I refuse to add to it.
Chapter Thirty-Two
The transition between sleep and waking carries its own kind of magic. But it's never felt like this. If I could bottle this feeling, the warmth of Malachi's arms, his heartbeat steady beneath my ear, I would drink it every day.
I'd drink it now, just to quiet the warning coiling in my gut. My eyes open with the sun. Golden-orange light spills across the sky, the same shade as his eyes at dawn. I exhale slowly.
"Something wrong?" His voice is low, rough from sleep.
"No. Yes." I huff a laugh. "If I ignore everything we're facing and stay like this all day, things would be perfect."
He presses a kiss to the top of my head. "When this is over, we'll have all the time in the world to stay like this."
I start to respond. Stop. When will it be over? When my memories are gone? When the curse is lifted? When Cato is dead? Even if all of that happened at once, I can't picture what comes after. What it means for us.
"Once the curse is lifted, will you go back to Vindariel?"
He sighs. "Yes. Lifting the curse won't resolve everything, but it will stop the rot. My parents and sister will wake from stasis. And I'll be free of Noktemore for good."
I pull back to lie beside him, facing him. "Where are they now?"
"My parents are in Noktemore. Part of my bargain." His expression darkens. "My sister was supposed to join them, but she went to Arusha to bargain with Cato. Stasis took her before she could leave."
"She's with Cato?" My voice drops to a whisper.
"Yes." His jaw tightens. "He was my father's right-hand man for years. Doted on my sister when she was a child. Taught her to wield a sword." His lips twist bitterly. "Right before I went to Noktemore to plead with Mortiana, she went to Arusha to beg Cato to stop. He kept her there. Warded the entire kingdom so no one could reach her."
"Gods." I stare at the sheets between us. "I'm so sorry."
"I heard he wept when she collapsed and never woke." His voice is so quiet I barely hear it. "They say he keeps her in a glass coffin in his palace."
My stomach turns. I remember what Freida said about the princess of Arusha. The sleeping princess. The glass box.
"Your parents must hate Pia," I whisper. "After everything that happened because she fled there."
"Not at all." He takes my hand. "How could they? Cato is the monster. Pia was trying to escape. Trying to give her unborn children a chance at something better."
I keep my eyes on his chest. If I look at his face, I'll cry.
"Pia was the only person my mother allowed in the room when I was born. She loved her like a sister. She never blamed her for anything. And she would never have let her return to Cato."
The knot in my throat tightens. But something in my chest loosens. I have no concept of Pia as my mother. I never will. But knowing she had someone, that she wasn't alone through all of it, makes the ache a little easier to bear.
"No one in Tenebris blames her." His thumb traces over my knuckles. "When people learned what she did, that she went to the Bratus while heavily pregnant because she couldn't bear to watch them suffer, she became a legend. There's a statue of her near the palace. For years, people traveled from across the kingdoms to visit it. To pray for fortune and health."
I blink hard to keep the tears from falling. "Really?"
He nods. "Hers is the most beloved legend across all the kingdoms. But not everyone knows the full story."
My eyebrows rise. "And you do?"
He tilts his head. "Of course."
I can't help but smile. "Tell me the part no one else knows."
He pulls me closer.
"She'd been staying in Vindariel for months. She was part of the family. Everyone loved her, from the stable hands to the kitchen staff." His voice softens. "But near the end, they started to worry. She kept talking about finding the scepter. Taking it to the Bratus. She was heavily pregnant by then.
