Page 116 of Cages and Crowns
“Stop!” I cry out. “Stop.”
“Little witch—”
“I can’t do this. I can’t.” I shake my head.
“It’s okay.” Nithe shushes me as he pulls my weak body against his chest.
“Nora—” Kassius starts.
“No! She doesn’t want to do this. She said stop.” Nithe yells back and I hear Kass sigh. He’s right. I need to, but I can’t. It’s a boy. There is a boy in my stomach. A small child who isn’t at fault for what his father has done.
I have ason.
Nithe stayed with me while the poppy root worked its way out of my system. Every breath, every muscle twitch, made my heart race. It’s not the same. I keep reminding myself. This isn’t the same.
I lay on the bed, curled in a ball, while Nithe reads something next to me. My eyes stay fixed on the torch lit by the door, growing brighter by the minute as the sun sets.
I chickened out. I stopped what I should have allowed to happen. But I got scared. And then, I felt something else. I felt a sense of relief—of love—as I pictured the little boy I would have.
“Do you think less of me?” I whisper. Nithe drops his hands, the parchment crinkling on his lap.
“Of course not, little witch. I told you it was your choice.” He responds, his fingers brushing hair off my cheek. I tilt my head and look up at him.
“What if it kills me?” I say just as quietly. He smiles softly and tangles his fingers in my hair.
“I won’t let that happen.” He releases me and picks his parchment back up, diving into whatever it is he’s reading. I give into the exhaustion and let it lull me into a deep sleep.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
The Caged
Three weeks come and go. Nothing has changed. Nithe and I haven’t progressed our relationship, in fact it seems as if we grow apart as irritation comes with the shadows that seem to want to infiltrate my mind. I see Tobias.
Everywhere.
Everywhere I turn and look, I catch sight of his hair, or his hands clenching the doorway.
I’m going mad.
Nithe doesn’t understand. Scarlett doesn’t understand. The only one who does is Kassius, although he keeps pressuring me to allow Enzo to siphon away my son’s life, but it’s too late. I’m halfway through this pregnancy. This child is coming, and I will be grateful for his presence.
Maybe then Tobias will stop following me around.
When I have the willpower to get out of bed, I train with Kassius. While my aether seems to come when I reach for it, the colors are changing. Gone arethe bright white stars, and in their place are glittery black orbs hellbent on suffocating every spark I conjure.
My aim has improved, the strength inwhich I can wield is even better, but my starlight isn’t pure anymore. And instead, I am learning how to wield both of the magics dueling inside me.
If I learn to manage it, I can control it. And then it won’t control me.
My tunic is tight against my swelling belly, my breath coming in pants as I lean against the fighting platform. Kassius hands me a cold glass of water and I down it.
“They come as easily as the stars.” He says as he stares at the targets. The shadows don’t burn like my starlight does, instead, they disintegrate. Everything they touch turns into black ash immediately.
“I’m getting stronger, then.” I reply, setting the glass down.
“Or he is.” He responds, turning back to me.
“Heis a fetus. His strength is non-existent.”
