I bathed and dressed in a lovely lavender blouse and brown pants that allowed for effortless movement and maneuvering.
When Shay and I left the room, we went our separate ways.
A thin layer of mist coated the floor in my wake, creating an invisible web, and I the spider who would sense any disruption.
I made my way to the room I long ago marked in my mind, yet stayed far away from until now.
Guards flanked the door, a look of surprise passing over them at my approach, yet they said nothing, continuing to face forward as I marched up between them, to the door.
Three quick hard taps of my knuckles and my heart skipped a beat.
Distract him as long as possible.I repeated these words a thousand times over in my mind ever since sunrise. They were my mantra, the thing that kept my mind from running wild.
Footsteps approached the door.
Fate thickened the air. Time drew near, causing a prickling sensation to dance over my skin in anticipation.
With a click, the door opened.
Clause’s eyes landed on me and instantly changed from irritated to surprised.
Tension coiled like a snake at my feet before gliding around me, slithering over my skin until it was nearly all I felt. “We need to talk,” I said to him.
His lips curved at the side, not at all upset by my icy demeanor. Gray cold eyes drifted over me. “You look lovely, as always.” He then stepped aside. “This conversation was not one I expected to have yet, but I suppose if you have sought me out, then you are ready for it.”
Apparently, we each had conversations we wished to have with one another. I could only imagine how different they were going to be.
I stepped into the room and froze.
Breath slipped out from my lungs, my muscles rending me immobile.
“Wh- What is that?” I hardly forced myself to murmur the words out.
Before me was a wall with a floor-to-ceiling portrait. Clause looked exactly the same as he did now, except there was a brightness in those eyes, a warmth that never surfaced. A handsome face, silver white hair, gray eyes, sharp jaw, and even the commanding presence seemed to come across the painting. His hand rested on the hip of a woman, her ears pointed delicately, showing she was Sidhe. That was the only difference between her and me. Her face appeared as real as if I were to look in a mirror.
The edges of the painting were pulling away from the portrait slightly, showing the age. It was old, incredibly so. Yet the person in his arms was... I could not even think.
“It is my mate.” Clause answered from somewhere behind me. The door gently clicked shut, locking me in with him. “It is you.”
29
ERIK
Idid not sleep that night, nor any night, it seemed like. Being on this side of the Sidhe mountain walls made nothing better. I was a fool to imagine it would. As if seeing her could have smothered the unease, or at the very least lessened it. Stupid fool. If anything, witnessing what I had made everything worse.
I was being whittled down to a sharpened edge that burned for release.
Shadows surrounded me before tunnelling into my consciousness. The darkness begged for bodies. For retribution. As if that were even possible. My conjuring blistered beneath the surface for days, burning to escape, to incinerate the Sidhe King and his court. To scorch them out of existence, out of storybooks, leaving not a dusting of his influence on this world.
I sighed, attention shifting to the boy in the bed near mine. He did not sleep either. Just laid there, staring at the ceiling.
“Hey, kid.” I kept my voice low so as not to wake every servant inthe barrack.
He did not respond, eyes remaining unfocused, staring into oblivion.
I sat. The bed creaked as my weight shifted. I leaned towards him. “Timothy,” I said the name I heard Ariana call him.
“What?” He did not move to meet my eye.
