She shot up in bed and scanned her room but he was nowhere to be found. Assuming he must have woken earlier, she bathed quickly and ran into the common space they shared to look for him.
She needed him more than any other day. Needed him by her side to give her strength when she felt so small again, but when she checked, the air in the room was dead and still as though no one had touched it recently. Making her way to his bedchamber, she hoped he was cooking, readying himself for the day, but when she knocked, no one answered.
For the first time since her trial, Akadian wasn’t waiting for her when she woke up. His bed showed no signs of being slept in and his room was dark and empty aside from the kiss of afternoon beginning to seep in through his window.
Where could he possibly be?
A knock on the door woke her from her thoughts and she ran to it, throwing it open and hoping she’d find him on the other side. When she swung open the wood and iron door, instead of being greeted by his glinting eyes and smile, she stood face-to-face with Ernaline who held anextravagant gown in her hands.
She gave her a soft smile and held up the dress. “Good, you’re awake. This is for you.”
Confused on how she’d found Akadian’s chambers, but nonetheless happy to see her best friend, Ambrose waved her inside.
How did she get here?Ambrose couldn’t stop from thinking. The room was one of Akadian’s best-kept secrets.
One of them.
“How did you find me?” Ambrose eyed the gown in her hands.
“I’ve been immune to the effects of illusion-lily since I was ten years old and accidentally poisoned myself with it. I’ve been watching you guys come through that false wall for weeks hoping I’d get to talk to you again.” Ernaline shrugged and laid the gown on the chair closest to them and Ambrose got a good look at it. Deep red, unassumingly for Eltoria’s colors, with a deep off-the-shoulder plunge neckline and high slits up the sides. It had gold and silver chains trailing down the sides where the slits opened, like the lacing of a corset. Paired was a matching gilded sternum plate that was clearly made more for fashion than functionality, as it offered little protection. But, one detail stuck out among the rest. Attached to the sternum plate were long gold chains that connected to two wrist cuffs and acollar. Designed to look like a servant mark.
“Casimir says you’re supposed to wear this today,” Ernaline said as she recoiled from it.
“He wants me to wearthis?” Ambrose eyed the cage that tried to pass for an accessory.
“Yes.” Ernaline nodded curtly. “He says you’re to arrive in nothing else.”
“Why?” she demanded. The thought of walking around the palace in it was humiliating. The message was clear. It was as though he was standing next to her, whispering, “So the whole world knows you still belong to us.”
He wanted her to remember she wasn’t truly free. That though her mark had changed, she was still theirs.
“He didn’t say.”
“And if I refuse?” Ambrose asked, disgust for Casimir’s fashion choice allover her face.
“Then I, and your brother will receive the punishment for it.” Ernaline looked at her with defiance. “But if you don’t want to wear it, I’ll accept whatever punishment he decides.”
How dare he!Red seeped into the corners of Ambrose’s vision. Electricity coursed through her veins as she met her best friend in the eye. Her channels raged inside of her, pushing against her skin demanding to be released, Magick running through her body as it craved to explode out of her when she thought of Casimir.If he touches them I swear…
“No,” Ambrose huffed, picking up the gown and sternum plate. She’d wanted to wear the one Magnus had gifted her. “It’s fine, I’ll wear it. He won’t touch you.” She took a deep breath to calm her channels before they ripped her apart. “I can promise you that.”
She returned to her bed chamber to change from the gown she’d selected to the new one as Ernaline stepped in behind her. She pat the bed, motioning for Ambrose to sit and when she did, Ernaline began to run her fingers through her hair the way she used to when they shared a dorm and things had somehow been simpler. She circled and twisted the white strands into elegant twists, pinning them in spots on her head so that her hair would fall down her back, but out of the way of her eyes.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing this new color,” Ernaline remarked as she admired the white strands that fell between her fingers. “Or seeing your skin so… untouched.”
Blood rushed to Ambrose’s cheeks and she turned her face down. In all honesty, she was starting to get used to the stranger in the mirror but it’d been months since she’d gotten to speak to Ernaline. She must look like an entirely new person to her.
A stranger.
“It did take…” Ambrose flinched. “Getting used to.”
“It’s really pretty,” Ernaline offered. “Though I do miss your red, it was a beautiful shade that you don’t see often. I do like getting to see you without all your scars though. Makes me feel like nothing they did to you could hurt you forever. It’s nice.”
How wrong she was.
Her scars may be gone but the ghost of them stayed with her every day.
Ambrose lifted her eyes until they landed on the mark around Ernaline’s neck. The twin to hers before it had changed. In that moment, Ambrose swore she would do whatever it took to remove it. That she’d free Ernaline no matter what it took. She’d do it for her, Adym, and anyone else the empire held like property to be used and abused whenever they pleased.
