Page 74 of Ties of Deception

My fingers brushed his hand and my remaining strength leached away. Everything vanished.

I sat up on the couch, breathing heavily, the pomegranate still in my hand. Its skin was red and absent of blemishes. I stared at it, trying to ground myself in the present as tears streamed down my face.

I may have only relived one moment, but now I could remember everything. A lifetime of memories, experiences, and emotions. The one I had just experienced so vividly was my final memory. That was my final moment as Snow.

Ethen.

I wiped my face, trying to get my shaking breath under control. It hadn’t been his fault. It hadn’t. And now, ithadto be worth it. I had gone through all that suffering and waiting because I had never given up hope. And I refused to give up now.

I would fight to be with him with every last breath in my body. I knew that if I told him the words I’d meant to say, he would fight with everything he had too. His guilt and my missing memories had made him cautious. He’d known they would likely come back, but he hadn’t known that what Ava said wasn’t true. Did he worry that I would blame him for what had happened? That I would never forgive him for killing me? He hadn’t spoken to me for weeks before my death. How could he know I had loved him in every second of that suffering?

He had distanced himself to avoid hurting me. His guilt was clear in every interaction we’d had in this life—in every kiss broken short. After the scene in the council room, I imagined he was distancing himself from me again to protect me. Not because I wasn’t enough, but because he wanted to protect me better than his father had protected his own Fated. He was scared it was happening all over again and must be in agony. I hadn’t managed to say those words then, but I could say them now. And now that I had been kidnapped, he would fall into Constance and Sebastian’s trap.

I sprung from my chair, relieved to have strength in my limbs and air in my lungs. I also had a lifetime of happiness and pain to guide my powers. I could feel all those memories and emotions bubbling inside me, begging to be let out.

I wasn’t just Snow—I was Purity too. And both sides of me had power.

“Ismara,” I muttered into the empty room. “I know you don’t involve yourself with this world much anymore. But still, you resurrected me, even if my soul appeared in another body. Thank you. Please help me end this corruption. Please help me be with Ethen as you intended. Please help this all be worth it.”

I crept to the door and channeled my grief and anger at all those who had come between us. I focused on the door handle. My heart leapt as the metal cracked. I dismantled it, revealing a hole where I could reach for the catch of the lock with a long, thick hair pin. I pushed it up and slowly opened the door.

A vacant corridor loomed before me, lit by sunlight from huge windows. Unfortunately, these had expensive glass panes, rather than open space for the breeze to waft in.

I crept out and listened for voices, hoping to find where Sebastian and Constance had gone and stop them from persuading Ethen to marry somebody else. The only noises were faint, coming down the corridor. I followed the sound, keeping to the wall, and treading carefully on the marble tiles to avoid tapping my heels. Voices came from behind a richly painted wooden door. I pressed my cheek against one of the panels.

For a long while there was only silence, and I worried I’d found the wrong door. Finally, I heard the prince’s voice. Sebastian sounded bored. “What if he doesn’t come? You were hiding in Purity’s maid’s room for hours earlier waiting for him to show up.”

Constance’s voice replied. “Hush. Wait a moment. Somebody’s coming.” There was an indistinct murmuring of voices.

Constance’s voice became a heady mix of nerves and excitement. “He’s here. They’re bringing him, Sebastian. Are you ready? Remember what we practiced.”

“How could I forget? We’ve gone through this hundreds of times. I’m ready.”

Constance’s voice softened. “This is really it. The final stage. We’re so close.”

I could see Sebastian’s charming grin in his words. “We are. You’ve been magnificent.”

All was silent for several moments, and all I could hear was my thudding heart. They had to be referring to Ethen, didn’t they? He was coming.

I had seen him often these last few weeks, but it felt like now would be the first time I truly saw him—truly knew him. I had so much to say to him. I couldn’t let us run out of time again. I couldn’t let others stand in the way of us. I couldn’t let him believe their lies that he was bad for me.

A door creaked open, quieting my thoughts as I strained to hear everything.

“Where is she?” The anger in Ethen’s voice sent shivers down my spine, and I could hear the subtle pain and the fear behind it. He had always been so good at hiding his fear from the world, even as it ate him up from the inside. I clenched my fist around the pomegranate to stop myself from running to him and reassuring him that I was all right. I wanted to wait for the right moment so I knew what we faced.

Constance’s voice was jarringly bright. “Ah, I see you got our little invitation, Aidis. Please take a seat.”

There was no sound of movement. “I asked where she is. This is your last chance to tell me.”

Sebastian cleared his throat. “Now, now. She’s safe for the moment. And if you cooperate with us, she will stay safe.”

Rapid footsteps crossed the room. “Don’t you dare threaten her.”

Constance’s voice was soft. “Listen to us, Aidis. She is safe, safer than she has ever been with you. We heard from people in the Unseen Lands that you killed her in her past life from being around her too often. You caused her a slow, painful death. Your friend, Ava, gave us a lot of information. Wasn’t her name Snow? Snow hated you by the end of it. She suffered when you could have simply come and married an existing Grace. Why make somebody your Fated and put them through that?”

Deafening silence until Constance tutted. “I heard she was just middle aged when she died. It’s a blessing she lost her memories otherwise the trauma would have probably broken her.” She quietened her voice. “You claimed to love her, and then you killed her.”

I closed my eyes. Not again. Ava’s words still haunted us, driving a wedge between us, and here I was still stuck behind a door. Only this time, I would open it at the exact right moment. This time, things would be different.

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