Page 32 of Of Vows and War: Special Edition
“No, I am fine,” I muttered, pulling back from her. She was just as stunning as ever. Her dark skin was glowing, her full lips pursed and brown eyes wide. She had pulled her wild and lovelycurls back with pins the color of the sun. Her dress matched, a bright spot in an otherwise bleak world. “I need to tell you something—to explain everything.”
“Listen, there is very little time. If there was ever a time to trust me, that time is now. Your future, all of our futures, hangs in the balance of whatever decision you are about to make,” she whispered, eyes darting back and forth. Backing further away, I ripped my arms from hers, unable to make sense of what she was saying.
“Of course I trust you. But you do not understand, we are living alie.We have to figure out how to stop the king and queen, we—”
“Ash, you are sick and confused. I understand, but you have to follow my lead right now, okay? Can you do that?” She asked, her wide eyes pleading as they bore into my own. My mind spun with the vague and ominous information she was giving me. What did she mean? I was not sick, I was finally awake after centuries of sleep walking through my life.
But this was Nicola. She knew more than others. If there was anyone here in Betovere that I could trust, it was her.
“Yes, I trust you. I can do that.” With a nod and a sad smile, she stood up straighter and pasted on a look of glee.
“Your Majesty,” she greeted, pulling me to her side before bowing low. I watched in horror before turning my head, internally screaming as Xavier stormed our way. My best friend’s grip on my skirt tightened and pulled, yanking me into the same dip.
“Nicola, while it is lovely to see you, I need Asher to come with me. She is very sick.” His voice was like thunder as it boomed out, the meaning beneath the words delayed lightning striking me in the heart.
“I would like to come with, King Xavier. She has been asleep for so long,” Nicola pleaded. A hand gripped mine, her skinwarm and soft and familiar. Xavier’s eyes darted down to where Nicola’s fingers intertwined with my own, and I watched in horror as a muscle ticked in his jaw and fire seemed to blaze in his dark eyes.
“Do not read her, Nicola. The attack left her weak and disoriented. She needs rest, not company.” With that, he grabbed my arm and pulled me away from her. Yelping in both pain and terror, I tried and failed to wrench away from him.
“Please, let me be there. Just to watch over her. Kafele’s injuries prevented me from attending her wedding, and I may never forgive myself when I might have been able to make a difference. I wish to never leave her side again.” The words sounded earnest, but there was a sort of hollow feeling to them that I could not place or understand.
“Kafele was injured? What happened to him? Is he okay now?” The two of them both looked at me, Xavier in fury and Nicola in discomfort. Eternity spare me, was he…dead?
No, Nicola would not be so cavalier about the death of her soulmate.
“He was attacked, but he has fully recovered. Nothing to worry about,” she said, pursing her lips and reaching for me.
Xavier jerked me further back, forcing me to stumble away from her. Nicola’s eyes squinted slightly, and I watched as she seemed to weigh her next words. As shehesitated.
“It was…a demon attack,” she finally clarified.
My mind went blank of everything except Bellamy’s smiling face. The dimples that dug into his cheeks and the tilt of his head. No. It was not demons.
With all my might, I shoved Xavier, forcing him to let go of my arm. Then I ran at Nicola, gripping her biceps and staring into her eyes. I felt crazed, desperate, disturbed.
“No, it was not demons. It has never been demons! The attacks are—”
“Ash, you are not well. We need to get you to your chambers,” she said, her eyes wide and full of an emotion I could not understand. I wanted to argue, to explain to her how wrong she was.
We had been fooled our entire lives, and she was still being tricked. Trying to enter her mind toshowher, I was met with a sharp, stabbing pain in my temples, leaving only the faint taste of my best friend’s terror on my tongue. I grabbed my face, the ache strong and disorienting.
Nicola came closer, whispering through her teeth, “Remember what I said?”
“You have to follow my lead right now okay?”she had said.
I trusted her. Of all the beings in this Eternity forsaken realm, it was her that I trusted the most. With a nod, I released her. Xavier was quick to once more claim my arm, practically dragging me away from the Tomorrow—no, the Oracle. Nicola was an Oracle.
“Come, Asher, you need to lie down and allow Tish to see to you,” he ordered. Nicola looked at me in horror as he pulled me farther and farther from her, one of her hands outstretched towards me.
“Wait, Your Majesty! I think that—”
“No, Nicola!” Xavier shouted, abruptly stopping to turn towards her. My chest flew into his, my head knocking into the muscle there. “Asher attacked Queen Mia. She is volatile and unwell. She needs to be looked over and alone. We will let you know when it is safe to visit. Go home to your husband.”
Husband.
They had gotten married. I missed my best friend’s wedding.
Though it was not the most important part of the day, or even of the conversation, it was that fact that had me obediently walking alongside Xavier.
