Chapter 7

 

 

I was on edge the whole time Percifal was away. I didn’t need to see Sreda for my ankle. Thankfully, it’d healed on its own. I did my best to avoid Thaimis. Physically, that wasn’t a tough feat. Mentally though… anytime I wasn’t busy, I found my mind wandering to our night on the roof-top. I scolded myself inwardly each time I let my mind slip to thoughts of him. It was torture. When I did see him, I saw shame on his face and… sorrow? I couldn’t fathom why he would be sad. He’d accomplished his task.

With a sense of dread, I filled the buckets with water from the well. I’d offered to do this chore for my father, needing something to do to keep myself from going insane. Percifal should have returned by now. My imagination ran wild with reasons he wasn’t home yet.

I was so lost in thought, I didn’t even notice Thaimis approach me. Turning to leave with a full bucket in each hand, I smacked right into him and dropped the buckets of water. “Ah shit! For Celestia’s sake! Why would you sneak up on me like that?” I snarled.

Thaimis blinked, more stunned than I, before bending to pick up the fallen buckets. “I didn’t. I was calling your name, but you ignored me.”

“As you can see, I’m quite busy. What do you want?” I put my hands on my hips, eager to get back to my task and away from him.

“To let you know although I did succeed in following through with my order from Percifal, I never meant for—that to happen.”

I rolled my eyes. I didn’t believe anything that came out of his mouth.

“I don’t regret it,” he added.

My cheeks grew hot, and I had to look away. “I don’t care. Percifal’s still not back. I will blame you if something terrible has happened to him.”

“So will I.” The hint of guilt in his voice rang clear. He was just as worried as I was.

“I have work to do, so if you don’t mind…” I tore the buckets from his hands. It was so much easier when we’d simply hated each other.

“Let me help you with those,” he offered.

Trying to charm his way back into my good graces was not going to work. I was about to refuse when the bell sounded with six quick chimes. This could only mean one thing; my brother had returned to Aquila.

I dropped the buckets, turned and ran toward the palace gates. When I arrived, an entourage was already there. I had to make my way through a crowd of people dressed in an assortment of colours, and stinking of sweat and perfume, to catch sight of the men who had returned from their mission across the sea.

Man after man rode through the iron-gate. My stomach flipped as each face I saw was not my brother’s. I was beginning to believe something terrible had happened to him when he appeared alongside the chancellor, who was dressed in better garb than everyone else who’d come through the gate. My eyes widened, and I pushed past the throng of people. A few made rude comments as I bumped into them or stepped on their toes as I squeezed to the front. I ignored them.

“Percifal!” I shouted over the clamour.

He was filthy and looked exhausted, but his eyes lit up when he spotted me. He dismounted his horse and handed his reins to one of his soldiers as I reached him. We embraced each other tightly before I stepped back and gave him a hard shove. “How could you leave without saying farewell to me?” I wailed at him, wiping tears from my cheeks. “I was so afraid I’d never lay eyes on you again, you fool.”

“It’s good to see you too, Chel,” he said, recovering from my shove. “If I hadn’t snuck away, would you have stayed here and not attempted to join me?”

“No! But that doesn’t matter!”

He couldn’t help but smile. He patted me on the head like I was still a child. I ducked away. I didn’t want my hair to be soiled from his grubby palm.

“That’s what I thought. We’ll catch up later. I’m off to see the king now.”

“Fine,” I surrendered. I couldn’t stay angry with him. I was just glad to have him back and in one piece.

King Zaeden had a welcoming dinner thrown for those who had returned from Gwon. I sat beside my mother, who spoke candidly with Queen Thea while I chewed a piece of meat off a chicken bone. The low burning lamps and navy blue decor created a nightly ambience in the room. The kitchen staff had prepared a tasty meal for us all to enjoy; one of the perks of living at court. One could always look forward to a good meal anytime there was something to celebrate. Though, I wasn’t quite sure if we were in fact celebrating. King Zaeden had sat quietly throughout dinner. My father sat beside the king and spoke in his ear over the course of the meal. I’d learned nothing of Percifal’s journey yet.

I pushed my empty plate away and focused on my goblet of wine, doing my best to ignore Thaimis—who sat across from me with some blonde strumpet on his lap. It seemed he had finally accepted my rejection. Good.

My mother poked me, startling me out of my thoughts. “Stop scowling. It’s unflattering.”

“I’m not scowling.” I checked my expression, softening my features.

If she was about to reply, she was interrupted by King Zaeden as he got up from his seat and placed his pale, jeweled hands on the table to call attention to himself.

He remained silent until everyone watched him, and then he spoke in a voice that carried throughout the room. “As you all know, we had sent our chancellor to the island called Gwon to offer to trade with them in exchange for gold. While we are pleased all of the men we had sent have returned to us in one piece, we regret that Gwon has refused our offer.”

Percifal wouldn’t take his eyes of the king as he spoke. His jaw was set… his brows drawn together. This was bad news, but what came next had my heart pounding against my ribs.

King Zaeden slammed his fist against the table, causing some to start. “We do not accept this! And so we must send Constable Lacrima and his men back to Gwon on a less diplomatic journey. This time, our army will bring back the gold we need.”

Some men nodded in agreement as the blood left my face. Queen Thea placed a hand on her husband’s arm. A look of concern filled her warm sapphire eyes. “My

dear—”

“No, Thea. You cannot talk me out of this,” he addressed her informally. “We need this gold for the kingdom. Otherwise we’ll need to take it from our own people. I am a king, and I will not be refused!”

The queen removed her hand from her husband’s arm in surrender. No one questioned the king—not even his beloved wife, who was revered by the people of Aquila.

So, to my dismay, Percifal would be going back to Gwon. Only this time, it would be far more dangerous. King Zaeden expected them to steal gold from the island. My gaze snapped to Percifal. He saw the panic in my eyes and shook his head. He didn’t want me to cause a scene.

The blonde on Thaimis’s lap sat awkwardly… lost and forgotten as Thaimis stared straight ahead at nothing, clenching his fist around his goblet so hard I thought it might break. She giggled and whispered something in his ear in an attempt to lighten his mood. It took every effort I had not to roll my eyes. He didn’t even seem to hear her.

As soon as King Zaeden dismissed us, I downed my wine and flew out of the room. I strode through the wide corridor, passing tapestries of blue, indigo and silver which depicted scenes from the sea. I heard footsteps behind me before I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Chel, wait.”

I stopped and turned to Thaimis. The blonde was no longer with him. “Where’s your mistress?”

A stupid grin crossed his face. “Jealous?”

“No. I don’t have the patience for this.” I huffed and tried to turn away, but he caught my arm. The nerve he had!

“You are jealous. Good. That was my hope,” he admitted.

I came at him then. Our faces were so close, I could see the flecks of green within the blue of his eyes. “I don’t care what you do or whom you are seeing. I. Hate. You,” I snarled.

“Do you?” he challenged. “Do you really hate me? Because I don’t think you do.”

I opened my mouth to retort… but I clamped it shut.

And then we were on each other like a pair of animals. I don’t know who grabbed who first, but his hands were tangled in my hair and my arms were around his neck in the blink of an eye. Our lips locked in a passionate kiss that warmed my blood and had me yearning for more.

In between kisses, he breathed, “If this is what hate feels like, I hate you too.”

I broke our kiss, pushing against his chest. “Not here. Meet me at our spot—tomorrow at sunset.”

I turned and ran, my skirts swishing around my legs, before he could utter a word.

I was reading by candlelight when Percifal came stumbling in through the door of our apartment. Our parents had long gone to bed. He almost knocked one of the candles over on his way to the lounger, where he plopped down and placed a hand on his forehead.

“You’re drunk.” I remarked, setting my book down.

A bitter laugh escaped his throat. “What d’you expect,” he slurred.

I got up to fetch him a cup of water from the kitchen.

He accepted it eagerly when I returned, downing it in a few gulps.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Don’t give m’that look. I thought I’d never have t’return to that damned island again once I’d left its shores, and then—and then I come back only t’be ordered to turn right around and go back!” He fell back onto the lounger and dropped the cup.

I winced, hoping he hadn’t woken our parents. “It was that bad, hey?” I picked up the cup and set it on a table.

“Thooose people rrr monstrous. We were lucky to leave alive.”

“Did you tell King Zaeden that?”

He threw up his arms. “I tried! He said if I refuuuse—he’ll take m’position away.” He folded his arms.

I nodded once, slowly. “Of course he did.”

He sat up, putting his chin in his hands, he stared at his knees.

I pressed my lips together. “Perhaps I should come. I could be of help.”

“N—no! Don’t even think about it!” He sat back and took a deep breath before continuing. “You wouldn’t be safe once we got to the island. I’d only be distracted with watching you if you were there. You’d put me in more danger.” Either the water was helping or he was trying very hard not to slur… perhaps both.

The desperation in his voice struck a chord in me. “Fine,” I relented. “But you’d better be taking your second in command and more soldiers with you this time.” I didn’t want to be the cause of trouble. If he really thought it too dangerous for me to join him, I’d abide his wish for me to stay home.

“Obviously.”

“Good. Now come. Let’s get you to bed.” I stood and offered him a hand.

“Can’t I just sleep here?” he groaned, scrunching his face.

“I think not. You won’t even make it to Gwon. Mother will kill you for soiling her lounger.”

That threat got him moving, even if it was at a slow pace.

After I’d gotten him into his bed and pulled his boots off, I lay awake in my own bed, tossing and turning beneath my cool satin sheets.

I hated that my brother had to return to Gwon, and I couldn’t decide if I was glad Thaimis would be there to protect Percifal, or if I’d prefer him to stay with me. He would’ve been a good distraction. It was going to be torment being trapped here while I didn’t know what was happening on the island. All I knew was, it was something I must endure. I hoped Celestia would watch over the soldiers on their journey. They were only following their king’s orders. It wasn’t their choice to thieve from the people of Gwon.

I paced back and forth on the rooftop where I’d told Thaimis to meet me. The sun had already descended behind the shoreline, making the water glow with the purple light reflecting from the darkening sky. Perhaps he didn’t know where our spot was—but he must. Where else would I have meant? Just as I was beginning to feel like a fool and decided to return home, his face appeared as he pulled himself up over the ledge and onto the roof.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t coming,” I told him.

“Why on earth would you think that?”

“Oh, I don’t know, because the sun has already set.” I gestured towards where the sun had indeed disappeared.

“I’m sorry, Chel. I came as soon as I could. Your brother had us doing drills all day to prepare us for Gwon.” His face was serious as he placed his hands on my arms.

“Okay. So what was with the strumpet the other night?” I stepped back so I was out of his reach.

His face fell. “I told you, a ploy to make you jealous.”

A weight I hadn’t realized was there lifted. “A stupid idea, that was. Don’t do it again, or whatever this is between us will be over.”

He took a step toward me again, this time with hunger in his eyes. “Understood.” His lips touched the delicate skin on my neck, and I let out a deep, strangled sound. It was like he put a spell on me every time he came close. My head became muddled. I couldn’t think straight and my body… well it was the biggest traitor of all. My body seemed to act of its own accord.

In that moment, I forgot all about Gwon and my worries. In that moment, I begged him to take me—and he did.

Afterwards, I sat leaning against his chest, sorrow washing over me now that my mind wasn’t distracted. “I wish you didn’t have to go to Gwon.”

“You know I must. I have to protect Percifal and help lead the other men,” he said.

“I know, but I’m worried.” I closed my eyes and breathed in his sweet, musky scent.

“You know you can’t come, right?” He looked down at me with suspicion. It was quite unlike me to be compliant.

“Don’t remind me,” I sighed. “Yes, I’ve talked to Percifal about it. I know my presence would only be a distraction. I want you all to be as safe as possible and return home.”

“That’s the plan.”

“Promise?” I managed a tiny smile.

“Promise.”