Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Knox
“You didn’t trust him enough to tell the complete truth of it?” I inquired.
“No. I can’t have that getting back to my mother.”
“Why not?”
“She already hates me; if she learns I’m even less like her and the others than she believes, she’ll do everything she can to destroy me. I’m sure she’s already plotting something now.”
“I’m sure she is too,” I murmured.
We’d have to prepare for whatever Marina might try to pull, but without the collective powers of the night casters to back her, there wasn’t much.
“Lyra, Pierce, and Dromon won’t say anything to the tribunal, will they?” she asked.
“No.”
“Can you make sure of that?”
I glanced at her as she peered up at me from under the thick fringe of her lashes. “I can, but they won’t shift back until they return to the castle.”
“And the sprites?”
“The sprites want nothing to do with any eternal outside of this kingdom; you don’t have to worry about them. Besides, I’m sure they’ll do anything you ask of them.”
Probably with more enthusiasm than they would if I asked them.
“Yeah, you’re right,” she murmured. “What happened in that building? What’s to become of me?”
“The other kingdoms won’t agree to giving the night casters their collective power back. I didn’t expect them to.”
“Then why are you so mad?”
I wasn’t about to tell her it was because I’d watched her stroll out of that building with her arm hooked through another man’s and emerged to find them standing close together. They’d been like two conspirators exchanging their deepest intimacies.
I also wasn’t going to tell her that being near her mother again had brought forth a rush of suffering I’d spent years trying to bury. Every nerve ending in my body was raw, but she helped to soothe the worst of it. I wouldn’t tell her that either.
“Because my kingdom remains in ruins,” I stated.
“I’m sorry for that.”
“Are you?”
I didn’t understand why I constantly antagonized her. Because you’re broken and fucked in the head. And you both know it.
“Fuck you, Knox.”
I hadn’t answered about what would happen to her now, but she was too livid to ask me again.
We were almost to the gates when my conscience got the best of me. It was an annoying thing that persisted in claiming a small part of my tattered soul.
“You will remain here,” I told her, “and continue to care for the roses and other plants.”
Briar’s jaw worked back and forth as she fought to keep from speaking; finally, she gave in. “So I’m to remain even if I’m useless to you?”
“You’re not useless to me. The roses are much healthier, and even if she can’t break the curse, your mother still wants you back. Infuriating her by keeping you is a bonus.”
It was clear there was no love between mother and daughter, and I was sure Marina only wanted Briar to destroy her. I’d make sure that didn’t happen.
Despite that, I couldn’t fully trust her again. I’d spent years believing Briar had me imprisoned, raped, and tortured in ways no one should endure. It wasn’t easy to trust again… no matter how badly I wanted to.
Turning her wrist over, I examined the burn there. It already looked better, but the perfect imprint of a rose and blisters lingered on her otherwise pristine skin. I didn’t bother to look at my burn; it was healing, just as the many other burns Marina had left on me did.
I stroked the area around Briar’s raw flesh. I’d dump Marina in a pit of her acidic roses one day and relish that bitch’s screams.
“How often has she burned you?” I asked.
Shame flashed across Briar’s face as she turned her wrist over, hiding the mark from me. “I never bothered to keep count, but at least once a day, if not more. I’m used to it now.”
“No one should be used to this.”
Her eyes flashed to me, and her head tipped to the side. “Careful, Knox, I might think you have some sympathy for me.”
I smiled grimly at her. “We can’t have that.”
“No, we can’t. So, I’m to remain here until you can trade me off or use me in some other way to benefit yourself,” she stated.
Ignore the sorrow in her voice. Ignore it.
“That is the way the kingdoms work,” I said.
“Not for me.”
I frowned at her as she stared at the ground. On her shoulder, I swear the lowleeto glared at me. I scowled back at it.
“That’s the way they work for everyone,” I said more sharply than I intended. “The sooner you accept that, the better off you’ll be.”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry for what you’ve turned into.”
“I’m not.”
“Will I be able to gather more mushrooms?” she asked, determined to change the subject. “Because of your tantrum in the woods, I didn’t collect as many as I would have liked.”
“I didn’t throw a tantrum.”
“Then what would you call it?”
“I’d call it trying to save a stupid girl who wandered into a place that will get her killed.”
“I wasn’t such a stupid girl when you were fucking me!” she snapped.
We were both little more than children back then, innocent and full of reckless dreams. I could barely recall the man I was back then… I was barely grown, little more than eighteen, while she was seventeen.
I’d believed I could keep her safe from all the atrocities of the kingdoms, but I’d been wrong. Now, I could actually keep her safe, but I could never experience such simple love and innocence again.
“That was a lifetime ago,” I told her.
“And a better you.”
That statement rocked me. “Maybe I think this is the better version of me.”
“That only makes it sadder.”
I scowled at her while she stared back at me with forlorn resignation in the beautiful eyes that haunted my dreams every day we were apart. I loathed it.
Tearing my gaze from hers, my attention shifted to the sky as the shadow dragon swooped low over the land. Though the tribunal was gone, it stayed low to remain discreet. All dragons were highly intelligent, but this one understood it had to remain a secret for as long as possible.
Black shadows trailed it as it flicked the large black spike at the end of its tail. Two black horns rose from its head; they were every bit as lethal as the despair this twisted creation unleashed upon those it sought to destroy.
The improper use of magic had consequences. This majestic dragon was either forged as a result of the curse or because a dragon was visiting Wildwood, and my father, when the spell was unleashed. The night caster spell could have twisted a dragon into this creation.
As it soared toward the woods, the creature splintered into hundreds of shadows that raced into the forest. Those shadows would make sure that those who didn’t belong in this land left it.
Briar’s hand flew to her throat. “Oh, Gods. What just happened?”
“It’s a creature of shadows, and it sometimes returns to the shadows.”
She blinked a few times before finally releasing a loud breath. “Does it come back together?”
“Yes.”
“It’s not a dragon… or at least it’s not a dragon that was here when the curse happened. Black magic forged that creature.”
“I don’t care what created it; it protects our land and…” My voice trailed off as I stared at the place where the dragon vanished.
I felt Briar’s eyes on me but didn’t finish my sentence. “It’s your friend.”
Because, despite all the years and different experiences separating us, this woman still knew me well enough to speak the words I couldn’t.
The shadow dragon was my friend, and I had few of those.
“Let’s get you back to the castle so I can check on the others,” I said.
“The mushrooms?”
I grunted at her insistence on this. “I’ll gather them for you.”