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I step, light-footed, across the stones, the route second nature to me after all these years. Nyx does the same behind me. The black onyx door blends seamlessly into the rock wall. The etched symbols along the edge match the ones on the front entrance.
No one has ever told me what the symbols mean. Nor do any books in all of Omnia provide the details. But they are beautiful and could simply be an ornate design etched by an expert craftsman centuries ago.
Once inside, I breathe in the welcoming feeling of being home. As an extra level of precaution, we now have two guards stationed at the back door, and I give them a grateful smile as I pass.
A few feet down the black stone hall lies my old cell, and I pause at the open iron-barred door. I have made several adjustments to it over the years to wipe the horrors from the walls, but nothing has helped. I still see the young girl chained against her will as her father punishes her for simply wielding the same god-given power he possesses.
The chains still hang from the walls as a reminder. Their cuffs remain splintered from the night of my breaking. Nyx comes to my side as anger boils within me.
“You should be proud of all you’ve survived. Most would have given up or died from the torture,” he says as he pushes his arm against mine, keeping me tethered to reality.
“What good has it done, though? He should have killed me a decade ago,” I reply harshly.
More days than not, I wish he would have done just that. My life would have ended, and I wouldn’t have to live while not truly existing. Forever being the nameless girl of The Keep. He may have let me live, but he killed who I was, and I can never get her back.
“Umbra and our people are safe because of you,” Nyx says, looking down at me.
I scoff.
“King Asher keeps Umbra safe. I don’t exist outside The Keep, Nyx,” I say, staring straight into my cell.
His mouth opens to say something, but I refuse to listen anymore. I know what I am. Who I am. And nothing he says will change that. I turn and walk away. I desperately need time alone.
My quick pace eats up the distance to my chambers. Nyx trails right behind. As I round the corner, the onyx door of my quarters comes into view, and I break into a sprint. Nyx makes it around the corner, but he’s not fast enough. I slide inside my chambers, turn, and stick out my tongue at him before slamming the door shut, locking it behind me.
A moment later, he is banging on it.
“Go away, Nyx. I’m safe in here, and we can talk later,” I say, facing the door.
His knocking stops, but I know he is still there.
“I’m fine. I ... I just need time to process everything. We can strategize later.”
He remains silent.
“Unless you want to bathe with me, then I can gladly unlock the door,” I say teasingly.
An audible gag comes from my best friend, and I let out a small laugh.
“I love you and will find you later,” I say through the closed door.
“I love you too, even if you offer for me to bathe with you.” His voice grows distant on the last words as he leaves me in my quarters.
After Oren died three years ago, and I became queen, I had the quarters completely changed. We removed his things and distributed them to anyone who needed them. Since I had no possessions, it was a simple move for me.
One of my favorite upgrades is my oversized, black, wood bed with its massive headboard decorated with crimson gemstones and incredibly soft matching bedding.
As I go to the bathing chamber, I discard my dress into my dirty clothes pile and kick off my boots. The stone under my feet is cool. I turn on the water and dump in my oil, filling the chamber with the scent of roses. Climbing into the revitalizing water, I drop under the surface and stay under until my lungs burn, screaming for air.
I shoot up and gasp, drawing the rose-scented air into my lungs again. I scrub hard at my skin, trying to wash away everything. But no amount of cleaning can do that.
Dragging myself out of the water, I wrap my body in a fluffy towel and flop on my bed, not caring about soaking my sheets. I need to come up with a way to stop Lux from sending more guards. I have tried everything besides going to Lux myself to speak with King Leopold—or sending Asher but sending him would be a declaration of war.
We have sent letters to speak with the king of Lux, but he refuses to answer and has barred my messengers from entering Lux entirely. I rack my brain, trying to figure out why this would happen. What could Leopold possibly gain from this lie and the death of his guards? Why would he want to start a war with Umbra? There’s no way I can allow that to happen.
I get dressed, throwing on black trousers, a shirt, and a vest with crimson stitching. Then I strap on my blades and secure my dagger to my right thigh, running my fingers over the hilt. I wonder briefly how Tobias would handle this situation. Would he see an angle of this that we don’t? My heart pains at the thought of him and how desperately I wish he were still here.
Leaving my chambers to find Nyx, I stop dead in my tracks to prevent from running straight into him.
