Page 102 of Cages and Crowns
“I understand. I can’t imagine having to give up a sibling either. It would be like giving up Scarlett or Laenie.”Or Rhea. I don’t finish the thought.
“I wonder if she would even exist, or if her mother would still be alive.” He ponders. We stay silent for a moment and then it hits me. Why did I never consider it? Why has no one ever considered it? Especially after what Kassius told us about them. About their history. I pull my horse to a stop and look at him.
“How old is she?” I ask.
“Eleven, why?” He stops his horse and looks over at me.
“Her hair, it’s so similar to his…” My voice fades as the wheels turn in my head. There is no way. There can’t be. Light blonde with a hint of copper.
“Elaenor?”
“I remember something.”
“What does it have to do with Malathea?” A gasp escapes my lips as a pounding pressure erupts in my head. I grip the sides of my scalp, digging my fingers in as images flash through my mind. The pain is all-consuming, and I feel like I might pass out.
A scream escapes my lips and I vaguely feel arms pulling me off the saddle. I can feel the ground on my back as I scream. Someone is talking, but I can’t make out what they are saying.
Trees, young boys, my mother’s soft smile. Amaya cloaked in black. Tobias pushing me down a hill. Running through the halls and the trees. Teleporting in clouds of silver mist. Theo’s beautiful blue eyes as he helped me up time and time again. Theo protecting me from Tobias and getting beat for it. Theo telling me how he was going to marry me some day, only for Tobias to say that I was his and always would be.
I remember Rakushia, and a young Emery. I remember an older boy who seemed disgusted by my presence, sulking in his room while Emery and I tore through her mother’s closet. His dark hair and purple eyes.
I remember the wisteria and the hills.
Kassius time and time again chasing me through the trees. My mother’s tears as she lost another child. My mother’s worried face as she pried Amaya’s hands off of me.
Amaya’s cold eyes as she stabbed me over and over again in the stomach. I remember the carriage. I remember the water.
The pain.
“Malathea isn’t ready to come out yet.”
“You’re going to be so powerful, little love.”
“Malathea isn’t ready.”
Malathea.
Mal.
“She’s his sister.” I spit out, the images flashing through my mind, slowing until just one remains.
Amaya standing in the woods, her hand on her swollen belly. Anger brewing deep in her eyes as she stares at me like I will be the cause of her destruction.
And I was.
“What?” My eyes open and the pain in my head disappears. Enzo’s brows are furrowed as he stares at me. Nero is standing, his eyes also filled with panic, his hand on a short sword ready to fight an unseen threat.
“Malathea is Tobias’s sister.” Enzo’s mouth falls open as he leans back. I sit up and stare at him. Emotions flick across his face as he processes through each one. Denial. Confusion. Questioning.
Realization.
“No, that’s impossible.” He shakes his head and stands, leaving me on the ground.
“Malathea was the name of Amaya’s child, the one she was carrying when she tried to kill me.” I pull myself to my feet, ignoring Nero’s outstretched hand.
“You can’t know that. You don’t remember!” He spits, misguided anger coating his words.
“I remember everything.” I say softly. His face falls as he stares at me, silver lining his eyes. It’s then that I see acceptance.
