Page 12 of Her Dark Promise

I wrapped myself in my favorite black robe, not bothering with any other clothing as I watched Callum from the front steps of the castle leave with a shovel and other essentials in a bag slung over his shoulder.

Anger flooded as I watched Callum turn into a speck in the distance. The fact that I couldn’t follow him did nothing to help my already foul mood. Anything could happen in those woods. And if he—

I grunted, flew down the stairs, and walked around the castle until I spotted my greenhouse on the North side. I needed to calm my nerves and the only way to do that was to stick to my routine.

Wake up. Eat. Garden. Eat. Fuck Callum. Sleep.

This routine was theonlything that kept me sane enough to not harm the two souls whose lives I promised to watch over. To keep my powers at bay. I only used enough to purge any excess energy. Though it made my life incredibly monotonous and predictable, it was a necessary evil to ensure that I didn’t lose myself again.

I couldn’t get lost in my magic again.

Something that I hated more than showing my feelings was the loss of control over my life. Feelings were nothing more than a distraction; an unnecessary emotion that clouded all judgment. And that’s when mistakes were made, that’s when you put everything that you have ever held dear to you on the line…because offeelings.

And for that reason, I found them to be repulsive and insignificant—a weakness.

I wrenched open the doors to the expansive greenhouse that was about nine feet tall and twelve feet wide. The walls weremade of a special glass that I created with my magic that would allow me to see the outside world, but kept anyone from seeing inside. I didn’t want anyone to be able to see me while I was off in my own little world.

I had built the greenhouse when I read books on herbology years ago after nearly destroying my home. It only started with a few plants, but as my knowledge grew, so did they. It looked like a jungle, things that I used to read about in books. At least, what I imagined a jungle to look like.

I had unintentionally created a place where the voices couldn’t reach me.Thatvoice couldn’t penetrate the glass walls. I wasn’t sure why. Sometimes I wondered if she was showing me kindness, a small moment in the day where my madness couldn’t haunt me. After all, she was kind once.

I cleared my mind as I held up a piece of theeuphorbia miliiin my hand that had thorns all over the stem, and thoughts of last night invaded my mind again. The smug look on their faces as the miscreants boasted about exactly how they murdered Mariam.

Fuck.

How the look of surprise made them light up with glee at the fun they were going to have. The sound their blade made when they sliced her neck open. The pure blood lust for anyone whom they could overpower.

Just like that day…

I felt something wet running down my hand—blood. I was so focused on thinking about the couple that I didn’t realize the thorns had cut deep into my hands from squeezing so tightly. I didn’t move as I stared at my cut-up palm as the sting of the pain went away along with the closing of the wound. As if an expert healer had stitched me up good as new. Not a trace left.

I grabbed a cloth off the work table on the side of the greenhouse facing the back of the castle. I yelped when I foundEmilia to be directly behind me, my own personal little ghost. My bloody hand dug into my chest as if I could reach into my chest and grip my beating heart.

Once my breathing had slowed, I said, “If I didn’t know any better, I would assume that you took at least a tiny bit of joy in scaring both of us with your antics.”

“You were lost in thought. I didn’t want to bother you.”

I glanced sideways at her and tilted my head. “Oh really? So, all those other times?”

She looked down as her cheeks reddened. I scoffed, knowing that I had caught her in a lie.

She was the only one that I allowed such informalities.

She bowed, walked to a large pot on the work table, and got busy tending to one of the plants. We worked in comfortable silence as the sun sped across the sky from behind the thick plume of fog. I could barely focus on the dirt beneath my fingernails as my foot couldn’t stop its incessant tapping.

Callum should have been back by now. Unless…something went wrong.

No. Now wasn’t the time. Worrying would do no good.

I could feel myself spiraling and I closed my eyes as I heard Emilia clear her throat. “I thought about what you said.” I slowly opened my eyes and looked at her. She was staring at her fingers. “You’re right.”

But I didn’t want to be right. I wanted to give her what she wanted, but not at the expense of the children. They did nothing. They were just names drawn from hysterics to be sacrificed to a forest to appeasela bête.

She took another deep breath before saying, “Let me take over for Mariam, and I promise you, if I should find any information about the men that hurt me, I will bring it to you before doing anything brash.”

I waited, and let the words settle. I wanted to trust them… I did. I hesitated and she saw it.

“You promised me revenge.”

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