Shattered Dreams
Page 41
Instead of getting upset, the man’s smirk widened. “Ah, Princess, surely you are in no position to preach to me about the ills of my employers. The blood on my hands stains yours as well, does it not?”
Avila’s back stiffened when she understood his meaning. It took all she had to not let her rage and despair cause tears to well up. After several seconds, she hissed, “Do not think to lay the blame for their sacrifices at my feet. I wept for them. I still grieve their loss, but I did not force them. You are the one that called for their deaths when you could not have mine.”
He merely shrugged at her. “I see that you will believe what you wish. However, I would like to remind you that years have passed. Times change, as do people. Perhaps you should consider which battles are worth fighting. Especially as you are here and not there.”
He took a step closer but stopped when Jacob shifted his gun to be more visible. The man smirked at the alert guard but then ignored him in favor of Avila. “Do remember that you are alone without these people to hide you from the vast galaxies.” His smirk twisted to match the coldness in his eyes as he continued, “It would also serve you well to remember that Aril is the most isolated and smallest of the allied planets. What is worth protecting, Princess? These people took you in, did they not? Would you have violent eyes turn to them for harboring a fugitive?”
Avila’s blood ran cold at his implied threat. She knew that if she were to abdicate, they would have no reason to come to Aril. However, if she became a thorn in their side, they could well take up arms against this planet and claim it was for standing against them. The Alliance might not get involved if they felt the attack on Aril was justified. Even if they did not and chose to help, the Alliance might not know until it was too late. There was a reason Aril stayed out of conflicts.
When she saw his smirk widen, Avila’s rage burned through her fear. She squared her shoulders and responded, “Your threats will no longer send me running. I am not a child that will hide in the dark. I will face you and whatever else is coming. You will not find me cowering ever again.”
The ambassador took a step back and looked her over from head to toe. She recoiled under his evident evaluation, even more so when his eyes came back to hers, and he smirked again. “You are correct about one thing. You are no longer a child. You have grown into a beautiful woman, nearly identical to your mother. It is a shame she made poor choices as well. She didn’t need to die, but the past cannot be changed.” He gave her another mocking bow before taking another step back. “Perhaps you can learn from her mistakes. The universe is full of possibilities, after all.”
He did not wait to hear any more before he turned and made his way down another hall. When Avila took a furious step after him, Jacob stepped into her path. His eyes were hard, but his voice was apologetic. “Please forgive me, ma’am, but I cannot allow you to go after him.”
Avila’s fists clenched by her side, but she counted to ten in her head before she let out a deep breath and answered, “Thank you. I know it would not have been wise.”
The hard edge to Jacob’s eyes eased as he nodded and stepped back again. “Please follow me. We are nearly to the king’s office.”
She gave him an absent nod as she fell into step behind him. Her mind was already racing, going over every part of that conversation. It infuriated her that not only did he not deny his crimes, but he did not seem remorseful either. But that was only part of her trouble. Before she spoke with him, she had not known what her choice should be. If she was honest, she had been considering giving it all up to stay with the people she knew and loved.
However, was that the wisest course of action? The man had made it clear there would be repercussions for Aril if she stepped outside their sphere of protection. However, she was intimately familiar with the Trogand’s tactics. She knew they would send an assassin for her even if she stayed. She was a loose end, and if nothing else, the Trogand were thorough.
She nearly stumbled at the thought of walking away from everything she had come to love about this planet—and it wasn’t just her love for Galdren, though thinking about that had tears filling her eyes. Aril was as much home to her as Talamh had been. She had to blink several times to banish them. She could not afford to let her heart make this decision. Too many lives were at stake.
She had to pause for a moment and close her eyes against the wrenching pain. She already knew what she had to do. Not just to protect Aril, but for her people that had spent the last decade trying to rebuild wherever they could find a place to survive. In the end, it was no choice at all. She only hoped that her banishment from Aril would only be until she regained her throne.
The thought that it could take years was daunting and did not help the pain flowing through her. She could not ask Galdren to wait for her, but that didn’t mean she could not hold out hope that he would.
By that point, they had finally reached a set of double doors. The guard outside gave her a respectful nod, and Jacob stepped to the side to join him. Avila closed her eyes once more to gather her wayward thoughts. No matter how long it took, no matter the hardships she would have to endure, she would hold on to hope. Hope that she would find a way to succeed, a means to free her people, and a path to allow them to find happiness. She would also hold on to the hope that someday, she would find happiness of her own and that her sacrifice would not be in vain.
For now, she could not think about the fact that she was once again losing everyone she ever loved. Instead, she would focus on her goal of finding a way to see them again. At least this time, it was a possibility. When she opened her eyes, she squared her shoulders and knocked firmly on the door. No matter the pain now, her future waited, and she refused to ever run again.