“Hello, little sister. I just attended the portrait reveal and couldn’t leave without saying goodbye. Such a shame you couldn’t join us,” he said with a devilish grin. “In all honesty, I think it’s better you weren’t there. I saw the painter overtly flirting with another girl. No decency. I wouldn’t want you to get any ideas.”
Amira curled up as Wryen sat on her bed.Ideas.Her idea right now would be to push Wryen out of her window, but she’d never succeed. She wanted to be as far away from him as possible, but the room felt like it had shrunk. Her body shivered, expecting Wryen’s torment. How much did he know? What had Karwyn whispered into his ear?
“You know, I’ve heard you had a great bonding experience with Karwyn recently,” Wryen continued.
She took the bait. “What are you talking about?”
He grabbed a strand of her hair and played with it. “The execution. You’ve always been so fond of them. Such a shame you haven’t been to one in, what, six years? It was time.” He stared right at her, his lilac eyes shimmering with sadistic pleasure.
“Yes, six years,” Amira said, her low voice floating in the room like a haunted whisper.
With no warning, Wryen yanked at a piece of Amira’s hair. Sharp pain shot through her skull, but she wasn’t surprised. She watched, motionless, as Wryen burned the ripped-out hair, turning her dark lock into ashes.
Amira braced for another attack, but Wryen stood up and paced around the room. She knew that as long as he was moving, she’d be fine. A stationary Wryen meant that he had settled on his next attack.
“I’ve been very disappointed by you, Amira. I gave you a simple task and you keep messing up. Your latest antic could have been the end. Fortunately for you, Karwyn hasn’t yet decided to break off the engagement. Unfortunately for you, I believe you deserve to be properly punished for your crime.”
Amira rose up from her bed. “Karwyn has already punished me.”
Wryen’s grin widened. “Oh, but there’s nothing like family law. Speaking of family, look what I’ve taken from your mother’s place.” He took out a bunch of letters from his pocket. Amira immediately recognised her mother’s handwriting. Her breath got stuck in her throat.
“What did you do?” Amira screamed, reaching for the letters.
Wryen chuckled, keeping them out of reach. “Nothing…yet.I’m banning you from any communication with her. And if you disappoint me again…well, there’s no limit as to how far your punishment could go. I could invite your dear mother to the palace for a private show of my power.” He lit up his hand, the fire reflecting in his insane eyes.
Amira froze, fighting back tears. She couldn’t lose her mother, the one person who loved her unconditionally. But she couldn’t see a future where she played along with Karwyn’s games, turning a blind eye to his cruelty. An idea lit up her eyes. What if she told Wryen about Karwyn’s secret experimentations? She couldn’t reach the advisors on her own, but he could.
The information would give Wryen an advantage, something to show how important he was to Liraen. It would make him stand out in the eyes of the royal advisors.
She was certain now that Karwyn didn’t belong on the throne. He needed to be stopped. If Wryen was her way to stop him, she’d have to take it. And Wryen would surely decide Amira shouldn’t marry Karwyn once he knew. If Karwyn was ruined and she was married to him, she’d be ruined too, and by extension, the whole Rosston line.
“Karwyn is experimenting on dead fae with the help of his witch,” she blurted out.
Wryen stared at her with an incredulous face. And then he let out a roaring laugh. “My, oh my, Amira, I didn’t know you had such a vivid imagination. You should get out more.” He chuckled to himself. “Oh yes, that’s right, youcan’t.”
Amira walked up to him. “It’s true. I’veseenit.”
Wryen raised the letters in front of him. He lit up his free hand and let the letters catch fire. Amira didn’t even blink before they were nothing but ashes. Her eyes couldn’t move from the leftovers in Wryen’s hand. She would never know what they had said.
“Stop being such a lunatic, or the next thing I’ll burn won’t be your mother’s silly letters,” Wryen said. He blew the ashes right in Amira’s face, provoking a coughing fit. Laughing, Wryen opened her door.
“I’ll bring you proof,” Amira said in between coughs.
“Sure you will,” Wryen said as he left the room. Amira caught the confused eyes of a guard she didn’t know before Wryen slammed the door in her face.
Amira took a deep breath to calm herself. If she could bring proof of Karwyn’s experiments, her half-brother would have to believe her. But so much was at stake—her mother’s life, her own safety.
She stared at the closed door in front of her. This was to be her life, locked up in her room until she was taken out to look pretty next to Karwyn. And to think of all the fae he would hurt while she was forced to stand by. He wasn’t even high king yet. How much worse would it get? She had to stop him.
A small voice in her head told her that Wryen would not hurt her mother yet. He needed her as blackmail material. It was probably the only reason he had kept her alive these last eight years since their father’s death.
With new determination, Amira looked around the room for a means to escape. The door was hopeless, she wouldn’t put one foot outside before her guard would toss her back in. No, the only way was through the window. Amira opened it and looked down. Her room was only on the second floor, not that high, and she would arrive in the always empty indoor garden.
She opened her wardrobe and took out all her expensive dresses. Tying them all together, she created a rainbow rope that she secured around her desk before throwing it out of the window. She quickly put on a cloak and then started her descent. Her way down was quick and painless. She had to leave the makeshift rope hanging out of the window, so she hurried down the corridors, back to the grey door.
Amira knew that more suffering awaited her on the other side, but it was her only hope. To win freedom for herself and her mother, to put an end to Karwyn’s rule, and to give Sydna’s soul peace, she had to do this.
Amira knew all the steps, each one throwing her back into her memories. A faint scent of blood lingered in the air, reminding her of the terrifying scene she had witnessed. As she was about to exit the staircase, she heard a noise on her right. Stopping in her tracks, she held her breath, fearing the monsters that could be lurking in the dark. A shadow moved along the wall next to her and she retreated back on the stairs.
