"Did you follow me?" I got up, scanning the room for anything that I could use to defend myself with.
"Imagine my delight when I saw you leaving the palace in the middle of the night." She twirled the dagger between her fingers. "I was just coming to kill you but you made it that much easier. Now, I'm going to pin it all on Maria."
Maria !
With the state I was in, I knew I couldn't handle Kaili alone. All I needed to do was topple over a chair. Maria was sure to come check on me.
"What are you still doing in the kingdom?" I decided to stall her. It was a bad move because the question just pissed her off.
"Ah yes." She snarled, "you convinced him to kick me out didn't you? I knew your good girl act was fake. He gave me a day to take care of my belongings. Enough time for me to kill you!"
With that, she threw the dagger at me. I stumbled out of the way and crashed into the bedside table.
That's one way to do it.
My limbs felt weak. She took advantage of my clumsiness and threw herself on me. Her hands came around my throat and she squeezed, cutting off my air supply.
"Do you know what he did? In order to save you?" She laughed, "I guess you'll never find out."
Stretching out my hand, I desperately searched for something I could hit her with but it was an uphill battle. My strength was waning and so was my breath. Her face was too far away to hurt and her hands too tight around my throat to budge. I couldn't even reach her using my feet and she was too heavy to buck off. I gasped under pressure.
Just when the corners of my vision started blacking out, the door burst open and someone yanked her off. There was a loud crashing noise and it sounded like glass breaking. I was grateful for whoever it was and burst out into a coughing fit.
Gentle fingers examined my neck. As my vision cleared, Dominic's face came into view. He hugged me tight. With my face against his chest, I could feel how fast his heart was racing. Either he was really worried or he had come running all the way. Despite everything, I still felt safe with him around. I was still glad that he was here.
"You're safe." He kissed my forehead, "it's okay. you're safe."
I was confused at that until I realised that I was still crying. When we heard the glass crunch, Dominic stood up with me and faced her.
"Kaili." He crouched in front of me.
"You deserve more." Kaili said to him, her voice a soft plea. I noticed that she had scratches on her arms. A vase lay on the ground, broken.
Maria came rushing into the room with Leo right behind. Without pausing for a second, she launched herself at Kaili. I watched as the two fought. It was hard to stand straight and my feet wobbled.
"Maria!" Leo yelled as Kaili used a broken piece of glass to stab her. Maria collapsed just as Leo caught her. She was bleeding profusely. My anger increased tenfold.
I picked up a shard that was lying near my feet. Kaili was going to pay. It was one thing to insult me but another to try and kill somebody. Someone she had been associated with since years. Maria did not deserve to die, I did not deserve to die.
I had to end her, for it was obvious that she would never give up otherwise. She was too devious and cunning to be stopped in any other way. She'd come to kill me only because Dominic had kicked her out of the kingdom, something I hadn't done. Even though it was he who had made the decision, she truly believed it was me.
As if anyone could manipulate him, as if anyone could outwit Dominic. Her hate for me was uncalled for. In her madness, she didn't care who she hurt. I could not let it happen. My decision was made.
"Take her to Hara." Dominic ordered. Picking Maria up, Leo rushed out of the room.
"Let me kill her, my King." Kaili spoke, "You know I am better."
That did it. Taking aim, I threw the shard. She fell to the floor, the shard lodged firmly into her chest. After a few moments of struggling, she stilled. I didn't know if she was dead, nor did I care. All I wanted was to see Maria and hope that she lived.
I had no pity in my heart as far as Kaili was concerned. All I felt was apathy. It was her own doing. She would've been dead even if I hadn't been the one to kill her. Dominic would never have allowed her to live, Leo would never have allowed her to live for hurting Maria.
There were more footsteps and then a few guards entered the room. I assumed that they'd accompanied Dominic to look for me.
"Burn the body and get the house cleaned." He turned and picked me up. I didn't protest. There was no energy left.
"Eurus is in the back garden." I informed.
He nodded and carried me to Eurus.
"Can you stand? I need to untie him."
"Yes."
Once seated, the horse started sprinting towards the palace. I shivered due to the cold wind. Dominic brought his arms around me and pulled me to his chest.
"You don't have to."
"I do." He countered, "when did you learn to ride him?"
"I had nothing to do while you worked." I replied.
"Do you want to leave?" He asked after a while.
"Do you want me to?" I held in my breath, waiting for an answer.
"No!" He said, "but I thought that you might, after the way I behaved."
I did not want to think about it. There was too much on my mind. Maria was injured because of me and I'd just killed somebody. Cherry on top, the nectar was making me sick.
"Dominic, I'm tired." I sighed, "can we not talk about this now ?"
"Will you at least hear why I did it ?" He pleaded.
"Go on." I stifled a yawn.
"Torus is hiding something from us. I can not act rashly, he knows too much about the kingdom. He holds too much power over the spies. I never doubted you but I needed him to believe that I did." He explained, "so when he suggested questioning you, Leo and I agreed to it. Why wouldn't I trust you Seraphina ? I thought you knew me better than that."
"So it was just for show?" I frowned at him.
"Yes."
"And you're not lying ?"
"I swear to you that I'm not." He sighed, "I didn't think he would go so far Seraphina. I'm sorry. I should've stopped him earlier. I should've talked to you before doing this. I'll never allow it again. Can you forgive me ?"
I thought briefly. His reasoning made sense but I was still skeptical. Even though I was conflicted, I knew that I had to make a decision and decided to forgive him. Harbouring ill feelings served no purpose and so I let it go.
"I forgive you." I shut my eyes.
He kissed my head and I leaned back into him. He was quite warm. He tightened his arms around me and it was a very pleasant feeling.
"You're warmer than usual." He muttered.
My response was a garbled sigh. I'd not slept enough and Dominic was a great pseudo blanket.
"My Queen! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to disobey."
Opening my eyes, I saw Shar. He looked quite worried and I gave him a smile, hoping to calm him down.
"It's alright Shar. You did what you had to."
Dominic climbed down first and helped me then. Shar went to put Eurus back into his stall.
"I can walk now." I told Dominic. The humiliation I'd felt earlier, came creeping back in.
"Sera I can carry you. You're not well. The nectar did more damage than normal."
"Can you take me to Maria ? I'm worried about her."
"Fine." He sighed.
Maria was in the royal infirmary. Hara was hovering around her with a boy and a girl. They seemed to be her apprentices. Leo, who had been standing to the side, walked over.
"She will be fine." He said, "the wound was shallow."
I nodded, my eyes still on Maria. My anxiety eased a little. There had been enough death around and I wasn't ready to lose a good friend.
"Fresh clothes?" Dominic asked.
"My clothes were bloody. Hara said it was unsanitary." He sighed, "Seraphina I hope you understand why we did it. If it helps you forgive Dominic, you should know that he didn't want to. I convinced him."
"It's alright Leo." I smiled slightly, "you did what you had to. I understand."
He stared at me, at a loss for words. It was evident that he hadn't expected forgiveness. My eyes watered once more and I didn't want to cry in front of them.
"Can I go to your chamber?" I asked Dominic, "my body hurts and I want to rest."
"You don't need my permission. Come on."
He glimpsed at Leo and then we were out. Once inside the room, he shut the door. I waited for him to speak.
"Are you alright ?" He asked, finally.
"I will be."
Or at least I hope so.
"I'm sorry." He sighed.
"For what ?" I questioned, my back to him.
"For marrying you...not taking care of you...not saving Henry...the list is endless." the guilt was evident from his tone.
I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the pain. Whether it was physical, emotional or mental, I didn't know. The boundaries had vanished a while ago. It merged into one and the intensity was enough to make me dizzy.
"Do you regret it?" My voice was steady despite the tears.
"Regret what?" He was confused.
"The marriage ?"
"Of course I do." He groaned.
My chest literally hurt and a sobbed escaped me. Perhaps, it was what heartbreak felt like. The only other time I'd felt such raw pain was when I lost Henry. I didn't know if I could survive it again.
I didn't want to run. Every fibre of my being was telling me to stay but there was no point. Dominic regretted the marriage. I couldn't be so selfish as to stay.
"I can leave." My voice broke at the last word along with the last bit of hope I had.