I press my fingers against my temples, rubbing slowly, and that’s when I notice the stone cuffs encircling my wrists. Osmynium.
What the actual fuck? Am I a prisoner again? But I’m in my bed, in my chamber in Sangeries. I frown, looking at my wrists, and up my arms, following the black swirls of tattoos crawling up my skin.
“Ah, the sneaky kitty cat has finally awoken. Thank Akaori, I’ve been babysitting you for the last two days and I was bored out of my damn mind.” Blaise’s voice floats from a nearby sofa next to the fireplace. His smile doesn’t entirely reach his eyes.
“Blaise, what’s happening?” I shake my hands in front of me. “Why am I wearing these?”
He stands up from the sofa and comes closer, his body tense.
“You’ve kept a great deal of stuff from us, Aimee. From him. He can’t be sure where your allegiance lies anymore.”
Oh Gods, the battle, my sister being Morweena, Marhus turning onpyr, dark shadows flowing from my veins and charring everything. It all comes crashing down on me, and I gasp. “Killian, is he well? Where is he? Why is he not here?”
“He is alive thanks to you. We all are. Well? That’s another story, kitty cat. As well as one can be when betrayed by the love of his life. You’ve kept critical information from him. Your powers. Your sister’s true identity,” Blaise says as he takes another step closer.
No, no, no. This is all wrong! I tug at the ends of my hair, shaking my head fervently.
“I did not know any of that, Blaise! I swear on my life, on our friendship! I withheld only the atrocities my sister put me through. But I would never…” I trail off, sobbing. Tears are running down my face, and I wipe them away with the back of my hand.
“Friends don’t lie, Aimee. Neither do lovers,” he says, sadness coating his words as he reaches the bed and lowers himself at the edge of the mattress.
“I didn’t lie.” A whimper escapes my lips. “I mean I did, but not about that. I had no idea I had magic. Your crone tested me and found nothing, remember? I wouldn’t have put any of you in harm’s way had I known that Aurora and Morweena are one and the same.” I hug myself, feeling defeated. “Never told anyone about her gaslighting, about her torture, her wickedness towards me. I kept all my trauma hidden inside my mind, running away from it as much as I could. I didn’t want anyone’s pity, or to be treated like a victim.”
Blaise regards me for long moments in heavy silence. He stares into my eyes, and I let him see all the hurt, the painful truth carved deeply in my soul. His face softens, and he reaches to brush his hand against my trembling fingers.
“You really didn’t know?”
Strands of hair stick to my face limply as I shake my head furiously. “I know I must seem untrustworthy right now, but Blaise, I beg of you, believe me. I am not her; I am not evil.”
He sighs again before circling his arms around me in the briefest of hugs.
“I believe you, kitty cat. But I am not the one who needs convincing.”
I pull back, my words a broken whisper. “He hates me, doesn’t he?”
He chuckles, rising from the bed. “Hate might be a strong word, pretty princess. He’s broken and raging. He might not want to face you, and might unleash his wrath on you the first time he sees you, but no, I don’t think he actually hates you.” Blaise strides towards the door with hurried steps. “I’ll go announce your awakening and plead your case. No promises, but I am on your side, my little sister.”
He leaves me alone, and I weep for hours, waiting for a Killian that never comes.
For the past days I’ve been confined to my room, waiting, dissecting all the events in my mind, trying to remember something crucial lodged deep down in my subconscious. I have a nagging feeling that I’m missing a huge chunk of an enigma I can sense, but not recollect.
At the end of three long, torturous days, Blaise returns to my chamber with a solemn face. He is carrying a blood-red stone, similar to the ones etched on the surface of the Osmynium cuffs.
“I have good news and bad news, Aimee. The good news is that I will take off the magic-hindering cuffs. You’re free to go.”He places the stone on top of each matching gem, and the cuffs click open, falling from my wrists. I immediately feel the swirl of power under my skin, the scaly serpents coiling and slithering up and down my limbs. I can hear the steady beat of Blaise’s heart. I can smell the scent of meat cooking in the kitchens below, and hear the wind howling through the trees outside.
“And the bad news?” I ask, rubbing gingerly my sore, reddened wrists.
“You’re free to go,” Blaise repeats, and the meaning finally dawns on me. “To leave the castle and go about your life elsewhere.”
“No,” I say in whispered horror. My heart tears open, bleeding in my chest.
“I’m sorry, Aimee. He doesn’t want to see you, nor speak to you,” Blaise murmurs, his eyes filled with sorrow.
“No, no, no. This can’t be it. I’d rather face his wrath than his dismissal,” I implore, shaking. Dark shadows spill from my skin, slithering to the ground. Blaise watches me warily, tensing at the presence of my powers. “But the prophecy, my sister…”
“The prophecy has been fulfilled, Aimee. You defeated Morweena, reducing her to ashes. All onpyrs have disappeared from our territories, as far as our network of spies can tell. At least there’s a silver lining in all of this.”
“Did you find her body? Do you have proof that she is truly dead?” I frown, grasping at straws. Things can’t end like this. My gut tells me it was too easy. We did not defeat her together. Isn’t that what the prophecy says?
