Page 103 of Once Upon a Crown
I carefully inspected all the fine cuts on his knuckles and where small bruises had formed.
We were both clearly thinking the same thing. Knowing what Cai had done to earn those bruises.
“You shouldn’t have been witness to that,” he said after a few moments of silence. I didn’t have to ask what he’d meant.
“Do you regret killing him?”
“I wish that it hadn’t come down to it. I wish he’d never stabbed us all in the back. I wish he’d never killed Jack or murdered my family. But he did. And no matter how I try to play it out in my head, it always ends the same. I kill Thatcher every time.”
I dropped the cloth onto one of the little side tables, but my other hand still held Cai’s.
“Just because he deserved to die doesn’t make it any easier now that he’s gone.”
“He haunts me,” Cai said, wearing a grave expression. “Every time I close my eyes, I see him in front of me, taunting me still.”
I didn’t know what words could comfort him. Cai was going to have to live with what he had done for the rest of his life. And I feared nothing would make it easier.
“Elara, I want you to know something.” He folded his other hand over mine. “What happened in that throne room.” He looked away, as if searching for the right words. “I don’t know how to explain it but it’s like I wasn’t myself. Or like I wasn’t fully in control of myself. And maybe I was just so overcome with anger and hatred but...”
“You think it had something to do with the dagger and that guard I killed?”
“Maybe. I feel like I don’t know anything anymore.”
“I think you might be right.” I reached into the pocket of my dress and pulled out the Myrgonite dagger. I wasn’t the kind of person to easily admit I was wrong, but there was too much danger to be prideful now. “Whatever kind of weapon or magic this is, we don’t understand it. I agree with you that this should be hidden until we can find a way to destroy it.” I handed the dagger to Cai, who inspected it in his lap.
“There was something more in the diary,” I added.
“The king found writings from the goldsmith who’d forged the objects, and he believed that the objects were linked by the magic. And therefore, they could be used to find each other.”
He pondered my words, eyes still focused on the dagger.
“So, you’re saying we can use the necklace and the dagger to find the third object?”
“Maybe. I suppose anything is worth a try at this point.”
“I think you should keep it.” Cai used his free hand to hold the dagger out to me. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure wehave an army to fight Aries, and you can put all your efforts into finding another way to destroy the objects. I don’t think you should use either of them, even if it is to find the third one.”
After everything we’d been through, I could not deny that the objects must have had some effect on us. There were too many things that Cai and I could not explain. The way that he killed Thatcher. The unnerving feeling that came over me every time I was close to either of the Myrgonite objects. Not to mention that it was affecting the mental state of the two of us, causing tensions between us that we actively had to fight to resolve. “I promise to keep them safe.”
His thumb stroked my hand. “If anyone is capable of saving us, it’s you, Elara.”
“But what if I can’t?” I asked so softly, I wasn’t sure if Cai could hear. I’d spent most of the past few months searching for answers and trying to find solutions. I didn’t want to allow myself to consider the possibility of failure because I feared it would make me lose hope entirely. But now it felt as though there was an impending doom drawing near, in the same way storm clouds do. And I couldn’t help but worry that, despite all our efforts, we would not come out victorious.
Cai placed his hand on my cheek, forcing me to look at him. “Then I’d be happy to die by your side, if it means I get to spend the afterlife with you.”
I turned my face into his hand, pressing a kiss to his palm.
“I don’t think I’d mind spending eternity with you either.”
There were much worse fates, after all.
I looked down at the dagger in my lap again. “You should keep this.” The metal of the hilt was cold between my fingers as I handed it back to Cai. “I have the necklace, which I can try and use to find the third object. You were right. It would be too dangerous to have them all together. Especially if there is somekind of link. I think we need to keep them separated. I trust you’ll know where to keep this safe.”
“I have a few places in mind.”
“Good.” I stood up from the chair, brushing invisible flecks of dust from my skirts. “Well, I should probably get to it, then.”
Cai also stood, dagger in hand. “I should follow up on news regarding our armies.”
