15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I woke up the next morning groggy and sore from lack of sleep. My mother’s words and Cassius’ had replayed in my mind all night. After what I had learned last night, I didn’t think I could even pretend to be civil with my father anymore. My darkness had crept over me as I lay in bed and was now refusing to let go of me.My mind was spinning as a result of the decision I had made. But to pull it off, my plan had to be fool proof. I couldn’t just slaughter my family because I would still have an entire kingdom to face afterward.

I knew I could level Cerithia with a flick of my wrist, but I would never do that. There were too many innocent fae who lived here. My plan was to stay out of sight today and sort through my thoughts. When I snuck out of my room, it was with intentions to go get food, but then I saw Wisp. My heart began to beat rapidly in my chest because I had learned that she started showing up when there was something she wanted me to find.

She flickered quickly to me, twirling around me with her flames a stunning shade of purple.Wisp finally stopped moving around me and floated a few feet in front of me. Anguish spilled from her and wrapped around me tightly, making it hard for me to breathe, almost as if she were hugging me in her own special way. When she switched back to a dark green, I knew it meant she was happy.

Once satisfied with herself, she flickered away from me and back down the hallway she had been headed toward. My feet were following her before she could summon me. She moved slowly, letting me know she was worried there was a chance we would run into someone else. My eyes scanned around the corner, and I sucked in the small gasp that nearly escaped me.

Lavtan, the chief adviser to the king of Crimson, was walking into the throne room with my father, Jeb, and Jesper. What was Cerithia’s enemy doing meeting with the king like this?

There were no guards outside, which I found odd. My suspicions were raised. I slowly slipped forward and peeked into the crack of the door they had left ajar. There was no mistaking Lavtan’s cruel face once I saw him standing over my father’s map of Elloryon, which he had sprawled out on a table.

“How are you managing, Thea?” Lavtan asked. I couldn’t understand why he would be here and ask about me. Maybe he had been sent by Cassius to check on me?

“She won't be a problem,” Jesper sighed. “She hasn’t told us she remembers anything, so maybe being away from Cassius has stopped the memories.”

“I have found out that Cassius is not planning on attacking Cerithia. So, if you’re waiting for him to start a war, you’ll be waiting forever,” Lavtan spoke. “Cassius is worried that starting a war will make Thea come kill him without giving him a chance to talk to her, so he is avoiding it.”

“We will declare our plans at the meeting of the kingdoms. Are you sure it will be safe to take Thea?” My father questioned Lavtan. “Is Cassius planning to steal her away?”

“As far as I can tell, he has no plans to try to take her. He hasn’t spoken a word of her since she chose Cerithia. It’s almost like he doesn’t care anymore.” Lavtan spoke so casually, but his words were still a dagger through my heart. “What of the other elite magic fae?”

My ears pricked at the question. Was he referring to Exile? Wisp turned black, letting me know that she didn’t like this conversation either.

Jeb spoke this time. “As far as Thea knows, we checked Exile, and no one was there. She thinks that she just made them all up.”

“She will want to see for herself at some point. She’s a persistent bitch. Make sure they can’t be found.”

They glanced over the map for a few silent moments. My fire simmered in my chest in anger, heating me to the point that sweat beaded on my forehead. Gods, I didn’t know if I could hold out much longer on my plan to kill them. My darkness didn’t urge me forward at the thought, so it must have agreed with me that there was more to learn.

“You didn’t see her compete this year,” Lavtan sighed. “She is much stronger than she was seven years ago. When they were together, she was immediately drawn to Cassius, and he could hardly stay away from her either. You better get her over that attitude if this is going to work.”

What was going to work? Lavtan continued talking about Crimson’s defenses, guard patrols, and border patrols, proving that he was a traitor to Crimson. My body seethed at this news. It didn’t surprise me that he was a traitor. He had treated me terribly at Crimson.

“Well, we wouldn’t be in this rushed position if you had done your fucking job,” King Luren snapped at Lavtan.

“I tried everything to get her not to finish the trials. I gave her the worst team for the maze. I practically handed her to Riven, and the idiot couldn’t finish the job. I even invited Flora to the castle to try and seduce Cassius, but it did nothing. Nothing got to her this time. Even Nev fucked it up when he tried to handle her. I told him exactly where she was and how weak she was, but she still got free.”

“Because Haden turned his back on Kizar!” Jesper growled. Haden, he was something else. I smiled at the thought of him betraying Jesper to help save me. Lavtan nodded slightly as his cruel eyes drifted around the men in the room.

“We may have lost Haden, but I have a new ally in Cassius’ kingdom. He will do anything we ask, even kill Cassius if I say so.” Lavtan’s words chilled me. Who was betraying Cassius? Was it Kace, Zade, or someone else?

“I’ve been thinking, and I believe it’s time Kizar and Cerithia form a powerful alliance,” Lavtan said with a smile. “Make a spectacle of Thea at the meeting, but do not make it seem as if she’s a prisoner. Make everyone in that room feel like she wants to be there.” Lavtan’s warning rang through my head. Wisp flashed a series of random colors, trying to get my attention. “You better have control over her.”

Just then, I heard footsteps coming down the hallway and darted into the darkness of the corner. My lungs burned as I held the air inside, trying to make myself as invisible as possible. The queen and Tally walked past me and into the meeting room before shutting the door completely, cutting me off from whatever was going to happen next.

Fuck. I needed to get out of here.

I glanced around, but Wisp was gone. Taking that as a bad sign, I headed to my room. The castle’s normally fresh flower scent was gone, replaced by night and rain as a storm raged outside. Lightning ruptured through the night sky, mirroring the war I was feeling on the inside. I now knew for certain that Cerithia only wanted me as a pawn, but learning about all the scheming that Lavtan had done over the course of the trials was appalling.

Cassius and the rest of Crimson had no idea Lavtan was betraying them. Part of me wanted to race to Crimson to tell them, but my senses took over. If Lavtan had worked so hard to serve me on a silver platter for Riven and Nev to kill, then that must mean that my father and Jesper both really wanted me dead. Why else go through such trouble to kill me?

At least Cassius and Crimson had tried to keep me alive. My mother was right. I should’ve never trusted my father. Out of nowhere, an onslaught of memories hit me, and this time I fell to the floor, groaning at the pain that came with them.

I saw Cassius smiling at me. Then the Crimson King hugged me tightly as I wore a dark red dress. After that, Cassius again, but now he was laughing in the place he called our home. Then it switched, and Cassius was holding a dagger to my throat, still smiling.

I gasped for breath as the visions slammed into me, but I felt like the room had been stripped of all air.

When the final memory invaded my thoughts, it hit me with such force that I almost blacked out. I saw Cassius again, but this time he was cradling me in his lap as he whispered that he loved me with tears streaming down his face. Then he raised his hand with a dagger in it and stabbed me through my heart.

My lungs finally sucked in the air they were desperate for as hot tears streamed down my face, but I wasn’t sure which memory was making me cry. An overwhelming feeling of uneasiness now filled me.

Wisp appeared in the corner of my room in her normal blue shade.

“I still can’t believe you never let me know that you were tied to Cassius’ soul and that he could see you.”

Her flames turned white, and that anguish from earlier came rushing back. She didn’t respond verbally, but I knew she couldn’t talk.Gods, I was starting a fight with my only friend. I glanced at Wisp and frowned.

“I made a mistake in the clearing that day, didn’t I?”

She flashed bright orange.

“Stay orange if I should have chosen Cassius.”

Her color stayed orange, making me feel stupid for falling for my father’s words.

“Did Cassius actually stab me? Did he curse me?”

Wisp’s color burned bright orange, still making me more confused. Why did Wisp think I should have chosen Cassius even though he killed me? I opened my mouth to ask another question, but she disappeared. Wisp was gone. The newfound knowledge had my darkness raging inside of me. I knew I couldn’t kill my father yet, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t take revenge on someone. Quickly, I slipped on my cloak and grabbed my daggers.

★★?★★

My footsteps were silent as I entered a quaint home close to the castle. Jeb wasn’t here yet, which gave me time to snoop through his things. His home was a mess. Dishes were piled in the sink, and dirty clothes were strewn in a corner of the bedroom. It was clear a woman didn’t live here. It looked exactly as I had imagined—a pigsty.

I rifled through his belongings, searching for anything useful. He had nothing. A small noise outside caught my attention. My darkness stirred with excitement, signaling Jeb’s arrival. My eyes were still pulsing red, but my dark green cloak concealed the glow of my skin. I pulled up a chair and placed it in the middle of the dark living area. Jeb walked in a moment later, unaware of the danger awaiting him. He turned and locked the door, which made me smile to myself.

Too late for that.

Jeb set his things down and flicked on the light, freezing when he saw me sitting nonchalantly with my dagger.

“You might be the most unaware man I’ve ever met,” I sighed as I stared him down.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he snapped. My smile widened as his fear washed over me. He was terrified.

“I think you know why I’m here, Jeb.”

“You can leave now, and I won’t tell your father what you’ve done.” His eyes darted to the drawers scattered across his already filthy home.

“You’re going to tell me why Lavtan is helping my father and Jesper try to kill me.”

“Fuck you.”

“I hoped you’d be difficult.” I stood and kicked the chair away. “It just makes this more fun for me.”

Jeb backed up to the door, his shaky hand fumbling to unlock it without my noticing. My darkness slammed the door shut as he managed to open it.

“I won’t tell you anything,” he said, squaring his shoulders, as if that would make me back down.

“We’ll see,” I smirked.

Jeb charged at me with a small dagger, swinging it in quick, violent jabs. It was easy to dodge as I stepped aside and kicked him in the back, sending him crashing into the wall. He turned quickly, expecting me to approach him, but I was content to draw it out. He slid down the wall, dazed.

“Tell me,” I demanded.

He shook his head, so I walked over to where he was slumped against the wall and stabbed his thigh. Jeb’s painful yell echoed in the small space.

“They don’t want you to break your curse,” he gasped, breathing heavily.

“Why?”

Instead of answering, Jeb stood and readied himself for a fight. If he wanted to do this the hard way, so be it. I moved forward quickly and swung my daggers at him. Jeb managed to keep up with my swings, even nicking my forearm in the process. However, his movements were slowing due to his wound.

I punched him in the face as he swung and missed, sending him stumbling back into the wall with a groan.

“Why!”

“Because you would run to Cassius,” he breathed heavily. “You would never choose us.”

My red eyes narrowed on him.

“So Cassius didn’t kill me?”

“No, he did,” Jeb groaned. I walked forward and stabbed Jeb’s other thigh, frustrated by his vague answers. “He killed you!”

“There’s something I’m not understanding about all of this, and I know you know what it is, so start fucking talking.”

Jeb shook his head.

“You can kill me, but I’m not betraying my kingdom,” he said, sliding down the wall in defeat.

“I was hoping you’d put up a better fight,” I replied, kneeling out of his reach just in case he tried anything. “It won’t matter, Jeb, because I know enough. I will be killing my family and Jesper. Cerithia will crumble, and when it does, your honor will die with it.”

Jeb’s nostrils flared as he glared at me. I stood and glanced down at him.

“Look at how pathetic you are,” I sneered. My darkness wanted out, and I finally let it free. “I barely lifted a finger to overpower you. I didn’t even need my magic.”

My darkness crept toward Jeb, unseen, wrapping around him. I heard the sickening sound of bones breaking as he cried out for help.

“I feel a little bad that you’ll miss me destroying this kingdom and killing my father. You’re going to miss quite the show when I fulfill the prophecy.”

Jeb tried to speak, but my darkness was squeezing him too tightly. I forced it to ease up.

“You’ll never win. You and your precious Cassius will both fucking die!” He spat blood toward me, causing my gaze to flick up to him.

“My precious Cassius.” I nodded, acknowledging that Cassius had always been the right choice for me, despite him killing me. “Thank you for confirming that he means something to me.”

“I hope your death is slow and painful, you stupid fucking bitch!” Jeb’s attempt to appear fearless only highlighted his terror.

“How long until you’re begging me for death?” I purred, leaning down to see how mangled his hands were from my darkness.

His jaw clenched, signaling that he was done talking. I lifted him with my darkness and set him down in the chair.

“Unfortunately for you, Jeb, you’re the first one I’ve gotten my hands on to kill, and I have a lot of anger built up inside me.”

That was the last thing I said to him as I stepped forward and stabbed him in the stomach, twisting the blade before pulling it out. My darkness crushed the bones in his legs and arms, causing him to cry out. I cut off his fingers, one at a time. It only took two before he begged me to kill him, but I ignored his pleas and finished with all ten. Blood pooled beneath him in the chair. Fuck, he was losing a lot of blood. I summoned my fire magic and burned his finger wounds shut. Jeb was sobbing.

“Have at it,” I told my darkness, which lashed out and crushed Jeb’s whole body painfully slow. The sound of his bones breaking was absolutely disgusting. I flinched as my darkness drew it out. A moment later, it dropped Jeb to the floor, leaving a jumbled mess of his body. Dead. My darkness swarmed around me in a frenzied joy. I considered burning down his home but decided instead to make sure my father knew how painful Jeb’s death was. With one last glance at Jeb, I left his home and headed to the castle.