Settling her resolve, Alex sat back, her eyes meeting his. There would be no evading him or giving him a half truth any longer; she was going to have to have this conversation whether she was ready for it or not. Starting at the beginning, sherevealed her and Rivka’s relationship. Caius’ face remained passive, not a tick of surprise. Her heart cracked a little at the realization that he had, in fact, known about them, and she had kept it from him. He must have thought that she didn’t trust him with the most sacred part of her life, and that wasn’t it at all. She had been protecting Rivka. Or so she had thought. She should have known better. Continuing on, Alex stopped only to answer his questions when he asked them, and by the time it was all out, she was utterly exhausted. Telling him felt like a massive weight had been lifted off her chest, even briefly, and she could finally breathe.
Caius must have seen the weight of the words she had spoken, and the emotion she was continuing to try and suppress. He stood, pulling her up into his arms, pressing her face to his shoulder.
“Go ahead and let go, my love. You are safe here.” He whispered against her hair. Alex stiffened when he pulled her in. His familiar scent of smoke and leather enveloped her. She had been so determined to stay strong that she instinctively tried to lock it back away, but as soon as the words reached her ears, a dam broke loose inside of her. Tears soaked his shirt, her sobs muffled in his embrace. She locked her arms around his torso, clinging to him. She hadn’t cried yet, and this was her undoing. All of the pain and anguish came pouring out of her in wave after wave, an endless well of suffering.
He held her until she quieted and her cries faded into hiccups. Yanking a handkerchief out of his pocket, he pressed it into her hand. Sniffling, Alex looked at her father with red, swollen eyes. He always seemed to know exactly what she needed, her calm, her steady hands in the dark.
Wiping at her eyes with the bit of cloth, she straightened out of his embrace, taking a step back. “Thanks for all that.” She rasped out, her voice hoarse from crying.
His dark blue eyes met hers, “I will always be here for you, Alexandria.”
Gesturing to the table, they sat again, facing one another. Caius reached across and took Alex’s hands in his.
“Listen carefully to me, my daughter. We do not have a lot of time left. I cannot be away for much longer. Marta is expecting me to deliver his blades, and you need to be on your way.” He paused before continuing, “Your young gentleman will likely come searching if you don’t make it back by sundown.”
“He isn’t my gentleman. He just helped me back in Brookshire. I didn’t even want his help.” Alex tossed out, scowling. Caius just chuckled, ignoring her flippant comment, as he leaned in. “There have been stirrings, beasts that shouldn’t exist, like your Grimalkin.”
“Are you saying that those things arereal? That I didn’t actually hallucinate it? And there aremoreof them out there?” Alex asked, ignoring the chill dancing up her spine.
“You did not hallucinate anything. Trust your training. You must stay vigilant. They come in all different forms, but since you insist on traveling, promise me you will stay out of the water. It isn’t safe. Only death lurks beneath.”
She scoffed, “After surviving with you, there’s not much that can take me down.”
Caius leveled a stern look at her. “This is no time for jokes, Alexandria. Your very life depends on the choices you make from here on.”
Alex’s eyes widened, his words causing fear to settle in the pit of her stomach and she wasn’t scared easily. Her father’s grave tone wasn’t one she’d heard often. She started to speak, but he shook his head.
“You must follow the path that is already set in motion for you. Find your queen so that the true heir may take the throne.”
“What do you mean? Rivka is already queen and she has no heir.”
“This will all make sense in time. You must trust me.” Caius said, “Now listen carefully if you want to find your queen.”
He rushed through his instructions, adamant on what she should do and where she should go to find Rivka.
Alex sat stunned. This was going to take some time to process. Thoughts spun through her mind. She had so many questions, but no time to ask them. She would have to process on the move. She had to find Rivka and, if what her father had just said was true, then she had to leave now.
She needed to get the supplies, get back to Davin and prepare to leave at first light. The thought of leaving him caused nausea to roil in her gut. They had been by each other's side nearly every minute of the day for the past three weeks and being separated from him felt strangely wrong. She didn’t have the energy or the time to dissect those feelings. It didn’t matter anyway since she wouldn’t be allowing him to join her. This was her fight, herjob.Caius stood, gathering her in his arms once again.
“I love you.”
“I love you too, Dad. Thank you for everything. I would be lost without you, literally.”
Caius grinned, letting go of her, guiding her back the way they had come. They said their goodbyes on the steps of The Black Rose. Alex could feel her father watching her as she moved towards the center of town. She wished that life wasn’t so complicated; she missed him dearly. Another time though.
Today was almost done; the hours of emotional turmoil fast catching up with her. Between trying to recover from the mountains, the attack, and then three weeks on the cold, hardground with little to help her build back her strength, she didn’t feel like her normal self. The wounds in her side and forearm still throbbed, as if fighting an unknown venom of some kind. As much as it frustrated her, she would just have to ignore it.
Chapter Thirty-One
The Attack
Alex
Alex had braved the busy market, cursing herself for staying in the Underground with her father so long. She had carefully collected the supplies needed for her upcoming trip, plus what she suspected Davin might need for his place. Laden down with bags, she regretted not taking the horse into town, choosing to walk instead. Her own stubbornness was often her downfall. Dusk was fast approaching, and she was still nowhere near reaching Davin’s cabin yet. She should have been back hours ago.
Sweat beaded her upper lip and brow. She set the packages at her feet, flexing her wrists and arms, stretching her back the best she could, trying to alleviate the pain from the weight of the pack. She didn’t dare take it off though, it had been a bitch to get it on in the first place. Blowing a stray piece of hair out of her face, she turned in a circle. There was nothing out thereexcept a few clusters of trees with groupings of large rocks mingled amongst the hills. Grumbling, she retrieved the supplies at her feet, hefting them back into her arms.
Alex continued following the road back to Davin’s, with not a soul in sight. No homes, no wagons, just rolling hills and quiet. She could see where the forest began stretching behind Davin’s in the distance. This place was so peaceful; a rare commodity for her to experience as of late. Her every waking thought centered around Rivka, and to her own dismay, most of her sleeping ones too. It was virtually all consuming.
