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Chapter 37
Wrenawokeinaplace she did not know. The room was small, but filled with bright colors. Even the bed was a light blue and the table across the way a light green. Wren sat up, feeling strain and protest in her body as if it had not moved for many days.
Aside from the bed and the table, there was nothing else to give her clues about where she was. She crept to the only small window and looked out seeing some land below her, but mostly the expanse was the ocean surrounding her on all sides.
Only wearing a thin nightgown she was hesitant to go out searching her surroundings, but the need to make sure she was safe was greater than her modesty. She crept carefully to the door and silently turned the door knob, finding it locked.
Panic began to well in her and she ran back to the window to see if it would open. Thankfully, it gave way under her pull, but she was several stories up and it would be impossible to use it to escape.
She obviously wasn’t in North Helm since Wesley would have never locked her in a strange room. An uneasy feeling settled in her that maybe Malaki had caught up to her and locked her up, only waiting for her to wake up to witness his betrayal before he killed her. How had she not seen his duplicity before Wesley told her about the third verse.
His affection for her had never made sense. He had been so cold to her and then magically changed to pretend he cared about her. It made sense now, setting Sophie up as her pretend maid, gaining her trust.
Making it seem that they were the only ones who cared about her. They were probably unhappy to find her friendship with Wesley and that likely was why Sophie was so cold when she referenced him. Gods, if she hadn’t found Wesley, what would have become of her? Her magic would have been used to kill and conquer. She still didn’t want this magic, but at least she could hold onto it and not allow it to be used for nefarious purposes.
Running her hand over her forearm, she stilled suddenly. She had been so distracted by where she woke up that she hadn’t looked at her mark. Maybe she had purposefully not looked, afraid to see the truth of what lay there.
Taking a deep breath, she turned her arm and stared. A third circlet of ivy rose above the rest, wrapping itself around her arm. The ominous mark stared at her. She fought to understand the markings. Lucius had said he would do what he could for her, but none of what had happened to her seemed to be to her benefit.
She had begun pacing when the lock of the door clicked and it opened with a noticeable creek. Wren held her breath, trying to gather any magic that she could to defend herself, but in her fear it felt like trying to grasp drops of rain. Relief flooded her when she saw a familiar tall, blond-haired figure. She breathed out a sigh of relief and ran to him, wrapping her arms around him, his body firm and steady.
“I thought that…” She couldn’t finish the thought. “I am so relieved to see you.” She exclaimed. She realized with a sudden coldness that he wasn’t holding her back. She pulled away looking up at him, seeing something new, something calculating in those familiar green eyes. “Wesley? Did I do something?”
Heat rushed to her cheeks as she remembered the last time she had seen him and anxiety bloomed behind it. Did he regret what they had done? Had she in some way pressured him and now he couldn’t stand to touch her? But, no, he had shown her that he had wanted her just as much as she wanted him. Wren put her arms around herself, taking another step away from him.
“Wesley, please. Say something,” she pleaded.
Wesley only sighed and took the key he was still holding and locked the door before turning back to her. Something was not right, he would never just leave her to feel this unsure.
“I had hoped to be able to explain to you everything in detail, but it turns out our pursuers are much more invested than I had originally believed.” His voice was cold, but at least in some way his words were reassuring. He was obviously worried about evading Malaki and it weighed heavy on him. It also explained why he was taking precautions with her safety, but he was sorely mistaken if he thought a locked door would prevent the Haradon prince from entering.
“Why aren’t we on the ship if they are so close? We need to leave. Is Mary all right?” She remembered how sick the princess had been and was instantly concerned that was the reason for their delay.
“She’s fine.” He shrugged. “Listen, Wren. I’ll make this brief.” He paused as if he were pondering the best way to tell her and she wondered at this version of the man she loved. He was being so purposeful, whereas normally he was more passionate and instinctual. “It turns out, I withheld some information from you, quite a bit if I am being honest.”
She looked at him, her brows furrowed. Before she could ask what he meant, he continued.
“Let me explain the verses to you so you can understand what is happening. The first verse obviously speaks of Serephina’s fall from immortality, destined to live mortal lives over and over. Did you and he even try to decipher it?” He waved away the question. “The second verse also references the curse. You figured out you were the vessel, so at least I can give you that much credit, though it seems painfully obvious. Essentially, when Serephina’s reincarnated form returned to Valmere, love would be the key to unlocking her magic.”
“Wesley, when did you figure out all of this?” The way he talked of it was like he knew it by the back of his hand, but that couldn’t be. He wouldn’t have withheld all this information from her when he knew it could help her.
Ignoring her question, he continued. “‘Times seeps away’ spoke of the life cycles you had. Explaining is much more tedious than I had anticipated.” His voice was callous and slightly irritated.
Nothing was making sense. Why was he acting this way and how long had she been asleep that he had been able to decipher this all?
Taking an irritated breath he continued, “Third verse. ‘A gift forsaken’, well what is a gift if not immortality, which you just threw away. Next, well here we are back to the curse aren’t we? If love was the key to your power, you also had to give it away willingly and you did so easily.”
“I gave it to you,” she said dumbly. “I don’t understand why you are acting this way to me, Wesley. Tell me what it is so I can understand the change in you. You’ve obviously learned something terrible about me that changed how you felt.” She felt an unfamiliar self-loathing that ate at her core. How could she be so terrible to warrant this change?
“Let’s not be hasty. ‘Once claimed, Death be called.’ Once that love is claimed, death can be called. I have already kindly told you the meaning behind that line, no need to dally.”
Wren recalled his words before they had escaped Haradon. That Malaki had planned to make her fall in love with him and then kill her to claim her power. Wesley already knew that so that could not be the reason for his change in demeanor.
“And here we are to the finale, finally as it were. I had to move up my timeline considerably quicker than anticipated because I was suspicious that somehow you were becoming dangerously close to falling in love with your husband. I quite thought you safe from that fate upon meeting him, but there is no accounting for taste.
“You see, I knew what the buffoon King of Haradon and his Bishop were planning because well, spies are quite the helpful tool. I seized the opportunity by having my sister pretend at a courtship with the youngest prince in order to have a reason to come to Haradon and be present when they went about their summoning of you.
“Imagine having to wait three months for those idiots to get the correct spell, and then dragging innocent girls from around Valmere to make Malaki think they were willing to kill them until he finally agreed to marry you. Three deaths seems excessive to get his obedience, but I suppose some people are born to think their lives mean more than others.” He took a small breath and rolled his eyes as if this were all tedious as if what he was saying didn’t make Wren’s head spin.
