Page 14 of Of Vows and War: Special Edition
“Wow, that is—I cannot even fathom such a love.”
“Neither can I, honestly. And he loved me even when I was broken and bitter and borderline heinous. One time, when we were traveling, I had gone two nights without sleep and I was particularly cranky. One of his Trusted, Lian, had sliced through my thigh with Air power. Even then, I think he saw what I would never admit—I let her. Sometimes I would just allow them to hit me. On those darker days, I reveled in the pain. It reminded me I was alive. We were at an inn, and he had sat next to me at a table. The others gave me space, but not him. He plopped into the seat next to me and told me my lips looked like they were in desperate need of a tongue swiping across them.” Sterling laughed then, bringing a ridiculous smile to my face. “I smacked him, but I found myself laughing. And that was all it ever took for him. He later laid down on the floor beside mine and Noe’s bed, and he asked me about my favorite memory—listening so intently as I spoke. Like each word that left my lips was a treasure.”
And there it was. The truth that I avoided in any way that I could. Bellamy had loved me more than anyone ever would—than anyone else ever could. And I feared not for myself, but forhim. How would he recover from the loss of me? After nearly two years of giving so much just to have any piece of me, how would he survive having nothing but the ghost of my magic within his mind forcing him to never look back?
After a moment, I let out a husky cough, clearing my throat and blinking back the tears that threatened to spill from my eyes. Reaching up, I tugged at my hair, my brown locks matted from the blood and dirt that had dried within it.
“Did you ever find yourself attached?”
“Me? No, never. I did not want to be still, and that is what love does to you. It stops your feet, stills your heart. Love is similar to poison in that way.”
“Really, no one ever?” I asked, fully moving my body so I was sitting with my back against the jagged cell wall instead, Sterling and the bars to my left. He smirked my way, having already adjusted himself against the wall as well. “I guess you are only two decades old. That is not much time to find love.”
“We mortals do not have much time to do anything worthwhile,” he added with a shrug. As if his mortality was something casual of little importance. But it was not, was it? It was a tragedy. Though, perhaps it was also a blessing from Eternity. Less time to suffer. “There was someone that—never mind, you will laugh.”
My eyes widened, the pain in my head from the blocker rising with the quick movement. Ignoring it in favor of the conversation, I made a mock face of offense.
“How dare you, I am a perfectly kind and nonjudgmental being,” I chided, my mouth wide and hand against my chest. Sterling guffawed, his head pressing into the stone behind him. “Fine, I am a cranky bitch. But I will not laugh, I promise.”
After a moment of his warm brown eyes darting between each of mine, he finally sighed and nodded. Before he spoke,the prince shuffled, getting comfortable. Wonderful, a long and brutal tale. My favorite.
“Okay, I know you will think me insane, but a few months ago, a creature visited me here in the cells.” My back stiffened, flashes of beasts like the afriktor and the fetch reminding me of how dangerous the wordcreaturewas. Then I thought of Wrath, and my heart felt as if it might shatter. With a shake of my head, I rid myself of the gruesome picture of black blood drenching my hands and focused on Sterling, who had gone silent. His lips formed a thin line, eyes darting back and forth as he sat in what seemed like deliberation. Anxiously I waited until finally he spoke again. “Would you believe me if I told you I met a goddess?”
A sharp cackle slipped through my lips before I could seal them shut, Sterling’s answering huff of annoyance forcing me to raise my now healed fingers in surrender. “Wait, wait. I was not laughing at you. What you said was just funny because—” I paused, not truly knowing how to explain what happened with Padon. “You know what? I will tell you later. Just, please, keep going.”
For a moment he only glared at me, his warm brown eyes now mirroring his sister’s fierce ones. Lifting a brow, I smirked his way, a challenge of sorts.
“Fine, if you are so desperate to hear, then I will tell you. She said her name was Stassi and that she had the ability to feed off sin and virtue, as well as heighten both.”
“Like the Goddess of Sin and Virtue?”
“Precisely what I thought. Stassi does sound like a proper nickname for Anastasia. Now though, I wonder if my mind was just seeking company.”
“Why?”
“Because she has not come back since you arrived, and I know they have put nightshade in our food and water, whichmeans I have likely just been hallucinating her and your presence has grounded me somewhat.”
“Nightshade? What is that?”
“You may know it as Belladonna.”
“How on Alemthian do you know what that tastes like?”
“It makes everything slightly sweeter. I had not tasted it before you came, but I wonder if that was because I was so focused on the loneliness and pain. I know what it tastes like because I learned about poisons and antidotes in Heratt. They specialize in it.”
“That is—”
“I see you continue to associate with the filth,” a deep voice rang out, the oily sound of it making my head swim. Theon.
I turned, facing the approaching figure of my old classmate. Just as he had been in his youth, Theon was a proud male, standing straight with his chin held high. He was broader now, his brown skin practically glowing. Once long, brown locks were now cropped short, those deep blue eyes staring at me with a fierce hunger.
I wanted to rip out his intestines and feed them to him.
Sterling must have been thinking something similar, because he stood and charged towards the bars. With a snarl, he reached for Theon through the cage, screaming in fury as the shifter’s body seemed to melt away—forming himself into the mortal prince. There were few things in this world that still scared me, but this—watching how easy it was for Multiples to masquerade as someone else—was horrifying.
Before us, clad in gold silk, stood the cruel mirage of Sterling. Yes, it was the Prince of Maliha that smiled our way, tsking at the mortal who was still attempting to claw his way through the bars of his prison. His golden curls were once more silky, his skin a creamy white rather than the sickly pale of the caged beastthat now backed away from the iron confines that separated him from his imposter.
“Less than a week with our little princess and you are already out of wit. Impressive, Asher. You trained him when even Mia could not.” Theon clapped, smiling with Sterling’s lips and teeth, lacking all the warmth of the prince.
