“What’s wrong?” he asked, concern all over his face.
“I don’t want to do this,” I admitted pitifully, hating the whimper in my voice. “I don’t want to see.”
“See what?” he asked, brows furrowed as he tried to make sense of what could have happened in the past that could be so integral to our future. “What has you so scared?”
I laughed wetly, shaking my head. “I’ll tell you once I’m done.”
“Mini-Dite, please.” His voice sounded desperate, and I hated that I put that feeling there even as I welcomed the knowledge that whatever this was between us, it was clearly mutual.
I braced myself to return to the worst day of my life. To the source of all my nightmares. To the end of everything for the girl I was once. I braced myself to see the bodies and blood, to see the ones I loved cut down. Braced myself to find out whether the man my heart yearned for had that blood on his hands, or if the man who held my strings and my friend’s life in his hands had more of a handle on this realm than we all thought.
“I’ll see you on the other side,” I whispered to Azurill, and brought the bottle to my lips, swallowing mouthfuls of the glittering potion.
And then the world disappeared in a swirl of silver.
Chapter Thirty-two
Jacinth
Isaw nothing but a cloud of silver until the smoke slowly cleared, leaving me standing in a familiar room. My eyes immediately locked onto the people sitting around it—my mother, my father, my aunt, and my uncle. Servants also filled the room, coming and going as they served my family.
I stepped forward, my entire body shaking as I forced my feet toward them. A tear slid down my cheek as I watched my parents laugh, my mother leaning into my father as he wrapped an arm around her. I couldn’t help a small smile at the familiar sight. Unlike many nobles, they were so truly in love, and they never failed to show one another how deeply that love went.
I heard a crash from the front of the room, and my eyes fell closed automatically as more tears streaked down my face, but I couldn’t remain blind; I had to see.
The men swarmed into the room, some of them wearing masks while others didn’t bother, and they instantly began cutting down members of our household as our guards tried fruitlessly to defend against the unexpected attack. My father jumped to his feet, slipping a potion from a pocket and throwing it at the attackers. I sucked in a breath as I watched a handful of them be consumed by the resulting smoke, screaming as their flesh boiled off their bones, leaving me wide-eyed in shock.
My father didn’t hesitate, taking the distraction the potion afforded to wrestle one of the men to the ground and take his sword. But it was all in vain. There were too many of them, and they quickly overpowered him, the sword falling to the ground as another blade slid deep into his stomach.
My gasp was so loud that I covered my mouth with my hands like someone might have heard me. But I was merely a ghost here—or perhaps, I was surrounded by ghosts, and I remained the only real thing here.
Watching as my mother tried to get to my father, my heart broke entirely, ripping straight down the middle. One of the attackers grabbed her, dragging her across the room as one of the men propped my father up so he could see her. Two other men got their hands on my aunt and uncle, and I couldn’t stop the sob that left my lips as both their throats were slit.
Their bodies were thrown to the ground like trash, their blood leaking out and pooling on the marble floors. My hands fisted as I struggled with my inability to act. I wanted to kill these men more than anything, but I knew it was useless. None of this was real, not anymore.
My eyes turned back to my parents, where the men were taunting my father with what they would do to my mother.
“I’ve never had a lady before.” One of them licked his lips, his hands trailing up my mother’s side. My mother’s eyes narrowed as she snarled, and I watched in shock as my very ladylike mother snapped her head back, breaking the nose of the man threatening her. A surprised smile lit my face as I watched her turn quickly and knee him between the legs.
The man crashed to the ground, but a couple of the others moved in, and I grit my teeth as they slapped her so hard she fell to the ground. They manhandled her back up, each man holding an arm and keeping her in place.
“You bitch,” the man she fought stumbled back up, “We could have made this painless for you, but now, it’s going to hurt.”
“Rue, we have our orders, and they don’t include playing.” Another man stepped forward, chastising the snarling man, who was clearing fuming. I squinted in contemplation, his voice sounding eerily familiar, but I shook off the thought as I watched his eyes cut to my father, who was struggling against his bonds, and then back to my mother. Suddenly, he surged forward, and my parents cried out in tandem, my own voice adding to the chorus, as a dagger went through my mother’s chest.
She slumped forward, with only the two men holding her arms keeping her upright, while the clear leader snarled at this Rue. “If you can’t behave yourself, then go elsewhere.”
The man fell back, his eyes going to the ground as he mumbled angrily to himself.
“What do you want?” My father asked desperately, his eyes glued to my mother. When he finally pulled them away, they went to the doorway on the left, leading back to where our bedrooms were located. He gulped audibly, sucking in panicked breaths. I could see how terrified he was already, but now most of that terror was forme. He forcibly looked away from the path to where I lay sleeping, not knowing that it was too late and other attackers were already on their way there.
“We are merely getting rid of the opposition. Ensuring that when the time comes, the path to the throne will be clear,” the man said, confusing me as he walked up to my father. He removed his mask then, and I staggered backwards in shock.
“Casaan,” my father spat angrily, “I should have known. Your father has always desired more than he’s owed.”
“Oh, Elros,” Casaan stepped forward, slithering toward him. “My fatherwillbe High King. As long as the blood of House Marit is extinguished from Adamah, of course.”
My father stilled completely. “What?”
