Page 85 of Immortal Origins
She didn’t know what to say.
The prince could always be found somewhere in the palace—lately near her—silently brooding about something. She never dreamed that was the reason for his silence. She always assumed he enjoyed the torture he saw.
“I don’t understand…” She pulled her hand away from his and wrapped it around herself. “You had me punished.” She remembered the morning in the dining hall when he reprimanded her and had the draconian beat her.
“I have a role to play just like anyone else in the kingdom. None of us are free from the gods’ wrath and your punishment could’ve been much worse if I hadn’t stepped in. You spoke to a royal out of turn in front of theking. He expects me to take care of the punishment in the kingdom, I couldn’t say nothing. But I am truly sorry.” He looked at her and she could see the shame in his eyes. “If I hadn’t stepped in, the king could’ve commanded me to use my magick against you and I couldn’t bear that. I despise using Magick and only do when directly ordered to. Please. I’ll understand if you don’t forgive me.”
“I do,” she told him, tentatively taking his hand back in hers. “I know we’re all in impossible situations.” Part of her wanted to be angry. To shout and yell, but she knew by now that he was as much at the peril of the gods as the rest of them. “I forgive you.”
He claimed to hate using his magick—and she believed him—but the last night of the festival she’d seen him use his powers with pride when he created something beautiful from them. She knew there was somethingdeeper and more beautiful in the prince than even he realized. A piece of him that wanted to be free just as much as the piece in her.
“What about when you killed the deacon? No one ordered you to. Casimir even ordered you not to intervene.” She stared at their intertwined fingers.
Hate flashed across his face and his eyes darkened. “Their existence was unacceptable.”
“So that’s why you wouldn’t use Magick, I thought it was only because of Casimir’s orders.”
“While I do admit, his orders made it easier not to use them, it’s my own choice.”
“Why?” For someone as powerful as Akadian to never use his powers was unheard of. The royals loved boasting and showing off their capabilities whenever given the chance. Casimir left the palace in a perpetual state of cold just because he could.
“I told you, my powers are death and destruction. They just bring pain whenever I use them. The first time I was ordered to use them, I was forced to kill an entire village. I have no idea what they did, but they couldn’t have deserved what they forced me to do,” he choked on his words as they came out, his chest rising and falling more rapidly. “I swore that day I would never use Magick of my own volition. That I would stop the destruction with me. The gods may have created me to be a weapon and I can’t defy them, but I can make sure to never willingly point my power at someone who doesn’t deserve it. There’s enough death in this world.”
“That’s why you looked like you were in pain when Casimir boasted about what you did to Thornehart,” she stated the now-obvious fact. How harshly she’d judged him.
“Yes. The empire covets me as their first line of defense in the kingdoms and I don’t entirely enjoy being made into a trophy. Just because they put their fear and hate inside of me doesn’t mean I have to use it.”
“If it means anything,” she said softly and squeezed his hand, “I think your flames are beautiful. And I don’t think you’re just fire and death. You’re so much more than that.”
He placed a hand on her cheek as a muscle in his jaw flexed. “Thank you… Now, may I ask you something?”
She met his gaze and let the look in his eyes fuel the fire inside of her. “Sure.”
“What did you steal from the gods? Casimir mentioned it at your trial and no one has spoken of it since, but I’m almost positive that’s what he’s so interested in. It makes no sense to me why a First King would come all the way from Naenaros to judge the trial of a guard killer? Why wouldn’t my brother oversee something so trivial? It should’ve been a simple execution. So, why is he here?” He shook his head. “The best I can come up with is whatever you stole.”
Ambrose considered how much to tell him. He’d told her so much. So many secrets she was sure no other citizen knew. It seemed only right she gave him the same respect.
“A peach.”
“A peach?” he said as though he didn’t believe her.
“Yep. When I ran from the guard I killed, I knew they’d have the whole palace out looking for me. So I ran. I’ve gotten to explore the palace over the years pretty well and found the tunnels the servants used to use back in the old days during the second era.”
“You actuallyfoundthe tunnels?” Akadian asked wide-eyed.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Smart girl, Little Rose.” Something stirred inside her chest and her cheeks flushed.
“Unfortunately, that night I had to use an area of the palace I’ve never been in. It led me to an unfinished part, to a door that opened up to the most beautiful garden I’ve ever seen.” Her eyes flicked to the door and she smiled. “Your garden is a close second,” she teased. “In the center, was a peach tree. But it wasn’t like a regular peach tree… It was different. It had its own magick and spoke to me. Told me to eat one of its fruit. So I did.”
“It had Magick?” Akadian asked, brows furrowed. “That’s not possible.”
“I know.” She nodded, smiling fondly at the memory. “But it did. Does. I don’t know. I’m not really sure what it is. I was actually hoping you might.”
“I’ve always wondered what my brother was keeping in that corner of the palace. It’s forbidden for anyone to enter it, let alone go inside the door. He keeps it enchanted so none of the servants accidentally find it, and the nobles know better than to defy his orders. A peach tree…” He tilted his chin up as though lost in his own thoughts. “I don’t know, but I wish I did.”
Ambrose huffed. “Worth a shot.”
