Page 102 of Rising Out of the Darkness
Clara’s eyes shifted downwards, twisting the gold ring around her thumb. “Can I tell you a story?”
Nodding, I crossed my legs. Clara’s teeth tugged at her bottom lip as she matched my position.
“This is really not my story to share, but I feel like it’s necessary for you to hear it.” She massaged her forehead as she gathered courage.
“I’ve been surrounded by powerful people my entire life, Lena. Some who choose to use it for good, and others…well, others who don’t. I’ve learned you can be the most powerful person in the world and still feel entirely helpless. Still feel broken inside, no matter how hard you try to piece yourself together for everyone else.”
Her eyebrow rose as her gaze locked on mine. I nodded. It was hard not to take note of the insinuation in her words.
“Do you know what happened to Queen Lenora and Prince Keir?”
My lashes lowered, and my reply was filled with sadness. “Yes, they were supposedly killed by rebels who infiltrated the castle.”
“Rebels, ha.” Her laugh was void of mirth. “Well, I think you and I both know it wasn’t the Rebellion, but someone unfortunately did murder them both. All of us will forever regret not being able to be there for them. One person carries that burden, that guilt more than any of us.”
“… Declan?”
Sucking in a deep breath, she nodded. “We were all sent away. Each of us had a different task we had to do that day. Sometimes—” Clara’s lip quivered. “Sometimes, I almost feel like Lenora and Keir knew. Like they pushed us all away on purpose.”
My chest began to tighten as Clara’s eyes became glossy and red.
“When everyone returned to the castle that night, we were informed of their deaths. It felt like life was sucked right out of me, out of all of us.” She sniffled. “Lenora had become like amother to me, especially after Alaric kept me away from my own. That night, I lost my mom all over again.”
Extending my palms towards hers, I cocooned them into my own. She grasped my hands, steadying herself.
“Though it was painful for all of us, it completely shattered Declan. Rage consumed him, and he wrecked his room. Before we could stop him, he stormed into the throne room, grabbed his father and unleashed his dynamis on him.”
A gasp left my lips at the image of Declan and his father brawling. There was no way that they hadn’t punished him for that.Hells, what did they do?
On bated breath, I waited.
“Declan is strong, but at the time, so was Alaric. In the end, Alaric overtook Declan, knocking him unconscious. The king and his advisor punished him with their usual tactics, but when I was finally allowed to heal him…something was different. I felt something festering within him, and no matter how hard I tried to heal him, I couldn’t reach that darkness.”
I lowered my ward and was bombarded with a wave of her emotions. Shame, guilt, sadness all seeped into my skin. The heaviness was unbearable, like my body was being smashed underneath the stone walls of this castle. Concentrating on the emotions, I reached down deep for my dynamis and pushed them out of me. A gush of air flew around us, sending our hair twirling.
“We all tried to move on, to find our new normal. It was a struggle for all of us, and Declan…he was lost, cold, distant. Nothing we could do could pull him away from the well of sorrow.”
Heat itched against my skin as I imagined Declan’s sorrow.
“About two weeks after the murders, the king ordered Declan and the Royal Guard into the city. Alastor claimed to have discovered the queen’s and prince’s attackers. Later that night,I was summoned below to this very room. As you can see, there are several cells down here. Each was filled with five or more men and women. Every. Single. One.”
My hand shot up to cover my shock. There had to be at least twenty cells down here. The ache in my heart grew stronger as her hands fidgeted within her lap.
“My job was…to heal them after they”—she cleared her throat— “interrogated them. Before they began, Declan was pulled behind closed doors by Alastor and Alaric. I heard their shouts as he refused their orders. He yelled about their innocence and how this entire interrogation was a fraud. Declan knew they didn’t have anything to do with the deaths of his mother and brother.”
My mouth went dry. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like the next part of the story.
“They shouted until all at once everything went still. Alastor stormed out of the room with a smirk, followed by Alaric, who looked like he’d seen a spirit. Declan was the last to leave the room that night. His face was somber, eyes dark. He pushed past me like he didn’t even recognize me and began to unlock a cell door. One by one, he began to drag them into that dark room. One by one, I was sent in to heal them. That is, the ones who had life left in them to heal.”
Tears began to fall down her cheeks as my own eyes began to line with wetness. Clara’s lips trembled, and she gripped the bottom of her tunic so tightly that I could see the whites of her knuckles.
“These interrogations went well into the morning. No culprit was discovered. Guards were ordered to release the remaining prisoners, a warning that if anyone dared to mess with the rightful king of Ehora again, they’d have to answer to the Shadow Lord himself.”
As she let out a sob, I felt sick to my stomach, and I struggled to stay present in the conversation.
“When they all left, Declan did not follow. I rushed into the room to find him slumped against the floor. Once I healed him almost to my burnout, he finally opened his eyes. They had returned to their normal shade of green, but I could see the fear and hurt behind them. Right then was when I knew he wasn’t the one in control that night.”
“Dec,” I breathed, a shaky hand covering my mouth.
