37. Chapter 37

thirty-seven

K allessa’s vision blurred as she entered Aunt Gevene’s yard, her body screaming with exhaustion. The cottage stood silent, shutters closed tight against the afternoon sun. This was wrong.

That wasn’t like Gevene at all. She loved the ocean breezes, loved the sunshine and the way it dappled through the windows, casting ever-changing patterns on the worn wooden floors. Her heart hammered as she circled to the back garden. The barn and chicken coop lay empty, devoid of their usual bustling life. The eerie stillness sent chills down her spine.

Kallessa’s hands trembled as she pushed open the cottage door. The familiar creak of hinges echoed through the empty rooms. Dust motes danced in the shafts of sunlight streaming through the cracks in the shutters.

“Aunt Gevene?” she called, her voice barely above a whisper.

Silence answered her.

On the kitchen table, a folded piece of paper caught her eye. Kallessa’s heart raced as she unfolded the note, recognizing her aunt’s scrawling script.

My dearest Kallessa ,

I hope this letter finds you well. I’ve reunited with an old flame. Can you believe it? We’ve married and are honeymooning in Vaston. Don’t worry about me, sweetheart. I’ll send another letter soon. Know that I love you very much.

Aunt Gevene

Tears welled in Kallessa’s eyes as she read the words and she shook her head. She left her aunt alone for two weeks, and she ran off with an old beau? This was exactly the type of thing Gevene would do. But she deserved happiness just as much as anyone else, didn’t she?

It didn’t stop that sense of abandonment digging even deeper into her, though.

Wiping her eyes, Kallessa stepped back outside. The sun’s warmth felt hollow against her skin. She approached Sunu, who nickered softly in greeting. As she mounted the mare, her mind turned to Dovina. Had her cousin made it back safely?

Just as she was about to urge Sunu forward, hoofbeats thundered behind her.

Kallessa wheeled Sunu around, her breath catching as five armed soldiers and a thin man in black bore down on her. Kallessa froze, dread sinking into the pit of her stomach like a leaden weight. She recognized the close cropped silver hair, the piercing blue eyes narrowed in determination. Uncle Talos.

He reined his black stallion to a halt, his eyes blazing with unprecedented fury. “Surround her,” he barked.

The soldiers closed in, swords drawn. One seized Sunu’s reins, causing the mare to sidestep nervously into Talos’ massive black stallion .

In a blur of movement, iron fingers clamped around Kallessa’s cloak. She was ripped from the saddle and slammed to the ground. Pain exploded through her body as her head bounced sickeningly off the wet dirt, mud splattering across her face. She lay gasping, vision swimming.

Polished black boots appeared in her line of sight. A rough hand yanked her up and flipped her onto her back with disdainful ease.

Talos loomed over her, face contorted in a menacing snarl. “Where is my daughter?” The words hung in the air, suffocating her with their weight. Kallessa’s mind whirled, but she could only stare back at the man before her, paralyzed by the inferno of fury burning in his eyes.

“Where is she?” he roared, the bellow echoing through the garden as he drew back his black-gloved fist.

Kallessa flinched, holding up trembling hands. “Wait, please, Uncle,” she whispered.

“Uncle?” Talos spat, his chest heaving with each breath. “Don’t you ever call me that, you little-” He abruptly cut himself off, nostrils flaring.

Kallessa’s mind raced. “I thought Dovina would have made it back by now,” she stammered.

“Back from where?” Talos demanded through gritted teeth.

Then the truth crashed over her. Dovina had never told her father about the Axan Moon Festival. That explained why there’d been no reservations at the inn, why her cousin had been in such an uncharacteristic hurry, even refusing to take her maid. Oh Dovina, what have you done?

“The Axan Moon Festival?” Kallessa ventured, bracing herself .

“The what?” Talos’s face turned crimson, veins bulging. “Tell me where she is right this instant!”

Kallessa flinched, her head pounding as waves of panic washed over her. Her throat burned so badly she thought she might be sick. “I don’t know.”

Talos seized her collar, cutting off her air. “This was all your idea, wasn’t it? Did you talk my daughter into this?” His grip tightened. “I always knew you were nothing but trash. I warned my brother to stay away from that savage Reykian mother of yours. And look where it got him!”

He shoved her back into the mud. Kallessa gasped, pain lancing through her. But the physical hurt paled compared to the ache in her heart. Her mother, savage? The kindest soul she’d ever known? Tears stung her eyes as memories of warm embraces and gentle lullabies flooded her mind.

Talos spat on the ground beside her head, his saliva landing mere inches from Kallessa’s face. “Guards, take her to the prison. Maybe she will remember where my daughter is when the rats start nibbling on her toes. She’ll learn what it means to defy a Wynlar.”

He swung onto his stallion and rode off, leaving Kallessa at the guards’ mercy. Rough hands bound her wrists and ankles with coarse rope. They hoisted her and threw her over a horse like a sack of grain. The jarring impact and humiliation were more than Kallessa could bear. Her head spun and darkness crept into her vision, silencing everything.

It was dark. Kallessa didn’t know if it was dark because night had fallen, or because wherever she was had no windows. A sickly gray light crept under the door, dimly outlining the stone floor where she lay. Her body ached in ways she didn’t know it could, every muscle screaming in protest with even the slightest movement. Swallowing was agony, bringing tears to her eyes as her parched throat constricted. Her head swam with throbbing pain every time she turned her neck.

She still had on her boots, but when she curled her toes inside of them, she couldn’t feel them. Dried flakes of mud fell to the floor as she rubbed across her aching face, caking in the cuts and scrapes that marred her skin.

The rattling of her own teeth had jolted her awake. One moment, icy shivers wracked her frame, the next, sweat drenched her skin. How long had she been here? Her thoughts jumbled incoherently, everything hazy and out of focus.

Kallessa pushed herself up with trembling arms, her fingers aching and stiff from the chill. She leaned back against the rough stone wall, wrapping her damp cloak tighter. The wall seemed to leech warmth from her bones.

Nausea rolled through her and she gasped, leaning forward as dry heaves wracked her body. Bile burned her throat like acid, and she convulsively swallowed against the pain.

She slumped back, wiping her mouth. The only sound she heard was her own harsh breath. In the dim light, she made out the cramped, bare cell. A rusted bucket sat in one shadowed corner, while the others held misshapen piles of... something. She wrestled with her tangled thoughts. The last clear memory was of Aunt Gevene’s cottage, then Uncle Talos descending upon her like a demon. Everything after blurred, but his words still echoed.

I always knew you were nothing but trash.

Talos had judged her solely on her heritage. But hadn’t she done the same to Nevander? She’d fled Ravenbluff Estate in a blind panic, letting secondhand news of his identity guide her actions.

If she ever had the chance to see him again-no, she couldn’t delude herself with such thoughts. Their paths would never cross again. If only she’d taken a moment to ask for an explanation rather than running.

Pulling her aching limbs in close, she closed her eyes. She was so tired.

A loud groan of metal startled her awake. Piercing lantern light flooded the cell as two shadows moved behind it. The lantern thrust into her face, revealing Talos’s harsh features, his eyes faded to an eerie white.

“Ready to talk?” he demanded. “Tell me where Dovina is, and I’ll let you go. Though you don’t deserve such mercy.” His lips curled into a cruel smirk.

Kallessa’s heart raced. Where was Dovina? She racked her brain, coming up empty. When she tried to speak, only a feeble croak escaped her constricted throat. She felt utterly powerless, trapped in this nightmare, with no escape.

Was Talos’s face... changing? His features seemed to elongate, nostrils flaring until he resembled a snarling beast. Kallessa gasped and jerked back instinctively, a ragged scream caught in her throat. Stars exploded across her vision as her head slammed against the stone wall .

“What’s wrong with her?” A voice echoed as if from far away.

“Don’t know, but I don’t want to catch it if it’s contagious,” another unfamiliar voice responded, the lantern light wavering.

“She’s useless. Leave her. I’ll find my daughter myself.”

The door slammed shut with a deafening metallic thud, leaving Kallessa alone in suffocating blackness once more.

Phantom images danced across her vision. She had to escape. Kallessa stumbled to her feet, but her legs buckled. She crashed to her knees with a pained cry, banging them against the unforgiving stone. For a disorienting moment, she couldn’t recall what she’d been trying to do.

Curling into a protective ball, a wave of desolation washed over her. Through everything, Kallessa had always clung to hope that her circumstances would improve. That somehow, a glimmer of light would pierce the suffocating darkness that had enveloped her since the carriage accident stole her family.

But as she lay trembling in the icy chill, that hope crumbled. Her parents were gone. Her brother was gone. Aunt Gevene hadn’t come for her, neither had Dovina.

And Nevander, the one soul who had awakened a spark within her, had vanished like a fleeting dream.

Nevander’s eyes burned with fatigue as he guided his horse along the darkening road. The rhythmic clip-clop of hooves had long since faded into white noise, broken only by Dovina’s occasional sighs .

“I’m sorry about how I treated you when we first met,” Dovina said. She stifled a yawn, her hand resting casually on her saddle’s pommel.

Nevander’s lips quirked. “Are you only sorry because you found out I was a prince?”

Dovina raised her perfectly arched eyebrows. “Does it make me a bad person if I say yes?”

A tired chuckle escaped him. At least she was honest.

The day stretched endlessly, each hour weighing heavier than the last. Two hours of sleep weren’t nearly enough to process everything that had happened. Exhaustion clouded his thoughts, and he found himself nodding off in the saddle.

“You’re falling asleep, my lord,” Dovina chirped.

Nevander jerked awake, blinking rapidly. This wouldn’t do. As much as he wanted to push on, he’d be useless if he didn’t rest.

The inn’s tavern buzzed with low conversation as they settled in for a late supper. He’d insisted on separate rooms, unable to stomach the thought of sharing quarters with Dovina. And she certainly wouldn’t have stood for it either. He was sure, in her mind, it was bad enough traveling alone with him. But there was nothing to be done for it. If not for her stupid life choices, they wouldn’t even be in this situation. The Krithadean guards that rode with them had camped out in the field behind the inn.

A group of Dracian soldiers entered, their armor clanking as they took the booth across from them. At first, they kept to themselves, but soon their furtive glances and hushed murmurs caught Nevander’s attention.

“Can I help you, gentlemen?” Nevander asked .

The burly soldier with a thick mustache nodded. “Pardon us, Captain. Might that be Lady Dovina Wynlar with you?”

Nevander narrowed his eyes. “Do you know who I am?”

The soldier swallowed hard. “Even though we’re border guards, that doesn’t mean we don’t recognize our own sovereign, my lord.”

Nevander flicked his eyes about the dimly lit tavern room. No one else seated at the scattered tables seemed to pay attention to their conversation.

“Where were you stationed during the war?” Nevander asked.

The burly soldier shuddered visibly. “Narian range.” He held up his left hand, missing two fingers. “Lost these to the damn cold.”

Nevander’s jaw clenched, memories of that hellish fight flashing through his mind. He waved down the server, handing her six copper coins. “Serve these boys whatever they want, on me.”

“Much obliged, Captain, but we’re on a mission from Lord Wynlar of Teansong,” another soldier interjected. “Is that Lady Dovina traveling with you?”

Dovina, who had been silent until now, suddenly piped up. “My father hired you?”

Nevander let out a sigh. So much for subtlety. But at least as a prince, he outranked the petty Lord Wynlar.

“Yes, milady,” the soldier confirmed with a respectful nod.

Her pretty face wilted. “Is he very angry with me for leaving?”

The soldier’s attempt at a reassuring smile fell flat. “Surely not with you, Lady Dovina.”

He turned back to Nevander, the smile dropping. “Captain, I hope you understand that we’re ordered to return the lady as soon as she is found. Even if it’s the middle of the night. ”

Nevander nodded. “I’ll relinquish the lady, but you must answer some questions first.”

“I’ll answer what I can, my lord.”

“Did Lord Wynlar know where his daughter was?”

“No, my lord.”

Nevander’s pulse quickened. “Is he holding anyone responsible for her disappearance?”

The soldier leaned back, pursing his lips. “He’s holding some poor girl in the Teansong jail. Rumor is that she’s his niece. Hell of a way to treat your own blood.”

Nevander’s grip on the table tightened, a splinter piercing his skin. Pain shot through his hand, but it was nothing compared to the icy dread that gripped his chest. Across from him, Dovina’s face drained of color, her fork clattering onto the plate.

“Oh, she will never forgive me for this,” Dovina whispered.

“Is that all you’re worried about?” He leaned forward, his voice dangerously low. “Your cousin is in a jail cell because of your foolish actions.”

Dovina shrank in her seat, but Nevander was already on his feet, his chair scraping harshly against the floor. Fatigue vanished, replaced by a burning determination. The thought of Kallessa alone in a cold, dark cell drove him forward.

He turned to the guards, his voice steady despite the storm raging inside him. “Not only will I release Dovina into your care, I will guide you myself.”

The soldiers bowed their heads, unable to defy their prince.

“It would be an honor, my lord,” one replied.

“Is it really?” Nevander asked.

The guard’s brows drew together. “My lord? ”

Nevander’s voice grew harsh, unable to reign in his warring feelings any longer. “Is it really your honor to help the captain who let your brothers in arms die?”

The guard’s jaw dropped.

Nevander had said it. He’d finally voiced the thought that had plagued him for two years. Every time a soldier did his bidding.

Were they really honored? Or only doing as they were told?

Why didn’t they look at him with scorn?

The soldier drew himself upright, staring Nevander straight in the eyes. “It is our right to live and die by the sword as soldiers. You neither gave that honor to us, nor took it away.” He then added with a subtle nod, “My lord.”

Nevander stood stunned, the soldier’s words piercing through his self-loathing. A flicker of hope ignited in his chest, but he quickly tamped it down. There would be time for self-reflection later.

He tightened his jaw and dropped four silver coins into each man’s hand. “For your loyalty. Now, let’s ride. We have a lady to rescue.”

Every time Kallessa swam up from the murky depths of unconsciousness, razor-sharp claws dug at her throat, and a bone-chilling cold permeated every inch of her, burrowing deeper and deeper. The agony was so intense that it felt like a separate, malevolent entity, toying with her, punishing her for reasons she could not fathom. As if her body itself was a cruel, sentient presence, determined to torment her.

No, it was so much better in the dark depths where the pain couldn’t reach her.