AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER12
JAKUB
Afew days after Renard died, we finally buried him in the castle grounds. There’s no official service, no vicar, no huge congregation of mourners, just myself, Nala, Thirteen, Konrad, Leon and her...
Nothing.
She hasn’t spoken a word since we gathered in this meadow on the edge of the forest, merely folded her hands together and stared blindly at us all, seeing but not really seeing a thing. Her red hair is bright against her black jacket and matching skirt, the hem of which is covered in mud from our walk across the meadow. Every now and then her gaze flicks over to the forest, then back again.
“I wonder what she’s thinking,” Konrad mutters from behind his black mask, as bothered by her silent presence as I am.
“About the many ways she wants to murder us,” I retort, not so quietly.
Her eyes shift upwards, landing on me. The heat of her gaze reminds me of Icarus flying too close to the sun, I feel the burn right to the marrow of my bones and I have the sudden urge to pull off my mask and feel the cold wind on my skin. I’m fucking suffocating.
“Yeah, probably,” Konrad retorts, pulling a hip flask from inside his jacket pocket and taking a swig before offering me some.
“Not my poison,” I say, shaking my head.
“Yeah, not mine usually either, she’s standing over there,” Konrad says with a laugh that’s a little too fake for my liking.
“Brother?” I question.
He grips my shoulder briefly, then strides over to Leon and picks up another shovel, helping him to pile more dirt onto the casket and leaving me to contemplate why someone I’ve named Nothing could become every-fucking-thing.To all of us.
“She wouldn’t you know,” Nala murmurs, drawing my gaze away from Nothing and towards her. She’s standing beside me now. I hadn’t noticed her move away from the graveside, too engrossed with the woman who’s here to destroy us.
“Wouldn’t what?”
“Kill you. She couldn’t do it, no matter how much she hates you all right now.”
“She’d sink a knife in my back the moment it was turned,” I say, feeling her anger spread over me like a second skin.
Nala shakes her head, her hazel eyes probing. “She reminds me of you.”
“Me? Then I definitely know we’re in trouble.”
“You’re not as bad as you want everyone to believe,” Nala says softly, her fingertips brushing against my hand.
“No. I’m worse,” I reply, drawing my hand away, flinching from her touch.
“I don’t believe that.”
I grit my jaw, looking away from Nala and back over at Christy who’s staring into the grave now, deep in thought. Today her birthmark is a deep red, probably from the cold that has descended over the last couple of days. Autumn is slowly making way for winter, and with it the frosts have arrived covering everything in its path. “Believe what you want, Nala. I’m not in the mood to argue with you.”
“See, you’re not bad. If your father were here he would’ve thrown me into the grave alongside Renard and buried me alive for disagreeing with him.”
“What makes you think I won’t do that if you carry on?” I ask.
“Because we’re family and you protect your family, you always have,” she says, little white clouds escaping her lips.
“The only family you have is under six feet of freshly turned soil. You’re aservant, nothing more. Don’t elevate yourself to a position you’ve no business claiming.”
Nala’s lips wobble. I ignore the fucking tear rolling down her cheek and the stab of pain in the centre of my chest from causing it. “Well, thank you, anyway…Sir,” she adds as an afterthought.
“For what?”
“For allowing me to bury him in this meadow. This was Grandfather’s favourite spot. We spent hours here during summer together. He called this place ourpiece of paradise...” Her voice trails off as a sob releases from her lips and tears begin to fall freely from her eyes. I have to fight my instinct to wrap my arm around her shoulder and pull her close. Instead, I curl my fingers into fists and ignore it.
