Florian

9. Sub Rosa

As Jax leaned over to look past Demien, she caught Edrea's glance immediately. Great. She was accompanied by two guards, one held an umbrella over her head, walking her up to the door as she slipped in. She looked at Demien, the other guard following her.

"Leave. Now." Edrea said sternly. Jax could tell he hesitated before he looked back at her and sighed slowly. He engulfed himself in black smoke and disappeared within seconds. Jax stood there, staring at Edrea as she walked closer to her.

"I don't want you here." She began.

"You've made that clear before." Jax snapped. Edrea smirked.

"Then let me make one more thing clear. We're going to let you stay. But the moment the threat is taken care of, you're gone." Her nose scrunched slightly in anger. Jax's brows furrowed slightly as she stepped closer to her. The other guard that had walked in with the Queen began to raise his hand towards Jax before she signaled him not to.

"This was once my home too, Edrea. My father was the one responsible for what happened here. Not me, or Rowan for that matter. Truthfully," she continued, "Rowan might've not turned into the vicious monster he is if you hadn't thrown us out, we had to watch our fathers start from nothing. We had to watch them suffer, go insane, fucking die." Jax stepped closer to Edrea, now in her face. "You sent two innocent children to starve, to follow in footsteps that were never meant for them-"

"I did what was best after they murdered my princess!" Edrea's scream bounced off the walls.

"Aurora wouldn't have died if you had just made it safe for all magic to be practiced here. So no one had to practice unstable magic without a guide, in secret. Other kingdoms practice darker magic than what they used that day. Her death is on YOU for your ignorance!" The guard finally stepped in, using his magic to send her back a few feet.

"That's a warning." He said in a cold tone, though Jax's eyes never left hers.

"I don't care if this was once your home. I do not want magic reintroduced in this Kingdom. I want it to stay the way it is so no one else's children have to find out what it is to-"

"Feel happy?" Jax cut her off. Edrea's brows furrowed as she shook her head. She was about to say something when she continued. "Edrea. I think you've forgotten how beneficial magic is in the empire we live in." Edrea laughed, but Jax continued.

"I've heard other Kingdoms talk down on Aurora. Rumors about how you're all sitting ducks. Vulnerable for the exact attack Rowan and Simon plan to pull off. I'm starting to think they might be right." The moment Jax had mentioned Simon, Edrea tensed up. "This war Simon has planned is written in prophecies. Me and Demien are meant to put an end to it all."

"Simon?" She asked. Jax's facial expression was blank. Edrea looked at her guards as they glanced back at her, the one closest to Jax drew his sword, putting the tip of his blade to her neck. Unphased, Jax grabbed the blade, instantly shattering it into multiple pieces. She threw the piece she was holding to the ground with a good amount of force. The metal hit the ground and broke again. Edrea scowled as she signaled her guard to leave.

"Do what you need to... and then leave. If you don't, I will make Demien strip you of your magic." Edrea turned and without another word began to follow her guards out as they began to walk back in the direction they came from.

Jax stood there as the rain came down faster, her eyes slowly trailed down towards the ground, blood dripping from the palm of her hand. She took a moment to think about what Edrea said, and as anger took over, she created a small amount of magic in the palms of her hand. The same type that Demien had handed her. She raised a hand to aim it at a wall nearby when a hand grabbed her wrist. She dug her nails into her palm, not being able to look at him in that moment.

His brows furrowed in concern. He pulled her close to him by her wrist, wrapping his arms around her. She hesitated before reaching around and hugging him back. She closed her eyes, resting her cheek against his chest, using his same move to surround them in smoke. When she opened her eyes they were back at the estate, on her balcony. Demien pulled himself away from her slowly as she sat down in a large hammock they must've brought in that afternoon. Demien walked over and sat down next to her, pulling out the book she had been reading earlier from his jacket.

"Let's see what this says, hm?" He asked softly. Jax nodded as he opened the book to the first page, placing her other hand on the cut she had, slowly healing it.