Chapter 51
Chapter
Fifty-One
TATE
Four days have gone by since Ara disappeared. Four days without a word, with no sign that she is still alive. My brother’s men searched our house eight times during that period. This, combined with the fact that they ordered me to come in after their last search an hour ago, brings me relief.
He doesn’t have her.
But the relief is short-lived. Frederick has no problem laying out his plans in disgusting detail.
“You can’t be serious,” I growl, shaking with rage, while my brother looks calm and pleased about the execution he’s planned for the woman he wanted to marry only days ago.
“It’s the law,” he states calmly as if he couldn’t change that if he wanted to.
“You don’t have proof,” I snap.
“I don’t need it,” my brother retorts.
He doesn’t, and that turns my stomach.
“She won’t come.” I hold on to this hope. She has to know it’s a trap.
“Oh, but I have the perfect bait.” My brother grins at me. “I already spread the word. It’s your life or hers. What do you think she’s going to do?”
I feel sick. I know what she’ll do. Mists, I hope I’m wrong. I hope she never hears about this.
My brother watches me intently. “I will have guards circle your house and accompany you to the arena tomorrow. If you try to warn her, I’ll kill every one of your friends. Do you understand?”
I nod, grinding my teeth. “And if she doesn’t show?”
“You’d better hope she does. Iza hasn’t proven to be very merciful so far, either, has she?” He grins mockingly. “I won’t start my reign by pardoning a dangerous individual, who already attacked—”
“She slapped you.” I shake my head at him with a sneer. “If you think that was an attack, you are even softer than I remember.”
“It would give the wrong impression,” he insists.
“What, and now her connections aren't important anymore?”
“Her family will understand.” He grins. “General Blackstone has already distanced himself from his sister.”
I mask my shock. Why would a brother who was ready to kill me for not letting him see her just … abandon her?
But this plays perfectly into my brother's hands. He wanted to see me suffer, and now he gets that without binding himself to a woman he doesn't even want.
I turn and leave the room before I kill him because the gods know, I'm tempted. It would land me on the throne, and I would do it in a heartbeat to protect her, but it would also put me under their control, and I know they want her dead as badly as my brother does, maybe even more so.
The way back to the house barely registers through the haze of rage and icy numbness. My teeth clench so hard that the muscles in my jaw are cramping.
The house is more of a fortress now. Not physical, but magical fortifications make it impossible to enter without our permission. We set up rotating guarding duties and sent all the servants away after they stocked the storage rooms and kitchen. Thankfully, Calix turns out to be an excellent cook.
Where is she? I heeded her wish and didn’t attempt to find her so far. Now, I have to.
Everyone is gathered in the big room, and eyes drop along with shoulders as soon as they spot me.
“I guess that means bad news from the king,” Jared says and steps up to me. “Stop worrying. We are good at what we do … and so is Ara,” he continues more softly, throwing his arm over my shoulders.
He’s right, and she would tell me the same thing, along with a kiss and something like, Pests are hard to kill, remember? But I have to see her, warn her.
“Then go,” Jared urges next to me.
“Since when have you become a mind reader?” I raise my eyebrow at him.
“Since your eyes become all soft and gooey when you think of your woman,” he replies and snickers at my frown.
But he is right, I have to at least try.
It’s dark by the time I meet Daeva on the roof of our house. The clicking of her talons on the slate shingles sounds like shattering tableware in the quiet night.
“Shhh,” I hiss, but there are no hurried steps, no sign that my brother’s guards heard anything. Maybe he thought a warning would be enough to deter me.
Tonight is my last chance to talk to her. To convince her to stay away. I would rather lose the games, my chance at revenge, and my life than lose her. I’ve made plans to get everyone else out. Now I only have to convince her.
Half an hour later, I stare in shock at the white river of mist lazily swirling below me. Moonlight highlights the pristine surface, where once lay a sunny valley filled with life and color.
Fortress Blackstone and the village next to the mountain base are gone. If not for the river continuing to Avina, I would question whether it ever was here to start with.
“Did we… I don’t know, mix up the location?” I ask Daeva, but she negates that as I knew she would.
“What did you do?” I mutter the words, the wind stealing them from my lips, carrying them off to the sea of white beneath me.
“She told you not to come looking for her,” Daeva chastises. “I guess she made sure you couldn’t find her.”
“We could go down—”
“Only if your stubborn ass learned to fly. Otherwise, you’ll have no choice but to accompany me back to Avina,” my bird informs me. “She had to trust you to stay. Now you’ll have to trust her to come back.”
“I do trust her to come back. That’s the problem here.”
Sleep doesn’t come easily, and the following morning comes much too soon after I’ve spent nearly all night pacing my room.
I strap on my armor with quiet determination, fastening every strap with precision and donning every blade I have. I meet my gaze in the mirror and promise myself that whatever else happens today, she will not die.