She nodded. “You see, I always wanted to be more than,” she dropped her eyes, “more than the queen who was destined to marry the Dark King, and now even that doesn’t seem like it will ever happen.”
Sinow stood still, listening to her as she spoke. He watched her pace across from him, watched the way her dress clung to her, the way her hips moved, her hair bounced. All of it calmed him, he felt the anger slowly slipping away. It was still there, not as deep as he’d have liked it to be buried, but it was definitely not a dominating presence anymore.
When she finished her sentence, he caught her eyes and felt his heart tug. Every fiber of him yearned for her, nothing mattered anymore. The anger at being deceived, the things he’d found out from Kanine, even the remaining threat that lingered. None of it was relevant when he was lost in her eyes, but then she dropped them and when she did, he felt as if the world fell away from him. He heard her speak about marrying him and realized then that they both truly were on the same page. He was about to move closer to her, but in that instance, he dropped his guard and his Dark side surged forth once again. He caught hold of the table and fought to regain control. When he opened his eyes, she was looking at him with an understanding in her eyes. He could see her starting to weave a calming spell, and he put his hand up to stop her. He had to do this on his own. He took a minute to calm his breathing then looked back up at her.
“Vi, I’m not angry with you. This whole situation is overwhelming. We’re both pawns in the Fates’ hands. It’s not all bad though,” he said holding her gaze. “I think we can both agree that the Fates did their job well. I’m sure someday we’ll complete the prophecy, but for now…”
He sat down at the table and ran his hands through his hair, then rested his head in his hands. “Where do we go from here, Vi? This is torment.” He looked up at her, his heart pounding, his powers surging. She glanced away, and then with concern on her face, looked back into his eyes. He could hear her breath catch, her heart skip a beat as it always did.
“I don’t know” was all she said. She sounded defeated.
He cursed the Fates and slammed his hand down on the table, causing her to jump slightly in response. Sinow rose and walked further away from her, hoping his ire would ebb, but with no calming spell it only grew.
“What do you want me to say, Sinow? Neither of us knows the answer. I don’t know what to do except to be patient and hope this phase in our powers, your powers, finally passes.”
“I’m tired of being patient, Violissa!” he roared, regretting the anger in his voice. “I can’t stand wanting you so badly and not being able to act on that desire. How can this be part of the Fates’ plan? Does their prophecy really mean to have us go through this?”
“Sinow,” Violissa said, walking toward him. He put his hand up to signal her to stop, gritting his teeth in the effort it was taking to keep his powers at bay. “This isn’t the work of the Fates. It’s my doing.” He started to question her, but she continued, shaking her head. “If I hadn’t been so stubborn, we would have been wed before the ascension, and we’d both have what we want.”
“What are you talking about?”
“That was the plan, if only I had followed the rules of the prophecy, our union would have merged our powers. My Light power would have eased your ascension. Now I fear…”
He interrupted with a laugh. Her words pushed him over the edge, and his inner demon grabbed the chance to take over. “You really think I need your powers for anything? Maybe Tynan was right after all.”
“Tynan? What does Tynan have to do with any of this?” she asked.
He stood, feeling the power spilling out, the blackness beginning to shadow him. He watched her reaction. That was his favorite part of all this, seeing the fear in their eyes. But it wasn’t fear he saw when he searched her eyes. Instead he saw sadness and something else…concern? That angered him even more, so he cut deep in response.
“Tynan has always said you Lightbearers manipulated the prophecy to weaken us. In fact, he’s always thought it was all a lie.” He stepped closer to her. “A lie created to entrap me and weaken my powers. Now that sounds exactly like what you just told me, Violissa.”
Violissa drew herself up taller and Sinow saw the aura around her become brighter as her powers increased.
“You take my words out of context, Sinow. Your brother is the one whose intentions should be questioned, not mine. Your father believed the prophecy, and deep down you do as well. If you don’t, then why are you here?” She glared at him, the green of her eyes darkening with every second she awaited his answer. That voice deep within him struggled to be heard, but it was lost, buried below the fire that had erupted.
“You’re right, Violissa, why am I here? In fact, why are either of us here? It’s clear we can’t stand to be near each other. If what you say is true, then why bother?”
He watched her face with anticipation. That had brought the reaction he’d been looking for if only for a moment. She let her guard down, and he briefly saw the disappointment in her eyes. He felt his heart lurch at the sight and that weak part of him fought back again. But still he went in for the kill.
“So why don’t we just walk away, Violissa? There are plenty of attractive women in Tenebron who would die, no pun intended there, to bear their king a son. Why should I waste any more time on you?”
Violissa wanted nothing more than to break down in tears at what Sinow had just said, but she knew that was the reaction he was waiting for. How she hated this side of him. If only he could learn to balance his powers. He was so afraid of losing control to his Dark side that he never let himself embrace it and become one with it. He buried it until something like this happened, and it overcame his true self. Well, she wouldn’t stand here playing games anymore. She wasn’t about to give him the pleasure of seeing her weakness.
She bristled at his words and drew her power up even more, seeing the Light pour from her as the Dark swirled around Sinow.
“Then don’t,” she returned harshly. “Maybe you’re right. All of this has been for naught. It’s too early in our reigns to take a mate anyway.” She stared smugly at him.
“Never too early, Violissa. In fact, a mate right now might help me release some of this ire that you seem to have built up in me.”
“Now?” she asked before she caught herself.
“Why not? Maybe I’ll take a few before I’m ready to deal with you or maybe I won’t deal with you at all,” he said vehemently.
“Fine,” she spat back. “If that’s good for you, then it’s good for me. I think I’ll start the search today.” She forced a confident sly smile out to reinforce her words. “Goodbye, Sinow. I’ll have my Council contact yours from now on. I wouldn’t want you to be burdened with me more than you already have been.”
She quickly shifted, too proud to say anything else for fear she might back out of what she’d said. She saw the look of surprise on his face as he and the glade disappeared.
Violissa shifted back into the front room of her castle with a force that caused the floor below her feet to buckle. Her temper flared. She was so angry and hurt by what Sinow had said and how he’d acted. She knew it was only his Dark side talking and that somewhere inside was the man she had come to know and care about, but it hurt none the less. Would he really go through with his threats or was he just bluffing? He was so unstable that she didn’t know what to expect, especially if he couldn’t regain control. She’d just have to wait and see. There were bigger issues to deal with right now, she reminded herself as she walked into the meeting room. Her Council had been busy while she was gone. Books and maps were spread across the table, and they were all shouting different ideas out as they rummaged through the pages.
Violissa bit her lip and shook her head to get thoughts of Sinow from it. This was going to be a very long day, she thought as they all stopped and looked up at her.
Sinow watched as Violissa shifted from his sight. What had just happened? He ran his hand through his hair as reality set in. What had they just done and was she serious or just trying to call his bluff? That part of him that cared about her clawed from deep below to get to the surface and reclaim his self-control. It wanted to go after her and take the whole conversation back, but that part wasn’t in control now and that Dark part of him clamped the caring part down. It didn’t matter; she wouldn’t do it just like he wouldn’t. Both were ruled so tightly by the prophecy that even if he tried to get near another female the reaction would be too severe to bear. He knew the consequences if he even thought about another. He’d made that mistake before. Long before he’d met Violissa, when she’d simply been a bedtime story, Tynan had tried to get him interested in one of the serving maids. The thought of her had made Sinow violently ill for days.
Anger flared through him for thinking about that experience and how he lacked control of his own fate. He grabbed his head in frustration and tried to think of something else to calm himself. The image of Violissa sitting in the sun flashed before his eyes, and his desire for her rippled fiercely through every vein in his body. This gave the weak part of him the moment it needed and it tore through the Darkness taking hold of him once again. He exhaled sharply; it felt good to be back in control, but the reality of what had just happened slammed into him. He looked up at the sky in agony.
“Why?” he whispered, waiting for a response from the Fates. “Why can’t I gain control? What am I missing?” Maybe Violissa was right, he was terrified of becoming his grandfather and nothing terrified him. He was the Dark King, for Fates’ sake! The scariest thing was that he already felt like he’d become his grandfather. The loss of control to his Dark powers was like becoming another person completely, as if there were two different people fighting for dominance within him.
Not hearing any response from the Fates, he decided to head back home. He knew the right thing to do would be to go after her and admit he’d said the wrong things but although every part of him screamed that he needed to do this, he was too proud. He didn’t realize that pride would soon cost him everything.
When Sinow shifted back to his keep, he realized how famished he was and headed straight to the dining room to see if any food was still out. The tug of war inside him used all his energy and always left him feeling as if he hadn’t eaten for days. Luckily, lunch had recently been served, and some scraps remained on the table. He grabbed a thick leg of meat and bit into it, savoring the taste as if he had never eaten it before. When he looked up, Sinow realized he wasn’t alone. Tynan had entered the room, and Sinow watched as he strolled to the seat across from him, sat down, and propped his feet on the table.
“Really, Tynan, I’m trying to eat in peace.”
“Trouble again with Violissa, brother?”
Sinow’s skin prickled as it did every time Tynan said her name. “Why do you ask, Tynan?”
“Well, I just happened to overhear…”
Sinow slammed his fist down, shaking the table and sending food flying to the floor. “Were you spying on me?” he felt the anger begin to push through again, but this time he welcomed it.
“As your advisor, it is my place to know what goes on in this realm.”
“It’s your place to respect my privacy, and it is not your place to spy on your king. You’ve gone too far this time, Tynan.”
Tynan stood and aggressively stared him down, something very out of character for him. “And you haven’t gone far enough, Sinow. What you did today was the first step, but if you don’t follow your words up with action and you return to her side, then you’ll be dooming yourself and all of us. This kingdom needs a strong king, not one who is whipped into subservience by some idiotic prophecy!”
Sinow felt the reaction to Tynan’s word immediately, knew his eyes had gone deep black and saw the fear cross Tynan’s face briefly. He inhaled and straightened, so he stood almost a head taller. In his current state, he could have cared less about what Tynan had said about Violissa and the prophecy. What concerned him was the way his brother had watched him, unbeknownst to him, and the way he was now speaking to him as if he were someone with power.
Sinow growled, and slammed Tynan back, pinning him to the wall with the flick of his hand. Through his gritted teeth, he spoke, “Watch your tongue, Tynan. No matter that you are my brother; I am still your king. Your role is to advise, not to command.”
He released his brother and let him fall to the ground where he remained on his knees with his head lowered. “Your pardon, Sinow. My passion for your rule to be the greatest in our people’s history has once again gotten the best of me. I will speak more wisely next time.”
“And,” Sinow continued, ignoring Tynan’s sickening groveling, “if I ever find that you’ve spied on me again, I will banish you for all eternity, brother or not.”
“Yes, my liege.”
Sinow, still in his Dark mood gestured for him to stand. “Now, tell me why you think my conversation with Violissa went well.”
Sinow felt his anger start to wane as he waited for Tynan to respond. He flexed his hands and tried to relax a little more to get back to his normal state.
Tynan took his time. Sinow could tell he was carefully checking his words before speaking to avoid another outburst from Sinow.
“You don’t need her. Her Council told father’s that a union with her would make you more powerful. You’re already the most powerful king we’ve ever seen, what difference would wedding her really make? Why bother trying to get past your inner nature just to bed her?” Tynan paused, clearly waiting to see Sinow’s reaction.
“Go on.”
“Why not walk away like you both said? Take a break. Wed one of our own and have her bear the next king.”
Sinow tried to envision it. He tried to picture bedding another woman, touching and kissing someone other than Violissa. As always happened, his stomach lurched. The anger tore up in response. He tried his best to hold himself together, not wanting to suffer the embarrassment of having Tynan witness this moment of weakness. Try as he might, the bile rose in his throat and he turned away from Tynan as his lunch came back up. He heard Tynan chuckle, and the ire replaced the bile. He spat and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand.
“Even with all that power, you’re still a pawn to the Fates.”
Sinow threw his hand out and sent his brother slamming through the room. “There will be no more talk of another union,” he bellowed, finally his two sides agreeing. “There will definitely be no heir yet either,” he followed up, trying to take his mind off the previous images in his head. “It’s too early, that won’t come for thousands of years, Tynan. You know how it works.”
He sat down, watching his brother clean the mortar from his hair. “Fine, no heir, and apparently no other woman. Not sure why the two of you even had that talk earlier if this is where you were going to end up.”
Sinow ignored him, his mind working something out. An heir would come at some time, it was inevitable. “Imagine,” he said slowly, as the power whirled within him. He thought of the heir their union would bring. He, the most powerful Dark King in history and she the most powerful Light Queen, as well as blessed with Elvin gifts. The child would have power beyond any they could fathom. Unlike his grandfather, that thought did not threaten him, but instead enticed him. He rolled his neck, feeling momentarily at one with his powers rather than struggling to fight them. He had found a reason for his inner Darkness to finally desire her, and he didn’t want to risk losing that sensation. He looked up as he felt his eyes darken, the power welling through them. “No, there will be no other union. Violissa will be mine just as the prophecy states.”
Tynan looked confused and Sinow wondered briefly at the irritation he saw on his brother’s face but was too wrapped up in his thoughts to say anything. “Imagine the power our son w
ill possess. There have never been two rulers as powerful and never has there been the potential to mate. A union will bring power like no other to our realm, Tynan, and that is worth any sacrifice I need to make.”
Tynan looked as if he wanted to object but seemed too defeated to open his mouth. Sinow slammed his hands down on the table and watched as Tynan jumped. “Don’t ever spy on me again and don’t ever dare to even think you can tell me what I need to do when it comes to Violissa.” With that he shifted to be alone with his thoughts, the power to which he had reluctantly given himself over coursing through every fiber at this new revelation and threatening to quickly drown him.
Thirty-Five
The rain pounded against the windows and rattled the panes as Tynan closed the book. He rubbed his temples and leaned his elbows on the desk. It seemed so long ago that he’d obtained the book from the Lost Realm and thought all his troubles would be over. But it had not turned out the way he’d planned. The book was filled with spells that were written in an ancient tongue with which he was unfamiliar. He had to painfully use other books as references to interpret the text. So far, he’d only broken a few of the spells and realized there was a key to releasing the power within the book that involved more than just mastering the spells within it.
He looked out the window at the rain cascading down. He was losing his ground with keeping Sinow and Violissa separated and had run out of ways to interfere without looking obvious. Each day he failed brought them closer to completing their union. Their last meeting had seemed at first to be exactly what he’d been looking for to fuel the fire within Sinow, but his conversation with Sinow had gone sour quickly. Luckily their powers battled against one another so much they could barely get near each other, and although he didn’t think that would last forever, he knew it would be some time before it could be overcome. From what he had overheard, it took Sinow all his strength not to attack her whenever he was near Violissa. Tynan found it quite ironic that they hungered for one another yet could not stand to be within the other’s sight. Maybe the Fates did have a sense of humor after all. No matter the reason, it was giving him time to fool with this blasted book. The wind howled outside the window. The wind. He’d just finished deciphering a spell that manipulated the wind. It seemed the Elvin had used the wind to carry messages and had taught the spell to the early Lightbearers as a means of communication. Who had known? Now that spell was in his hands, and he thought about how he could use it.
Ascension (Unbound Prophecy Book 1) Page 26