiggles and tries to move away from me.
“Ro,” he pleas against my lips.
I hold him through his panic. Gripping him tighter to me. His nails claw at my back. His head whips around, breathless pleas escaping from his lips. A tear slides down my cheek, but still I hold strong.
Once I’m sure he’s had enough, I break apart our kiss and lie his paralyzed body onto the bed. He twitches under my touch, his eyes wide and glinting with tears. His mouth is stuck open, black seeping from each corner. I trace his bottom lip with my thumb before gently pressing his mouth closed.
“I’m sorry, my darling.” I kiss his forehead, then his lips. His body is stiff from the poison, but he manages to blink a few times, letting a few tears fall loose. “I was never afraid to fly,” I whisper as I lift his head and place it in my lap. “I was only afraid to fall.”
His eyes meet mine a final time. I stroke his hair and cheeks until after several excruciating minutes, his chest slows. My tears drop onto his chest, leaving tiny wet marks on his otherwise pristine shirt.
“But now, I’m not afraid at all.” My heart twists and stomach sinks.
His brows pinch together, so I run my thumb between them to smooth his worry. He opens his mouth in a gasp before his chest falls a final time.
Everything in that moment stands still.
Time.
Breathing.
My mind is the only thing moving. Racing through images of the two of us the last few years. Moments of happiness and joy and pain and anger. Of passion and lust and a hopelessness that I confused to be love.
Because that’s what we were. Two hopeless people who found strength in each other. That is what we were, until we weren’t.
Until the idea of power became stronger than the contentment of love.
I clutch onto Galen’s body, savoring the final few minutes of its warmth before he turns cold.
There’s a commotion out my window. Voices rising, chanting something I can’t make out, but I refuse to let go. Refuse to move. I push Galen’s hair from his forehead, the veins in his face and eyelids stained black.
I grip his shoulders and I’m not sure who the tears are for now.
For me or for him.
Everyone I have loved has hurt me and I let them blindly. I took their affection and stored it away to remember when their soft hands turned violent.
The chanting outside the window grows louder. The clang of metal sounds through the rain but I don’t get up. Instead I lie down and place my head next to Galen’s.
I close my eyes.
I breathe him in, one last time.
I’m sorry.
I’m sorry.
I’m sorry .