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“You know how you said you’ve felt me? Here?” I touch his chest and feel his heart skip a beat as the threads tighten, “That’s because the threads to your Amari never break. They grow tight, but they never break.”
He pulls back and looks at me. Stunned into silence.
“The fates didn’t give you a new Amari. They gave you back the one you thought you had lost. The same threads that linked us then are the ones you feel now.” I continue cautiously, waiting for the look of realization to enter his eyes, but it doesn’t.
I take a deep breath.It’s time. Please gods.
“It’s me, Theo. I’m Lily. I didn’t die. What you saw was Oren stabbing me with a trove blade to make it look like he killed me. But he took me and made me into his monster.” My chest tightens as he moves further away from me.
I watch him intently.Say something.
“No. Lily is dead. Why are you doing this?” He groans and leans forward to brace his elbows on his knees and rubs small circles on his temples.
“I’m not dead. Oren and Leopold needed you to believe I was, so no one would come looking for me. But it’s me. I’m alive, Theo.” I reach toward his chest again, and he jerks to a stand.
“No! Stop this right now. You’re not her. Lily is dead. I felt her die. A part of me went with her that day,” he yells at me, fist clenched tight at his side.
I reach out to take his hand, but he grabs my wrist, stopping me. His rough hands nip at my skin as he shoves me away, and I grit my teeth at the bite of pain.
“How did you do this? Why did you make me fall in love with you? Did you do it to somehow use Lily against me? I’m so stupid! First, you’re a secret queen with no name, then you’re King Asher, and now you’re Lily? Who are you, really?” he snarls, lip curling up to show a hint of teeth. “Was this the plan the whole time? Play games with my mind under I bent to your will?” he shouts.
“No! The only plan is to get you back. I wanted to open your eyes, and it worked. Now I need that damned veil that blocks your memories of me to be gone too. I was waiting until I could make it happen, and now I can.” I pull out the vial of black liquid from my pocket, showing it to him. “This antidote will help restore your memories. It worked for Junie, and it will work for you. Take it so you can see me, Theo. You’ll see I’m not lying to you.”
He shakes his head adamantly, stepping further away. “None of this was real. I told myself not to fall for it, but I did anyway. You tricked me! What other elixirs have you been giving me to make me like clay in your hands? Easier to manipulate and deceive?” His lips pinch tight as his nostrils flare in anger.
“I don’t lie to the ones I love. I protect them. Even if that means hiding in the shadows for ten years and watching from afar. I have done everything in my power to keep you safe until we can be together again. Just take the antidote. Please,” I beg him to listen to me.
“I don’t even know you!” he shouts back, body shaking with fury. Each of his denials fractures pieces of my heart, one by one.
“I’m the girl you kissed by the river and made believe that fairytales were real. The girl you tried sacrificing yourself for, so she didn’t have to die when the nobu attacked. But my shadows wouldn’t let that happen.” As if summoned, darkness swirls around us just like the day at the river, shielding us from everything.
Theo’s gaze tracks the black vortex of shadows. His breath hitches at the sight. I keep going, “Then three months ago, you saved me from Jonathan when he thought he could put his hands on me at The Blue Stag. Those threads pulling you toward a barmaid who needed a knight in shining armor.”
“How do you know about the barmaid? I never told you about that,” he asks, his voice unsteady as fury flares through him.
“Because it was me. The veil kept you from recognizing me, but your heart and soul knew who I was. That I was yours,” I answer. My voice is a plea for him to listen. He shakes his head and tries to step around me, but I cut him off.
Cupping his face, I force him to look at me. His honey eyes are cold, all warmth stolen from them. “I need you to see me, Theo. We don’t have time for you to fight this. Our people need us. War is coming and we must protect them. Take the damn antidote, please.”
Theo grabs my arms and shoves me away. I stumble back a few steps before gaining my footing.
“Don’t touch me. This isn’t my kingdom or my people. I have no duty to protect any of it,” he yells, as I step back toward him. He bumps into the wall of shadows, causing a harsh jolt to rush down my spine. I grimace as the fiery pain shoots through me. I take a deep breath to calm my racing heart.
“You know that’s not true. Why else would you have survived the haunted forest? The hare bowed to you because she knows you’re destined to be king of Umbra. Ruling the kingdom beside me,” I retort, tilting my head to the side. My heart is on the verge of complete undoing from his blatant denial of the life we are supposed to have.
He takes a step toward me, fury a blaze ripping through him. “I’m not tied to this gods-forsaken kingdom or to you. I’ll never be king,” he hisses as he storms past me toward the wall of shadows.
An icy numbness washes over me as Theo drives the last nail through my splintered heart. This is it. Nothing I say or do is going to get him to believe me. Breath lodges in my throat as I force down the sobs threatening to tear from me.
“I sacrificed my life for you, Theo. I survived starvation and torture in the hopes that one day we could be together again,” I say weakly, turning to face him. My body doesn’t feel like my own. Loose limbs move of their own accord. “I allowed them to turn me into a monster because it meant they couldn’t hurt you. My scars are a testament to all the things I’ve done to keep you safe. And you won’t even listen to me.”
“I’m through falling for your lies. You did nothing for me. I don’t know who you are, but I know you’re not my Lily. You can’t sweet-talk your way into my memories.” He doesn’t bother turning around to speak to me.
A deep growl comes from Theo as he glares at the shadows blocking his path. “I’m getting out of here. Move those damn shadows or they’ll have to kill me!” he shouts, and they answer, recoiling back to me. His shoulders rise and fall with rapid breaths as he storms forward.
I chase after him into the tunnel walkway, back into The Keep. “If you return to Lux, Leopold will kill you,” I yell at his back, and he pauses his retreat. “If you leave my kingdom, I can’t protect you anymore. No matter how much I love you, I don’t think we will get another chance,” my voice cracks as the control of my emotions breaks.
“I’ll take my chances. I think my odds in Lux are better than if I stay here.” He resumes stomping toward the front door.
