The Torn Sins

Chapter XXI

Matrix's POV

She is clinging to Lily and gripping my hand as if her life depends on us. As soon as we walk in, we are swarmed by nobles.

"Princess Cybil! Are you well?"

"What was it like being sick?"

"Did you try to kill yourself again?!"

"Do you think your mother murdered your father?"

"Alright! That's enough!" I command and the crowd falls silent immediately. "We're here for breakfast, not a press conference. Cybil will be answering questions at Mother's trial later this evening. You can all come and listen to what she has to say. Until then, leave the Princess be." With some minor grumbling they make their way back to their tables. The three of us make our way over to our royal court and Cybil is greeted by her friends.

"It's so good to see you out of bed!" Evangeline exclaims,

"Agreed," Tristan tags on.

"Let me look at you," Davin rushes over to Cybil and inspects her closer, looking her over until he is confident that she's healthy. "I...I thought we'd lost you again," he whispers for only her ears but I catch drift of those words.

"I'm back, and I'm fine," she reassures everyone, looking at each face. Finally, realization dawns on her, "Where is Antoinette? And Vixen?"

"You didn't tell her?" Evangeline hisses.

"I wanted to wait for her to stabilize," I growl back. "Cybil...Antoinette moved last week, Vixen a few days before that. Their families grew wary of the kingdom and all that was occurring so they packed up their things and left. Antoinette was happy to leave, but Vixen was devastated. She left a letter for me to give to you, remind me later. She had no choice but to go, her parents were adamant about it."

"Oh...how many other noble families have left since Father's death?"

"At least five," Darcy says.

"Wow, that's a lot," she lets out a deep breath. "I can see we've got work to do," her words are addressed to me and I nod firmly. Our attention is broken as we hear the double doors open and we turn to see Natham and Gwyneira enter the room, hands entwined. The whispers rise up immediately and the two freeze at the entrance as all eyes are on them. Cybil calmly sets Lily down and my daughter moves to my side, her eyes wide on Gwyneira.

"I won't let anything happen to her," I whisper to Lily and she grips my hand with her own, fear showing in her small body.

"You're a traitor," a noble calls out, rising from his seat. He's pointing at Natham. "Our Princess trusted you, so did we. We welcomed you into our kingdom, gave you an elite position, praised you, worshiped you even. And in her time of darkness, when she was sick and needed you more than ever, you abandoned her!"

Natham stands there, silent, and subtly pushes Gwyneira behind him.

"Oh god, he really cares for her. In such a short time. We were in that tower for years, and I've seen that look on his face before," Cybil whispers and I glance over to see the tears in her eyes.

"You don't have to help him Cybil," I growl. "You can let them take him, and be done with it. It's only been a week or so, he can't care that deeply for her yet. They're infatuated with each other and that's all. You shouldn't have him around anyways; he's only gonna get in the way of what you want. You know it's true. That boy could very well be the reason you fail."

"He should be killed! He's a human, a slave, and he deserves death!" the noble calls out and now other vampires are standing, shouting their agreement. The dining hall is in an uproar, one that is focused on Natham.

"I do have to help him," Cybil responds.

"Why?"

"Because I love him."

As the noble vampire lunges towards Natham, Cybil speeds over, intersecting him and pushing both Natham and Gwyneira out of the way. She's slammed into the wall instead and I snarl as I see her eyes flash with pain. The noble is in a rage, death in his eyes, in too deep to stop. He moves away from Cybil and goes again for Natham. Cybil grabs him by the throat and throws him on the ground, but it doesn't take long for him to jump back up and attack again. This time, he gives Cybil a hit to the face that causes my blood to boil.

"That's enough of that," I hiss while going over and grabbing him. "She's not gonna let you hurt that boy, and I'm not letting you lay another finger on your Princess. Due to the fact that she intersected you during a rage I'll wave the consequences. But if you touch her again I will cause you to experience more torment than you've ever imagined." I whisper something foul in his ear as an example of what I have in mind and he starts trembling with fear instead of anger. "Good boy, go on to your chambers and rest up. I don't want to see your face for the rest of the day." He gets up and scrambles out of the room quite quickly.

Cybil is breathing heavily and bruises are already blooming on her face. "You should really stop getting into so many confrontations," I tease, my hand reaching out to stroke the cheek that's turning red pretty quickly.

"I can't help it, I take after my older brother," she responds. The entire court is watching us and so she turns to address them all. "Natham says that he cares for this incredible woman. That's not his fault. Sometimes our desires can be arresting, they don't always let us choose. Just because he likes her doesn't mean he cares for me any less. We are still friends, and we will still protect each other. Do you hear me? I will still protect Natham. So if any of you want him, you'll have to kill me."

"And if you plan on killing her then you'll have to kill me first," I toss in.

"During this difficult time, we all need to be united. Father is dead, your king is dead, and right now our only concern is mourning him and letting him receive justice. Relationship squabbles can wait until later. We are all together in this," she takes my hand, and then Natham's hand. "There has been enough violence as of late. Peace is the only way to go right now."

After a few moments of silence the room bursts into applause and I can't contain my smile. Cybil is forever charming, able to woo any crowd no matter what. "Let us feast!" I call out and the eating continues.