20: Just Another Body
VASILEIOS
I wouldn't let him do this again, and I couldn't dump another body over this cliff. I sat on the seawall, head in my hands. I tried to push the memories of the noises their bodies made as they ricocheted down the craggy outcroppings of rock. They were fae, they could put up a better fight—they weren't weak like poor human Cordelia. If those fae women didn't stand a chance, how could she? At first, I thought she might be safe, and she didn't look like her—All the others had a slight resemblance to the king's lover. Maybe he could control that sick and twisted part of himself—Maybe he could be the brother I had known before she had betrayed him. But the longer Cordelia stayed here, the more I feared for her. Maybe less so for her death, as my idiot king had tied his life to her own, but he'd find ways to make her pay without taking her life. The things he might do to her would be worse than death.
Above all else, I wanted her. I wanted her only to be touched by me. I wanted her to be safe. She could never be that here in this court. I had managed to keep my mouth shut until today. Until I saw them in the rose garden, he took the memories of her life before, so now all she knew was him—a version of Orthus at least. She would be so much easier to manipulate. I knew I would be punished for my defiance, but I couldn't contain myself any longer. She was mine.
I felt my brother's presence behind me. I turned, taking the offensive. "You know why I don't want her here. Don't play dumb now that she's out of earshot. You can't blame me for wanting to be done with this sick game of yours Orthus!" I screamed towards his stone-cold face.
"You don't get to decide what I do. You will never get to decide what a king does." I hated how he could always maintain his composure, how he was calculated in nearly everything. I would take the punishment for my outburst if I could say I was only half the monster he was. "I wish I could punish you properly, but you know that human sensibilities are much more delicate than our own. I can't have our new ward afraid of us." Darkness flared behind his pale eyes. There it was, if only for a second, my brother's true nature showing through. He was nothing but a beautiful trap designed to lure his prey easily into his clutches. "So, I've decided to send you to the prison on a job. You'll be relieving the executioner for the next week. Maybe a bit of bloodshed will remind you of what you risk with your insolence. You will return the day before the solstice and be ever the honorable, subservient master-at-arms. You will put on a good show for the attending courts. You'll do this, or I will find a creative way to put your head on pike." I hit his chest in frustration, and he smiled at me.
"She might not hear us, brother, but I believe she watches." His mouth was twisted into a predatory smile. "Come, embrace your king." My brother put his arms around me, and I hit him again. Fucking bastard. I wished I could control myself, but my panic at the thought of leaving Cordelia here with him, of putting her in danger. The panic set in, and I hit his chest repeatedly until he finally stopped me, the back of his hand over my throat. "Remember, I can make this so much worse for you." I stilled, he could, and he would.
I resented Cordelia when she arrived here. The darkness in my brother had gone somewhere deep inside him. It was almost like before. He almost felt like the man I had grown up with again. I knew it was back when he took her hand after our first meeting. I knew my brother was buried somewhere deep inside this fucking monster again. I broke his grip and stepped back from him.
"Don't hurt this one, don't forget your bond," I begged him.
"If I wanted to kill her, I would have already, brother. Now go. I'll see you at solstice." He looked me over, and as I turned to make way towards the estate, he put a hand over my shoulder. "Bow when you leave my presence." He said smoothly. Rage built in my chest, but I heeded him, dipping down before he released me from his grip.
I jogged back into the building and up the stairs. I reached Nelo's workshop and flung the door open. My sister, by choice, shot her eyes to me as she paused her weaving.
"What did you do?" She asked gravely.
"I'm being sent to the prison as punishment—Nelo, I need you to promise you'll look after Cordelia when I'm gone. Promise me." I rushed towards her, taking her hands in my own and dropping to my knees.
"Vas—What are you doing? What's going on?" She took her hand and put the back of it against my forehead; she thought me feverish. I'd kept her safe as best I could, hiding our brother's proclivities.
"Just promise me, I'll be back soon." She stroked her knuckles on the side of my face.
"Of course, she's our friend Vas—I would never let her come to harm...." The confusion screwed up her face, but I knew she would heed me.
"Thank you," I whispered to her. I needed to leave before I said too much. "I'll be back soon. I love you, Nelo." I heard her say she loved me too as I headed towards the stables. I would do what I needed to do there and return. When I got back, I would suffer Orthus so long as I could make sure Cordelia would be safe.
