Red drives him insane? Noted. Wait, sausages? I forgot all about them, and that is the biggest tell that this man owns a piece of my heart. He better keep it safe, protected, and cared for, because the cage surrounding it has shattered.
Chapter
Eighteen
Moonlight bleeds onto the unyielding frozen landscape encasing the forest floor, casting an ethereal glow. Creatures twisted by shadows and mystery scuttle and skitter through the skeletal branches of towering trees looming around me like sentinels. I shiver as I clutch the fur cloak tighter around my shoulders.
This untamed wintry prison holds its breath as I step forward, my boots breaking the silence with a crisp crunching that echoes like a warning through the perilous realm.
My fingertips brush over jagged icicles, their burn biting into my skin like malicious fangs as they whisper a stark warning: ice, like fire, is a silent predator. It entices with promise of peace, yet coils around the heart, an intrusive embrace promising the sweet surrender of slumber. “Rest now,” it tempts. “I am your refuge.” Yet rest eludes me as a storm brews within.
This world stands on the precipice of change, a new dawn yearning for the light, yet shrouded under the neglect of Idols who have long forsaken those who cling to their ancient stories. My sister stands beside me, a steadfast ally, and with her, four knights sworn by honor, a dragon whose loyalty is asfierce as its flames, a mirror man reflecting the very essence of existence, a genie bound by hidden whims, and two capons that cluck and fuss like frail shadows of absurdity. They rely on me to weave the strands of our fates together, yet the notion confounds me—am I truly glue? No, I shatter instead, breaking apart the norms that seek to bind us. Gwyneth, my blood, remains by me, a tether in a world fracturing at the seams, while the knights embrace the tempest I embody, basking in the disarray I create.
Suddenly, from the depths of a shadowy crevice, a fox bursts forth, its brilliant red fur a fiery beacon in the stark white wilderness. It freezes, paw raised, and those obsidian eyes pierce through the darkness, locking onto mine with an intensity that quickens my pulse. The air thickens around us.
“Hi,” I breathe as my feet become stuck to the ground. “I’m Daphne.”
No answer. An awful bang splits the air, and a scream of terror follows. The fox bounces off into the night. I spin in a circle, trying to locate the direction the increasingly loud scream comes from. There. No, wait. I spin in the other direction. Are there multiple screams? Another one joins, and another. I clamp my chilly hands over my ears and sink to my knees. They warn me of a coming future, one brought about by something I have done. A shadowy figure appears a few feet in front of me, and Hart’s sneering face greets me. I reach out my hand, but he shakes his head. Something moves to my right. Theo? He folds his arms and glowers at me.
My head snaps to the left where Nash leans against a tree, a look of complete indifference gracing his handsome face. I glance over my shoulder, and sure enough, Malachi is waiting. But instead of sunshine smiles and an easy laugh, he bears a coat of hatred. A sob catches in my throat.
Hart steps closer and words spill from his mouth.
“Upon a throne not yet her own, a princess walks, her fate unknown. Four hearts encircle, steadfast, true, yet love and loyalty fade from view.”
Theo steps closer and joins in the nonsense spilling from Hart’s lips.
“The laws of stone, she dares to break, but risk their trust, the path will quake. Should bonds unravel, swords may fall, and crownless she’ll stand, lost to all.”
Nash follows, puncturing another wound in my heart.
“To mend the cracks, she must take care, a heart to each, and burdens share. Four trials loom, their truths concealed, in love’s reflection, fate is sealed.”
The sob wrenches free as Malachi strides closer, accompanying his brothers as they circle me.
“For if she fails, the world shall see, her knights turned foes, her destiny. But if she leads with wisdom’s fire, a kingdom reborn, her heart’s desire.”
I shake my head at their proclamations. Why does this sound like they are leaving me? I reach out to touch Nash’s leg and prepare to beg him for forgiveness for whatever I have done to warrant this bitter hatred.
The moment my fingers touch his leg, he explodes into a million pieces of burning ash, the fiery embers swirling around me. Boom, boom, boom. The knights all explode, leaving me alone in this world, and I only have myself to blame. I didn’t heed the warning, and now those I love have paid the ultimate price, leaving me behind with betrayal stinging my soul. I bury my head in my hands, hot salty tears spilling onto my palms as I release my grief. The ground beneath me quakes, but I don’t care. I want to be devoured by this world. It is more than I deserve.
“Daphne, wake up.”
Malachi can’t be here. I destroyed them all. It’s a cruel game enacted by the Idols I angered by foolishly daring to believe I had the power to change the world.
I curl tighter, trying to block out their taunting.
“Fuck. Calamity, wake up.”
A sting erupts down my scalp, familiar and heartbreaking. “Pretty mouse. Break the spell and come back to us.”
I shake my head. “You’ve won. Leave me alone,” I whisper in between sobs. “Let my heart break in peace.”
Pain explodes across my cheek. My eyes snap open and land on Hart’s furious green ones. He tilts his head. “You back with us, Calamity?”
I glance around, finding his brothers surrounding me on the sofa where I had curled up against Hart’s side. I must have fallen asleep.
“Yes,” I whisper as I try to shake off the remnants of the dream. I’ve never even seen or experienced snow. I have no clue why or how my mind conjured up such a drastically unfamiliar landscape from that which I’d grown up in.
