Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Reunited

I sleep so well that night. I wake feeling rested, rejuvenated, more at ease with my new prison state. I get up and wash as the maid brings breakfast in, and I ask for her help with my dress.

I have worn all the easy-to-put-on ones, and the ones that are left require greater flexibility than even I can manage to get them done up.

She smiles, assisting me, and then I glance at the food. It’s more fruit.

“Is this normal for your breakfast?” I ask.

“Not exactly,” she replies.

“What is normal?”

She winces slightly before she answers. “We usually serve hot food in the Great Hall. Porridge, bread, meat, and….” She hesitates as I frown.

“And what?” I ask.

“Fish,” she says quietly as if she is afraid to admit it.

“Why do you worry about saying that?” I say.

“Because you come from the sea,” she squeaks, and I can’t help but laugh.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t eat fish,” I say.

She’s flushed to a deep shade of scarlet now. “I’m sorry,” she mumbles.

“It’s fine. But tomorrow can I have some hot food, please?” I ask, and she nods.

“Do you want…” She trails off again.

“Yes, fish would be good,” I say, and she smiles before curtseying and leaving so quickly that I think I really have frightened her.

I sit down and eat the fruit. It’s not that I don’t like it, but the thought of a normal breakfast makes my mouth water so much more.

When I am done, we head back out, back into the castle, back to the gardens. I don’t push it this time and only stay as long as it takes to walk around a few times.

I want to see the menagerie today. To listen to the birds, to watch them fly.

We walk back out, and I’m tempted to swing by the library first, so if I decide I want to stay and read a book there, I at least have the option.

“Kera,” a voice shouts out, and I turn in shock as I recognize it.

“Amera?” I gasp.

She’s standing right there, down the corridor, wearing a beautiful dress, with her hair braided and a coronet glinting. She looks regal, resplendent, almost.

Two men are there beside her, but she ignores them both as she runs to me, and my guards step back to allow her through.

“I can’t believe it’s you,” I say as she hugs me tightly. I don’t think she’s ever hugged me before. She used to hate me. But now everything has changed.

The two men follow her. I don’t know who either of them is, but I can sense their power and their curiosity too as they watch us.

Neither of them is a king; I can tell that much. Neither of them is a warlord either: their bodies are too small, their power not strong enough.

But as they watch me, someone else comes up and I am hit with that same overwhelming rush of emotions as always.

I meet his amber eyes as they watch the interaction between us. His lips are curled as if he is amused. My breath is coming so fast, I can feel my heart rate increasing second by second.

I look away from him. I have to.

After losing my temper, after throwing those objects at him, Helos could have seriously punished me, but he didn’t.

And then literally the day after that it looks like I am spying on him. I am mortified, but I’m also perplexed. Everything about him confuses me and I don’t want to see him right now.

“Amera,” the man says quietly, taking her wrist, and I look down at his hand before glaring at him.

“It’s okay. He won’t hurt me,” Amera says quickly, seeing the look on my face.

I frown even more as she leans into him like she actually likes this man. What the hell is this?

“We should go. The Council is meeting,” the man states, but Amera shakes her head.

“Can I stay, please?” she asks.

He hesitates as if he is thinking and then he glances at King Helos, who shrugs.

“You don’t need me there. Not at the start anyway. And you can make the decisions without me,” Amera adds.

The man smiles. “Fine. Stay, but not for long,” he says.

She practically beams at him before kissing him lightly on the lips. I know my eyes widen in shock because Helos is smirking at me as if my reaction is funny and I can’t help but glare at him.

The men thankfully leave and Amera pulls me down the corridor back to the gardens, leaving my guards to scramble around to protect me.

There are so many things I want to ask her. So many things I want to say, but with the guards this close, Helos’s guards, I don’t dare.

We walk back into the gardens and she pulls me down onto a bench, away from everyone, by the wall. The guards move around us, forming a sort of circle of protection.

I look at her then, and I don’t even know what to say, where to start, how to begin.

“Oh, Kera.” She gasps, hugging me again. “I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” I ask, confused.

“For how I treated you. I was so horrible. I didn’t realize what you were. I had no idea.”

“It’s all in the past,” I say because it is.

I barely remember it, the resentment, the snide comments… it pales in significance to what I’ve been through, what we’ve both been through.

“No, it’s not. I was so nasty and jealous of you,” she says and I shake my head. It doesn’t matter now.

“I didn’t know what you were. My father never told me,” she says, glancing at my hair.

“He kept it secret. He did it to protect me,” I say.

“And he never…” She hesitates.

I frown before shaking my head violently. “No. Never. He never looked at me like that, treated me like that. He was a good man,” I state.

She frowns too like she’s not quite convinced, though she clearly wants to believe it.

“And now he’s dead,” she says quietly and I sigh, fighting back my tears because I don’t want to cry right now in front of all these people.

“I don’t understand it. How are you here?” I ask.

She gives me a small smile. “King Helos did it. He did it all. Brandar, the man who bought me at that auction, is his cousin. He was kind to me; he didn’t force me to do anything.

“And when King Helos heard what’d happened, the battle, the auction, all of it, he was furious. He demanded all the women were set free.”

“What?” I gasp.

I don’t believe it. It can’t be true.

“Brandar didn’t want to let me go, and because of who our families are, it made sense for us to be betrothed,” Amera says.

I gasp again, but I have no words to exclaim.

“I don’t love him,” she states, meeting my eyes. “But he has been kind to me and this way I can still rule my father’s kingdom.”

“Is it what you want, though?” I ask, finding my voice. “To marry him?”

She shrugs. “I’m a princess, my father’s sole heir. I always knew my marriage would be one of politics, not love. Brandar is kind, caring. He wants us to rule together. Jointly.

“I could do much worse than him and this way my people are safe too. I can rebuild what those men destroyed. I can rebuild my home and have my own family.”

I look at her face as she’s speaking and I can see she is genuine. She does want it, this marriage, this man. She seems happy, content, at peace.

“I’m so happy that you’re safe. I was so worried for you,” I say.

“Nothing bad happened to me. King Helos made sure of it,” Amera replies.

I sigh, looking away. This king, this man, is a mystery to me. His behavior, his words—nothing he does makes any sense.

“He leads the Council,” I say, glancing to see how close the guards are before I bad-mouth him further. “He knew what they were going to do.”

“No, he didn’t. It wasn’t even the Council that attacked. It was a few players, a few kings and warlords who saw an opportunity and decided to take it.”

I shake my head. I can see it again: King Rufus as they butcher him, as he lies dying, and I can’t even comfort him, can’t get close to him.

I had to stay in my hiding place, quiet and unmoving, and then, when the coast was clear, I crept away, like a coward, like he had meant nothing.

“He can’t hurt you now,” she says quietly, and as she places her hand gently on mine, I jump as her skin touches mine.

“Who?” I ask quietly because there are so many of them who would hurt me. All those kings, all those warlords, every single member of the Council.

“Lord Issar,” she says.

I flinch at the name, my fear spiking even though I know there’s no need to feel it in this moment.

“I promise you Helos won’t let him near you,” she states.

I shake my head and fight back the emotion that rages within me at the sound of his name.

“You don’t know that,” I reply.

“I do. As soon as he knew what you were and who had you, he raised his army to get you back.”

“What do you mean ‘as soon as he knew’? How did he know? How did anyone know?” I ask. My voice is rising and I can see the guards tensing around me.

“The girl from the auction. She realized after what you were and let it slip. Half the Council didn’t believe her. They thought it was a lie, some sort of joke, but Helos didn’t want to take any chances.

“And now”—she glances at my hair again—“Now everyone who looks at you knows it is real.”

“I wish they didn’t. I don’t want them to know. I don’t want anyone to know,” I state.

“Why?” Amera asks.

I wonder then how innocent she is, how much she knows of the world of kings and men.

“Wars have been fought over my kind. People kill just to possess someone like me. I have no safety, no peace. I will be hunted now until the day I die,” I say, gasping because I’m trying not to let my voice choke in my throat.

“No. That won’t be your fate. My father kept you safe before and now King Helos will keep you safe here.”

“No, he won’t,” I reply. “He is not like your father. He won’t keep me safe.”

She shakes her head but doesn’t argue with me any further. We both know time will prove which one of us is correct anyway.

“How long will you stay here?” I ask her, changing the subject because I don’t want to argue either.

“For the moment, I will remain here. Brandar will probably have to return, but hopefully not for long. We have a castle to rebuild.

“When everything is back to normal, we hope to do what my father did: spend the summers here with the Council and winters in our own lands. And in the meantime, we can actually spend time together,” she says.

I smile. “If that’s what you want,” I say.

“Yes. I feel like I have a lot of making up to you,” she starts and I go to argue, but she holds her hand to silence me. “And I’m starting by sorting out your wardrobe.”

“What?” I say, laughing, and she grins.

“I don’t know who has been sourcing your clothes, but that dress is awful,” she states.

“Oh, I know, but you should see the rest of my dresses. This is one of the better options,” I reply.

“Gods,” she says.

I laugh.

“In that case, I will send some of my dresses to your rooms,” she says.

“No, you don’t have to,” I reply.

“Nonsense. I have too many already and I would rather you had some.”

“Thank you,” I say as we both notice someone approaching and my guards suddenly starting to respond. The man mutters to the guards and they nod before glancing at Amera.

She stands. “I have to go. The Council is summoning me.”

I stand too.

“Let’s meet tomorrow. I’ll be free in the afternoon,” she says. “And I will have those dresses sent to you as soon as I get back to my rooms.”

She hugs me tight and I watch her go. I still can’t quite get my head around everything she has said.

I look at the guards and they are watching me as if they want me to leave too.

“Fine,” I mutter. It’s not like I wanted to stay anyway.

***

I am in the bath again when Amera’s maid arrives and I get out to find the dresses laid out carefully in the dressing room for me.

I’m five years older than her, and though our frames are slightly different, our heights are similar enough. I hold the first up. It’s so close to my old dresses, the ones I used to wear at King Rufus’s castle.

It cuts nicely over my cleavage, not high, but not low either. It cinches in at the waist, and the material is lighter, more flowing. The colors are softer too.

Instead of the dark autumnal hues of my current wardrobe, these dresses are more summery, pastel-colored, and much better suited to my skin tone.

I sigh, thinking about what Amera said. That Helos wasn’t there, at the siege, at the battle. That he hadn’t sanctioned what they did to Rufus.

And that he wasn’t at the auction either.

For some reason, that sticks in my head. He didn’t see what that girl did, the nymph, and how my body responded. He didn’t see the wanton siren, splayed and made to perform for their enjoyment.

I don’t know if I am relieved or not because enough of them were there. Enough of the Council, warlords, and kings too. They saw, they watched, and I have no doubt they enjoyed every minute of my humiliation.

I put the dress down and carry the blankets over to the bed. I’m tired of sleeping on the hard floor. I don’t know if Helos will come, but I’m done hiding, forcing myself to endure discomfort because of what I think he might do.

I curl up in the bed and practically groan as the softness of it envelops me, as if the very mattress is giving me a hug.

The pillows are so perfectly fluffy, and with the blanket over me, I am so content it takes me barely minutes to drift off into the heaviest sleep I have had in a while.