12: The Snake

VASILEIOS

I watched as Orthus took Cordelia by the hand and led her out of the dining room. He was my king first and my brother second. If he had just been the latter, I would have taken his head and slammed it against the table. I wouldn’t go down this path again with him—I wouldn’t ruin the little peace our kingdom had seen these past few years by allowing him to defile her. 

It was a bittersweet story we spun to the other courts, how Orthus’s human had betrayed him. After all, he had done to save her from the Winter king. They didn’t know the truth. Hell, even Nelo didn’t know the truth, not like I did. 

They did love each other at first, and honestly, I think they did. Orthus and his human. The happy moments were short-lived. Once word got back to the Winter king on where his prize breeding mare was. Keeping his human stowed in secret with us was a literal act of war against Winter. Orthus’s lover told him she’d go back. She begged him to negotiate something to stop the bloodshed. Summer and Winter’s armies clashed for a decade because of her. She wasn’t stupid, and she knew it wasn’t worth the loss of Fae lives. Orthus was the unreasonable one. He had schemed up a plan she would never agree to. He had told Circe it was the only way, and out of duty to her Lady, she did what she thought needed to be done. They sent his human across the veil with a dagger to Circe’s heart. My most faithful friend, Circe, the literal embodiment of honor, had pushed the blade the final inch to end her life. I remember standing next to the fairy pool. When Orthus had led the human down the stairs when she realized that they had decided to commit this unforgivable act, she begged them to stop. I sickened myself with the memory of how Orthus put his arms around her frail mortal form and how he’d finally restrained her. He wove a brutal spell to bind her, the cuts spilling tiny drops of blood down her arms and tearing at her gossamer gown. The last piece of the magic was a black gag that muffled her screams.

“I promise you’ll be safe. We will be together again—Our love will conquer this.” As she slapped him and sobbed. How she pleaded with her knight Circe. Circe had already made up her mind. 

“It’s for the greater good. This is for you.” She stroked her lady’s face with the back of her hand. “I will keep you safe. I love you.” She had whispered as Orthus bound and gagged the woman he had said he loved. I wanted to stop it, to snatch both the human and Circe and take them far away from here.

Like the coward I am, I stood there as her sobs ripped through the barrier of magic over her mouth. I looked away when her tear-filled eyes pleaded with me. I can never forgive myself for not stopping them. My body was full of kinetic energy. My fingers itched to slam my brother’s head into the rocks. I wanted to drag both females back up the steps and run, not that Circe would allow me. It didn’t matter, and I waited to act too long. When Circe’s blood hit the magical waters, the transportation began. Orthus told her to wait for him, that he loved her. If that was love, I would vow never to love anyone. It seemed like a sickness. He told her that she would remain ageless while in the mortal realm with the magic he wrought over her. She would be perfect for him on her return. I vomited as he rambled on about her return. With a flash, her body lifted and was gone. 

I remember the thud of Circe’s skull as he dropped her body like a rag doll. She had stood, clutching her chest, until her lady was gone. Until her heart stopped pumping, she stood guard. Orthus stepped over her body and went up the steps back to the estate. He was a man possessed with keeping his lover safe at any cost. 

I try not to remember the cry that ripped through my body as I held my friend’s limp, cold body. She had been the only person in my entire life that was able to look past my breeding. It didn’t matter that I was a bastard to her. I was good with a sword and quick with wit. I remember how deeply Penelope had fallen in love with her. I was nervous that this stranger should hold the heart of my chosen sister. But there was nothing ever but sincere love in that female’s heart. I soon realized through Circe’s actions that she was perfect for Nelo. Penelope and Circe were fated fae mates, and they would never know love like there’s again, and it was wasted. It made it all the more awful to have her ripped away from Penelope’s arms. I don’t know how Penelope survived it. I would have ended my miserable life then and there. 

Of course, Orthus’s lover didn’t come back. He had betrayed her entirely in the name of love. I wanted to scream her name at my king. To remind him constantly of his cruelty. But after he sent her the signal, and she didn’t return, he bound her name from our lips. I couldn’t even remember what it was now, the magic strong and hate-filled. 

And now, here I sit, at the dinner table. I want so badly to scare Cordelia into making her way home, or at least to leave Summer. I want her not to get snuck into Orthus’s snares. I know how he works. I know that he’ll twist everything and try to keep her here. I want to tell that stupid human girl that, but he is still my King. I know he would order my death happily if I were to contradict him. 

In every interaction with Cordelia, I aim to make her feel unsafe and remind her that no matter how pretty or soft-spoken my brother is, he is still a poisonous snake. He will defile that girl to get some spark of the feeling he had for his human back. I know he’s already working to keep her. I can see that she’s comfortable with him. I tried to keep their conversation in my presence, to moderate his cunning words, but I was overruled. Just like in his plan to hide his lover from the Winter king. He managed to keep that calm demeanor until she didn’t return. Then for the briefest of moments, I saw the demon that hid behind his beauty. He destroyed half the estate, and we could do nothing to stop him. 

I watched them from the window, when she leaned her body into his, how he tucked the hair behind her ears and spoke pretty words that I could never utter. I moved my tongue slowly against the little fox’s wound on me. The lip was still sore and fat. I couldn’t help but smile, and I’d take her violence if she kept touching me. Maybe I was as stupid as Orthus, attaching some strange affection to this mortal…But I’d been drawn to her since I saw her at the training ring the first time. When Orthus had told me of her breaking his nose, I thought maybe she would be more intelligent than to get snared in his trap. Looking at them now in the moonlight, I was wrong. 

Maybe I should have tried kindness; perhaps I should have used sweet and cunning words like my brother. I would find a different way to help her and get her out of my brother’s influence. 

Orthus opened the door to the foyer, his form blocking the sweet frame of the woman behind him. I knew she was there, though. She smelled like tomato leaves and earth. A strange combination, to be sure, but so distinct to my nose. When he moved aside to allow her in, she saw me too. 

I want to save you from him. I tried to will the thought to her, to let her know she was in danger. I wish I could be less of a coward, but I had no place but summer. 

I scowled, unsure of how to do it without losing my head. I know she couldn’t go back to the mortal realm. We couldn’t make those sacrifices again. Maybe I could soften myself towards her and find another way to help her. I would find a way to save her from my brother. Perhaps if I could do that, she would touch me again. I turned, walked into my bedroom, and bought my hand to my lips. Maybe one day, she could touch me with need instead of hate. Don’t be foolish. I thought as I slammed the door to my quarters. 

You’re no better than him if you try and keep her.