Although he didn’t mistreat me, I could understand how he had manipulated Edward’s mind all along. He had laid out all his rules while I just stood there, speechless, and accepted whatever shit he gave me. I could not argue… I could not speak. In short, he wanted me to stay here and look after the child, without making her close to Edward? And I was not allowed to share anything with Edward? If he found out that I did, and I was sure he would, he’d punish me by killing poor Emma? That would not only be my punishment but Edward’s too. Edward would turn back into a soulless monster. If anything happened to Emma, I would lose Edward once and for all, and I couldn’t afford that loss in my life. I had no one except Edward in this time.
All this risk of living with him, falling in love with him, dodging my time, and coming here would go in vain, if Emma died. I’d be back to square one, with a broken heart and nothing in my hand. No matter how negatively I thought of Edward, I knew he loved me. I knew he wouldn’t agree to marry Elizabeth. He’d find a solution, and I knew for sure he would never let me go. At least, I had this faith in Edward.
I sat next to King Stefan, holding the book in my lap, which was way too heavy for me to carry. He picked up the candle and handed it to me. I placed the flame about an inch from the book to show him what might come up. I knew nothing would, but sending him to fetch the candle had at least given me enough time to see his fate—and my fate.
“There is nothing. Perhaps, you should consult your royal adviser in this case.” I spoke without any emotion. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. If I hadn’t read the book, I wouldn’t have been so afraid of dying and losing Edward. He took the candle from me and set it aside. When stood up, I got up too, leaving the heavy book on the stones.
“What do you think this is?” he asked as he touched the borders of the page that said: Thou shalt see thy face shalt see everything.
I knew what it meant in my case. If I was able to see myself in the chapel mirror, I was able to see or read the book as well.
“Since you haven’t visited our chapel, this is written on the mirror inside the chapel too.”
“A mirror in the chapel?” I asked, feigning innocence. “Why is there a looking glass inside the chapel?”
He watched me as if looking for the first time. “There are certain things in this castle which are even out of my knowledge,” he said quietly. I could sense he wasn’t lying. The question had disturbed him.
“I believe you must be hungry?” he changed the topic and was back in his gentleman mode. I had already lost my appetite after what had happened. “Your dinner will be sent to your chamber. My servant will lead you back.” He walked me calmly all the way back to the library entrance. “I believe you will consider the proposition.” He held my hand tightly. Did I have any choice?
He took the steps and I followed him quietly. We reached his chamber without talking any further. He led me to his chamber door. I was already too thirsty after climbing all those steps.
“How are you feeling now, Lady Farrow?” he asked, reading my face.
Did I have any answer for it? I had no words to describe my emotions. I had thought he would kill me—that he’d test the spring on me. But nothing like that had happened. He had only called me to offer his proposition, and I had a chance to see his book secretly.
“How about we join the dinner?” his cocky grin was plastered all over his face. “Since you’re officially the royal teacher here, I’ll introduce you to the McQueens, and we shall have dinner all together.”
This didn’t sound appealing to me at all. I didn’t know how to react in front of Edward’s fiancée. I was sure she’d be pretty and I couldn’t imagine Edward looking at her. Without asking my preference, he held my arm and walked me out of the chamber.
We walked silently—his grip firm on my forearm. We walked all the way back through the closed passage, descending back to the ground floor. The guard opened the door, which led to the Great Hall. Before entering the dining hall, he looked at me with concern.
“Are you feeling thirsty, Lady Farrow?”
I was, but I was surprised he’d ask me again. Before I could respond, he asked, “How was the water you drank earlier in my chamber?”
“It was good. Thank you,” I pasted a smile on my face, showing him gratitude.
“Good to know. Because it’s the water from our beautiful spring.” Hearing his words gave me vertigo and I felt like falling into a deep dark pit to be lost forever. He had tricked me and had already tested the water on me, which I wouldn’t have found out if he hadn’t mentioned. The bastard had taken one more step to test and kill me. I was bound to shut my mouth and not tell Edward, because King Stefan had other punishments planned for me. No wonder I was feeling so thirsty all along.
I was too transfixed to respond to him, too appalled to even show my fear. Would I die of thirst now? Was that the reason I was feeling thirsty, even after drinking water? Would I ever be able to tell Edward about it?
“Come, let’s have dinner,” he snaked his arm through my arm and dragged me to the dining room where I noticed Edward and the McQueen family. The parents were sitting on the right side of Edward, a beautiful young woman, who I assumed was Elizabeth, was sitting on Edward’s left side, and a young man was sitting on the woman’s other side. Perhaps, he was Elizabeth’s brother.
Everyone stood up when King Stefan entered the dining room. My throat felt hollow and scratchy. I wanted to drink water—lots and lots of water. I’d drink the entire river. I was feeling gagged all of a sudden.
I saw shock and surprise on Edward’s face, but there was also an anger welling up in his eyes as he noticed Stefan’s arm entwining mine. No one said anything as they all waited for King Stefan to speak. There was love and longing in Edward’s eyes but there was nothing in me to return to him. I felt lost and too paralysed to respond to his loving gaze.
“Good evening, everyone,” King Stefan addressed the guests who bowed gently and greeted him as well.
“I’d like to introduce you all to our royal teacher,” he gestured towards me, his other hand still snaked through my arm. “Lady Farrow is the royal teacher of Hue Castle, who is responsible for teaching the children in the village every morning.”
The world around me started to spin. I felt hazy, unconscious, my throat getting dryer and scratchier than ever. My mouth was incapable of producing any bile. I’d die here right now, and Edward would never find out the reason. Steve would never know what happened to me. My parents would grieve on my disappearance forever. Would Haakon let my parents know how I died?
Every sound, every word was travelling into the background. I was completely transfixed by the king’s confession of giving me the cursed water and there were only two possibilities. Either, I’d die or I would not. And if I survived tonight, King Stefan would be assured that I was the one who could break the spell in this castle. He’d do every possible measure to undermine me. In any case, my destiny and future were trapped in Hue Castle, and my fate was tied to the king. If I died, they would bury me in the crypt, and if I didn’t, I would still have to stay for Emma and Edward’s sake. If I ran away, I’d take all the hope Edward had from me.
I held my throat, trying to focus on things around me, but my head was spinning like a carousel, everything moving fast and getting hazy. I could see Edward’s concern as he noticed my uneasiness. I wanted to scream, shout, and tell him that his treacherous father had poisoned me, but my throat had become so dry that it was hard for me to even breathe. King Stefan didn’t even bother looking at me and was giving my introductions to the guests. The guests never took their eyes off of King Stefan but Edward’s gaze was glued on me. He could sense the tension in the air. I wanted him to know how much I loved him and if I died tonight, my soul would still love him from above.
My body started feeling numb—I felt my blood drying out all of a sudden. I wasn’t even feeling King Stefan’s grip on me anymore. I just stared right into Edward’s eyes… passing my farewell to
him. The moments with him in his chamber had been the best moments of my life. I’d do anything to trade them back.
This water was diffusing like a drug in my blood—killing me slowly. My throat was burning with thirst. I had not felt so thirsty in all my life. It felt as if I had walked thousands and thousands of miles in the hot Sahara Desert, without drinking a single drop.
As King Stefan left my grip and asked me to take my seat, I collapsed in front of Edward. He noticed my palm holding my throat tightly. I couldn’t see anything more and fell on the ground, right beside him.
My eyes were closed, but I could still register the fact that the moment I dropped, Edward held me in his arms. I couldn’t see, but I could feel his arms around me—perhaps that was the only sensation I could feel at this moment.
“Myra!” he yelled my name.
Shit! What did he do? Why did he speak my name? I had no strength to open my eyes and warn him of forthcoming.
“You knew her name, Edward?” I heard the edge in King Stefan’s voice. This didn’t sound good. If I survived tonight, he’d probe about my name. Edward had mistakenly put my identity at stake.
“Somebody, fetch me water,” he screamed through the hall, ignoring King Stefan’s question. “Myra… wake up… open your eyes…” he kept patting my cheeks, “wake up, dammit, and talk to me. You’re not leaving like this.” There was an urgency in his voice. “Where were you while I was here?”
“Edward, you knew her name all along?” King Stefan’s voice grew louder and more furious.
“Dammit, you woman… open your eyes and talk to me.” Edward didn’t repeat my name and pulled me closer to his face. “Did he do something to you?” His words were no more than a whisper, but I could still hear him. I wanted to tell him the truth before dying, but I couldn’t. It was too late.
Nothing mattered to me now. What mattered was that I got to take my last breath in Edward’s arms. I let myself go, falling into a deep abyss as my soul drifted away.
“And, in the end
The love you take
is equal to the love you make.”
― Paul McCartney
EPILOGUE
KING STEFAN
Have you ever seen a dream?
Have you ever lived a dream?
Have you ever breathed a dream?
I did.
She came out of my dreams when I had lost all the hope to love.
She gave me a new purpose to live—to win her, to own her, to rule her.
She was the ultimate salvation to end my curse—my only way to reach Heaven, without passing through the rings of Hell.
She was not just a flower, but also the entire garden of pleasure that was in the poems.
If I couldn’t win her pleasure with my kindness—I’d win her with force.
If I couldn’t treasure her beauty with my charms—I’d hold her with torture.
She was my dream—mine to invade, mine to rule, mine to conquer.
At last, I had found my Holy Grail.
Author’s Note:
Would Myra survive the cursed water?
Would King Stefan ever let her go?
Would Steve ever meet Myra again?
Would Edward ever come out of his curses?
The seduction, vengeance and love between Edward and Myra continue in Once Upon A [Broken] Time.
If you enjoyed the book, kindly review it on Amazon and Goodreads.
OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR
A Silent Prayer and A Prayer Heeded are the multiple award-winning books:
Winner — 2014 Readers' Favorite International Book Awards
Winner — 2014 Los Angeles Book Festival
Winner — 2014 Paris Book Festival
Winner — 2014 Hollywood Book Festival
Honorable Mention — 2014 New York Book Festival
Honorable Mention—2014 Great Midwest Book Festival
"An intense, joltingly modern love story." —Kirkus
"This is a love story with a twist - perhaps one of the most unusual love stories I have ever read."
—Raheel Raza, freelance Journalist & documentary filmmaker
"I think A Silent Prayer by Samreen Ahsan is destined to become a classic in the romance genre."
—Readers' Favorite
“A powerfully written modern day romance with a strong spiritual element. Highly recommended.”
—The Wishing Shelf Awards
“Samreen Ahsan gives their love story a series of obstacles, but a love as powerful and inevitable as gravity pulls them together. Five stars!” — Scott Bury, Author of Army of Worn Soles
"Once I started reading this book it was very hard to put down." — Books and Beyond Fifty Shades Blog
"Samreen Ahsan's A Silent Prayer gets 5 stars hands down!" — Julies Book Review
Adam Gibson is a young and powerful Toronto millionaire. Despite his many blessings, he is an atheist, though he has an altruistic soul. He denies there is a God—until he meets a beautiful stranger in a place that does not exist for anyone but him.
Rania Ahmed strongly believes in God, but has lost hope she will ever find her soul mate. Endowed with hypnotic beauty and cursed by a brutal past, Rania has no idea she has cast a spell on Adam, who has never received more from a woman than physical pleasure. As Adam slowly discovers the true meaning of love from Rania, he begins to face his demons and reconsider his beliefs. He learns to love, forgive and repent. But as Adam grows closer to Rania, a series of strange, unexplained events threatens to drive them apart. To keep her from being destroyed by her past, he must persuade her to trust him with her deepest secrets.
In this captivating and thrilling romance, an atheist embarks on a path of enlightenment with a tormented soul who may just have the power to change everything he has ever believed to be true.
Download the book from Amazon or read on Wattpad.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
History, art and literature are my passions. I love digging out information about prophecies, divine miracles and paranormal events that are mentioned in history and holy books, that don't sound possible in today's modern world.
Since childhood, I have been into reading and writing—and yes, it can't happen without imagination, which luckily has no boundaries. Dance and music are also pastimes I enjoy, as well as reading romance fiction. I love to travel and explore historical cities. I currently live in Toronto, Canada.
A Prayer Series is my first story about paranormal events based on Islamic concepts and is also a multiple award-winning series.
[Stolen] Series is my second story—a romantic fantasy fairy tale.
I am the official judge of World's Best Story
For more information regarding social media contacts, visit: www.samreenahsan.com
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