“I share nothing in common with you!” I spit at him, stumbling back on my platformed shoes.
Unfazed by my outburst, Maldrak raises his hands in surrender. “I know you think you know the truth, Elyssara, but you only know one side. You don’t have to believe me, but I was hoping that we could have a civilized conversation that may give you answers to questions you don’t even know to ask.”
“You’ve locked me in the fucking dungeons, bound my magic and paraded me in front of the entire castle in your Kingdom’s dress—what part of that is civilized? You’re trying to play tricksof the mind, Maldrak, and I’m not fucking playing!” I scream, my voice already hoarse.
“That’s the thing, Elyssara—youarealready playing, you just don’t know it yet,” he teases, and gestures again at the chair.
“Funny—your nephew said the same thing when he was trying to convince me to helphim. I suppose deception runs inyourblood.”
Maldrak laughs again. A booming, genuine thing that unnerves me even more. “In another world, you really would be so perfect for Kael—beautiful, powerful, and possessing a sharp wit, and even sharper tongue. I can see why he liked you.”
“Kael saw only his agenda,” I snap, unable to think of anything else to say.
“Kael is loyal to the Crown, Elyssara. You can’t fault him for that. You were unfortunate collateral in the mission to free our people,” Maldrak replies dismissively.
Loyal to the Crown?
Free their people?
I can’t decipher lies from truth, mind game from reality.
“Of course, he had his own plans for you, and wasn’t ready to abandon those plans yet. But I need him in Thornewood to lead the army outside The Decay. War with Dravara and Caeloria is coming, and we need to be prepared,” he says smoothly.
“You’re lying,” I whisper. “You’re fucking lying!”
“Elyssara, darling. Who do you think sent Kael to search for you?”
“No! He did that for Nalya!” Tears track down my cheeks, and I wipe my tears away with the back of my hand. And I fucking hate that they fall—traitors to the mask I need to wear.
“Nalya was simply a carrot dangling at the end of a stick, sweetheart. Kael has always needed personal motivation to follow orders. Now he has her in exchange for you—missioncomplete.” Maldrak pours crimson liquid into the wine glasses on the table and pushes one towards me.
“He’ll come for me,” I breathe, but it lacks conviction. It sounds more like a hopeless plea to forgotten gods.
“He will not come, Elyssara. I know you think I took something from you. But I’ve only revealed the truth—you were always going to find out about Kael’s plan. I just sped up the timeline. Your future is here,” Maldrak taps the table as he says the final word.
No. He has to come.He loves me, despite everything.Doesn’t he?
Truth and lies fold in on each other, twisting and contorting until I don’t know what’s real and what’s a trick of the mind.
I grip the side of my chair, as if my hold can keep me from falling apart.
“I do not belong here!” I cry out, slapping my palm on the marble table.
“You’d rule by my side, Elyssara. You’d be free. You could live out your days in peace—no King would dare hunt you, use you, leverage you,” Maldrak purrs.
“Except you—who would use me every day for the rest of my existence,” I say through the tears in my eyes.
Maldrak leans in then, and for a moment, I think I can see his mask slipping—a hint of frustration creeping into his face. “I’d help you take Dravara back, Elyssara. You could be Queen of all of Aevryn.”
I know Dravara will be mine. I have felt it calling me, ever since I placed the Obsidian Crown atop my head in Starlit Grove. As if the crown itself awakened the royal blood coursing through my veins. I know it will be mine, but not like this.Not with him.
“Why not just kill me? Why go to all this trouble to use me when you could pursue your goals without me?” I snap, sounding as if I’m talking him into killing me.
Maldrak sighs, leaning further back in his chair, as if we’re talking about something as inconsequential as the weather, and not my life.The realms. “Thatisan option, but it’s not my first. The prophecy indicates you can save Aevryn. I’ve interpreted that to mean you are capable of bringing down The Decay, and removing this deathly curse from our once-prosperous lands.” He swirls the crimson liquid in his glass, gulping down a long draw.
“You could’ve let your people access Zerynthia all these years! You’re starving your own people!” I grit out, leaning closer to him in fury.
Maldrak chuckles softly. “I see young Kael has filled your pretty little head with countless lies to win your trust and affections, successfully turning you against me. I’ll admit, he’s sold a wonderful lie,” he pushes the glass away, and his face transforms into something sinister. His true nature finally appearing through the cracks in his mask. “No, Elyssara. We could not have done that. The Decay distorts, disorients and boggles the minds of all that pass through, save for those of royal blood and service—a sick joke by Morrathys to not only starve our people, but to also make us lose our minds. Keeping our people within saves them from certain death, albeit a hellish existence.”
