Page 111 of Cages and Crowns
“Have a lovely evening, my queen.” He smiles at me, and I roll my eyes at his back.
I nestle into the cushion and close my eyes.
Dirty blonde hair and blue eyes smile at me. I take his outstretched hand as he pulls me deeper into the woods.
“Mama is going to be mad.”
“No she won’t. I’ll protect you, Nora.” I follow after him, a giggle escaping my lips as we run between the trees. “We should stay out here forever.”
“But how will we get food?” I ask, looking around.
“I can hunt, and you can gather berries and herbs.”
“You can’t hunt a pastry, Theo. I can’t live without pastries.” I laugh and his hand squeezes mine.
“I can learn how to make them. Or we can run away to a village and live there.” He stops and looks at me. “We can be free.”
“Free?” I whisper and look at our adjoined hands.
“Ela! I’m going to find you!” His voice echoes around the trees and we spin around, searching for the source.
“It’s Toby!” Theo whispers and takes off into a run, leaving me standing in the woods alone.
“Nora, wake up.” His voice is calming as he pulls me out of sleep. My eyes meet his, bright and yellow. “What are you doing out here?” Kass asks as he brushes hair from my face.
“Nithe and I had a fight.” He smiles and exhales before shaking his head.
“Knowing you two it was probably worse than it should have been.”
“I think it was my fault.” I respond, keeping my voice quiet. He nods and stands, his knees cracking as he does. “Did you hear about the…”
“Pregnancy? Yes.” He sighs and sits down. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He asks, concern crossing his face.
“I was scared.”
“Enzo told me about the shadows.” I nod and bite my lip. “If that’s truly what’s happening, Nora, I worry for your safety. If that child is his, it will carry the curse. It will carry the darkness, and that is transferring to you.”
“I’ve had this magic for weeks and it’s already in jeopardy?”
“Enzo also mentioned that you spoke about siphoning.” He says softly, tilting his head.
“I feel like it’s my only option.” I admit, my hands pulling at loose threadson the blanket.
“I’m not going to tell you what to do.”
“But?” I counter.
“I think you should. I think you should end this before it gets worse. Beforeyouget worse.” I nod and look away.
“Is it painful?”
“Yes. It is. And it doesn’t heal instantly. You’ll be weak for a few days.” I nod again. “Come on, you need to get to bed before the whole palace sees you out here.” I hesitantly push the blanket off my lap before rising from the couch. He holds his arm out, gesturing towards the door, and I walk towards my room. I turn the handle, surprised it isn’t locked and glance back down the hallway to where Kass is tilting his head, gesturing for me to go in.
The room is dark when I enter, but I can see his form on the bed. I walk quietly to the other side and step up to the windows. The moon is low, stars sprinkling about. Peaceful.
If I do this. If I let Enzo end this pregnancy, then what? What will happen to me? Will I still be shadowed, literally? Or will things go back to normal, or at least how they should be?
I turn away and climb into the bed, careful not to jostle him. He’s underneath the blankets, his face towards me.
