Embrys is just sitting there.Why is he just sitting there?Embrys!
His eyes snap to mine.Nuria? Wh – what happened?
Don’t look down, Embrys. The Wolf… he killed your father.
He looks anyway. His lament bubbles up from deep within him and splits the air, our only warning before his whole body ignites. Before he can do anything stupid, watery shackles are wrapped around his wrists that slowly spread up his arms and legs, encasing his entire body in liquid. He struggles but stays seated. Perhaps he cannot move enough to stand, I’m not sure, but he does not cease his struggle.
I lose my grip on Oleander’s hand as she is held down by some vargs, the same water shackles are spreading across her body as well.
The Wolf turns back to the dais and takes one big leap that lands himself by my side once more. I don’t dare show my fear, but instead look him straight in the eye.
You monster!
Something akin to sadness flickers behind his eyes and he lets out a barely audible whimper before shaking and shifting back into his humanoid form. Vargs quickly surround him with a green velvet cloak to cover up his naked body. I catch a glimpse of something shimmering around his neck but he wraps the cloak tightly around himself before I can make it out.
“Justice is swift and exact in this realm. He has paid in full for his crimes so that his children will not bear his debt to the natural world. Lamenting his demise will not prove fruitful. We are not finished here! Let us all regain our wits,” he calls out to the crowd.
Pyralis’ body and head are swiftly removed from the room and the crowd turns to The King as if nothing has happened.Is this a normal occurrence? Is brutal death really something that just… happens? In a bloody court?!
“Moving on to our last charge. Raise your hand if you believe Miss Oleander Pyralis to be a part of the rebel group that had been reported to be hiding in the caves within said forest.” As if completely unfazed by what the punishment may be, around halfraise their hands at this.Shit. I can’t watch that again. Not my friend!
“No, no! I propose a bargain! Take me in her place! ” I blurt out, before The King has time to dole out his exacting punishment onto my friend. I hear Oleander sob from where she is still pinned down on the ground.
“And who says you are payment enough for her crime?”
“I know you have been searching for me. I am one of the last remaining members of the House of Ether. Your lore speaks of a fae, raised by humans, returned to this realm to guide you. I am the one you seek! You may take me in exchange for Oleander. Let her and Embrys go free.” I hear gasps and exclamations spread through the crowd. Is this prophecy widely known in this realm? I stand strong, but don’t dare look at Embrys or Oleander. Embrys promised to not stand in my way and to help his sister, a promise he is bound to, but I know if I look at either of them, their broken hearts from seeing their father killed and now seeing me taken away might sway my courage.
“I… I cannot just release a known rebel…” The Wolf lowers his voice and takes a step towards me, the closest he has been to me yet. He smells of the forest in autumn and crisp dewy mornings, his scent is dizzying and my body betrays me by leaning in a little. I notice a small light near his collarbone shine through his cloak. He looks down at his chest then to mine. I can feel my necklace heating against my skin. Recognition dawns on me.Does he possess the other necklace?
He catches my questioning stare and before I can say anything he interjects –“I agree to your bargain. I will accept you in place of Miss Pyralis. She and her brother are free to go until the sun rises next morning, at which time they willbothbe known as being part of the rebellion against the crown and will be hunted down. I thank you and I take my leave.” He looks to the crowd, which applauds at the swift conclusion of the trial.
Before I can do or say anything, The King has signaled for his vargs to grab me. He turns and exits the room through the side door that Lillian had entered through. I am swiftly ushered along and pushed through the same door without getting to talk to or even look at Oleander and Embrys again.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The Wolf whirls on me as soon as we are all squeezed into the dimly lit hall. “You draw too much attention to yourself, child!” He reaches towards me as if he wants to caress my face but pulls his hand away, shaking his head, no doubt from my snarl of disgust. He has an expression of actual concern which confuses me. Did he not just agree to take me prisoner? Did I miss something?
“Take her to one of the green rooms in the right wing. One that locks.” He nods to the vargs. They shove me past him and when I glance over my shoulder he is already disappearing through a side door, green velvet trailing after him.
I stop struggling as I am hauled through many different halls, some made of dark, damp stone and some bright and airy, containing floor to ceiling windows showing the twinkling lights of the city at night. So many fae are inside their homes right now, enjoying dinner with their families. So many fae that did not just see a man beheaded. I do not register much of my surroundings as my mind turns to what on Earth just happened.
I gave myself up. I am captured and have resigned to the whim of this monstrous king.
He won’t harm me, right? Otherwise he would have done it right out there in front of all those fae… right?
I came all this way to save my sister and have somehow ended up joining in a rebellion against said monster. Am I a fool? Or just foolhardy… My sister is safe, I think, and Oleander and Embrys are safe, for now.
Between the two of them, I trust they will evade The King’s guards and join back with the Sylvans. I know in my heart that Embrys will keep his word and do everything in his power to support Oleander. He will step up like he did when they were children, only this time he doesn’t have his father here to sway his judgement. He is good hearted and brave and kind and I made the right choice ensuring that he and Oleander are together… I did this for them.
They will free the fae…Will they free me? Will Embrys free me?Part of me wishes they would, another part of me wants to scream off the rooftops to tell them to leave me behind and burn everything The King has built to the ground. I have work to do here. While they free the fae I need to keep this tyrant away from the humans.
I did the right thing… I did the right thing.
My breathing is reaching panic level so I close my eyes and allow the vargs to guide me as I search the strange corridors of my mind for Embrys. I search for his warm glowing ember in the dark purple swirl of my psyche; the warm glow that has been there, below the surface all my life. The presence that was somehow passed on from my mother, a woman I have never known, into him. I open my heart and search, just to know that he and Oleander are all right.
Instead I feel my necklace heat around my neck and the emerald green irises of The King pop into my mind. With a gasp, I open my eyes. The vargs push me through an open door and swing it shut with the snick of a lock behind me.
My internal workings pause for a moment as I take in the grandeur of the room I have been placed in.
