Fuck.My brain stopped working, my heart stopped pumping…
Fuck.
“Anwen,” I asked her without breaking eye contact with the fireling, “tell me everything about that tea you drank. What did it look like?”
A shred of hope lingered, the assumption that Rhylan may be bluffing, but as soon as she started talking I knew we were both doomed.
“It was a small vial, with some kind of a black root. When I cut it, it had silver-blue strands, like...like cerulean, the tea was black and smelled horrible and when I drank it….”
“I think that’s enough, sprout,” Rhylan announced, not giving up his satisfied smirk. “You’ve convinced him.”
“No!” I responded, feeling how my heart was about to stop beating any second. He would not have her, I would not let him. Whatever I had to do, whatever he asked for to prevent this, I would do it. “Pick something else,” I urged. “Anything else.” Tears formed in my eyes but I would not let them fall, I was not defeated yet. Not yet.
“No, no, no,” Rhylan shook his head. “You know that is the only payment, princeling. You are a smart one. One root, one household, one…”
“I live here too,” I uttered, expelling the phrase without a second thought, pushed through my lips more by my heart than my brain.
“Are you willing, tree princeling?” he purred. And I knew. I knew that had been his plan all along and I had fallen into it.
I nodded and the bastard clapped his hands in excitement. “To prove my kindness, one last time,” he pressed those words with delight, “I’ll meet you by the river in ten minutes. You know the place.”
With that, he vanished.
Anwen, who had remained silent as a grave, started crying slowly, holding me in a tight embrace from behind. I took a few deep breaths, steadying myself for what was to come, then held her in my arms tightly, inhaling the smell of her hair, the softness of her skin, her beating heart.
“Anwen, you need to listen to me carefully.” I cupped her face and raised it high enough to force her to look at me.
“I didn’t know...he can touch iron… we had cake….I’m sorry,” she continued crying and mumbling things that probably made more sense in her head.
“Anwen!” I raised my voice and she stopped, from instinct or fear, I did not know, did not care, as long as she listened.
“You need to call the guards. Tell them to come stay with you. At least three or four. Then call your father and ask him to take you home as soon as he can. Today, in an hour, now. As soon as possible,” I ordered but she shook her head, dismissing, denying what I had asked.
“No, Ansgar, I’m not leaving. Not calling the guards, they will know, they will find out.”
She started crying again, shaking her head. “I won’t do it.”
“Anwen, I am begging you. You need to leave; he can’t find you again. I cannot go without knowing you will be safe.”
“No!” she sobbed. “We’ll leave together.” But even as she uttered the words, she knew the truth, part of her understood that this was our last moment together.
“I love you,” I told her. I pressed every word, every letter trying to carve it into her mind. “I love you,” I repeated and kissed her deeply, slamming my lips onto hers, our faces covered in tears.
“I love you too,” she murmured between her parting lips, as our tongues caressed one more time before separating. Just as we were about to.
With a last look at my beautiful, beloved mate, I disappeared.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
I fell to my knees. What had I done? My entire body was violently shaking, from the fright, the need to find Ansgar, who had just vanished in front of me. I knew where he was going, where he had to go, because of what I had done. Something as innocent as drinking a tea turned out into whatever payment Rhylan claimed and I only feared the worst.
I had to listen to his words. I hurried to the phone from where I was supposed to call the guard in case of an emergency. I had never done it before but the contract stated it would connect automatically and someone would pick up. I did not know what to say, what to tell them, I did not know if Ansgar would come back here or he was injured somewhere, but none of it mattered because there was no answer, no matter how many times I rang. Probably Rhylan’s doing again, if he had managed to infiltrate the guards and visit me so often, he might have also tampered with my emails and phone.
I tried calling Dad, the only other number I knew by heart, but a robotic voice told me I could not make an international call. So I hurried to the laptop, wiping tears from my face that I didn't even notice, until I couldn’t see the screen through the watery mess.
The video calls were down, of course, I tried every channel and every person, all of them cutting out so I did the only thing I had left, emailed my father. I knew he would see it in a few hours from now, but it was the best option I had, and I hoped that by that time, Ansgar would be back.
‘Dad,
