He smiles, “Rigley is our geographer, he will know if any other world exists, or if anybody knows of another.”
We make our way toward the men and I am introduced to Rigley. I ask him immediately about this other world. He frowns and instantly my heart sinks. I do not wish Sybilla to be mentally unstable, but if I cannot have knowledge of this world past what the witches claim, I do not know if I will ever believe her.
“There are other worlds, Yer Highness,” he whispers. “Though, as far as I know, they have all perished.”
“All?” I ask.
He tilts his head to the side, his lips twitching into a toothless smile. “All but one. It is said to be vastly unappealing. The cruelty of man is beyond what we could fathom and yet they think of themselves as pious people. That is all that I know, you may be better off to ask your witches. Though, I do not truly believe that it exists, I think it all be lore,” he says with a shrug.
I wonder if he’s right, then I remember the way Sybilla talked, the things that she said. I recall the fantastical concept of her plumbing.
Perhaps the celibate is wrong, perhaps it is not lore, but in fact a truth. I will have to ask Sybilla more probing questions about her land, about the people there, and demand straightforward answers from her on all fronts.
Somehow, I am going to have to trust the witch. I am going to have to do something that I do not believe in, something that I do not believe is possible. Somehow, I am going to have to fall in love with her, true, pure love.
Chapter Seventeen
SYBILLA
Who would have thought that six weeks would fly by, but they have, in a flash. Elias was right about one thing that he said before he left, several months just aren’t that long here. Merek laughs behind me, breaking me of my thoughts.
He’s sitting behind me on the horse, we’re sharing a saddle. I’m sure that Elias would be furious, but then again, he ditched me, so maybe not. I haven’t ridden much, my first time on this beast was just two weeks ago and apparently, I’m an extremely slow learner.
Merek is holding the reins, trying to show me how to guide the horse. Though, he thought it was hilarious when I asked how to steer the darned thing.
They don’t steer many things here, probably because they don’t have cars or steering wheels. He murmurs to me to squeeze my thighs and for whatever reason, the suggestion seems so sexual it’s unnerving.
“Just tug slightly, Sybilla, guide her,” he rasps.
I do as he instructs and Lightning, my mare, goes in the exact direction that I want. I let out a small squeal of excitement, causing Merek to laugh again, this time a bit louder and huskier all at the same time.
I’ve grown close to Merek, though I have no doubt that he still finds me exasperating. I get it, I’m kind of a pain in the ass, always have been according to my daddy. But these guys need to cut me a little bit of slack, I’ve never experienced this kind of life before.
Looking forward, I let out a sigh as the blue-leafed trees sparkle in front of us. We’re headed back to the castle from town. My eyes soak up all the beauty that this world has to offer, glittering beauty.
The snow is starting to melt, purple grass is starting to grow from the ground and I caused quite a stir when I screamed and freaked out over that little sight the first time that I saw it. All in all, this place is pretty sweet, and super colorful.
The animals kind of freak me out, and there’s still no indoor plumbing. I’ve had my period, which was not the best thing in a world with no tampons, but I’m not knocked up, so there’s that.
Everything glitters, but I’m starting to get used to it and I’m starting to fall in love with it all. Everything is just so much brighter and prettier here. It’s sunshiny and bright every day, warm and just plain beautiful.
My days have been spent going to town visiting children, and starting today, I began to visit people who were homebound. People who were either too old, too sick, or too disabled to leave their homes.
It’s been rewarding in a way that I didn’t think was possible. I never envisioned myself a do-gooder, or a people person, but I am having the most fun just listening and talking to them, all of them, young and old, big and small.
“If you were not my cousin’s wife, Sybilla…” Merek begins. I shake my head, not wanting to hear anymore, but he continues anyway. “I love Elias, since we were boys, always. He is not an easy man, he has never had much kindness bestowed upon him, which I think is why he is not sure how to bestow it upon others. He is a good man, a fair one, and one day you will break past his gates.”
“Gates?” I ask, knowing damn well that he means walls.
“They’re ironclad, Sybilla, but I think if anyone could melt that iron into liquid rubble, it would be you.”
Thankfully, he doesn’t say anything else to me. He throws his leg over the horse before he helps me down, reaching up, he wraps his hands around my waist and picks me up off of the horse before he sets me down on my feet.
Merek’s hands linger on my waist as his eyes search my own. “The dressmaker has done a wonderful job on your new wardrobe, though I must admit that I miss the way the others fit.” He grins, waggling his brows at me.
I gasp, feigning offense. Merek releases me and takes a step back just in time for Rowan’s growl to come from the front steps of the castle. Both of us turn to him, but his glare is focused on Merek and nowhere else.
Jasmine appears almost instantly and hurries toward me. “Your Highness,” she curtsies. “I believe it’s time for your tea,” she lies.
Looking between the two men who seem to be having a stare down, I take Jasmine’s lead and follow behind her, making my way inside. She doesn’t speak right away, instead she guides me toward my chamber.
She steps to the side, and I lift my gaze to see Aleida and Godiva sitting at the small table in the room, Katrina and Ellyn are standing in the corner, their eyes wide. Something is very wrong.
“What is it?” I practically cry out.
“Close the door, Jasmine,” Godiva gently demands.
I don’t move, my eyes are focused on the witches and nowhere else. A few weeks ago, I met with them alone. It wasn’t anything extra special, I just wanted to know all the details of the prophecy that they had knowledge of.
They are hiding something from me though, I knew it a few weeks ago, and judging by the way they are watching me, I’m about to find out what it is.
“We sense things,” Aleida announces.
“Sense things?” I ask with a frown.
They nod simultaneously. I take a step back, but Jasmine is behind me, her fingers wrapping around my biceps as she holds me in place. I shake my head, wondering what the fuck is going on here. I’m just about to demand that they tell me what the hell is going on, when Godiva rises to her feet.
She takes a few steps toward me, stopping directly in front of me before she dips her head, her eyes clashing with mine. I gasp at the sight.
They’re swirling purple and black, her actual eyes are fucking swirling with different colors. My entire body freezes and Jasmine’s fingers grip me even tighter as my legs start to shake at the sight.
Godiva reaches out and I pinch my eyes closed as her hand touches my chest. I feel my entire body warm at her touch. Then my back arches, my torso pushing forward toward her. She hums, her voice smooth and calming as my heart begins to slow down from its rapid beating.
“Open your eyes, Your Highness,” she rasps.
I force my eyes to open and am greeted to the sight of her now brown eyes and kind smile aimed at me. She tilts her head to the side, watching me with a smile.
“You will be all right. We were worried,” she admits.
“Worried?” I ask.
Aleida steps forward, her hands wringing together at her waist. “You and Merek have become very close. If the warrior and his bride do not fall in love, the prophecy will not begin to unfold.”
“I thought you didn’t want it to unfold?” I as
k.
Aleida grins and Godiva full-on smiles. “We want what is meant to be, to be. The prophecy must unfold if it is meant to. However, sometimes people put walls up around their hearts when true love isn’t what they expected it to be, or when they expected it to happen.”
“You broke down my walls?” I ask.
Godiva shakes her head. “Nay, Your Majesty. All I did was look inside your true heart to see if you held affection other than friendship for our dear Merek.”
“And?”
She shakes her head. “You know the answer to that, but we had to be sure. If the prophecy is resisted, if it is ignored, or if one partner shuns the other out of anger, it can have dire consequences, we needed to make sure that wasn’t about to happen, and it isn’t. You have deep growing feelings for our king.”
I snort. “Bullshit,” I bark. “I hardly know the man.”
Aleida takes a step forward, at the same time Jasmine releases my arms. Aleida takes my hand in hers and squeezes gently.
“He is not an easy man to love. His heart is so closed off that I cannot sense his feelings at all, whether it be love or hate, Your Majesty. I do know that as a child he was full of loud feelings. They would practically glow around him. One day they will return, when he finally allows himself to love, to trust, to hope.”
“Since I haven’t seen him in a month and a half, I’m not holding my breath for any of that to happen,” I admit, my voice softer and full of more hurt than I would like to admit.
The witches don’t say another word. In fact, they leave me standing in the middle of my room, feeling out of place. When the door closes, I hear the lock being flipped into place, then I’m surrounded by my girls.
“What was that?” Ellyn asks sliding her arm around my shoulders.
“I don’t know,” I whisper.
Jasmine clears her throat and I lift my gaze to meet hers. “Merek is smitten with you, it is perfectly clear,” she says. “He is also loyal to King Elias and would never betray him.”
“He’s told me that he loves Elias, deeply,” I admit. “I don’t know what I would do without Merek’s help. He has helped to make this place feel almost like home. You girls have aided in making me feel almost happy to stay here.”
“Almost?” Katrina asks, obviously a bit upset by my words.
Smiling, I reach toward her and take her hand in mine. “Sisters. I miss my sisters, that’s all. If they were here, even with Elias being a giant dickhead, I would be blissfully happy.”
Katrina’s eyes widen at the same time Ellyn giggles. “Dickhead?” Jasmine asks.
Grinning, I shift my gaze to the side, then bring it back to them. “Asshole, jerk, mean, dickhead.”
“I think I like your phrases.” Katrina laughs.
“Are you hungry, Sybilla?” Jasmine asks.
Shaking my head, I take a step back from them. “I don’t know what I am, but I feel funny,” I whisper.
“Funny?”
Placing my hand on my lower belly, I begin to sway and then before I realize what’s happened, I’m falling and I’m unable to catch myself before everything goes black.
ELIAS
I gasp, leaning forward and emptying the contents of my stomach. Something is wrong, very wrong.
“Elias?” Lief asks, guiding his stallion toward my side.
Sitting up, my entire body sways. Squeezing my thighs, I force myself to stay on the back of my steed. My gaze lifts to meet Lief’s. “I’m fine,” I rasp.
He shakes his head once. “You are not,” he announces.
“We will make our way back to Aerilon, back to the castle. We must keep riding,” I slur.
Frowning, I wonder why I’m slurring. I’ve not imbibed this morning, and last night I only had one ale before I went to bed, alone—always gods damned alone. Lief shakes his head again, then I watch as he looks behind him from over his shoulder.
“We make camp,” he shouts.
“Nay,” I attempt to protest.
Lief’s eyes shift back to meet mine. “You are in no condition to ride. You probably ate something soured, Elias. One night’s rest will do you good.”
I want to protest, but my words are cut off with a groan. Practically falling off of my horse, I embarrass myself as I stumble toward a tree trunk and slowly sink down to my backside. Leaning back, my head bounces against the bark of the tree with a thud as I close my eyes.
It doesn’t take long for me to fall asleep. I can’t shake the feeling that something is very wrong, very off, but I’m too tired to try and figure out an explanation.
“We ride,” a voice shouts.
My eyes are so heavy that I can’t even force them to open. I know not of what is going on or why, but I suddenly feel my body being lifted and jostled before everything goes black again.
I hear hooves pounding the ground, sticks and leaves crackling beneath the pressure, my body rocks from side to side, my stomach protesting each and every move, but my eyes are too heavy to open. Eventually, everything goes completely black, again.
Inhaling a deep breath, my eyes open and I sit straight up, my heart racing in my chest. “Elias,” a sweet voice whispers from the darkness. “Calm, my dear heart.”
Frowning, I slowly lay back down onto the soft mattress before I turn to the side and try to make out the dark figure next to me. I feel a wet cloth placed against my forehead, as she shushes me.
“Where am I?” I demand.
She laughs, her voice familiar and husky. I feel out of sorts. I can’t place her voice or the room that I’m currently laying in. I feel my eyes becoming heavy again and my body jerks as I attempt to physically fight my way out of the haze that has begun to take over, again.
“Don’t fight it, my dear heart. I’ve given you a sleeping draught; you need your rest to heal. You’ll wake in the morning and I will be at your side when you do.”
It hits me, slams into me and my stomach rolls when I realize where I am and who is next to me—Duraina.
Chapter Eighteen
ELIAS
My entire body jerks, my stomach clenches and I let out a groan as I sit straight up. Sweat pours off of me as I attempt to breathe in and out, calming my heart. “Elias?” that voice whispers.
Turning my head to the side, I wince as I see her standing next to me. She’s wringing her hands together, her eyes watching me, full of hope. I should strangle my men for bringing me here, they should know better.
“Duraina,” I murmur.
She shakes her head, reaching for me. “It is meant to be,” she says, rushing forward, throwing herself to the floor at the side of the bed. “I heard a commotion outside and I saw you. Frederick recognized me. I demanded you be brought here so that I could tend to you. I love you, Elias.”
My eyes stay focused on her, but I don’t show her any emotion, the fact is that I have none for her. Duraina is a nice woman, she’s warm and soft where she needs to be. She accepted me inside of her body and didn’t cause any trouble, which was why I kept coming back to her, but I hold no true affection for her.
“I’ve already told you that I was to be married and now I am.”
Her lips twitch before she sucks them in. “She is not with child, Elias,” she whispers. “Annul the farce or put me in the mistress house at the back of the property. I can make you happy,” she promises, then she reached for my hand, guiding it to her belly as she straightens her spine.
“I can give you children, immediately if you want them. I have a potion that I can take to ensure that we conceive straight away, my dear heart.”
I yank my hand away with a quick jerk. Throwing my legs over the opposite side of the bed, I let out a grunt as my stomach clenches again.
Something is wrong with me. I have never felt this way before. I’ve been sick from illness and from spoiled food, but neither has ever made me feel the way that I do right now.
My stomach feels sick, but there is an emptiness that I’ve felt the past six weeks, except it’s sudd
enly intensified. Duraina’s hand touches the center of my back, a hand that used to be a welcome touch does naught but cause my stomach to pain me even further.
Shrugging her off, I stand and cringe as my thighs shake. “Where are my clothes, madam?” I ask, not turning around.
“Elias, please, I beg of you. Don’t do this, we are not finished, you and me,” she whispers as she moves around her small home.
I ignore her words, refusing to answer her. Refusing to acknowledge her. I’ve already given her my time, my words and my reasoning for ending the very discrete semblance of what she considers a relationship and what I considered physical relief.
My clothes appear out of the corner of my eye and I quickly snatch them from her grasp before I dress. Once I’m completely covered, I turn to face her.
She’s making herself appear small, but I know her, or at least women like her. She will appear meek for me right now because that is what she thinks I desire.
Duraina would never be my paramour, even if I were to have one. I would choose someone who could hold my attention, make me smile, and match me in all ways. Duraina does none of those things. She was a bit of fun, nothing more. A bit of fun that I paid for.
“Thank you for caring for me last night, madam,” I announce woodenly. She takes a step forward, but I hold up my hand to halt her in place. “Do not, Duraina. You have said your piece, I have listened, but there is naught between us. I do not want to know how you have come to know that my Queen does not carry my heir. Nor do I believe in potions like the one you’re suggesting to conceive. Some things need to happen naturally.”
Her eyes widen and then fill with wetness. “I know because the news is all over town. Everyone wants there to be an heir. You’d left and the news was all over when her cycle appeared. She is strange and she is a stranger to our country. You need someone who is a friend to your people, Elias.”
“Cease in speaking to me so informally, madam. My wife’s courses are none of your concern, or anyone else’s. Also, she is a stranger to this country, because she is a foreign bride, as many are who marry royalty. Not that my personal affairs are any of your business,” I snap haughtily.
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