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“Okay,” Tarian whispered, looking away from Maeteo to catch my eye, “You two stay here for a minute, and I’ll go and see…” He trailed off, gesturing his hands towards where Maeteo still stood.
I nodded, reaching out and squeezing Tarian’s hand tightly. He smiled at me, but it was not his usual, heart-stopping smile, and my chest tightened considerably as we watched him walk away from us. Cyrus tugged on my arm, pulling me in to the shadows by the walls, so ifMaeteo turned, he would not see us unless he looked for us.
Tarian walked slowly, but eventually he was close enough to Maeteo to be able to reach out a hand and place it on his shoulder. Maeteo jolted, but his movements were slow as he turned on the spot, his face scrunching up until he recognised who had disrupted him.
From where Cyrus and I hid in the shadows, I could not make out what they were saying, but I could see their mouths moving. Cyrus’s warmth behind me was enough of a distraction that I had to focus harder than I normally would, but even from here, I could see the way Maeteo’s eyebrows were furrowed, and his cheeks were reddening. He was annoyed.
Cyrus moved behind me, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he tried to get a better look over my shoulder. I tensed slightly as his hand shifted on my waist, and I could have sworn I heard him let out a small laugh.
“Should we go over there?” I asked quietly, looking over my shoulder for a split-second, too scared to pull my gaze away from the pair in front of me for much longer than that.
Cyrus did not have the chance to reply before Maeteo started shouting. His hands were waving wildly as he roared in Tarian’s face. Tarian’s eyebrows were raised but his expression stayed neutral. It was like he wasexpecting this reaction from whatever he had just said to his best friend.
What he was not expecting, I was sure, was Maeteo’s fist to pull back and swing forward, connecting with his nose before he had to chance to stop it.
I gasped, and Cyrus leapt out from our hiding place, sprinting down the alley to where Tarian now was crumpled against the wall, holding his face. I followed close behind him, my legs working as fast as they could carry me along the slippery cobblestones and against the heavy wind. My stomach bubbled uncomfortably, warmth starting to spread around my spine.
Maeteo stared at Cyrus for a minute, the anger returning to his face once he realised who it was that was running towards him. He started towards him, his hands balling into fists again, until he spotted me.
He wilted slightly, stopping in his tracks as Cyrus veered to the right, ignoring Maeteo completely and sliding to a stop in front of Tarian, who had started to bleed down the front of his shirt.
He was cursing at Maeteo, calling him every awful name I had ever heard, and then some I would not have even been able to imagine. My breaths were coming quick and fast as my feet pounded against the cobblestone, finally coming to a stop a few feet from where Maeteo stood.
His eyes were on me, and up close he looked even worse. His lip, which had finally healed over, was now splitagain, and his yellowing bruises were once again purple. His eyes were bloodshot and his hair a tangled mess at the top of his head.
“Princess,” He slurred, stumbling forward and tripping over his feet. I threw my hands up, catching him as he tumbled into me with a heavy breath.
“Stop calling me that,”I spat, pushing him back upright and away from me. He stumbled backwards but managed to save himself from ending up on the ground. Tarian groaned from where he was on the ground, and Cyrus’s rushed apologies were enough to make me stand my ground. “What is thematterwith you?!”
Maeteo looked at me blankly, his eyes glassy as he swayed.
“Look what you did!” I threw out my arm, gesturing for Maeteo to look to where Tarian and Cyrus were crouched, Cyrus’s shirt sleeve torn from the elbow down as he held the fabric to Tarian’s nose, tipping his head back as he did so. Cyrus looked up, a panicked expression on his face as his eyes caught mine.
If I had been paying closer attention to myself, I would have noticed the golden shimmer my skin had started to give off. Or that the pebbles around my feet had started to vibrate, shifting their way around as though being pushed by a set of wheels.
Maeteo did not answer me, just watched as his best friend was tendedto by my fiancé.
My hands shook by my side, and I balled them into fists, flexing and relaxing my fingers as I tried to breathe deeply. The anger coursing through my body was enough that the edges of my vision had started to turn red, and when Maeteo moved again I threw out a hand to stop him. He looked shocked, his eyes going wide as he looked at me.
“It’s your fault,” He said, quietly, his voice shaking. I stared at him, the words he had said taking a second to register in my head. “This is all your fault.”
I laughed, the sound loud and hysterical, despite the rage bubbling in my chest.
“My fault?” I shook my head, “I am not the one assaulting people.”
“You left!” Maeteo roared, moving towards me again, “You left! We did everything for you and you left!”
“I cannot keep having this same conversation, Maeteo!” I sighed, reaching up to rub at my eyes and finally seeing the golden glow coming from my fingers. My heart leapt into my throat, and I tried desperately to push the raging fire inside of my down enough for me to focus. “I had my reasons, alright? I need you to trust me.”
“Trust you,” He scoffed, throwing his hands up into the air as though it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. “Why would I do that? Why would anyone do that? You don’t know what you’re doing!”
I felt the skin underneath my eye begin to twitch as I stared at the man in front of me, my eyebrows knotting together in the middle.
I almost did not hear Cyrus past the rush in my ears.
“Careful, sweetheart.” His voice was garbled, as though I was under water, and he was shouting through the waves to get my attention. I looked at him, the edges of my vision blurred and sparking slightly, but his eyes were focused on something over our shoulders. Looking back, I saw people from the taverns starting to pour out into the street, and amongst them, guards from the castle, who had been taking their night off.
I tried to suck a breath in through my nose, tried to calm the burning I felt within my chest, but it barely brushed the flames.
