His chestnut hair curtained his eyes as he hung his head between his palms. He squeezed his eyelids shut, and with them the world.This was a disaster.Never in his life did he allow another to weave their ties so tightly aroundhim.
Every thought taking property in his mind was a betrayal to the one core value he clung to so desperately. He made a promise to Enyo with the final tear shed that his duty was to the realm, to the others who experienced the loss that came so frequently from the battlefield.
Now, here he sat, at a fork in the path. Would he burn the fortress of honor he built block by block, and risk peace already on the brink of collapse? Or would he sentence himself to a lifetime of unresolved feelings?
Araes sighed and slumped further on the desk. He could hear his brother’s voice echoing in the room.If you’re already contemplating it, you’ve already lost, Araes.With eyes glazed and unfocused, he slipped into a state of numbness, letting the two sides of his mind fight to the death.
The corner of a worn envelope peaked from beneath a pile of neatly organized battle briefings. He sucked in a breath and pulled it from the stack. Before thinking twice, he ripped the edge and retrieved its contents. In the flickering candlelight, Araes stiffened as he read his sister’s neat, narrow handwriting.
Araes,
I’m not sure if you’ll read this. I know you’ve been receiving our letters and yet they all remain unanswered. While I’d like to use what little space I have on the page to beg you to visit, I know it’s of no use.
I missed you when you brought our spring queen to the cottage. The night prior I’d been working at The Golden Apple. Mother doesn’t know, but we need money. The embargo on trade with the westerners has made the cost of everything far too high, so, I maid the bar to bring in a little extra.
The other night a group of men came in. I didn’t think much of them as we get plenty of shady customers. But one ofthem had a long scar across his eye that stood out to me. They ordered their ales and sat in the back booth. I heard only pieces of their conversation, but as the night quieted down and the other patrons left, they stayed.
They spoke of Ostara and the ball thereafter. The man with the scar mentioned ‘their plan’ and how everything was moving forward as expected. Araes, they said there was some sort of bomb to be ignited. The Golden Apple draws every shade of deranged, but these men scared me. I fear for you.
Please come home. Please. I cannot lose another brother.
With love,
Penelope
Araes dropped the letter and rose to his feet. Theos’s admission of his lineage made sense now. A miscalculated slip up from an imposter claiming to be his commanding officer. Just as the page hit the desk, the sky outside his windowpane ignited in violent shades of fire.
Chapter 44
Araes raced down the hallway, now washed in flames. The smoky haze of burning tapestries and melting candle wax scorched his throat as he shielded his face from a collapsing ceiling support beam. His heartbeat pounded through his ears and only one thought flashed in his mind.
Tethys.
Her bedchambers, although only a few paces down the hall, felt miles away as he leapt through flames. The floorboards groaned beneath his weight, but he didn’t have time to think twice before barreling over them.
His thoughts emptied as if a drain plug was pulled, and instinctual training took over. Araes, the man, ceased to exist. Araes, the soldier, the protector, the warrior, was all that remained.
Finally, he reached her doorway. The iron door handles sizzled against his palm as he pulled them. White-hot agony sparked through his body, and fighting his reflexes, he ripped the doors open. A heat wave blasted his brow, nearly sending him to the floor. Smoke poured into the spacelike water in a dam break as he plowed into the room. His heart cracked against its chest cavity, threatening to shred through his flesh at any moment.
“Tethys! Where’s the king?” he called, scanning the smoke.
“Araes? He left about an hour ago. What’s going on? What’s happened?” she cried, racing to meet him. She still wore her golden gown from the night’s events. Now, flames from the exterior hallway reflected in the glittering silk, staining it a deep shade of amber.
“We need to get out of here,” he cried, cradling the goddess in his arms. She wrapped her hands around his neck and tucked her nose into the collar of his tunic. They started for the door, only for their escape to be interrupted by a loud crack of splintering wood. Another support beam, now succumbed to the blazing fire, fell to the floor and blocked their exit.
“The balcony!” Tethys cried, panic rippling through her voice like a frightened bird call.
Araes leapt to the doors and slammed into them. They groaned against his weight, but didn’t budge.
“It’s locked, Goddess. Do you have the key?” Araes asked, frantic for another solution.
“What? No, that’s not possible. I’m the only one with access to this chamber,” she said. Her eyes flickered through the room like the flames that now ate their way up the walls.
“We’ve been betrayed,” Araes stated, his voice like ice in his throat. “Never mind the key.” He set Tethys on her feet and kicked his bare foot against the glass door. It was hot on the base of his heel, but he kicked again, feeling the material fracture against his force. Tethys coughed and crept closer to him, the hem of her gown now dangerously close to the fire’s line.
Araes kicked once more and the glass shattered. The broken shards sliced his feet, drawing blood, but instincthad already taken over. He kicked the remaining shards away and reached for Tethys again.
The two dove into the cool night air, finding some relief from the searing heat within. Tendrils of flame danced behind his irises as he gazed upon the manor’s exterior. His stomach lurched. The eastern wing was entirely decimated.
