Blessed by the Gods (Gods & Dark Creatures Book 1)

Chapter twelve

She looked at the past through her eyes. She walked through the crowded streets of the city. People pushed each other, trying to make their way to their goal. She had a hood on her head so that no one would recognize her.

She came to the market. A man in a red robe decorated with gold dragged her into his shop. He was a rich merchant. He led her to a dark warehouse where he kept forbidden things. He handed her a richly decorated wooden chest that was hissing.

"Be very careful. A very dangerous snake." the merchant told her.

"I can handle dangerous things," Yazmin told him.

She paid him with the jewels that Prince Ciaran had given them.

The vision moved to her chambers in the palace. Yazmin listened as she and the prince talked in his chambers. She felt anger boiling inside her. Violent and passionate jealousy.

Yazmin took the chest and released the king snake into her bed.

However, when the morning came, Yazmin was not thrilled. The guards searched for the culprit who put king snake into Amaya's bed, but she was not dead. She was still breathing.

Yazmin went to the market for the second time, to the same merchant. This time she bought from him a bottle of poison from the flowers whose scent Amaya knew so intimately. She poured it into her wine before offering it to her. But even alcohol could not mask the secret killer.

Not from her.

Amaya snapped back to reality. She let go of Yazmin. Fear and horror flashed in her eyes.

"I know it was you who put that snake in my bed and I also know what you put in that wine," said Amaya to Yazmin. "Your beloved prince will probably not be thrilled if he finds out. He certainly won't let you live."

"You don't know anything about him," Yazmin retorted.

Amaya laughed. "I'll give you a choice, Yazmin," she told her. "You know, I have this gift of summoning my own shadow. It is bloodthirsty. It kills everything in its vicinity that has a beating heart. In a room, in a closed space, it can be controlled, but in an open space, where there is always a beating heart nearby, nothing can tame it. And you don't want anything to happen to your beloved prince."

"You wouldn't do that." Yazmin looked at her in disbelief.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of, Yazmin," Amaya smirked wickedly. "If I were you, I'd accept my offer and drink the poison. It is a more merciful death than being torn to pieces by a shadow. I can also promise that if you manage to get out of your nightmare, I will keep you alive and not tell the prince about what you did."

That was a lie. There is no way out of the nightmares caused by the nightshade flowers alive. It is a certain death.

Yazmin took a glass of poisoned wine and poured it into herself for one gulp. She gave Amaya a hostile look.

"You don't deserve him," she told her.

Yazmin retraced her steps towards the celebration. But before she could reach it, sweet nightmares claimed her. She collapsed on the ground before everyone's eyes. The girls screamed. Prince Ciaran immediately ran to her. He shook her in his arms, called her, but she didn't wake up. She will never recover.

Amaya emerged from the darkness. Everyone turned their eyes to her. The prince's eyes showed confusion. A whisper of accusation filled the air.

Prince Ciaran grabbed Amaya's hand and pulled her away. The whole time they were walking, they were silent. A heavy silence hung between them. He led her up to her chambers. He closed the door behind them with a loud bang.

"What have you done, Amaya?" Ciaran chided her. "Do you realize what will happen if my father finds out?"

"Then don't tell him if you're afraid of what he'll do," Amaya snapped.

"She was from a noble family. That's hard to hide," said Ciaran.

Ciaran was almost shouting, while Amaya spoke in an eerily calm voice.

"I did what I thought was right," Amaya said. "She put the king snake in my bed. She even tried to kill me a second time when the first attempt failed. The wine she brought me was poisoned. I made her drink it."

"You can't just kill people, Amaya. You should have told me. I would sort it out," Ciaran told her.

"I'm a dark creature, deal with it. And don't play the saint, Ciaran. I feel your sins from you. There is an alluring darkness in you." she told him. "That's the real reason I've never dug into your mind. Darkness will lose its beauty if you reveal its secrets."

Ciaran was taken aback by her words. He immediately cooled down. He was distant from her. He fell silent. He turned his back on her and went to his rooms. Amaya was left alone in the dark.

⸸

It was early morning. Amaya was sitting on the stone railing of the balcony. She watched as the first rays of the day slowly crept into the world. Dark night was replaced by day. The black sky took on a shade of light blue. The clouds turned pink. A divine silence echoed through the land.

Prince Ciaran came to keep her company. She felt his presence even before he appeared at her side. He leaned against the stone railing. He looked somewhere in the distance beyond the horizon. Amaya tore her eyes from the dawn and stared at him. Ciaran turned to her. Their eyes met.

They didn't have to talk. All the words were said just by being there together. They both had secrets. Both had their darkness.

Amaya put her head down on his shoulder. Ciaran wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Together they watched the day come into the world.