Morning ca gray and cold but not the couple of darkeness; their love was warm and soothing.
The ocean’s mist curled over the damp sand like ghostly fingers.
Alaric and Salviana returned to the group hand in hand, their clothes no longer clinging to them from yesterday’s swim and the chilly night.
The others were gathered by a small fire Jean had sohow managed to coax back to life, their faces drawn and tired.
There were nine of them now, Alaric, Salviana, Lucius, Jean, Jess, and the four rescued ones: Emma, Sarah, Samion, and Jaefel.
Everyone looked at one another in tense silence, the unspoken questions heavy in the air.
Finally, Alaric crossed his arms and demanded, "Start talking."
Samion and Jaefel exchanged a grim glance.
It was Samion who spoke first, his voice rough and hoarse.
"We ran," he said. "From the castle."
Alaric’s jaw tensed.
"You ran?" he said dangerously.
"You abandoned your post?"
Samion winced but pressed on.
"If we had stayed, we would have been slaughtered. They would have covered it up, said we resisted orders or betrayed the crown. We had no choice."
Jaefel nodded fiercely.
"We had to co find you, my prince. To warn you. To make sure you didn’t return unprepared."
Alaric’s fists clenched at his sides, his body practically vibrating with fury.
"You think abandoning the castle was loyalty?" he snarled.
"You think leaving the chambers and whoever we had and risking your life like this, was the answer?"
Samion swallowed hard, guilt flashing across his face.
Salviana touched Alaric’s arm gently.
"Let them finish," she said softly.
Alaric’s shoulders rose and fell with heavy breaths.
He stepped back, but the rage didn’t leave his eyes.
Salviana turned her gaze toward the knights.
"Why?" she asked. Her voice was steady but low, her red hair whipping around her face in the morning breeze.
"Why did the king declare a bounty on us? Why are we traitors in the kingdom we gave nothing ut loyalty to?"
Samion hesitated, and in that hesitation, his gaze flickered to Lucius.
Lucius’s face remained impassive, his blue eyes unreadable under the shadows of his dark lashes.
Samion seed to gather himself and spoke.
"They found Prince Jaron dead."
The words struck like a slap in the freezing air.
Salviana stiffened.
Her mouth opened, but no sound ca out.
She shook her head slowly. "No."
Samion’s voice was heavy with dread.
"They found him in the dungeons, your grace. Murdered. And..."
He paused, almost unable to finish.
"...and they bla you, my prince," he said, looking at Alaric.
Alaric didn’t move.
It was as if soone had carved him from stone, only the tightening of his jaw revealing any reaction at all.
"That’s impossible," Jess burst out, her voice high with panic.
Jean shook her head, "Alaric was with us! He didn’t even see Jaron! He didn’t, he—"
Lucius let out a breath through his nose, a dry, bitter sound.
"Facts an nothing when soone needs a scapegoat," Jess said sadly.
Salviana pressed a trembling hand to her chest.
Her stomach twisted violently.
Jaron.
Dead.
Her brother-in-law who had tried to kill her.
Dead.
And Alaric , her husband, being blad for it.
She saw why he could be blad, they’ll say it was from a place of revenge for what Jaron did to his wife.
"But," she rasped, shaking her head.
"But Alaric is the third prince. Jaron was the fourth. He didn’t even want, "
"It doesn’t matter what he wanted," Jaefel said quietly.
"Soone needed a reason to clean house."
Samion looked grim.
"And your sudden departure, your absence from the capital, it made it easier to paint you as guilty. They say you fled justice."
"We fled poison," Salviana whispered.
Her knees buckled, and Alaric caught her instantly, pulling her into his arms.
He didn’t say anything, just held her tightly, his body vibrating with a fury so fierce it made Lucius, Jess, and even Jean wary.
Silence fell, thick and choking.
Lucius t Alaric darkened gaze and he knew they were having the sa thought, ’Fuck!’
Jean poked at the fire listlessly with a stick.
"We can’t go back," she said eventually, voice hollow.
"No," Lucius agreed. His umbrella was gone now, his pale skin taking on a strange sharpness under the morning light.
"Not yet."
Jess hugged herself tightly, teeth chattering.
"Then what do we do?"
Alaric finally spoke.
His voice was low, cold, and clear.
"We survive," he said.
"We find a way to clear our nas. To burn the ones who set this up."
His hand found Salviana’s.
"And we do not," he said, eyes flashing, "let them tear us apart."
Salviana lifted her chin, still pale but resolute.
"Then we move," she said. "We find shelter. We find allies. And we find the truth."
She touched her flat stomach absently , the future she hadn’t even had with Alaric yet still within her.
’We will not die here’
Alaric however thought about how hard finding the truth will be.
The wind whistled around their small huddle, carrying with it the salt of the sea and the heavy weight of dread.
For a mont, there was only the crackling of the fire and the distant cries of gulls.
Then Jean spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.
"But... where’s Thalia and Heappal?"
Everyone turned sharply.
Sarah and Emma froze, tears welling instantly in their wide, exhausted eyes.
"You left them behind?" Alaric wondered out loud.
Jaefel swallowed hard, his voice cracking as he answered.
"As we ran from the hunters... they heard about the bounty, they wanted us badly, we got separated."
Sarah wiped at her cheeks, her voice shaking.
"We... we lost them. In the chaos, we couldn’t find Thalia and Heappal. They were right behind us and then, "
She broke off, sobbing softly.
"They’re not dead!" Emma said fiercely, although her voice trembled.
"They’re sowhere in Wyfn-Garde. We believe that. We have to."
The group fell into stunned silence, the ache of it weighing heavier than the cold itself.
Jean slowly lifted her hand to her mouth, rembering.
"The painting," she breathed, looking at Salviana.
"The one you made... yesterday morning."
>>>>>>
Dearest Readers,
I don’t know if this is going to work but can you comnt a sentence in this book that you read and absolutely loved or still rember?
it’s for the MTD gabook, please
Thank you.
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