A Kingdom of Tales (Kingdom of Avenlea #1)

Chapter 49

I skim through the next pages. Alistir's leaving. The empress writing letters for her family. The emperor expressing his love.

I would've taken the time to read through all of it if I wasn't on the verge of collapse. I want to finish this right now.

Ronan notices me staring into empty space and starts rummaging through a bag on the floor. "Here." He hands me a chocolate bar. "You didn't eat anything in the castle."

"You didn't either." I point out. I open the pack and break the bar in half with my left hand, the one not covered in Miles' blood. "Here." I repeat his word as I hand him half of it.

"Thank you." He looks at me with suspicious eyes and bites into it.

I suppose I deserve it. A person capable of killing family in cold blood is capable of anything. I shudder at the memory of Miles' cold body.

"Eloise is right. It wasn't your fault. I was there as well, and I couldn't stop it." He says after a moment of hesitation.

I breathe out and ignore his words. Nothing he can say can change the fact that if I hadn't acted stupidly on multiple occasions, Miles would be alive now.

"Why are your eyes gray?"

He startles at my question. I've never been one to keep my questions inside me.

"I don't know."

"You're a Fox, are you not?" I purse my lips. "Isn't your symbol an eagle with golden eyes?"

"Yes." It's the only reply he gives me, leaving me to wonder. I don't have the energy to ask more questions.

I rest my head against the wall behind me and succumb to sleep.

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"Mind your steps, Jasmine." Cerise told me during our class. She was teaching me a different ballroom dance that day. It was a particularly hard one that needed a partner. She'd called on Onyx to help.

"You know, Cerise, I'm not exactly the most skilled dance partner." He complained.

Onyx didn't talk much; he was a man of few words, so the fact that he was complaining was surprising.

"I am not going to ask Bash. I would very much not like to see what he and Melody are up to right now, Onyx, so suck it up." She said in her bossy tone that had all of us scrambling to do what she wanted us to.

Onyx had let out a sigh and put his hand on my waist. "I wish to remind you that you no longer have your powers, Cerise, so you should stop acting like you do."

"At least I can read what you're thinking right now, Onyx; you can't shift to save your life." She teased.

We spent the day learning the dance and laughing.

My vision turns into what feels like a memory—one that I don't remember.

"What if I send a letter to Alistir and explain what we've done?" Bash said.

"You know he won't be understanding of our actions, Bash." Melody replied sadly.

"He was always understanding, and he loved your sister, Melly. At the very least, he'll give you the benefit of the doubt." Bastian said in frustration. "I was friends with him, too. I wasn't as close to him as James was, but I think we can get through to him. He has to understand; he knows she was in danger. It's not like we took her to hurt him."

"He won't see it like that, and you know it. Alistir is reasonable when it comes to politics, but not when it comes to family. Do you remember what he was like when he lost Luna? He was never the same."

"Even if he never forgives any of us, he doesn't hold a grudge against her. In any case, he needs her. His health is declining by the minute, and Aurelia can only do so much. She has her own family to think of. We should take her back before your father dies, too. She needs someone to teach her how to control her powers."

"I know it sounds selfish, but I'm scared to go back. I'd teach her myself, but my powers are limited here." Melody's voice cracked.

"I know, darling. We'll get through this together. Aurelia can hold the forte for a few more years. I don't want Jasmine to leave us, but someday we're going to have to let her go if we don't want to go back." Bash pulled her into his arms and let her sob her frustrations into his chest.

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I wake up out of breath, with dried tears on my cheeks. How I long to go back to a time when my only worries were how hard Bash was training me.

I pull my knees to my chest and rest my head. I'm done being the only person with no clue what's going on. I'm going to finish reading this journal now.

"Phoenix?" Ronan says from beside me, confused.

"Give me a moment." I breathe. "And don't call me that, damn it."

I push the hair stuck in the sweat out of my face with the back of my hand. My body rakes with shivers. The dress I'm wearing is doing nothing to fend off the cold weather in Edessa. I rub my arms, trying to summon some warmth to my skin.

"You can heat yourself up, you know." Ronan says.

I don't want to. Even if I managed to summon even an ember, I don't deserve to bask in the warmth of a power that shouldn't have been mine.

The Gods can be truly cruel, can't they?

I take a minute to catch my breath, then I pull the journal from next to me. I'm ending the suspense and mystery now.