Page 41 of A Song of Shadow and Starlight

She bobs her head. "On the last night of the tournament, there's a grand reception held in the palace. I used that distraction to slip away from the party and climb to the highest balcony, determined to jump to my death."

"What stopped you?"

"I made my way to the railing when a voice startled me." She smiled, remembering the memory. "Finn was standing along the far end, stargazing. He asked if I was alright, and I told him I just needed some fresh air. A lie, and from the look in his eye, he knew it. But being the gentleman he is, he refrained from calling me out as a liar.

He wiped his glasses, I know now he does that when he's nervous or deep in thought, before asking if I wanted to join him. Reluctantly, I did. I remember asking why he was on the balcony, and he told me plainly that he was hiding. He confessed he wasn't actually sick, but that he and his brothers faked it so he wouldn't have to compete.

I only intended to spend a few minutes talking with him before finding a different balcony to jump from, but before I realized it, hours had passed and for the first time in months, I laughed.

Finn asked why I had really come to the balcony, and I admitted my suicidal plans. I even told him about my abusive husband. I expected to see pity in his eyes, but all I saw was indescribable rage. I figured he would offer his condolences, but he didn't.

He said,"If you want to escape, I can help you get to Tronovia, where you will receive asylum. Our ship leaves at dawn and I can make sure no one knows where you went."

"Why would you risk yourself for me?"

"If I am in a position to help, why wouldn't I?"

"I was stunned. I was speechless. I'd asked my mother and my sisters, even my in-laws for help, and none of them batted an eye at my torment.

Give him a child and he will look at you favorably.

Make yourself available to him and then maybe he won't be so cruel.

Obey everything he says and maybe the beatings will stop.

But merely hearing my story and seeing my desperation, Finn extended his hand to keep me from drowning. He offered me salvation."

I don't remember scooting to the edge of my bed and burying my face in my hands. Eris' tale is far more tragic than I could have ever imagined. I want to hug her, but I fight the urge, letting her take her time sharing with me.

"I wanted to say yes, but I was afraid. So, we parted ways. He said if I changed my mind, to meet him at the docks by dawn.

Like a fool, I went home, hoping my husband would still be drinking himself into a stupor at the ball or warming the bed of one of his many companions. But to my horror, he was waiting for me. He was drunk, angry, and by the wicked gleam in his eye, I knew he was looking for someone to hit. Well, not someone. Me.

I noticed a split second too late he had found my stash of herbal tea and had discovered the true reason I hadn't gotten pregnant after six months of trying. I bolted up the stairs to my room, hoping to lock my door before he could catch me, but he was faster and stronger than me. He quickly and easily overpowered me, throwing me onto the bed and sitting on top of me. Crushing me under his body weight, making it difficult to catch my breath, he hit me. Again and again and again.

I screamed, begged for him to stop but that only enraged him more. I had betrayed him, tricked him, brought shame upon him and his family for drinking the birth control tea.

I knew then, as my eyes blurred, and I tasted the iron of the blood oozing from my mouth, that if I didn't do something to save myself, he was going to kill me. So, I did what members of the Talay family swear not to do. I used my magic to harm a Hydran. I conjured a tiger to attack him. It forced him to let me go as he began to fend off the creature. I knew in my weakened condition, my magic wouldn't last long, so I slipped off the bed and crawled to my bookshelf, grabbing one of the metal bookends. I turned to face him, and that's when he lunged for me.

I hit him across his temple. Hard. He fell to the floor and didn't stir. There was a lot of blood seeping from his head, staining the white area rug. I stared at him for several minutes, waiting for him to jump up to kill me, but he didn’t, so I mustered the courage to tap my foot against him. He was dead.

I killed him.

I killed my husband and didn't feel one inkling of remorse. Unfortunately, I knew once his family discovered what I'd done, they would demand my mother punish me, and not only punish me, they would also demand reparations for their loss. I wouldn't receive mercy or amnesty just because my mother was the queen. She would concede to their demands to keep her alliance with them strong.

So, I changed out of my dress, splattered with blood, tossed it into the fireplace, and raced in the wee hours of the morning to the docks. Finn kept his word and smuggled me out of Hydra. The King of Tronovia offered me asylum as long as I used my water magic to protect Tronovia. I happily agreed and have been with the Harland brothers ever since.

I didn't leave word for my mother. I just disappeared and I have never looked back."

"And you've never returned home?" I ask.

She shook her head, stroking one of the water foxes who had curled up in her lap and fallen asleep. "And I never plan to."

Thirteen

IwaitforEristo fall asleep to poke my head out the door, look up and down the hallway, before I slip out and shuffle down the stairs several levels before reaching the hot springs where patrons can relax and bathe. I'm more than thrilled to see I have the whole place to myself. The other guests are either sleeping off their drunkenness or they're still out partying. Both suit me just fine, so long as I have privacy.

I set my fluffy white towel on one of the wooden benches and stare at the steam rising from the elevated, circular pools, beckoning me to slip inside. A golden trim encases each individual spring, and it looks not only enticing, but luxurious. Naked, I step toward the pool at the top tier because it has the most privacy, just in case someone else utilizes the space. But with the sudden emergence of another patron in the spring I was heading to, I jump back, grab my towel and cover myself.

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