Page 23
Story: A Cage of Magic and Darkness
TAELYN
Every time I look at Ruarok, the memory of last night leaps to the forefront of my mind.
I’m telling myself that I don’t want him around. It’s easier to give him a project to do than have him with me. But even so, I find myself looking for him at every opportunity, wanting to be near him.
It’s his magic, I tell myself for the hundredth time.
I wonder what he did when he left my bedchambers last night.
Did he go straight back to his room and take care of himself?
Or did he slip into the city and find a whore to fuck?
Or perhaps he didn’t even need to go that far and found a willing—or not so willing—chambermaid to empty himself into instead.
The thought alone is enough to heat my blood. What if I hadn’t thrown him out last night? Where would our relationship be now?
I can’t even think about what is going to happen long term.
He certainly can’t stay here. I don’t think I’m strong enough to keep resisting him, and he doesn’t seem like the kind of man who simply gives up on what he wants.
But it’s not as though I can send him away from the castle either.
This is his home, no matter what I think.
I could no more make him leave than he could make me leave.
Is my plan to head out into the wildlands in search of the Mage because it’ll mean I’ll no longer be in Ruarok’s presence?
It’ll give me some breathing room, and then hopefully, by the time I return with an answer to how to stop the rot, we’ll both have moved on from whatever madness has taken over us.
I leave Ruarok and go in search of Balthorne. I need to tell him of my plans, and ensure he gets a group together for us to ride out into the wildlands. He’ll try to convince me it’s a bad idea, but it’s the only one I’ve got, even if it was courtesy of my stepbrother.
I find him in the courtyard. He’s wearing his cloak, and hands the reins of his horse over to a stable hand. He looks as though he’s been out in the city. What for? I haven’t asked him to go out there.
He sees me coming and offers a tight smile. “Princess Taelyn.”
“You’ve been out in the city?” I ask.
He nods but doesn’t offer any explanation. His line of sight flicks away from me.
I can tell something has happened. My stomach sinks. What now? Will this never end?
“What’s happened, Balthorne? Tell me.”
Still, he doesn’t look at me. “I thought Cirrus might have already spoken to you.”
I’m getting frustrated now. “About what?”
“There’s been some…disruption in the city.”
He clearly doesn’t want to tell me what’s happened. “I swear to the gods, Balthorne, tell me now. What kind of disruption?”
He ducks his head, still not looking me in the eye. “The people you gave coins to have been robbed.”
Instantly, two particular people jump into my mind. “What about the mother and baby?”
“Both dead,” he says. “Heads bashed in, and bodies left on the streets.”
Tears fill my eyes. “No.”
Hadn’t Ruarok tried to warn me about something like this happening? I hadn’t wanted to listen.
“Who would do such a terrible thing?”
Balthorne bites his lower lip. “Anyone who got word that these people were carrying gold sovereigns. Unfortunately, they were easy targets.”
Guilt slides like black roots through my veins. This is my fault. I’d believed I was helping, but I’d only made things worse. That mother and her baby would still be alive today if I hadn’t given her the gold.
“I want the thieves and murders found immediately, and for them to be hung in the city square for everyone to see. Their bodies will remain there as a reminder to anyone else who believes that stealing from the vulnerable is a good course of action.”
I’m furious with whoever did this, but also at myself for being so shortsighted. Had I only given them the money to make myself feel better, to try to ease my own guilt at still being able to live in luxury while they had nothing?
Balthorne ducks his head. “Yes, Princess.”
I let out a sigh and cover my face with my hands. “I didn’t listen. I’d believed people would want to help one another.”
He offers me a sympathetic smile. “Your heart is too kind.”
I shake my head at that, my anger evident in the growl of my tone. “No. It’s not kindness. It’s naivety and ignorance.”
I vow to make better choices in the future, to listen to those around me. I’m a coddled girl who’s grown up in a castle. What do I know?
Helplessness overwhelms me. A desperation to hand this responsibility back to the king and my mother takes hold, a longing like I’ve never experienced before. I’d have sworn that if will was enough to make something happen, then I could have brought them back to life.
I don’t want to doubt my ability to rule, but how can I not when one of my decisions had such devastating consequences?
I need to do something more than throwing money at the situation. That clearly hasn’t helped—if anything, it’s only made things worse.
That makes up my mind. I can’t let anyone else suffer like this, even if it means risking my own life.
“Balthorne, I need you to put together horses and a team of guards to take beyond the border of Askos to find the Mage who lives there.”
His eyebrows lift. “You wish for us to go beyond the border, into the wildlands?”
“I will need your protection.”
His expression falters. “You plan to join us?”
“Of course. I need the Mage to listen to me, and they can’t do that if I’m not there. ”
“It’s dangerous, Princess. Possibly even deadly.”
I sigh with irritation. “Why does everyone keep telling me that, as though I’m unaware of when something is dangerous? Do you think me stupid, Balthorne?”
“No, of course not. My apologies. I’m simply concerned about you. I’d never want to see any harm come to you.”
“Thank you, Balthorne, but if I don’t try this, Askos will also become a place of danger—if it isn’t already. The night before last, the King’s Tower fell. Who’s to say the same thing won’t happen to the rest of the castle if we do nothing?”
“You could send a message to the Mage,” he suggests. “Allow me to carry it.”
“It’s not enough. The Mage is a thousand years old, and they won’t speak to just anyone. If they don’t understand how serious this is, then they may just send you away again.”
“If that happens, then you could go.”
“By then it may be too late. My mind is made up, Balthorne. I need to do something to save the kingdom. I wish to leave at first light.”
Table of Contents
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- Page 23 (Reading here)
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