Page 85 of Of Song and Scepter
Enna
Soren moves me tohis bedchamber, where I pass in and out of sleep, cocooned in the yellow light streaming through his balcony doors. I’m exhausted—body and soul.
My location has caught the attention of Soren’s fan club—his scowling mother, Clio, and the smug Captain Nara who stands outside his door. The females leave me to rest, for the most part, but occasionally, while I’m half-awake, the door creaks open and I can feel their gaze on me, studying from afar.
In the night, I wake to a cold wet cloth lying on my forehead. I peel my eyes open to find Clio’s soft face, blurry and warm. She combs my hair, pushing sweaty strands out of my eyes before I close them and return to my fever haze.
While I fought the dredgebeast, my body was unconscious for a full day. The healer said I may take another day or two to burnoff this fever and recover from the shock of magical trauma. But I don’t have two days to lie in bed, not with Audrina nearing her fullness. I need to find out what happened to Odissa, and I need to make sure those bars are thick enough to hold her until Tephra claims her price.
But when I try to stand, the dizziness encroaches. Sharp pain flares in my side, and I press my hand to my stomach. A knotted circular scar puckers my skin, where I’d yanked the bloodfish free.
Soren wraps his strong hands around my waist. His breath is hot in my ear as he whispers calming words, guiding me back into the bed. I resist him, fighting the dizziness to place my feet on the cold marble floor. I cling to his forearm for stability.
“You going somewhere?”
“Where is she?” I need to find Odissa. Just as soon as I can let go of this strong, muscled arm, I’ll be on my way. Visions of her squatting on the breakfast table, clutching her neck, skin reddening and boiling as she choked on dark magic. Is she still in pain? Or is she dead by now?
“Aris? Locked in the dungeon, thinking about her mistakes.”
Soren’s arm tightens around me, but it’s my emotions that strangle. I cough against the pressure, fighting the wave of grief and terror as it anoints me with ice. I broke my blood oath. That means I wanted Odissa to fail. I wanted her dead—I still do. Right?
After all she put me through in my life, after all the emotional twisting, the verbal battering, the incessant demanding—I should want her to suffer the worst. What kind of monster kills a male, then takes his orphaned child and trains her to be a death-dealer?
I can see her, clear as water, in my memory, the moment we found my mother. We’d crossed the Drink, with the hope of meeting the mother I thought I’d never see. But she wasdead when we arrived. Had been for some time. Odissa simply dragged her body from the cave and tossed it out for the bloodfish. No acknowledgment. No comfort for the grieving guppy. Just a cloud of blood and ripping teeth.
I guess you’re stuck with me, now, aren’t you?she’d said, almost smug.
Is Odissa thinking about me? My mouth turns metallic, and I relax my jaw.
“Not Aris. Her name is Odissa.”
“Right.”
I push his arm, trying to take a step forward. My body sways. His other arm steadies my back.Trapped. Wasn’t I going to leave, after I was free of her? My blood oath no longer holds me here. I owe her nothing now. I will no longer be caged. My claws sink into his skin as I snarl.
“And what is your name?” His voice is playful, but there’s a tinge of unease.
“Enna. Enna Valomir.”
Soren’s lips press against the top of my head. “So that’s true, then.”
I sway again as the dizziness returns. This time, when he steadies me, I lean into him. His skin is soft, warm, and smells of the sun. I close my eyes, inhaling the closeness of him. Soren scoops me off my feet and settles me back into the bed. My body absorbs into the plush cushion, jostling as he crawls in next to me.
His fingers swipe across my forehead, smoothing my hair. “Someday, you’ll tell me the whole story. For now, you must rest.”
I fight to keep my eyelids open. “I’m not a handmaid, if that’s what you want to know,” I mumble.
“I bet you’re not a royal shadow-guard either, are you, Enna?”
I shake my head, hair rustling against the pillow. “I’ve killed a lot of people, Soren. I killed—” But I can’t finish it. I can’t tell him I killed his real princess. I killed the female he was meant to marry. If I could collect all the blood I’ve spilled in my lifetime, under Odissa’s order, I could overflow his royal bathtub. The thought churns my stomach.
Soren brushes my bottom lip. “I figured as much. You like knives too much.”
My eyelids flutter one last time before they close. I brush his chest with my nose. “Why did you bring me here?”
“To keep you safe.” He pulls the sheet over me, tucking it gently over my shoulders.
“Why am I not in the dungeon? If you know I’m a killer, isn’t that where I belong?”
