Page 18 of The Coveted
He let out a breath. “I would do anything for you. My own pain is of no consequence.” He smiled slightly.
My entire body had been tense since he’d first entered the space, and now I could finally relax and breathe. A huge weight lifted from both our shoulders that had been heavy and dense like a storm cloud. The air was much lighter now. A brief, unspoken moment passed between us as our eyes locked, and I knew we would have much more to say when we weren’t being watched rather awkwardly by a bearded mystic.
Amos didn’t seem to mind, though. “I told Daelon your connection would run much deeper than duty,” he said, shaking his finger at us. “He didn’t believe me! I’m not sure why, considering my prophecies have been accurate thus far.”
My gaze flitted back to Daelon’s, and I could’ve sworn he was blushing slightly as he rolled his eyes. I had to suppress a surprised laugh, realizing I hadn’t seen him do anything of the sort since the first moment I’d met him. He was quite good at keeping his expressions and emotions heavily guarded, and now I truly understood why. Everything that even remotely threatened Lucius had to be kept strictly under lock and key. Daelon had to conceal his true feelings and desires for almost his entire life.
No wonder he liked to be in complete control.
“What did Lucius see?” I asked, finally slipping my hands from his grasp. “When he said to his mother that he felt something, and asked to keep you?”
“He saw that I was a shield. He was… just coming into his power, hisnaturalpower. He had a knack for visions and sensing others’ power and gifts. He saw that I would protect him, because that’s what my mom and our people wanted him to see. To be honest, I think he was also a very lonely child, believe it or not.”
Lonely?I wouldn’t have thought that was included in Lucius’s emotional range. But if he hadn’t done whatever it was that made him so unnaturally powerful yet, maybe he also still had feelings like the rest of us.
“They didn’t usually take in children who were as old as I was. Memories of our previous lives would make us less likely to… acclimate. But I somehow convinced them I was of no threat. I led them to believe I was no more than a confused child who was grateful for a new life, just as my mother had willed. Lucius was also very convincing. His parents took me in and trained me to be his own personal bodyguard, and then when the regime change occurred and Lucius rose to power, I became a very young Commander of the Guard. As crazy as it sounds, Lucius is the reason I’m alive today.”
An anger rose within me, the harsh whispers of my—our—people ringing in my ear. They destroyed our home and killed almost every witch in their wake. Butwhy?
I drew my brows together. “And… Taryn. Her parents adopted her when she was a baby. Was she an orphan like us, a refugee from some kind of war? Is she from our coven too?”
Daelon shook his head. “She’s from another coven, but I have a feeling she was taken from the same region. But no one really knows for sure because it’s not spoken of or acknowledged.” Anger flitted across his features. “They call it a war, but that isn’t really what it was. It’s not something that can be discussed, Áine. That and the unnaturalness of Lucius’s power. Not just because it’s unsafe or because we’re hiding things from you, but because there are literal magickal barriers at play. I don’t even fully understand how it happened or why, because Lucius doesn’t want anyone to understand completely. Even I only know bits and pieces, and I’m the one he trusts most. When I try to think about the parts I do know, my mind fights against me. It’s like I’d die if I managed to articulate it. Then my brain gets all fuzzy and my memories turn to static.”
Okay, now I was back to feeling frustrated and confused. It reminded me of when I saw Daelon’s memory projected in the ocean, and the part that Lucius was in turned black and distorted before it shut me out entirely. “There were wars, and Lucius rose to power because of them, somehow. But he was only a child when they happened. That doesn’t even make sense.”
Amos cut in, scratching his beard. “This place is shrouded in darkness and lies.” His voice sounded far away, and his eyes were closed. “There is only one person who knows the full truth, and that is the King. This is by design. But there is another way. There is a place that cannot be easily traveled to, a place with records of everything that has ever happened. These are our only options.”
Daelon and I exchanged glances. “Oh yeah, he does this. I think he goes where you go, in your meditations.”
“Áine is the only one who can go; that’s what they tell me.”
Okay,creepy.
“Who?” I asked, but as soon as I did a wind whipped around me, even though the windows were closed. I felt the presence of my mothers. My people. Witches from all over the realm who were long passed. I knew they were helping us, somehow. They’d been doing it all along.
“What is this place? How do we get there?”
Amos went silent, and his eyes flew open. They were completely white, and his lips were parted slightly. My heart jumped, loud and thumping, against my ribcage.
“He does this too,” Daelon sighed, like it was just typical Tuesday afternoon shenanigans.
“Okay, sure, but uh,what the fuck?”
Chapter6
Iwas about to ask more, because I had about a million unanswered questions, but Daelon spoke before I could.
“Lucius is looking for me. He has a hard time sensing anyone in this room, because Amos and I have it heavily shielded. I need to leave before he grows suspicious.” He stood up, and then paused. “Actually, you better come too. He wants to speak to you.”
My heart sunk. Being around Lucius’s revolting energy made me physically and psychically sick to my core. Whatever he wanted from me in exchange for keeping me alive couldn’t be good.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be close by,” Daelon murmured, studying my stressed expression. “And we can talk later when he is… distracted.”
By orgies?I wondered idly, thinking back to that poor girl he had hanging off of him in the throne room, as well as Nathaniel’s comments. Whatever sex Lucius had, I doubted it was pleasant for the other party. I shook my head slightly, weirded out that I’d even imagined any of that.
“Thank you,” I replied softly, and another unspoken moment passed between us. I felt nervous butterflies bloom in my stomach, and not from the thought of speaking to Lucius. Without all of my anger, I was feeling things for Daelon like it was the first time. I was unsure, excited, and curious. More than anything, I was glad I hadn’t closed the door.
We made our way down the broad corridor, the one with tall windows along the right wall and heavy double doors on the left that led to the dining and throne rooms. The vaulted ceiling was painted in a renaissance style, and I wondered if it shifted and changed like in the throne room. Today it had little cherubs and reminded me of cathedrals I’d seen in France. Not quite the same though. Everything that reminded me of Earth in this kingdom was always just slightlyoff.It was an entirely unknown culture in some ways, but in others it felt so familiar.
