Summoning Bones

24. Rage in the Castle

"Eirene, how dare, what?" Cadmus roared, but upon seeing the slumped over guard, the knife sticking out of his chest, the words died in his throat. He quickly shut the door to the ballroom and faced Eirene.

"Hello, my husband," spat Eirene. "If you had just let me finish my plan," she grumbled. She stood from the ground, wiping her bloody hands on the guard's discarded shirt.

"What is this?" He yelled, gesturing wildly around the room. His eyes narrowed dangerously, as he took a step closer to Eirene. She swallowed down her nerves. She had never seen Cadmus like this, the Commander in him, nay the beast in him.

"I helped our plan to get the King's crown," she said simply, as if that were all the information he would need to piece together the scene in front of him.

"By seducing your way through the guards?"

"I did not, only this guard. I wanted his last moments to be enjoyable," she mumbled.

"So you betray me," he growled. Eirene ignored the beastly sound that set her body aflame.

"Betray? We are nothing. We are not married, we are mates, a mistake I'm sure Selene made. You forget your place beast," snarled Eirene, her self sabotaging instinct overruling the part of her screaming to stop.

"A mistake? The Moon Goddess does not make mistakes. You said we would try," he said, desperation sneaking into his words.

"A lie, something I'm sure you think all my words are. I have a life, a complicated one. Something that was not helped by your Lord and his plans. I have to chase ingredients down for a spell to wake the dead and bring them back to life," she said. She longed to take back the words, she didn't know why she intentionally wounded him like this. She wanted to try, to have a relationship with Cadmus, whose wolf was now more in charge than man, growled.

"You are my mate, and to even think of it being a mistake, is dishonorable. Let alone to kiss another."

"You cursed me to this mess, and I'm getting us out. We have to steal the crown, and go to the Underworld. Then I hope our paths never meet again," she spit. Cadmus growled low in his throat. Eirene rolled her eyes and turned back to the body of the guard. She knelt beside him, examining the wound, letting her fingers trace the guard's muscles.

"No."

"What?" She glared over her shoulder at him. His bristled and a grow rumbled in his throat. The voice in her head was pleading with her to run into his arms, to take back everything she said.

"You are my mate, I will not live without you. There is no mistake. And I am sorry for the trouble my employer has put you in, but I need explanation. Why did you kiss this fool? If your plan was to leave me, why string me along like a puppy? Why lie at the inn? Why give me hope that we may work?" He said. His wolf fading into the background. Eirene's eyes softened slightly, but she quickly glared at him.

"I do not owe you answers, possessive beast, as you like to bring up, I lie. I need you to ensure my freedom that is it." She did not know where the words were coming from. With every word, every lie she built around herself, she hated herself for it. Everything she said sent daggers into Cadmus' heart. "Now, I need you to leave, distract the King for a moment. This guard will enter the ballroom, approach the King, tell him of an intruder wanting his crown. They will send in more guards, take the crown for safe keeping, but bring it to me. We will leave with the crown, and the guard will become himself again."

"How?" Curiosity over her plan overpowered his anger, but only slightly. After this ridiculous plan was carried out, they would need to talk. And perhaps this time with no lies.

"I am a witch, and I will create a puppet of sorts," Eirene said, a half truth. Cadmus huffed and left the room. She sat down next to the guard and looked over his face. Something about death always made people look angelic, made from porcelain. She examined the guard and looked over his eyelashes, counting each one, trying to calm her breaths.

Why, why did she say such cruel things to Cadmus? Guilt clawed at her, while her darkness wanted to continue the plan, bring her sister back. Her light wanted to chase after him, and apologize.

Perhaps this is what her parents felt during their fights, did they spit words they did not mean? Is that why they taught her both worlds, to be the light and dark? So she could belong to both worlds? No, they taught her to be their weapon. From a little girl they showed her that she had to earn their love, to prove she was powerful enough to be their daughter.

Eirene was not raised for love, she was raised for war. Although, her situation felt eerily like a battle between her heart and mind.

Her heart wanted to chase after Cadmus, beg for his forgiveness, explain she never meant anything she said. She wanted to tell him everything about herself. Give him her name.

Her mind, however, knew what needed to be done. She needed to reincarnate the guard, steal the crown, and confront her father.

Being his mate may mean unconditional love, something she had never known, but it also meant honesty. He would hate her for what she was.

But she grit her teeth and closed her eyes, holding out her hands where white orbs began to take form. Silver dripped from her hands and poured over the guard, covering him in a shell. The metal shell hardened as Eirene convulsed, shaking in tremors. The shell cracked and broke. The silver flowed back into Eirene, and she stopped shaking. The guard gasped back to life.

"You, you killed me," he stuttered.

"And now you owe me one favor," Eirene said quietly. Her soul was tired. She wanted to rest, to just stop sabotaging and running away. And she had just ruined her only chance of normalcy.