Page 55 of Of Vows and War: Special Edition
As I entered the warden’s manor and the first screams met my ears, I realized that was exactly what I had become.
***
The next morning we awoke to find our ship burning in the water.
Mia had never been particularly obvious when it came to her cunning nature, but every carefully crafted mirage she had shown in the desert that was the barren and lifeless nature of royalty seemed to shed in that moment.
Screams erupted as Mia let loose some of that ungodly amount of power within her. The water shook as she demanded the seafloor beneath to shutter and bend, her fists balled so tightly that her pale skin turned fiery red.
“This cannot stand,” she hissed beneath her breath, her words traveling only to Xavier and I. Sterling remained obliviousto the conversation. His hands were pressed into his hips and his mouth hung agape, as if nothing had ever surprised him quite this much.
How had they taken his memories? If everything truly had happened, then what did they do to him that would lead to him magically forgettingeverything?
“Every time I think you are moving forward, you begin descending back into that madness of yours once more,” Wrath said at my feet.
“We must find a new ship rather than remain here like sitting ducks,” Xavier whispered, practically twitching from his place between us. I felt the moment his arm wrapped protectively around me, and my eyes caught the motion of him doing the same to Mia.
Once more they appeared the team I had always seen them as. Nothing like they had been in my low level room as they argued over torturing me.
“Perhaps the last year, which fits none of the narrative you were raised on, is what should be seen as odd. Reality is not a fairytale from one of your books, Strange One.” My foot swiped out, kicking through Wrath despite the fact that I had genuinelyfelthim sometimes.
He was right, and it terrified me.
“We have to hope a merchant vessel miraculously comes,” Mia responded, rolling her eyes and storming from the docks. I wanted to remain still, staring at the ship as it burned. There was something euphoric about it. As if the torment within me sunk to the depths along with it.
“In the meantime, we must find the culprits. This cannot stand.” Xavier’s fury charged the air as he chased after his wife, the emotion heavy on my tongue. He would slaughter more than deserved it if we did not find safe passage soon. Not that Ihad much room to judge when I knew in my heart I had killed without merit last night.
“Well, we could always sail a tiny boat out and roast marshmallows over the demise of our oh so fun adventure,” Sterling said. Warmth replaced the cold chill upon my shoulders from where Xavier’s arm fell away, Sterling’s grip on me pulling me from my thoughts.
“Pity, I imagine we were bound to have endless fun upon a ship surrounded by idiots and liars.”
“You do not look like a conspiracy theorist,” he said, tugging me away from the water. I allowed him to lead, my mind straying to the easy way Bellamy’s smiles seemed to light me up from within. How life seemed lighter in his arms, despite how heavy it truly was.
It was real.
I needed to kill the queen and get the fuck out of here.
“—or what if we find a tavern and drink them dry on order of the future queen?” Sterling asked, the beginning of his train of thought lost to me.
“While I imagine watching you vomit through your nose would be hilarious, I think I will pass. I am tired. How about you go in there and demand a drink as the future king consort?”
That had him beaming down at me, his finger coming to flick my nose.
“Such pretty words,” he hummed. “Dare I say they hide something nefarious?”
“Depends,” I countered, a smile ghosting across my mouth. “Will you let me get away with heinous acts in the spirit of camaraderie?”
“Only if I can watch with a drink in my hand.”
“Deal. Meet me back here.”
“Oh perfect, wine or mead?” Before I could respond Sterling waved a hand through the air and added, “Who am I kidding? Crime requires rum.”
With that, he practically skipped towards the awaiting town.
For a few seconds, I remained still. Wrath appeared at my feet, but I ignored him in favor of plotting. My berries were gone, which meant my plan to slip them into her food was null. Not that it was a very good strategy anyways. I needed something better. Smoother.
Corner her in a dark room and choke her to death? No, she would fight back and likely lock me up somewhere.
