novelxo Chapter 38
She could barely process her thoughts as the past few moments whirled through her mind.
How was that possible?
She stared down upon her hands as if they were foreign, looking back up to the unconscious bodies that laid within the rubble, the only thing in the room left untouched Aurelia herself.
Aurelia had caused irreplaceable destruction in the throne room – pieces of stone from were scattered everywhere and the thrones were blown to smithereens. The wall of windows was entirely shattered, the cold wind blowing in. The low whistle of the wind was the only thing to be heard and despite the winter chill, Aurelia felt as if her blood was on fire, the magic coursing within her veins a reminder of the power that she had unleashed moments before.
The doors to the throne room suddenly opened and Aurelia’s head snapped to the doorway, her stomach dropping in fear. She pulled at her magic, summoning it to defeat whatever threat awaited her.
Yet the person that entered was not a threat, but a relief to see, Aurelia’s emotions flooding her body at his arrival.
Ambrose.
“Ambrose,” Aurelia murmured, relief pooling her stomach at the familiar sight of him. “You’re okay.” Her voice broke and she ran to him, through the fallen stone and glass, throwing herself into his arms.
“Aurelia,” He responded, his arms tightening around her. Ambrose looked around them room in concern, and looking down at her as if she were dangerous, as if she were a force to be reckoned with. “Are you okay? What happened? Did he tell you—“
She pulled back far enough to meet his gaze. “He told me enough.” Aurelia went in for another hug, the human contact a needed relief from the emotion that coursed through her body from the recent events. He welcomed her touch, breathing in her scent of sunshine and lavender.
“Where were you?” She said suddenly, her mind returning to the events that had led to the destruction she had caused. There was a fierceness in her eyes that wasn’t there before, a fire that was unable to be tamed. “You were really going to let him force me into marriage?”
Ambrose stepped backward at the accusation. “I—“ His voice stopped as his eyes fell upon Dorian’s crumpled figure in the distance, his eyes widening. He made no move to get closer, only turning to Aurelia. “Is he—“
Aurelia shrugged indifferently, her eyes still watching Ambrose. She was missing something, but what?
“Do you know what this means?” Ambrose said eagerly, rushing towards her, enveloping her in a tight embrace and spinning her around the room.
He laughed with sudden joy, leaning down to place a warm, loving kiss upon her. “We don’t have to get involved with the war. We can save Damaris and use your magic to protect our land. We could be the rulers – and make it into the beautiful place it used to be.”
He looked down at her eagerly. “We could be happy, Aurelia.” He continued on quickly, his enthusiasm leaking through his words. “I didn’t see it before, but I see now. I see it all, now.”
Aurelia tried to interpret what he was saying, hardly being able to keep up with his exclamations. Her heart wanted to join in on his celebrations, but another part of her begged her to stop for a moment and try to understand what was behind his words.
“Wait, wait,” Aurelia said, stepping away from him, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
I didn’t see it before, but I see now.
“What are you talking about?”
Ambrose tilted his head in mutual confusion. “What do you mean, what am I talking about? I’m talking about getting married, ruling Damaris together...” He leaned over to clasp her hands, looking at her with what she had once considered love.
“What of Calathis?” Aurelia responded immediately, gazing at him with the same fierce intensity, her suspicion growing at his words.
“What about Calathis?” Ambrose responded quickly, shrugging his shoulders. “Damaris, Aurelia. The king and queen.” He looked back at her, his head in the clouds of possibility.
At that moment, something clicked in the back of Aurelia’s brain.
We don’t have to get involved in the war.
“Ambrose,” She began carefully, taking another step away from him. “What were you referring to when you mentioned the war?”
The war hadn’t begun yet.
They heard a rustling behind them and they spun around to see Dorian’s figure start to move, his arm twitching. Ambrose began to move toward it, but Aurelia rose her hand, stopping him in his tracks. “No.” She said sharply, stepping forward instead.
Aurelia slowly made her way over to the fallen king of Damaris, being careful to not step on the glass, her gown swishing as she arrived in front of him.
She stood over his unconscious body, pulling out her dagger in self-defense. Though from far away Aurelia couldn’t tell if he was alive, she could now see that his chest was rising and falling, a sure sign of life. She should have known – it took much more than that to kill a magic-born.
Though he wasn't dead, he looked...different. As if something from her magic had changed him, all of the rage he was infamous for drained from his body. He almost looked peaceful lying there. As if he were the kind man that the villagers had told Aurelia stories of all those weeks ago.
His eyes opened weakly, blinking rapidly at the bright light illuminating her silhouette and Aurelia jumped back. Something was off about him, more than just his demeanor.
What had she done?
It took her a moment to gather what was so different about him before she recognized it.
His eyes, once a dark purple, were now a sapphire blue. The blue of the ocean on the coast of Damaris, Aurelia realized. His gaze, which was once so heartless, was...warm. Welcoming. Regarding her with a pleasant surprise. His expression was such a far cry from the man that had just tried to force her into marriage it took her a moment before she formed words to speak.
“Where am I?” He said weakly, rubbing his hand across his face, wincing in pain at the gaping cut on his head. He slowly sat up, running a hand through his dark curls, looking up at her in innocent curiosity.
“The throne room,” Aurelia said cautiously, continuing to hold her dagger out in front of her.
He looked around at his surroundings, his gaze only falling on Ambrose for a moment before returning back to Aurelia.
“Then who are you?” He asked, his eyes focusing on the dagger she held out towards him. “And why are you pointing a dagger at me?”
Aurelia looked at him in confusion. “What are you talking about? Is this another one of your games?” Her anger spiked and she thrust her dagger forward so it was directly against his chest.
“I’m not playing this game anymore, Dorian,” She said icily. “I’m walking out of that door to return to Calathis and you will do nothing to stop me. You will not wage war against my kingdom, and you will stop sending horrid creatures to take innocent lives.” She pulled her dagger away as she stepped back from him, looking down upon him with immense hatred. “And I am not marrying you.”
He blinked back at her blankly. “I’m sorry,” He replied bluntly. “I have no idea, I can’t remember—“ His eyes flickered, a flash of purple crossing them, and his eyebrows furrowed.
“What?” Aurelia said, watching Dorian.
His sapphire blue eyes returned and he looked to her with new intensity, his eyes wide.
“I remember,” he said hoarsely, and Aurelia raised her dagger once more.
“No, no,” He said quickly, raising his hands. “You don’t understand.” He looked over to Ambrose before looking back at her, coughing what looked like dark blood into his hands.
Aurelia looked back to Ambrose for a moment before her gaze returned to Dorian. “What?” She repeated impatiently, and his eyes locked onto her.
”Aurelia,” he gasped, recognition dawning on his face. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward her. She would have fought him off if not for the concern – the humanity – that flashed over his face.
“You must get to your grandmother. Immediately. She is under attack. The Fae—“ he bent over, a coughing fit overtaking him. He looked back up and continued. “It's been their plan the whole time. You must get to her, before it's too late. Please. Go.”
Aurelia froze as his words sank into her mind, disbelieving. “What?” She said skeptically, looking at Dorian in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
Dorian looked at her sadly, his eyes filled with sorrow.
His eyes were human.
“The Fae...” He whispered. “They’ve orchestrated it all. The feud between Damaris and Calathis....the kidnapping of the Calathis princess...” His voice cracked and he bowed his head. “And most successfully, the control of the Damaris king to do whatever they desired. For the kingdoms to kill each other, leaving the Fae to take over.” He looked back up to her, a completely different Dorian than she had ever known.
“There’s no time. You must go. We—“ He glanced back at Ambrose before looking back to Aurelia. “We sent the men hours ago. They’ll be arriving at Calathis any moment. You don’t have any time.”
Aurelia felt the blood rushing into her ears, her mind in disbelief. She thought she would be sick, but she could hardly focus on anything around her, nor the words that echoed through the room. It felt as if she was having an out-of-body experience, watching as panic overtook her.
No. It couldn’t be possible. What he was saying wasn’t real.
Someone in the room began to choke – no, it was her. She was choking. She couldn’t get enough air, she couldn't breathe, she couldn’t breathe—
Arms embraced her tightly, holding her as violent sobs shook her body.
She didn’t have time. She had to save her grandmother before it was too late.
But she couldn’t. Panic raked at her, unable to move, to think even despite her desperation to save them.
Yet just as it had taken over, her mind suddenly focused on the smallest of details, fixated on the arms wrapped around her, of the weight of words.
Ambrose.
“Did you know?” She whispered, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. He didn’t answer, his body loosening from around her.
“Did you know?” She beat her fists against his chest, and he just stood there, silent.
Guilty.
Aurelia waited for rage in the form of an enormous wave of power to envelop her, to hurt him as he had her, but nothing stirred. Her mind was a razor, thinking of every moment they had together, every second where he told her of love, of hope, and how every second had led up this moment, here.
Her heart was broken, but all she could do was stare at the man in front of her in betrayal. All she could think about was finding where her grandmother was.
He had sworn to never hurt her.
He had lied.
She stepped back from Ambrose, shoving his arms away from her. She couldn’t stand the sight of him. She looked weakly to Dorian. “Where—”
“Go to the tower. The jade green crystal. It will open a portal to Calathis,” He responded immediately, gently. So foreign for him. Aurelia immediately left, running out of the room.
She was her grandmother's last hope. If she wasn't too late.