Winter King by Sloane Murphy
7
Emilia
“You could make this so much easier on yourself, Emilia,” Rohan coos as he runs a finger down the side of my face. He removes the hair that sticks to my skin from the tears I’ve cried, and tucks it behind my ear. “We don’t need to be enemies in this. We could even share the power together. I’m not so selfish you know.”
“Why would I ever believe another word you say?” my voice rasps, husky from the tears I’ve cried, and the screams that have been torn from me. “You kidnapped me, you tortured me, and not once before this did you even ask for my help!”
“Because I could see that you were falling in love with my brother. Before, when you hated your parents, hated the Courts, I thought there was a chance, but once I saw, I knew you’d never do anything to hurt your precious Cade,” he spits, yanking my hair backwards, the sharpness making my eyes water. The thing I'm searching for, will change the world as we know it. It will take the Fae off of their high horse. Show them that Hunters are more than they ever dreamed. It will bring a change in our world, make it exactly as it should be. I’ll no longer live in my brother’s shadow. I will be the one with the power, I will be the one with the respect, the command, the fear. The Royals who look down at me because I was not the heir will soon know that they were wrong to dismiss me.”
“Rohan, you sound like a madman. How can you not see that what you are doing is just making you the villain in this story? The people will never respect you, not after you attack their policies, their homes, slaughter their loved ones. I have no idea what it is that you want from me, what it is that you think I know. But there is nothing with enough power in this world or any, that will take away the hurt you have caused.” I sigh.
He paces back and forth beside the chair I'm still strapped to. I can see the pressure and the stress taking its toll on him. His hair is thinning, and his skin almost seems pasty as if he is ill. It makes me wonder if what he's looking for has something to do with his health as well as his thirst for power. I've never seen a face look so ill, but then he is a half breed and Hunters are more susceptible to illness than we are.
“Once I find what I'm looking for, I won't be the villain. People will bow to me, they will worship the Hunters as the Fae have made my brothers do for so long.” His ramblings make me question his sanity.
“What makes you think I know what this thing is, let alone where is it?” I ask softly, trying not to make things worse than they are.
“Because your family were the keepers of it! Your grandmother died with the knowledge of where it was hidden, and before your mother died, she told us that the knowledge was passed to you. We know it was locked away inside you, your memory suppressed until it was needed.” His hands shake as he explains. Despite everything, it hurts me to see what he has become.
“Rohan, knowing my mother, she was lying. This is the sort of thing she did, the person she became after Edimere died. I hardly ever spent any time with my grandmother, it was Edimere who they favored. They loved the darkness in him. Knowing my mother, she knew you’d come for me, and that was her twisted sense of punishment from the grave, I don’t know. But it’s been, what, weeks? You haven’t found what you were looking for, I don’t think you’re going to. Maybe if you tell me what you’re looking for, it will trigger a memory?” I probe for more truth, I know that even if I do discover what he searches for, I will die before I reveal it to him. I only hope I find a way to escape before then. With my powers locked down in here, I feel hopeless. I just pray that Cade knows I didn’t abandon him.
“I am searching for the origin, the well that granted the Fae their access to the magik of this side of the veil. The Elves, the Angels, and the Demons had the ability to access it naturally, but like with all things, the Fae stole their ability to cast magik centuries ago, and they have been reaping the benefits of it, limiting the access that Demons have to it. The origin is an object, it holds the blood of the original Fae who bound themselves to it, granting them power. If I can get it, I can destroy it. The Fae will be powerless and the Hunters will rule the world, with me as their leader. Exactly as it should have been.”
“Rohan, I hate to say it, because I can see how much you believe it, but that all sounds like complete nonsense. Our magik is in our blood, it is part of who we are as a people. We are connected to the earth.” I sigh.
“THAT’S WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO BELIEVE!” he roars, and I gasp as his hand slaps my cheek, hard enough that the bone feels like it might have fractured. “You’re just one of them, too naive to see the truth.”
He storms from the room, slamming the metal door as he leaves, and I flinch at the sound before sinking into the chair as much as I can with my restraints, and close my eyes. I think that he has truly lost his mind. That discovering the truth of who his father was has broken the part of him that was only just hanging on. I don’t know how or when he discovered the truth, but I think it has slowly driven him mad. His delusions about this origin are beyond belief. Thinking that my family would be the keepers of something so important if it existed, is unthinkable. My parents would have wielded that power, held it above everyone, and that is how I know that whoever sold him this line has played him. They wanted this chaos. A way to cause death and destruction in Eressea. I just have no idea who would want something like that. Who wouldn’t be affected by it. The Hunters have faced losses just as we have by their war. The Elves have nothing to gain from a war over here. I rack my mind, but come up short. At least I know now that Rohan is answering to someone, or at least, someone pushed him down this path. He didn’t stray here willingly. It is little comfort considering everything, but if my father taught me anything, it is that knowledge is power.
“Emilia…” I look up into Oberon’s eyes. I didn’t even hear him enter the room. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
“Screw you. You’re as bad as Rohan. Both trying to be the good guy, because you can’t find the thing you so desperately want. You’re realizing this might all be for nothing if you can’t get whatever it is you want out of my head. Don’t act like he didn’t send you here.”
“He’d kill me if he knew I was here. I’ve been forbidden from being near you. I can’t do this anymore. I thought I could, I thought it would be worth it. It’s not. Nothing is worth watching this. I was so angry that you just left me for the Winter Prince, that you didn’t think twice about it while your father tortured me. Rohan told me how you just left with no fight at all. It was so easy to believe because I was angry, but I should’ve known better, should’ve trusted that’s not who you are. I am so sorry, Emilia.” His head hangs and he falls to his knees before me. His performance is good, I’ll give him that, but this good guy act, after he showed me his true feelings, isn’t something I’m going to fall for.
“Get the fuck out of here, Oberon. I never want to see your face again. If you’re truly sorry, and you truly meant what you said, you’d free me. But you won’t and you’re not. Just fucking leave.” My fire sparks the anger inside me, I can feel my power, desperate for release, fighting against its restraint as my anger flares.
He stands slowly, not looking at me again. “If I could take it back, I would. But there isn’t anything I can do now. I have to go, but I will do what I can to help you. I know you’ll never believe me, but I really did, and still do love you. My pain and anger clouded everything, and I believed everything he said. It was stupid, and I’ll never forgive myself for it.”
He leaves the room as quietly as he entered, and I feel a tear run down my face. I close my eyes and wish I was anywhere but here. I feel myself drifting off to sleep when I hear Cade’s voice, a projection of my imagination soothing me off to sleep.
Emilia, can you hear me? I don’t know what to do with you gone, I’m losing my fucking mind. So much is happening all at once. It’s like someone knew my every weakness and broke down every damn door at the same time. I need you to hear me, to come back to me. I need you to try, Emmy. I need you. I wish I could tell you everything that is going on, you always knew how to soothe the beast inside of me. Your lightness kept my darkness in check, and without you, it’s clawing its way back. I managed to hold on just barely the first time I lost you, I can’t lose you again. I won’t survive it. I just need to hear your voice, that will get me through. I just need to know you can hear me.
* * *
The breeze whipping my hair around is so cool, it’s such a relief after such a hot summer. Sitting up here on the cliff top, the world seems so small, it was worth the crazy climb to get here. At the very north of Eressea, I can see almost all of Avaenora, the top of the towers from the palace glint in the sunlight. I can hear the noise of people from the market not so far away, and the sounds of nature around me fill me with peace.
“Emilia, there you are, I’ve been looking for you all day.” I turn from my perch at the edge of the cliff and see Cade climbing the last meters of the steep trail towards where I’m sitting. “I had a feeling I’d find you here when I didn’t find you at the waterfalls.”
“There’s too many people at the waterfalls in this heat. I just wanted to escape it all, the people, the stupid princess lessons, and this god damn heat.” I sigh as he sits down next to me, not quite touching, but almost. So close I can feel him.
“You could always come to mine, it’s nowhere near as warm in the south you know,” he teases me and pushes my shoulder with his. “This spot really is beautiful, looking over the lake like that. The waters are the same color as your eyes.”
I try not to react to his words. I’ve had a crush on Cade Vasara for longer than I can remember. His long dark hair gleams in the sun, and his pale blue eyes are so emotive, even if he doesn’t want them to be. “So why were you looking for me?”
“So I could do this,” he says softly, and takes my face in his hands before kissing me softly, but with so much want I think I might burn where I sit. His hands caress my face as his lips make me forget everything but him. He pulls back, and I can’t help the sigh that falls from my lips.
“Is this okay?” he asks, and I nod, unable to speak. Right now we are not royal, we’re not anything other than two people who like each other.
“This is the start of something, Em. I’m not letting you go now. Not after everything. Even if you run far from me, I’ll find you. I will always find you.” He presses his forehead against mine as he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I tilt my head up to him and he kisses me again, deeper this time, his arms drawing me in to him as I weave my fingers through his hair. I let my hands roam down his chest until they reach the hem of his t-shirt. My fingers skim the smooth skin there, with the lightest dusting of hair tickling my fingertips. I slide my hand under his top and he groans against my lips.
“You keep doing things like that, and I’m not going to be able to control myself, Em. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this,” he rasps, his lips brushing against mine.
“Who needs control?” I whisper, and press my lips against his again. His hands slip under my top and makes my skin break out in goosebumps.
