Page 1 of A Simple Truth (the Freckled Fate #2)

0. KAIRELL

COMMANDING GENERAL, AND YOUNGER brOTHER OF THE DESTROYER EMPEROR, RULER OF ALL ESNOX

Blackstone Castle. 26 years ago

I shouldn’t be here.

I shouldn’t have opened the door leading to her quarters. I shouldn’t have quickened my steps in anticipation as I ascended the black marble stairs in this well-kept part of the castle.

Yet, against my better judgment and past any sound logic or reason, I still found myself in front of her door. My hand, covered in thick, silver armor, hesitated a moment before softly tapping the heavy oak door. I stood there waiting, my mind blank as my heart beat faster, my eyes trailing the two beautiful wreaths hung with red ribbons on the door. The greenery was mixed with wild spring flowers, tender and dainty, just like her.

I wasn’t sure what I would say to her, what excuse I would conjure this time, what ‘important’ question I’d come up with just to hear her talk, to watch her beautiful face light up with delight

“Come in!” Diamara’s lovely voice sounded, awakening every cell in my body as if lightning from a summer storm crackled through my soul. I walked into her quarters—small for someone in her position—her room located in the very top tower of the castle, tucked away from everyone.

“Oh hi, Kai!” She welcomed me, offering a kind smile. My gaze, however, was consumed by broken rage as I took in her reddened eyes, the damp sleeves of her beguiling dress, so apparent despite the dimmed lighting. “I didn’t expect you.” She tucked a strand of her hair behind ear, shifting a bit in her seat, sniffling once more as she attempted to hide the tight swallows. “I thought you already left,” she said, closing the book in her hands.

Whatever nonsense I had planned to say disintegrated in seconds as my heart shattered at her devastated look. In a couple of quick strides, I crossed the room, dropping to my knees by her rocking chair.

“Diamara, what did he do this time?” I asked, attempting to keep the fury out of my voice. I cupped her soft hand with both of mine, my eyes anxiously scanning her face, her body. “What did he do, Diamara, please ,” I begged her to tell me.

“It’s okay…It’s fine, really.” She again gave me that polite smile, as a little tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m just a little sad.”

My chest tightened as my soul flooded with nothing but hatred, caused by my brother’s hand.

“It’s not okay, and it’s not fine, Diamara. He doesn’t deserve to lick the dust off your boots, much less your tears,” I spat out as I ran my thumb against her cheek, wiping away the salty drop.

“Shhh, you’ll wake him.” She motioned with her chin to the bed, where a toddler slept peacefully.

“He got another whore, didn’t he?” I hissed under my breath as we stepped out in the hall. She quietly nodded, her own eyes betraying her with grief. “That fucking bastard!” I ran a hand through my hair, completely livid. “I’ll kill him. I will fucking kill him,” I fumed.

She loved him, and he was slowly destroying her.

“It’s not his fault. I’m cursed, Kai. I’ve lost yet another child.” My stomach twisted with pain at that confession, as my eyes treacherously lowered to her flat stomach. “I had one job; one purpose as a Justice Fire wielder—to bring an heir to the Empire, and I can’t...I cannot do it, no matter how many Healers I seek.” This time, she didn’t hold back the tears as her chin trembled, and sobs erupted. “I thought this time would be different. I had never made it this far...” she uttered through sobs as I pulled her into a tight embrace against my armor, my hand running down her hair. “The Seer said it would’ve been a boy, too...” she cried, and those sounds —gods—they were nothing but pure agony.

“You are his wife, not a fucking mare to breed. You are so much more, Diamara,” I murmured to her with all the conviction I could put into words. “Justice Wielder or not, you are so much more than that.” I kissed the top of her head, wishing she would heed my words.

I would’ve stolen her if I could. I would’ve taken her and ran away. Damn the rules, damn the magic, damn it all! But she refused as many times as I had offered it to her. Still, I found myself whispering the words once again as I cupped her face and our eyes met.

“Come with me, Diamara. To hell with him and this cursed kingdom. Come with me, please ,” I pleaded with her, my voice breaking.

“You know I can’t.” She shook her head as another solitary tear slipped down her cheek and a solemn look took over her face. “We are soul-bonded, Kai, there is no escape but eternity,” she replied, defeat lacing every word. I closed my eyes for a minute, unable to bear the excruciating ache her words inflicted within my soul. But Diamara was loyal, even at the expense of destroying herself, her life.

“It will be nice to have another child here, even if it isn’t mine.” She smiled through tears as she turned toward the closed door where my bastard nephew slept.

I shook my head in protest. As if that somehow justified his actions...but Diamara’s love for that child was genuine. All that dedication, all that love that I so desperately craved of her, she poured into him. My eyes lingered on the small door leading to her bedroom. He was undeniable proof of her husband’s infidelity, but she loved the boy more than the world itself.

“Nothing would ever justify what he did. He knows that,” I replied, my voice veiled in suppressed fury.

“Kai, I need you to promise me something.” Her tone suddenly shifted to the commanding voice of the Destroyer Empress of Esnox.

“Anything, Diamara. Anything you wish,” I responded, and I wholeheartedly meant it. I would do anything for this woman.

“My husband will take him away from me soon. He says I coddle him too much. When the time comes and he takes him away to the barracks, I need you to take care of him for me…please. Promise me, promise to love him the way I would.” She lifted her desperate eyes to mine, though this time, they were more harsh, more dangerous.

“I will take care of him, and I will love him as my own. I promise.”

“Thank you, Kai,” she whispered, squeezing my hand.

“You are everything to me, Diamara, you know that,” I whispered back, still not letting go of her hand. “A single word…A single word from you, and I’ll be there.” I tipped her chin up, landing a soft kiss against her forehead, and then quickly departed the room before she could reply.

Without looking back, I marched down the cold halls of the castle, broken rage lining each step. A loud horn echoed through the nearby town covered in fog, as a large Destroyer battalion lazily departed into the night. With a swift leap, I mounted my silver mare, riding away in the opposite direction of my armies, heading for the one place from which there was no coming back.

The strong smell of sage burned my throat, immediately giving me a pounding headache as I hunched over in the small, stuffy room; though, calling this cramped space a room was quite generous. It was truly more of a dusty, old closet.

“It is not often I receive the company of the Emperor’s famous General amidst my kind,” Insanaria cooed with a relaxed smile, motioning me to sit in the empty chair across the tiny, round table. I accepted the invitation, hesitantly pulling out the half-rusted seat, the sword at my hip colliding with the teetering stacks of books that adorned the packed floor.

Insanaria signaled to a young servant girl lurking in the corner with a tray. She hurried over, placing a set of petite, pink, ceramic cups on the table. When my eyes caught on the little cuts covering her arms, she tugged on her sleeves to conceal them before rushing out of the room.

Insanaria glanced pointedly toward the water, and I held in a snarl as I brought the tea to a boil with the wave of my hand.

“I’ve come here of my own volition, not of my brother’s,” I said, stirring the murky liquid with a silver spoon.

“Which begs the question, why does a great Destroyer such as yourself come seeking a poor, exiled Creator such as me, under the cover of the night?” she purred, taking a brief sip from her cup before putting it back down.

“Perhaps it is time Destroyers and Creators unite like never before…” I replied.

“Continue,” Insanaria drawled as she ran her tongue across her alluring lips.

I could still turn back and walk away , thoughts flashed in my mind. But I dismissed them with a single reminder of what my brother had done—what he chose to do while his wife miscarried their child. Anger flickered in my eyes.

No, there was no turning back.

“It’s no secret the Destroyer Emperor has strayed from the True Order, harming his own people, and abolishing vows sacred to Destroyers.”

“Oh, yes, so I’ve heard,” Insanaria added, giving a half-nod for me to continue.

“He still rules over mages. Something, I believe, you were quite adamant about. So, what I propose is a solution to both of our… difficulties .” The traitorous words poured out of me like poison, tainting the air with betrayal. Word after word, sentence after sentence—I had irrevocably written the fate of my older brother, and inevitably, my own.

The untouched tea in my cup had long gone cold.

The betrayal was now sealed forever with word and blood as the silver threads of the unbreakable oath slowly disappeared into thin air above our wrists.

It was done. The choice was made.

I stood up, not wanting to spend another moment in this suffocating place.

“May I ask why? Why betray your own blood, your brother?” Insanaria asked as I headed for the door.

I paused at the threshold, my hand twisting the door handle tighter as I bitterly voiced,

“Why does anyone do anything, Insanaria? For love.”