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

Chapter thirteen

"We'll see."

General Adrien took Amaya and General Marcellus to Prince Ciaran.

"Release them!" ordered the prince.

The King's Guards were not subject to him, so they disobeyed his order.

"What did they do that you detained them?" the prince asked the general of the royal guards.

General Adrien gave him a message from the falcon. "It's a message from the Amorite," he showed the prince a blue ribbon. "It seems that your general betrayed you and wanted to run away with your bride, Your Highness."

Prince Ciaran read those words and looked at Amaya and General Marcellus in confusion.

"You know very well that I would never do that," defended General Marcellus.

"We didn't betray you, Ciaran," Amaya said. "You know it's true."

"Then prove it!" said Ciaran.

Amaya broke free from the guards that were holding her. She took a step towards the prince, two. She was standing right in front of him. She looked into his eyes.

"I understand you don't trust me, but not trusting even General Marcellus is really stupid, Ciaran," Amaya told him.

"I must side with her this time," said General Marcellus.

"I think it's a clear confession," said General Adrien. "That witch of yours will rob you of everything."

"Shut up, General Adrien!" the prince scolded him.

"She wanted me to shoot that falcon down. Why would she want that if she was sending messages to Amorite? She would thus lose all contact with them," said General Marcellus.

"Amaya?" Prince Ciaran turned to her.

"It must be Zariah," Amaya said. "She accuses me of starting to like it here, so she's trying to get me back before it's too late. I wanted to get to that falcon before she did."

"So you betrayed your own?" General Adrien asked her.

"No king rules over me, so I haven't betrayed anyone," Amaya retorted. "However, I do not plan to return to Amorite," she admitted.

"Perhaps, you won't be so vain, Prince Ciaran, now that you've got that witch on your side. Most assumed she would kill you before it came to the wedding," General Adrien said with a wicked smirk on his lips.

Amaya walked into Zariah's room. She sat on the ground and prayed to the gods, as she did every morning and evening. Her presence disturbed her and she turned her attention to her. Amaya looked away. You could feel the worry and sadness coming from her.

"Is something wrong, Amaya?" Zariah asked her.

Amaya opened her palm with a crumpled blue ribbon in it. "How long?" she asked.

A shadow flickered in Zariah's eyes. "I had to get you out of here, Amaya," she said. "It looks like you don't want to get out of here. You became too attached to that prince. I had to do something about it."

"Have you ever thought about what I want?" Amaya asked her.

"What do you want? What do you want? That prince? How long will it last for you? I know you Amaya and I know you never desire anything for a long time," Zariah said. "You must free yourself from these human desires, Amaya. Fate has prepared something bigger for you than this. You certainly feel it too. You are blessed by the gods, after all."

Amaya laughed. "Blessed by the gods." the words sounded so foreign to her. "I am only a puppet in the power of everyone else but myself. At least once in my life, I want to pull the strings."

"However, you are destined to become queen. It is your destiny, Amaya," Zariah said.

Her eyes were absent. There was darkness in them.

"You shouldn't have looked into the shadows," Amaya told her.

At that, the royal guards led by General Adrien burst into the room. Prince Ciaran followed at their heels. He immediately approached Amaya and took her in his arms. Amaya hugged him back. The guards grabbed Zariah and dragged her away.

"You're betraying your own destiny, Amaya," Zariah shouted. "You can't run away from it."

"Are you all right?" Prince Ciaran asked.

Amaya hid her face in his arms. She nodded her head.

"I remember you saying she was like your mother," said Ciaran. "She raised you."

"It seems that all this time she was merely raising a bride for her king. It was just her loyalty to the crown," Amaya said coldly.

⸸

At night, Amaya went to the prince's bedroom. He also didn't sleep like she didn't. He pulled back the covers and welcomed her into his bed. She rested her head on his chest. She listened to the peaceful beating of his heart. Ciaran hugged her and pulled her closer to him.

"Can't you sleep?" he asked her.

"Nightmares keep me awake," she replied. "And you?"

"Too many thoughts running through my mind," he said. "It's all getting too complicated. More than I would have expected."

"It's definitely getting complicated," Amaya said. "I had plans and they crumbled to dust when you walked into my life."

"What plans?" Ciaran wondered.

"Becoming a queen. Kill the king. Rule the kingdom," she replied.

"And what has changed?"

"I felt the possibility of freedom."

"Were you serious that you didn't want to go back to Amorite?" Ciaran asked her.

"Never again," Amaya said. "But what keeps you awake, little prince?"

"You, little goddess," said Ciaran.