“‘I choose neither, Mother,’ he told her.
“Ryvar’s words lingered long after he closed both of her lifeless eyes. One may not understand her choices, but what she saw was the lives of many, including the Water Priestesses, possibly my son, hanging on a thread. The price was too high, the risk too grave. And so she surrendered. And with that old age, my dear, you would have to be in this state to know that you could not possibly endure a war. I can barely make it outside the house without my cane.”
“What the Naaris did was unforgivable. I always wondered how they could do such awful things. And for what?” I said, my voice low. But then I told her, “I cannot imagine the sorrow that comes with losing a child, but I know loss. I lost my parents at a very young age. So despite it not being the happiest ending, I still manage to find a speck of happiness amongst your pain and heartache. I’m glad that you got to raise your son, that you had years worth of time surrounded by a close family and people thatlove each other. I’m glad that you got to spend many years with your soulbound and with your sons.”
A tear slid down her face and she reached for my hand. Her touch was so cold and frail. I swore her body felt inches away from death. I placed my other warm hand on top of hers.
“I do tell that to myself sometimes…to appreciate all those years of us together, as a family. You see, I, too, lost my father at a very young age. He died before I was even born. They hunted my parents. Killed my father while I was in my mother’s belly. My mother escaped. He saved us.”
My lips pursed. I knew the pain she felt. To lose someone you don’t know, someone you won’t ever get to know. Yet out of all that, I knew thenot-knowing-what-happened-to-her-sonwas the hardest part. I felt it, just like Alma felt it, too. Not knowing where her husband was, whether he breathed still.
Then she looked at me and said, “I am only going to tell you this because I don’t know how much time I have left, and I do not wish to enter the afterlife without getting to tell you these words. When I first came to this Land, I gave Aegir my wedding ring. I still remember Arlon’s heartwarming smile when he gave it to me on the day we bound our souls together. It was his mother’s, you see. We planned on giving it to Galen, but after his funeral, my heart told me to give it to Aegir. I want to tell you that I am very happy thatyouwill be the one wearing it for the years to come. I can tell that you are just like him. Brave and strong and kind.” Guilt washed over me, gnawed at me down to my tainted core. I imagined Daekon, his chest bobbing with every belly laugh as he carved my name onto an empty cell, waiting to snatch my soul from Amfir’s grasp. I had no words. She said all those things to me and nothing came out of my mouth. I felt my skin prickling, my face turning red.
Emika reached for the cane and slowly got to her feet. “Well, I’d better leave you now. But tomorrow—tomorrow have tea with me.”
CHAPTER 62
Iwasn’t sure why I was running, but the fear of someone chasing after me released an adrenaline rush that had me sprinting. I lifted my red dress by its sides and climbed the steps of the Sand Castle two at a time.
I had almost made it to the second floor when I fell face-first. My knee snapped against the penultimate step. I lay there, injured, confused, scared, alone.
But then I saw it. The silhouette of a brawny man—male. He moved towards me, each step deliberate, calculated. Then he knelt at my side, and when I met his stare, I swore his eyes were the most striking to ever exist.
“What’s your name?” he asked, his voice calm and soothing like a gentle caress on a restless night. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
“I—I am Princess Yasmina.”
“You look hurt, Princess,” he said, twirling the ends of my hair around his index finger.
“I am. My knee,” I whispered.
“I can make the pain go away, you know.”
“You can? How?”
“Well, we can make a bargain, of course.”
“What kind of bargain?” I asked curiously.
He leaned in and whispered, “I will heal your knee, Princess, but only if you promise to let me claim you.”
Soft words left my trembling lips. “If—if I agree, would you leave me then, after you claim me?”
He came so close, his lips pressed against my ear. Then he murmured, “Never.”
It feltsoreal—its familiarity—the whisper of that one little word had both my heart and belly fluttering.
“All right,” I breathed.
He lifted me and carried me in his arms. I buried my face in his broad chest and quickly forgot about the dreadful feelings from earlier. Now, I felt at ease, comforted, safe.
He sat me down on his desk and leaned over me. He brought his face so close to mine, my lips trembled at the scent of his breath—crisp and inviting. Then he drew closer, slowly, until our lips touched.
He kissed me so attentively. I lost myself in him for as long as I could, and when I opened my eyes, I found myself undressed, my knee healed.
He moved his hand along my thighs, his thick fingers soon reaching between my legs. They spread for him without my command. My breath turned serrated and my back arched. I exposed the left side of my neck. And when he bit me, his canines making their way into my flesh, I held him tight against me. I found myself breathing his name, though I was almost certain that he never got to tell me what his name was.
And when I was left breathless and panting, he looked at me, smiling, then extended his palm towards me. I placed my hand on top of his. My ring finger, I noticed, was adorned with a thin band of intertwining delicate golden branches. Its vibrant emerald gem, the shape of a kite, glistened.
