Forbidden Darkness (Whispers Prequel #1)

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

“How could you love him? Look at him, Thyatira! He’s unnatural! An abomination in this kingdom!” Nadir screamed at her, gesturing with one hand at the man who stood next to her. “He doesn’t deserve to alive!” Nadir shouted.

The next few moments all passed in a blur. As quick as a flying arrow Nadir had drawn his dagger and had pounced at Tanoan. The sharp, silver blade came into contact with soft, pearl white skin and sunk all the way in to the hilt. Jerking the blade out in one tug, scarlet blood coloured the once clean blade.

Taking a step back, Nadir watched in horror as a pool of bright, crimson blood welled and dripped down onto the forest floor, mingling with the leaves and sticks. It wasn’t Tanoan’s blood though, it was Thyatira’s.

Clutching her tiny hands to the wound, Thyatira swayed back and forth until she crumbled to the ground in an ungraceful heap. Her body shook and a trail of tears streamed down her face in little rivulets. Deep, rasping breaths escaped from her lips as Thya struggled to pull in the air.

“Thya!” Tanoan cried, rushing to her side. Carefully, he lifted away her hands and replaced them with his own.

‘Heal.’ He willed the magic to flow through his body and into Thyatira’s. ‘Heal!’ Pushing harder, he felt a warm, tingling sensation in his palms and a bright, white light illuminated the forest. Once the light faded and the tingling sensation ceased, Tanoan lifted his hands to have a look at Thya’s wound.

Despair washed over him like a tsunami. ‘Why wasn’t it working? It had never failed him before, why now!’ Tanoan screamed in his head. A small part of him already knew the answer but he refused to acknowledge it. ‘The wound is too severe. You can only heal wounds that aren’t life threatening.’ That small voice told him, but he pushed it away. ‘No! I vowed to never let anyone hurt her! I gave her my word!’

Standing away from Thyatira and Tanoan, Nadir watched on silently. He still hadn’t comprehended the fact that his fiancée was bleeding to death before his eyes by a wound that he had caused. ‘I wasn’t meant to hurt her. Why did she jump in the path of the blade? Why save a Whisper? Does she truly love him?’  

Nadir didn’t understand what had just happened, none of it made any sense to him. ‘No. The Whisper must’ve corrupted her with its magic. Brainwashed her.’  That theory made Nadir feel a lot better. It wasn’t his blade that had killed her, but the Whisper’s corrupted magic and he was going to make sure that he paid for brainwashing the princess.

“Tanoan?” Thyatira croaked hoarsely.

 “Yes, my beautiful princess?” Tanoan asked with tears pooling around his silver eyes.

“I don’t regret one moment we spent together or for saving your life.” Thyatira held his gaze as she said this, knowing that this was her last chance to say it. “I love you, Tanoan.”

“My only regrets is not saving you.” Tanoan told her, guilt clouding his eyes. “I love you too.”

“You already saved me. You saved me from a life of naiveté and a loveless marriage.” Thyatira told him seriously, before closing her eyes. Tanoan could feel the exact moment that her soul left her body, the hand he held clasped within his grew slack and all expression left her face. His princess was gone.

Letting go of her hand, Tanoan rose from his spot next to Thyatira. Scarlet blood covered his body and stained his skin and clothes. Turning towards Nadir, Tanoan felt empty. Thyatira was the only silver lining that had appeared in his life. Before her he’d never felt like he belonged anywhere, but when she came into his life he belonged to her and she belonged to him. She was going to show him a better life, where he would be accepted. Nadir had taken all that away from him.

“You’ve murdered her.” Tanoan stated, sounding hollow.

“No! You murdered her when you corrupted her with your abilities!” Nadir accused, pointing at Tanoan.

“It was by your hand that she died, not mine. You killed your fiancé.” Tanoan knew that he shouldn’t push the Kitsune any further, Nadir was already unstable enough, but he just didn’t care anymore.

“No, Whisper!” Nadir spat at him, marching over to him so he was staring right into Tanoan’s unusual silver eyes. “Your kind is dangerous. You’re a threat to the whole kingdom!” Nadir yelled, sliding the same blade that he’d killed Thyatira with into Tanoan’s stomach.

A sharp pain pieced through him as he felt the dagger stab into him followed by a growing burning pain. Tanoan knew that death would follow swiftly, he wasn’t frightened or saddened by the turn of events. The pain barely even registered with him. The emotional pain he was experiencing overrides the physical pain that Nadir was creating.

“This won’t end with your death, Whisper. I’ll tell King Andric of how you murdered his daughter with your abilities. I’ll make sure all the Whisper’s in the land are exterminated. I give you my vow on that.” Nadir sneered  at him, slowly pulling the dagger out of his stomach.

“That’s not what happened.” Tanoan murmured weakly, fighting the urge to collapse onto the ground.

“It is what happened! That’s the story that the kingdom will know! I’ll still become king!” Nadir yelled at Tanoan, then he turned his back on the Whisper and disappeared into the oak trees.

Dark, crimson blood dripped down Tanoan’s body, joining with Thyatira’s blood. Stumbling over to his fallen princess, Tanoan shrunk to the ground by her side. Taking her limp hand inside his once more, he lay on her chest and closed his eyes, waiting for the darkness to claim him.

This life had been filled with pain and hardships for Tanoan. Meeting Thyatira was the best thing that had ever happened to him and he knew that even though he couldn’t be with her in this life, he’d find her again. They belonged together.  Tanoan’s thoughts began coming to him in broken fragments until finally the shadows came for him, ending his pain and suffering.