Page 17 of Heir Of Sun And Moon
When the sun starts to dip to the west, I finally get up from where I’ve been laying on the balcony floor, stretching my arms overhead and side to side. Content from the day in the sun, I brush off the back of my white day dress before deciding to make something to eat.
Food is another thing I think about often, as I have eaten basically the same thing for my entire life. Would I like the foods of the capital? Of other kingdoms if I could visit them? Would Bella even be able to hunt for food after so many years of being hand-fed? Once I have secured my small plate of dried meat, nuts, and an apple, I head to the library and relax onto the bench by the window.
Looking out over the wildflower field beyond the castle and into the capital of Vitour, I notice there are newly placed flags of all colors rising from the shops and blowing in the wind. Though they look like mere colorful dots from this distance, they glow against the sunset sky. The banners signify the peak of spring, a time when the growing season reaches its pinnacle and everything from flowers to vegetables sprout at a faster-than-usual rate. Some books say it’s from magic somehow imbued into the land of the Continent. Others say that it happens to be just the right combination of sun, water, and earth to make things grow more efficiently.
I honestly don’t know what to believe. Only that one day, I would love to walk in a field of blooming wildflowers or pick fresh fruit right from where it’s grown. Such simple mundane wishes, but they’re mine. Sighing, I grab the book I had started yesterday and flip it open. I continue reading until night falls fully, before making my way to the washroom to bathe by the light of a small taper candle.
Today was a good day, as much as one can be when in my circumstance. It is the kind of day that makes it easy to pretend that I am someone else. Perhaps I’m still a princess, but I’m just visiting a faraway castle. Not trapped within these walls, but simply a guest able to leave when she wants. With another contented breath, I drain the tub and dry off before dressing for bed. Snuggling up against Bella, I allow my body to relax into the relative peace I feel for once. My mind is blissfully quiet as I let the darkness pull me away.
The tower is quiet, dark. The pitch black is lit up only by the moon and a few winking stars. Wiping a hand down my face, I move to get off the bed when Bella puts a paw on top of my leg over the comforter. My eyes are still half closed when I look at her, but it doesn’t take me long to realize something is wrong. She is sitting straight up, completely alert. She whimpers, and my heart drops into my stomach so quickly that I physically have to put my hand over my abdomen.
“Rhea, wake up.” His voice.His. Voice. It strikes through the night and directly into my heart like a poisoned arrow. He’s found me again in my dreams. Bella whines once more, louder and closer to my ear. “Rhea…” The muffled sounds of footsteps are everywhere.
“Rhea. Get. Up.”
I gasp as I sit up, my eyes wide in the near darkness of the tower. Beside me, Bella has buried herself beneath the covers, the shadows cast by the waning moon through the window enough to conceal her. I clutch the comforter to my chest as I watch the king approach me from the stairs.
“I have a surprise for you.” His smile, if it can even be called that, sends a chill deep into my bones. “Let’s go,” he commands, voice clipped as he turns back towards the stairs.
Disoriented, I slowly push the blanket off of me, feeling like I’m not fully conscious. When my feet touch the floor, a chill shocks the remaining haze away.It isn’t a dream. He’s inside.Propelled by my fear, I take one step, then another, following King Dolian down the stairs. The heavy sensation of something sinister has me holding my breath until I reach the bottom. I freeze, my eyes pinned on the man kneeling across the room from me.
“No,” I beg, but it’s barely a whisper. Something moves in the corner of my eye, the presence of others pushing on me, but I can’t look away from him. Even in the dark, with just the little slip of moonlight coming through the glass of the balcony doors, I can see one of his eyes is bruised and swollen. Blood leaks from his nose and mouth, and he’s been stripped of his armor and sword. Taking a step to him, my movements are suddenly halted by the king.
“I wouldn’t do that, Rhea.” His voice slithers down my spine. My shoulders creep up and my hands curl into fists. He steps closer, his presence behind me like a malignant ghost intent on haunting me until I either go insane or die from his malice. A hand gruffly lands on my shoulder, spinning me until I’m facing him. He’s too close, his body leaning over me as if he intends to swallow me whole. His fingers trail down my arm, squeezing so tightly at my wrist that I let a whimper slip out. He smiles at the sound. “Do you care about thisguard?” he taunts, his chin gesturing to Alexi with disdain, as if he is no better than excrement to be scraped off the bottom of a boot. “You are acting as if you do.”
It’s a struggle to remain calm, to keep my mouth shut and this magic inside of me hidden. I can feel it humming now, near my stomach, and I’m not sure if it wants to be used or is just reassuring me that it’s there. I don’t know if it’s even sentient at all.
King Dolian sneers as he stares at me, his hazel eyes narrowing. Color leeches from my skin, and my chest goes tight with panic.This can’t be happening. He shoves me to the side, the force causing me to fall to the ground with a loud thud. Alexi grimaces as he reaches out his bloodied arm towards me. The king motions with his hand, and that’s when I take notice of the five King’s Guardsmen that are also in the room—the others I had felt before.
One guard—the only one who has ever met my gaze—grabs Alexi’s hair and gruffly pulls his head back, snapping his face up towards the ceiling. I move to my hands and knees, just a few feet away. Is it possible to discreetly send my magic to him? I discard that thought, however, as I remember how brightly it glowed when I used it on Bella. Can it protect him or just heal him? I’m nearly desperate enough to find out, starting to lift my hand, when my eyes meet Alexi’s. He subtly shakes his head at me, willing to sacrifice himself to protect my secret. A scream begins to burn in my throat, only stopped by the sound of movement.
The king walks in front of him, drawing my gaze as he moves with measured steps, as if he has all the time in the world. Looking down his nose at Alexi, he drawls, “When it was reported to me that you had been abandoning your post in the middle of the night, I assumed it was to go to one of the many bars in Vitour. Or perhaps a brothel. Youhavebeen alone for a long time now.”
Alexi’s jaw clenches, the only indication that the king has hit a nerve. My uncle’s responding grin is like that of a serpent’s, pointed and horrific. His shiny black boots tap on the wood as he starts to circle Alexi again. Each step he takes is like a needle pricking into my skin.
“I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt,” he continues, eyes cold. “But I also needed to know for sure, so your punishment would match the crime. After all,” the king growls, “you left the most important thing to me vulnerable. So I assigned one of your own, one I trust, to watch you in secret. To follow you and see where you were sneaking off to.” He gestures to the guard holding Alexi’s hair and prowls around so that he is now behind them. “Nothing to say, Alexi?”
The king pauses his movements as if he actually thinks his question will be answered. In the silence, he sighs dramatically, placing his hands into the pockets of his breeches. The casual calm of his demeanor somehow makes him appear even more terrifying.
“That’s alright. I already know where you were going.”
My blood runs cold as pure terror slices through my veins. I gasp for air, but my breath isn’t coming in fast enough. The king meets my gaze, his brows drawn down and a near-feral look in his eyes.
“You were here, sneaking off to take what doesn’t belong to you. To touch what is mine, and mine alone.”
I try to deny his accusations, but the words are stuck in my throat, the shock of this moment locking me down. He can’t possibly believe Alexi was touching me… like that? Even more, why is he acting as ifhewould have the right to? As if I’mhisto claim? Toown?
“I never—” Alexi attempts to speak, but the words die on a grunt when he is kicked brutally in the side by the king. He tries to double over his knees, but the guard holding his hair won’t let him move. My heart speeds up even faster, the thumping in my ears sounding like a death march. King Dolian wastes no time delivering another kick to Alexi’s back.
“Stop it!” I shout, not caring if it results in me also getting hurt,wishinghe would hurt me instead. I can’t just sit by and watch this. I refuse to let them harm the one person in this kingdom that truly cares about me. Scrambling as fast as I can, I crawl to Alexi. My trembling hands lift towards him, but before I can make contact, King Dolian is shouting at his guards to drag me away. Screaming and kicking, I fight to get out of their grip, but the two men holding me are stronger than I am. They force me to my knees, their hands wrapped around my upper arms so tightly that I know they will bruise.
“Light some torches. I want to make sure she sees this.”
Dread tingles down my limbs until I can’t feel them. It’s such an odd experience, to be so astonishingly terrified that I lose the ability to sense touch. I try again to fight my captors, but I can’t. I’m forced to watch as the remaining two guards light torches and hold them on either side of Alexi. The flame illuminates his bronzed skin and the tousled salt and pepper hair that hangs over his forehead. Even beaten and bruised, he still looks like a formidable opponent. However, not even Alexi can fight off five trained men, even with my pitiful help.
The need to go to him is overwhelming, but I try to remind myself that whatever the king does to torture Alexi, I can mend him after. My magic can heal whatever wounds he sustains. I know it. A small flicker of hope lights within me at the knowledge that I can make sure he is alright until I hear the unmistakable whistle of a sword being drawn from its scabbard.
Time stalls, and every sense—every part of me—focuses on the king standing behind Alexi. His lips pull to the left in a half smile that I swear comes from the pits of hell itself. It’s pure evil. I want to vomit. I want to squeeze my eyes closed and shut this out like it isn’t really happening.Can my magic stop this?
