Page 101 of Chaos and Destiny
“He won’t kill you, Temir. But he will kill me. I’ll die today. I told you not to get involved. Why couldn’t you just listen?” She stood and walked to the window, placed her elbows on the sill, and stared out to the bailey. “You’ve caved in half the grounds. Did you know that? Maybe he knows you’re the only one with supplies to cause that kind of reaction.” She turned and tears had fallen down her cheeks.
“I’ll tell him they were stolen.”
“You won’t be able to talk your way out of this. The last thing Autus is, is reasonable. We have to leave, Temir. It’s time for us to run.”
“I can’t just leave, Gaea. I have a purpose now. I’ve committed to the rebels, and I’ll keep that commitment.”
“You would see me die for the love of the rebels?”
“No, I won’t see you die. Let’s go to the hall, see what he has to say, and if anyone makes a move toward you, you spirit away and never come back. Take this.” I handed her a vial of our truth serum. “Use it if you need to find someone to trust.”
“I’ll come back for you,” she said, taking the vial. “I’ll find some place for us to go, and I’ll come back, Tem.”
“I have to see this through. I have to. To whatever end the rebels find, for the sake of all the lesser fae out there dying without just cause, I have to do what I can to save them.”
“The same way you saved Rhogan?” she snapped.
“Too far,” I answered, walking to the closet to dress.
I couldn’t believe she meant to cut so deep. She didn’t know I was responsible for him dying. I hadn’t had a chance to tell her. I would never say anything to intentionally hurt her, but again, she didn’t hold me to the same standard. I felt the distance between us take a heaping step backward, and my heart hurt more than it did before.
“Ready?” I asked, walking to the door.
“Temir,” she said, reaching out to me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. You’re just being so reckless and I’m terrified.”
“I think you did.” I grabbed a small dagger and left the room.
I walked the halls alone, and the closer I got to the throne room, the faster my heart beat. I dropped the knife into my boot. I had to put my relationship with Gaea behind me now and stay alert. Observant. If I was about to be put in chains, I wasn’t going down without a fight.
I entered the hall, surprised to hear my footsteps echo. The space was nearly empty, and Autus loved crowds for executions. Gaea walked in quietly behind me. She kept a stagnant distance between us. King Autus sat on his large throne at the top of his dais, and beside him, Eadas stood confident and grinning as Evin took the other side, void of emotion. The dark twins were absent.
“Ah. Temir. Gaea. Come forward,” the king called across the great room. He looked like he hadn’t suffered a single loss.
I walked deliberately ahead until I was at the foot of the stairs and looked up to Autus, expecting malice and loathing, but instead, a wicked smile spread that was so much worse.
“Bring it forward,” he said. Two sentries came from behind us and sat a small wooden box on the steps between us. “Open it.” He was absolutely thrilled with himself.
He watched our reactions carefully as the guard lifted the top of the box. I knew instantly what I was looking at. A fae heart. Rhogan’s heart. My breath stalled, but I forced myself to remain calm and appear uninterested. “You’ve killed the rebel leader, then?”
Autus stood and walked down the steps. He pulled the bloody heart from the box and held it out to me. “This is a symbol. A message. Can you guess what that message is, Gaea?”
“No, my king.”
“No?” he shouted, and she flinched. “I am untouchable. I am everlasting. What are the lives of a few lesser fae to me? Absolutely nothing.” He was yelling so loud spit flew from his mouth, and his hands shook as he dug his bloodied fingers into the heart, ripped it in two, and threw the pieces across the room. The squelch of the splatter destroyed me. “I don’t have time for rebels,” he roared. “I have much bigger plans for this fucking world. Leave us.”
“But Your Grace—” Eadas protested.
“Don’t fucking start with me.”
Eadas cowered, limped down from the dais, and scurried out of the room with Evin right behind him. I hoped his limp meant Rhogan fought until the end.
“I don’t have time for bullshit or explanations. I need you two to complete a task for me, and I don’t want you back in this fucking castle until it’s done. Which means do it quickly.”
“Tell us what must be done, and we will do it,” Gaea said, unwavering as she stared straight ahead.
“Finally.” He let out a long breath. “Someone that doesn’t question a gods-damned thing.”
Gaea and I exchanged a glance while the king’s back was to us.
