by S. K Munt
‘The horse got hurt? I croaked, and she nodded.
‘I’m afraid it might have to be put down. I know Miss, it’s incredibly sad but it’s also sort of a blessing- Kohl’s concern for the animal is what motivated him to return. So had they not stumbled together, I fear that maybe Kohl wouldn’t have come back to Eden until he was the one in need of euthanizing.’
I looked up at the ceiling, letting the tears run down my temples. Poor Kohl! Poor horse! And it was all my fault!
Cherry sighed. ‘You should probably know that the crowned prince is also in a hideous mood, seeing as how his younger brother stole his glory before the sun could set upon it.’
My heart skipped a beat. ‘Oh my God: the wish! He’s not going to change it and retract everybody else’s freedom because I didn’t take advantage of my own freedom, is he?’
‘That is unlikely, miss- robbing fourteen exceptional people of their right to be treated as diamonds because one decided that she would prefer to remain in the rough would negate his entire speech, wouldn’t it?’ She slid her hand down my neck, hopefully removing the love bites. ‘But he is upset. In fact, he could use a bit of sedation too- but he would not allow me to touch his brow.’ She glanced at me again. ‘However, he did ask that I pass the message along: You are to come to him at the first chance you get.’
My belly flipped over, but I frowned at her as though confused, not instantly fearful. ‘Why doesn’t he just come himself?’
Cherry smiled sadly. ‘He released his Companions earlier this afternoon, on Ora Camden’s request.’ My mouth dropped open, but she went on. ‘Those are glad tidings for both of us, I am sure, but now only Kohén and Elijah have cause to access the harem.’
I raised an eyebrow. ‘How does that work? Barring the crowned prince from an entire wing of the castle?’
‘It used to be an honour system- no one came in and out unless they were an occupant or entitled to, and there was almost always a guard nearby, keeping an eye on things to be safe.’ She paused. ‘But Kohén has had a guard stationed by the door now, miss, under the king’s command. That guard cannot let anyone in without permission of the harem’s dependents- Elijah and Kohén. Karol’s key would still work in that main door, but it never worked in yours-’
‘Wait!’ I exploded. ‘Those winged rings are different?’
‘Well, Elijah’s is a skeleton one but yes, every feather is carved to suit some locks and not others, so the locks differ to match them. So when you turn your lock from the inside, no one outside can get in. But when he turns his key in your lock from the inside- not even you can get out.’ She smiled sadly at me and I wondered how many doors Kohl’s opened- probably not many! ‘So even if someone aside from Kohén could get past the guard, as Kohén has allowed access for me and one or two others for the sake of tending to and waiting on Resonah and Rosina, he’d only be able to access the rooms that he used to access before and now, they’re empty.’
I felt claustrophobic knowing that only Elijah could get me out of there by unlocking a door that Kohén had locked. ‘And the secret entrance?’
She quirked her lips in a sign of discontent. ‘It has been sealed shut, which is precisely why I feared that Kohén had taken advantage of you...’
I didn’t know what to think. I was trapped yes, but I was safe from Karol and I needed to stay that way, especially now that he was jumping hoops to please Ora- he must really like her!
‘Then report to Karol that I am well and too wrapped up in Kohén to have any time free for him,’ I sank bank, shocked over all I had learned, but relieved to realise that Karol was good and pissed off and very aware that now that Kohén had played his hand, I’d been forced to fold my own and would not be coming to him anytime soon in the foreseeable future. ‘And tell him that I am ecstatic to learn of his submission to the lovely Ora’s demands.’ I smirked. ‘Tell him: “That’s one,” and if he asks what, say: ‘One white feather he has earned in my eyes.’
Cherry looked confused, but she sighed and nodded. ‘I will pass it along verbatim, if that’s what you wish. But still-’ the door opened and Kohén walked back in and she stopped talking. I rolled over onto my side, thanked her, and then closed my eyes.
Sleep soundly and deeply Kohl, and awake to a new day where your future is brighter than mine ever was!
While Kohén and Cherry exchanged useless pleasantries, I tried to tune them out and prayed for Kohl, and did not realise that I’d begun to doze off until Kohén scooped me up in his arms and roused me from near-sleep.
‘What’s going on…?’ I muttered.
‘I am loving you,’ he whispered, closing the bathroom door. ‘And looking after you. And all you have to do, is allow it.’
I muttered to myself, and he submerged us both in the deep and bubbly water, which first made me feel more alert, but then the water worked its way into my tight muscles and I began to sag and feel heavy again. Candlelight tossed shadows against the walls and he hummed on as he bathed me, and it might have been romantic if not for the frangipani oil that he’d used to scent the water with. My lungs practically folded against the memories that that scent evoked within me, and instead of drawing up the ones of Kohl and the blooms, all I could remember was Kohén and I picnicking- Kohén and I flirting on the beach… Kohén and I screaming at each other in the security room in the plantation house.
We’ve done so much damage to one another! How is this going to end, and when? What will be left of either of us when it does?
My misery overwhelmed me and so when he began to wash my hair so tenderly that it made me ache, I used the rinse process to let my tears escape. I’d loved him so much and I thought he’d loved me, but I did not feel like half of a romance, but like a doll that he was play-acting with. How long would I have to suffer this charade before he lost interest me? Or worse, what if he never did and I was trapped here forever? What would happen when he took a spouse? Why couldn’t I muster up the will to pray that he would get married? I sobbed and he turned my face to his, looking concerned and asked what was wrong, but I couldn’t answer so he sighed and went back to washing me with even more tenderness and as he did, he sang softly:
‘Pretty little silver bird/ perched high upon her bough/ she whistles through my window/ but my returning song, the Lark won’t allow….’
A tremble wobbled my lower lip.
Oh, hell…!
Kohén sang on, his voice a rumble against my lower back. ‘She sings of her love for my golden heart/ so I open my hand and beg her to stay/ but she cries: ‘Hark! Gold cannot love silver’/ and promptly flies away.
My tummy contracted. ‘Wh… what is that song?’
Kohén nuzzled my ear. ‘It is mine.’
‘And you said you weren’t a writer…’ I drawled, trying not to weep like the sentimental fool I was.
‘It’s just a simple little tune, hardly impressive…’ He ran the soft sponge down my back. ‘I’ve been turning to music when I am not training, trying to keep myself distracted from my pain over losing you but… but you possess me even then.’ He sighed and rested his head against the back of my neck, breathing heavily. ‘I am so lost in you. I cannot believe you doubted my love for you enough to have allowed this void to develop between us!’
I rubbed my face with my hands. ‘Perhaps you should have handed me my contract and those lyrics at once a year ago,’ I whispered. ‘And I would have jumped to your side of the void.’
But Kohl only shook his head. ‘I handed you the statue of Liberty,’ he pointed out. ‘That ought to have spoken loudly enough.’
‘Which you have now taken back,’ I pointed out, thinking of the locks.
‘What? It’s still there.’
‘Physically, yes she is,’ I gripped the edge of the tub and rose to my weak legs. ‘Spiritually however, she is devoid and now, so am I. So whistle whatever tune you wish to, Kohén Barachiel,’ I wrapped a towel around myself, determined to get some fresh air and distance however I could- nee
ding to be with him in real light without a mist of lust swirling around us so that I could guard the ashes of my heart from him before I allowed myself to be entranced by his song as well as everything else. ‘I was never silver or white gold, only shining steel polished by this place, and now that you have collared me, my heart has begun to rust and never again will it shine for you.’
I heard the water splash behind me. ‘He made you promises that I couldn’t, after having fallen in love with you only after you’d become a swan!’ Kohén croaked. ‘But I loved you when you were just a little girl with a fistful of cards, a mouthful of barbs and a heart full of fear! And I have NEVER stopped loving you! Why do you think Karol tried to talk me out of making that deal with you, Lark? I’d already told him that YOU were the girl that I was going to marry!’
What?!
The idea that he had loved me back when I’d been that pale-eyed, scrawny, plucked-looking duckling made my heart cramp with an infusion of black blood. What was the good of knowing this now, when it was too late for it to be proven? Unaware that he was killing me more, Kohén went on:
‘... And if I hadn’t been able to get the rules changed, I would have left this place with you and made you my everything! But you never even allowed yourself to HOPE for such things from me! You were too busy running to his arms to hear my promises, but I made them all!’ He sobbed. ‘You have forced my hand here with your distrust, Larkin, so vilify me as much as you will- it won’t change the fact that I am hurting as much as you are, if not more!’
It felt like being hit in the stomach, but I opened the door and glowered back at him, glancing down at the lock and noting happily that it was the push button kind with no key access at all. It wasn’t much, but it did offer me a foxhole of sorts. ‘And what were YOU doing, while I was in his arms, Kohén? What MADE me run to Kohl? To Karol?! What EARNED my distrust? Your royal duty, right? Trying to find a way to have it all; the sex, the true love and the crown!’ I scowled at his pinched expression and curtsied a clumsy version of the courtesan bow. ‘Well, congratulations sire- now that you have me trapped in here, you’ll apparently have all three on a golden platter! Just don’t come off all hurt and pouting when I break out in HIVES thanks to my enforced proximity to the spoils of your greedy ambition!’
‘You are my SOUL MATE, which means that you will find happiness at my side!’
‘A soul mate would have been enough for you!’ I screamed at him. ‘You don’t get a prostitute and a true love, so don’t expect a soul mate when there are FOUR prostitutes involved, or I really will think you’re a fucking idiot on top of being a hateful, manipulative, spoiled BRAT!’ I closed the door between us, then leaned against the door and sobbed. I heard Kohén splash heavily back into the bath, and I sagged in relief. But then he began to sing again, and my heart crackled like paper being balled up in a fist.
‘My darling little silver bird/ curses the weight of my golden crown/ but rain fell before I could take flight with her…’ I heard Kohén sob. ‘Now in my golden hand she drowns…’
I clutched at my heart and ran for the door, needing to be away from his mournful melody before he trapped me within another ambedo. But when I tried the handle, it did not even budge- he was locking me in even when I was willingly inside with him! I went to the window and lifted the sash so that an icy cold draft swirled through the frame, but when I tried to turn the handles on the shutters to throw them open, I sobbed to see that something had been done to them to lock them firmly in place. I smacked the timber in despair and though the vines twisting through the slats shivered, the timber held.
You bastard!
Knowing that he’d barred me from spying Liberty to prevent me from attaining it was awful, but the claustrophobia didn’t hit me full force until I stumbled back and discovered that the room had been cleaned while we’d been in the bathroom, and that now there were dozens of fresh white roses stuffed into vases on every available surface. The sight of them was horrifying, but the stench of them was enough to drown me in my own breath.
Oh God! I’m going to die here, but the girl they bury won’t be me-it’ll be that witch from the mirror- my father’s evil spawn and the source of all of Arcadia’s suffering, but it won’t be me! I died tonight, in Kohén’s arms, and now, I’m going to have to haunt these halls forever, because he won’t let me go!
I fell to the floor and wept, feeling broken in every way that a person could be broken- until I remembered the expression on Kohl’s face after I’d callously dismissed him, and suddenly, I found several new parts of me that had yet to rupture or fracture- but did, and swiftly. My face was wet with tears, as was my hand and parts of the tile beneath me, but I would have stayed there and cried on, had Kohén not called out to me then.
‘Larkin… baby?’ I heard a splash as he stood. ‘Are you still crying? I can get Cherry again if you’d like- or maybe another drink?’
Another drink? Another interaction with the helpful but helpless healer? I lifted my face and croaked out: ‘No, I’m…’ and then my voice caught in my throat when I saw that the back of my hand was covered in blood.
Oh… sweet… Satan… what is THIS?!
‘What?’ Another splash, then the squeak of the towel rail as Kohén reached for something to dry himself off with.
‘Ugh...uh, nothing I just… I need more sleep, I think. Some, erm…’ I stared at the blood on my hand as I rose to my feet, yelping a little when I saw that it was on the tile too. I pressed my fingers to my face then pulled them back- and felt hot pins and needles drive into every square inch of my flesh and insides too, when I saw that they too, were covered in blood.
I knew what was wrong before more than half a heartbeat had lapsed, but I twisted and stumbled toward the mirror all the same, a scream building up inside me and giving mean instant migraine when I saw the rivulets of blood that were streaming down my face were coming not from a wound, but from my suddenly scarlet eyes. Well, they were scarlet where they were usually white, stained from the claret pooling behind my lower lashes. Panic grasped my heart and squeezed it hard enough to burst every vessel within, but I stepped closer, as fascinated as I was horrified, and remembered Miguel’s promise to God- that no woman in the new world would ever be so badly wounded again, that she’d weep blood instead of tears.
He’d lied.
I’d told Kohén that things weren’t right- that things weren’t fair. I’d told Karol too, and Elijah, and Atticus… I’d told every man in a position of power that what they were doing was wrong, but though they’d heard me out- none of them had heeded my warnings and now...
‘Well…’ I whispered to my fingertips, rubbing them together to check that the blood was in fact, sticky, warm and real- not some figment of my imagination. ‘They’ll listen now, won’t they?’
‘Are you talking to someone?’ I heard Kohén call out, and a smirk twisted my lips. ‘If anyone comes to that door Lark, you ignore them, got it?’
‘Got it…’ I said, sniffling and wiping the bloody tears across my face, feeling it smear and stain me like war paint. ‘I was just talking to the girl in the mirror-’ I looked up, excited to see how grotesque I’d look when Kohén came out- anticipating giving him the fright of his life, but the girl who looked back at me wasn’t covered in blood, and her eyes were not crimson. They weren’t lilac either, or periwinkle, or midnight blue- they weren’t mine at all!
They were brown, and narrowed in wicked determination- gleaming and burning right through me, making my heart not falter- but halt. They were Gabby’s, and if not hers- then her twin sister, Siria’s- and they were full of more malice than any other set of eyes I’d ever seen before. My hands clapped my mouth to hold in a bloodcurdling scream, and the girl brought her finger to her lips, silencing me just as effectively.
‘There’s no need to scream,’ she whispered, wriggling her eyebrows at me. ‘Your thoughts have been doing that for years, little swan- more tonight than ever before. And as relieved as I am that you�
�re finally ready for a bit of divine intervention, I must admit, I’m a little disappointed...’ She feigned a pout. ‘I really thought you’d be the exception to the Barachiel rule, you know? But apparently not.’ She extended her hand to me, and my stomach knotted when it passed through the glass and into my room. Perfect. Milky. Corporeal- and undoubtedly, Satan’s. ‘Well… are you going to help me out, or not, daughter of mine?’
I stared at her, unbelieving, but utterly convinced. Mind reeling, and yet making calculations that only someone who was thinking rationally would be able to make. I held my breath- she blinked in expectation. I shook my head- but the woman in the mirror nodded. I let out a moan- she snorted derisively and just as I heard Kohén pull the plug out of the bath, I found my voice at last:
‘Or not,’ I whispered, before shock claimed me, and everything went black.
-End-
To be continued in the Eden Chronicles #3 The Tangled Trees. Thank you for reading, and please, support Indie authors, and leave a review! Every single one is a blessing
The
Tangled
Trees
The Eden Chronicles #3
S.K MUNT
© 2017 S.K Munt All Rights Reserved
Map of Northern Calliel
PART I
Prologue.
Loss of consciousness is a funny thing. Sometimes when you awaken it can feel like mere heartbeats have gone by and sometimes it can feel like eternity has passed. Either way, you always come to feeling somewhat panicked and completely robbed- shocked that your mind- your everything- was just switched off without your choosing to do it on purpose, like when you decide to fall asleep, and alarmed to think maybe you have just experienced what death might be like, and that one day your life could be taken from you that easily.