Beneath Shadows and Secrets

♔ 𝕱𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔶 - 𝕾𝔦𝔵 ♔

His attention lifts to the window I stand at and I dart from view, my chest heaving as I pant.

I cannot do this. I cannot.

But it is too late now. He is here, and whether I want to face him or not, he will not leave until he is stood across from me. I need to find the strength I have spent so long building, and use it now. He will not return to Abutilon with me. I am not the person I was the last I saw him.

I am so much worse.

♔

I press myself against the door to the foyer.

I am still in the corridor, hiding myself from all those that stand within. I know Tynan stands beside Calix, the latter's voice loud and clear as he drawls a lazy narrative. If the circumstances were not so dire, I would laugh at how he behaves a though he had no idea Zaire was arriving today, and how he pretends to be almost shocked for the reasons he is.

Zaire's voice is distant, no doubt stood at the foot of the stairs. He sounds furious, the same coldness to his tone that he held on the day I escaped. He has said little else than how he wishes to see me, and return me home. I know he does not mean Cracuria. He has made no mention of the plans he has to turn Vrodora against Calix if he is not to hand me over, the ones Cenred shared with us.

I doubt he will admit it at all. Zaire's arsenal is made of lies and secrets and half-truths.

The Lord is the only one that speaks. Neither Cenred or Ezekiel utter a word. They know better. Zaire's anger hangs heavy in the air, and though it deters them, Calix feeds it further.

"So, let me make sure I am clear on what you are asking," Calix begins, though he cannot continue.

"I am not asking." Zaire snaps. The warning in his words keeps my feet glued to the spot. I will not show myself, not until I know that Calix will keep his word. If he bends and gives in to Zaire's demands, I need to be ready to run.

"You will get nothing if you start throwing your weight around in my Court, Zaire." I can hear the humour in Calix's tone. Though it is neither a denial, nor an agreement, my tensed muscles soften somewhat. "You wish for me to hand Daenira back to you out of the kindness of my heart?"

"I know it is a foreign concept to you, doing anything without a price," I can picture the feral grin splitting Calix's lips as Zaire says that. "If you present me with an even trade, then perhaps we can agree on some form of payment."

Calix hums. "I am not sure there is anything that can match the value of the huntress." I bristle at the nickname. It sickens me, more so hearing it come from him mouth. I hate it. He never calls me that. "Besides, what if she does not wish to leave? She sought respite here, and seems to be enjoying it so far. I would say the decision is hers."

"She is mine, or did you forget that?"

Calix's laugh is cold and hollow, and I can picture the rage twisting Zaire's features. "You should have known that you never had the capacity to own such a woman, nor skilled enough to keep her, in any sense." The insinuation in his words is so thick, I can almost taste it.

Zaire sneers, "So she has already found her place warming your sheets then?"

"How much would it trouble you if I told you she was warming them now?" My heart stutters and I have to catch the breathy exhale that threatens to spill passed my lips.

"Bring her to me now," I scrunch my eyes shut as he speaks, so demanding that I already know what is coming next. "Or I will turn over this Court until I find her, even if it means killing your people in the process."