Threads of Emerald

Chains of Death: Chapter 42

Orion

            Red. Streaming bodies of blood writhed over the cold, dense marble as her body crumpled to the floor. And then I was screaming as my knees hit the cold, dense marble and I reached out to feel the warmth escaping from her body.

"Seraphina ...", my voice was barely a whisper as I pulled her limp body against my chest, as I stared into those emerald eyes, eyes which promised spring walks in roaring grassy fields, her warmth curled into my side. "I'm sorry, I didn't ...". But my voice broke as harsh sounds thumped against the floor, reverberating throughout the room, shaking the delicate, diamonds in the chandelier above.

"Well, what do we have here?", Crius drawled.

Crius

Seeing Seraphina broken and cushioned against his chest set off some primal rage deep in my bones. The man who'd taken her trust, trust so precious and rare, and turned it into a carefully sharpened blade to plunge into the most painful parts of her body. But, the salty tears mingling with the acidic stench of blood made me feel sorry for him, sorry that he thought she was dead and would think that for a while.

I composed myself, going to that dark place in me where the blood froze in my veins, where my thoughts no longer crashed and collided as the surf crashed against a rock.

"What do you want?", the icy drawl of Nefta couldn't slice against the concrete casing I'd built around myself.

"Seraphina", Orion's deep citrine eyes bore into mine as he wiped the drying tears from his cheeks and sat a little taller. I couldn't help glancing down at Seraphina, the dagger plunged through her heart, eyes slightly open.

"She's dead", Orion choked out.

"Well, I can see that, Orion. I want her body. Per the law of Arawna, if a Kingdom puts a warrant on the head of one of their inhabitants, they are entitled to take their body back to that Kingdom", I made a show of straightening my onyx armour, the absence of the emerald brooch like a phantom limb as I made my way to Seraphina's body.

"She's no use to us dead, take her", Nefta's eyes were cut glass as she stared me up and down, her eyes trailing over the well-tailored black pants, the perfectly trimmed light armour and billowing green cloak that hung loosely down my back.

"No ... No", Orion spluttered like a child throwing a tantrum.

"Unless you want to risk the wrath of the Emerald Kingdom, you'll go and take your seat on the throne next to Nefta", I made a show of eyeing the thrones instead of the brown-haired girl that lay strewn over the floor, "Did you notice that your throne is slightly smaller than hers, Orion? I'd get that fixed quickly, or it'll go to her head".

I bent down, one arm going under Seraphina's back and the other her knees. She still felt warm, a faint beat pulsing through her body. Her body felt heavier and harder, I wondered how Orion hadn't noticed it, the strange energy pulsing around her.

He probably never bothered to notice the way she felt, the way her presence thrummed through the room, it reminded me of starry nights under the Emerald Kingdom's sky, the quiet, crisp blanket of night with that strange, intense presence that radiated from the silvery slithers spattered through the blackness.

I turned on my heel and stormed out of the room, heading to the carriage at the front of the Palace.

From the corner of my eye I saw two figures watching through a window. Ivor, a fake look of sadness etched convincingly into his features as he was held by Theodore, real tears dripping down his face as he made an attempt to run to the carriage.

But the wheels had already began to clatter against the dusty path and I headed out of the Diamond Palace.