Page 9 of The Call of Crimson
Elijah waits a beat, then asks gently, “Were you aware your mother had a Vizie Gift?”
“No, she didn’t. I would have known.”
He turns to Aurelius, whose face is, shockingly, ashen with disbelief. “She never mentioned anything like that to me.”
“She had visions,” Elijah says. “One, in particular, that came to her again and again. It never changed. Just grew worse each time.”
He holds out his hands. One by one, we reach for him.
When we’re all connected, he lets the memory play.
Flames crawl up the walls of the castle, engulfing Ciyoria.Smoke blackens the sky, swallowing the sun, and casting a dark glow over the land.
Queen Genevieve stands alone as the castle crumbles around her. The sword slips from her hand, clattering to the cobblestones, the sound dull compared to the scream tearing from her throat.
Streams of blood run through the cobblestone street, staining it with the lives of the innocents slaughtered here today. The people flee the flames right into the waiting line of enemy soldiers. Those that were not claimed by the fire die at the end of a sword. All innocent, but all slaughtered.
“I told you our people didn’t need us, my love.”
My father appears behind her, a wicked smile on his face. His eyes are cold and hard, devoid of any compassion or life.
“You vowed to protect them!” she screams, fury and sorrow in every word. “Instead, you butchered them!”
“It is time this kingdom paid for its sins,” he replies. “Change is here, My Queen.”
The vision ends.
My chest tightens, and the tears I’ve been holding back fall freely.
“That’s what she saw?” I whisper.
“Every night. For nearly a year,” Elijah confirms.
“That… explains a lot,” Aurelius whispers, his voice cracking. His eyes meet mine for a heartbeat, then dart away.
My mind frantically tries to connect the dots. The pieces are all there, yet somehow not fitting. “You said he asked her to kill him?”
Elijah nods, swallowing hard. “The night he died, she confronted him. He admitted something had a grip on his mind, but he didn’t know what it was. He told her she’d made a vow to the kingdom before she’d ever made one to him.” Elijah’s voice catches. “And he said he expected her to uphold that vow.”
His face twists with emotion, his eyes watering as he forces out the answers. His parents had died when he was young, and mine took him in. They were as much his family as they were mine.
My mother was clever, passing along her memories at the last moment, ensuring we wouldn’t be left without answers. But she was also unintentionally cruel, forcing the male she loved as a son to endure the heartbreak behind those answers.
“But… my father would never,” I say, struggling to form words.
“I think I can answer this one,” Ayden interjects.
“If you’re going to spout some bullshit about how he would do something like that because he killed your father, then I don’t?—”
“Stop talking, Breyla.” Ayden’s voice is low and sharp. “Just let me fucking explain.”
I glare at him but fall silent.
“Those letters you stole, the ones you used to condemn me, they weren’t the only ones. And they weren’t meant forme. LordSeamus was communicating with someone in Tierna. I believe there was another traitor amongst your court.”
My heart lurches. “Who?”
Ayden narrows his eyes. “Use that sharp brain of yours, General. Who’s been missing since the moment your mother died?”
