Page 42 of A Rising Hope (The Freckled Fate #3)

42

ZORA

“ B reathe, Zora. You need to breathe, or you are going to pass out,” Gia instructed, her voice a comforting distance from me as we marched past the line of merchant shops, all closed down, windows and doors barricaded and shut. A measly attempt. The small town, on the outskirts of the eastern plains of Esnox, didn’t stand a chance against a full army of Destroyers.

It had only taken us two hours, and they had surrendered. The rotten bodies of the old leaders, that so foolishly called for the battle in the first place, hung high off the main gates for everyone to see. The bodies of the men that dared to fight at their command were scattered in pieces through the town for dogs to eat. Their families wouldn’t touch them lest they too face the same fate. No, those cursed by their foolishness to oppose our rule would not get a proper burial or burning, forever cursed to decompose at the mercy of nature.

I forced my lungs to expand in a slow, pacing motion, ignoring the way my toes numbed, and hands turned to ice the closer I got to the town hall.

“It’ll go great, I am sure of it!” Gia elbowed me, holding on to her sword at her side. “And if not, I’ll punch him straight in the throat. I’ll even make it seem like an accident, like I’ll go for the water pitcher, trip and then, oops, he is choking on the ground.” She smiled at me with her bright smile. “I am so terribly clumsy after all.” She chuckled, reaching for the heavy iron door.

The door creaked, the sound sending me into overdrive. But she paused on the threshold, waiting. I stopped too.

“Zora . . . ” Gia gently directed her eyes to my hand, that nervously rattled the chain attached to my blades on my hip.

I let out a long, heavy breath, nodding. Blood pounded in my ears; I wasn’t sure if she said anything else. Her words were muffled by my internal screaming and rattling anxiety within.

I forced my sweaty fingers to stop fidgeting.

“Let’s go kick some ass.” I adjusted my hair and took a step inside.

“That’s the spirit.” Gia chuckled behind me as we entered a large room.

“Oh, how lovely of you to show up,” Lachlan Byrningham sneered, the look on his face making me want to puke. “And here I thought you left me hanging, waiting here all for nothing yet again.” He laughed, his Second matching the sentiment. “Aww, don’t be so sour, Zorianna. You know, you should smile more. Your smile suits you much more than whatever that emotion is written on your face.” He waved me off, enjoying the deeply etched frown on my face. He looked around the room and I really hoped that would be the end of his speech. But it was not. The gods seemed fit to make me suffer more, as Lachlan continued.

“I must admit seeing you, Zora, is always such a pleasure,” he taunted, and I wanted to gut him. I clenched the chain at my side, the cold metal cutting into my palm, pain being the only voice of reason through my crumbling facade of indifference. But Gia moved the chair near me. The wood against the brick floor rung a loud squeak. She took a seat closest to me, purposefully resting both of her very muscled arms on the table as she leaned forward, giving Lachlan a deadly stare with a warning smile. One that would send any predator running. I squared my shoulders, tipping my chin up.

Stay calm. Stay collected, I reminded myself.

“I must say, that tattoo you got doesn’t fit you very well. You used to look so much prettier before,” he remarked.

“Don’t fault my looks on your terrible vision issues,” I coughed up some measly words, ignoring the way my stomach twisted in pain. He opened his mouth to add something obnoxious as always, but I interrupted him. “Shall we discuss the next phase of war, or have you come all this way for a boring chit chat?” I glared at him then, fighting back the vile hatred as he stared at me.

It had been years, years; I reminded myself. But somehow, being in the same room with him was like I was still at the altar, humiliated and exposed. And no matter how much I had worked to build up a fierce facade, the menacing look and the forceful glare, it felt like he could see through it all.

A young girl with nothing but a spark of fire.

My father’s shouting still rang loud and clear in my ears from the hours that followed after. Of how I ruined our family, of how I had destroyed his family line. How much I had humiliated him. We were related to the Justice Wielders, my aunt an Empress, my father a well-known general, mother was a powerful Destroyer and yet I had not even a lick of fire.

“Is your dear cousin not going to join us?” Lachlan questioned, his piercing stare mocking me.

“Gideon is preoccupied at the moment.”

“And his wife ?” Lachlan lingered on that last word, and I shot a warning look. “Oh, was I not supposed to hear of that?” He theatrically scoffed, “Though I must say I am a little disappointed I was not even invited by my ally to his wedding. The last one I attended left me quite entertained. It’s a shame I missed this one.”

“Sorry, no assholes were allowed, so you didn’t make the cut,” I jeered through my clenched teeth. He shrugged, content to see that his words got under my skin.

Lachlan leaned back in his chair, looking around the room bored, the smug smirk on his lips burrowing deep under my skin like a fresh litter of gnats.

“I will admit, I am very anxious to meet this so-called Lost Destroyer Empress. Who knows, maybe she’d be open to continuing the new Destroyer tradition established by her late father-in-law to siphon an heir outside the marriage. I’d volunteer.” He winked, and I wished more than anything for Gideon to appear in the room, to make this fucker suffocate on his own words. Blood boiled within me, and I opened my mouth to say something heated and vile, but it was Gia who folded her arms and loudly said,

“You were right, Zora. The men with the smallest dicks do talk the most.”

A few guards snickered near her, earning a hateful glance from Lachlan. Gia smiled at him with the widest, happiest smile, enjoying the flash of displeasure on his sleazy face. Her words were just the kind of reprieve I needed to catch my breath, to settle the rattled feelings within.

“You shall meet the Empress soon enough Lachlan, but I must warn you she has a lot less patience for blabbering men.” I gave him a cold smirk, clasping my hands tight underneath the table, feeling cold sweat drop down my back.

“Well, I cannot wait.” Lachlan tapped the seat, looking bored. “So, just you and me then. Like the good old days.” He returned to his vicious attempts to frazzle me. His eyes raked over my body and all of a sudden, I felt like I sat there naked.

“Orest is joining us as well,” I retorted. He flashed me a wicked grin.

“Oh yes, of course! How could I forget about the ten-year-old boy who is in love with you? Are you always on babysitting duties?”

The muscle in my jaw twitched, and I reached for the blade on my thigh, but Gia’s hand caught my wrist before I could launch it straight for his throat. She discreetly shook her head. But before I could yank my wrist away and murder him anyway, Orest entered the room.

His mighty presence shifted the air in the room, and a little chill ran down my skin. He stood so tall and so fucking perfect. Orest’s curls were neatly trimmed, a bit longer in the front. He opted for black leathers instead of his armor for this meeting. He so rarely wore black leathers and they suited him extremely well, accompanied by his simple, very lethal sword at his hip.

“Lord Byrningham.” He gave a curt nod to Lachlan, giving him a scrutinizing look. “Commander.” He casually acknowledged me, walking across the room in complete silence. He reached for the chair across from me, taking a seat.

“Orest, long time no see.” Lachlan tilted his head to the side, his greasy, shoulder length hair swayed with the motion. His eyes darted between Orest and me, even as the both of us avoided looking at each other. And he laughed. “You two are a match made in heaven, I swear.” His cackle rumbled through the otherwise silent room. “One has all the fire, but no money or title. Another one is without so much as a drop of flames, but with a title and money.” He shook his head. “Or wait, I forgot. Your daddy disowned you and cut you off, didn’t he? But truly, go ahead, wed. I’ll even send a gift.” Nobody uttered a word as tense silence laid heavy in the room. The muscle at my temple twitched. “Oh, come on, you two are so tense.” He scratched at his overgrown stubble. “You didn’t use to be so tense with me, Zora.” He winked suggestively and I felt nauseous. So fucking sick. I needed to respond, to say something, but my tongue fell laden.

I wished Gideon was here. He would’ve had some smartass reply. Something to dismiss him, to diminish the weight of his despicable comments.

Orest didn’t say a word. Instead, I saw Lachlan’s face change, a primal terror reflected in his features, as if he had just seen a ghost. He went speechless, eyes widened as he looked at Orest.

My eyes darted to Orest, silently yelling at him. To use his powers on Lachlan, to haunt him like that so openly.

This was too risky. He knew that.

If Lachlan were to find out who Orest was. If anyone knew . . .

But while Gideon was silver-tongued, Orest was a masterful blade. One he was crafted to be. He struck without a warning. Without a virtuous speech.

“I believe we have gathered here to discuss the plans for the upcoming battles,” Orest cooly said without so much as a twitch of his eye. His haughty stare was the only indication of the flaming rage inside him.

“Let’s discuss the war, then.” Lachlan cooled from the terror still lingering in the air.

By the time we had left the town hall, the day had turned into deep night. The plans were made, the stacks of battle strategies buried deep in my mind. My cuticles were still bleeding from picking them for hours. But I’d deal with that later. Right now, I ran after the rapidly departing figure into the night.

“What the fuck were you thinking?!” I yanked on his shoulder, twisting him around to face me. “Putting yourself on the line like that? Lachlan is a dick, we all knew that. But he is a well-trained general, Orest. They are trained to recognize Truth Tellers. He could’ve found out about you!” I yelled in a heated whisper.

“Well, let’s hope that he does.” Orest met my screaming glare before jerking his shoulder away from my reach and marching away from me again.

I followed him, his large strides making me almost run to match his pace.

“What the hell?!” I angrily spat, finally jerking on his arm and bringing him to a halt. “What is your deal?” I snapped at him.

“What is my deal?” His eyes narrowed on me. “What. Is. My . Deal?” he scoffed. “I just spent eight fucking hours in a room with a man who’s thought of all the ways he’s fucking touched you every time he glanced in your direction. I had to sit there and pretend to be discussing war strategies while he sat there reminiscing about the way you moaned his name. Of how he made you feel, in ways I have never been able to.” His heated words anchored deep within me. “I had to sit and play pretend, like I didn’t see his vile lust spilling in your direction. But if that wasn’t torture enough, seeing you explode with dread and fear each time he spoke, each time you had to speak to him, was more than enough.” His nostrils flared; his muscled chest expanded with uneven breaths.

“So, you are fucking jealous of some prick?! I thought you were better than that!” I was glad the darkness was covering the heated words we had exchanged. And yet a part of me no longer knew if it was anger or desire that exploded in me at the way he looked at me.

He leaned closer to me, and my heart froze.

“But I am not. Because I am jealous. I am so fucking jealous I cannot breathe. I cannot control the rage within me. Every thought, every cell in me, is in agony. And it’s fucking driving me insane, Zora. I’ve lost any sense of reason. Whatever prison I lock myself in is not fucking strong enough to keep the rage I feel away.” His silver eyes met mine, heated, full of fury and wrath mixed with undeniable need.

He yanked my wrist, pulling me flush against his leathers. His grasp tightened on my arm, not letting me go, as he leaned in to whisper into my ear.

“Do you not realize just how much I fucking crave you? To feel your body, to taste you. To listen to your perfect lips moan my name, pleading me for release.” His whisper was sharp, dangerous, and so alluring. “I get fucking drunk from a single glance at you, Zora.” His fingers buried deep in the back of my head, wrapping around my hair, gripping it tighter. “Each thought in my head is preoccupied with you. Each breath is only for your existence. I’d make you addicted to me. You’d beg on your knees for me.” My breath cut halfway, my heart skipped a beat, and my stomach knotted, desire soaking my undergarments at his words. “A word, Zora, a single fucking word is all I need from you to unchain me from the deepest hell and, like a fucking starving dog, I’d come crawling to you on your command.” His lips brushed past my ear, and a raspy moan escaped my lips.

I should say yes.

I never wanted anything more than I wanted him. All of him.

But I stayed quiet.

His infatuation with you soon shall pass . The thought sounded again and again in my mind, like a whip lashing at me. Destroyers are attracted to equal power, and you have none . He is no match for you . You are not worthy of him . Another voice snickered in my head. You give in now, but he’ll leave you broken-hearted when he comes to his senses. And even if he doesn’t leave you, one day he will realize the grave mistake of his affections towards a weakling and then loathe you for ruining eternity for him, of robbing him of the greatness he was destined for.

So I stayed quiet, my nails cutting into my hand, breaking the skin, as reason and feelings tore through me.

Orest scoffed at my silence, releasing his hold on me. Without a word, he marched away into the

night.

This time, I didn’t stop him.