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“After speaking with the king, I will conduct a thorough examination to ascertain whether that is really the cause, if he allows it, of course,” he added. “But from what I can see now, yes. Everything points to this being a tragic accident.”
I thought about it for a moment. The possibility of a fall was plausible. It was dark in the hallway and the staircase was winding. But this was someone who had descended and ascended those very same stairs a million times in her life. Was it really possible that she lost her footing and fell?
I didn’t know what to think. When I exchanged glances with the doctor, I knew that the same doubts lingered in his mind as well. We were all afraid that there was malicious intent behind Cassandra’s death, we were just too cautious to say it out loud this soon.
“I will go and speak to the king,” Doctor Zalkind said, taking off his gloves and putting them back into his leather bag. His gaze lingered on Cassandra’s lifeless form, knowing well that her absence would be profound and the emptiness it would leave would affect everyone at the castle.
He inhaled deeply, quickly wiping away a tear with his sleeve, which was the only unprofessional gesture he allowed himself.
“Please, lock up this room for the time being,” he urged, giving me the key. “No one is to come here and disturb her. I shall come back after speaking with the king and see what our next step is.”
“Understood,” I nodded.
He turned around and walked out of the room, without saying anything else. I was left alone, wondering what the truthwas. I knew that I couldn’t dismiss the possibility of this being a murder masked as an accident. It was all too convenient. But if it was truly murder, who was it?
There was more to the story than met the eye and I knew that now, I needed to protect Lilith more than ever.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Lilith
I didn’t even realize when Luke brought me back to my room. The door was closed. The window was open. But I didn’t feel anything. I was breathing merely because my lungs required it and my body did it unconsciously. I couldn’t taste anything. I couldn’t smell anything. When Luke took me by the hand to try and comfort me, I didn’t feel anything. My body was dead, numb to any physical sensations.
In the corner, on a small coffee table, I saw two cups of steaming hot tea. Luke got up and brought a cup over, handing it to me.
“Drink something, Lil,” he urged softly. “It’ll do you good.”
My eyes widened in disbelief. My sister was dead, and he was bringing me fucking tea!?
My teeth clenched. Without even knowing what I was doing, I pushed the cup out of his hands. The scorching hot liquid spilled over my hand, while the cup fell onto the carpet, breaking into a million pieces. That was exactly how I felt. My heart just broke into a million pieces, and I knew I would never be able to put it together again, not when I had a vital piece missing. My hand, still numb from grief, showed no signs of pain despite the searing heat of the spilt tea.
Luke immediately rushed for a cloth, pouring some cold water from a jug, and rushed back to me. He took my hand gently and pressed the cloth onto the burnt flesh. I still didn’t feel anything. Not cold, not hot. It was almost as if it wasn’t my body any longer. It was nobody’s.
Luke’s concerned eyes remained fixed on me. I could see what he wanted to do. He wanted to alleviate my pain, whichsomehow enraged me even more. I didn’t want to make this pain go away. I wanted it inside of me, because that was the only thing I had left of my sister.
“Lilith, please be careful,” he urged, his voice gentle. “You hurt yourself.”
I looked down at my hand, the redness and blistering becoming evident, but I remained indifferent to the physical sensation. The emotional pain was far more consuming, eclipsing any physical discomfort I was feeling.
“It doesn’t matter,” I whispered, my voice choking with emotion. “Nothing matters now.”
He was not sitting beside me anymore. He was kneeling, reaching out to touch my uninjured hand. “Lilith, I know this is incredibly difficult for you. Losing Cass… I can’t even imagine how that feels. But I know that we will all miss her. It is a pain we all share. You don’t have to face this pain alone. Let me be here for you.”
I didn’t want him to be here for me. I wanted to be alone. I wanted this pain to wash over me. I wanted to remember my sister and I wanted to live in that memory forever.
“I want to be alone,” I told him, pulling my hand away from his.
“I understand,” he whispered. “Take all the time you need. I’ll be here, if you need me.”
I just nodded, without looking at him. I listened to the sound of his footsteps, then the door being closed. The silence felt oppressive. But I didn’t want him here. I couldn’t say why. I didn’t want my best friend here, next to me, after I just lost my sister. I felt like there was no more light to guide me through dark nights, no beacon of hope. I wanted to get used to the darkness. I wanted to embrace it and not fear it anymore, because I’d lost what I loved the most. There was nothing else to be afraid of, nothing else to lose.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. I frowned, thinking it was Luke again. So, I didn’t say anything. I was hoping that he would think I fell asleep or something. Saying even one word felt like a burden I didn’t want to add to the ones I was already carrying. Another knock assured me that I would not be left alone. But I refused to speak.
Then, the door opened. My brows knitted as I lifted my gaze.
“I told you I wanted to be alone,” I snarled, but to my surprise, it wasn’t Luke. It was Adrian.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I just wanted to see if you needed anything.”
