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Chapter Thirty Seven

I almost didn’t recognize my suites in the castle when I finally blinked my eyes open.

The soft orange glow of evening light slipped through the cracks in the drawn curtains, casting the room in muted shadows.

The fire crackled softly in the hearth, but its warmth felt distant, meaningless. I was alone.

My throat ached, raw from screaming, and my stomach twisted painfully with hunger.

When I tried to sit up, my body betrayed me—every muscle protested, a deep ache spreading through my bones.

A terrible dryness burned my mouth, and my fingers trembled as they brushed over the silk nightgown someone had dressed me in.

The room felt suffocating, eerily quiet. My gaze darted across familiar furniture that now seemed foreign, as though it belonged to someone else. I couldn’t shake the sense that I didn’t belong here anymore.

Then, like a dam breaking, the memories surged back.

Pasnia was dead.

Hyrax was here.

And Clay…

My chest seized, a silent gasp choking me.

The ache in my body evaporated, replaced by a desperate, clawing urgency.

I threw off the blankets, stumbling to my feet.

My legs wobbled, but I forced them to move, sprinting through the bedroom and parlor to fling open the door to my suite.

My thoughts spiraled. I didn’t know where my friends were—I just knew I had to find them. I had to save them.

“Whoa!” Caldrius stepped into my path, and I collided with his chest. His hands steadied me, but the contact made my skin crawl. “Slow down.”

“Where are they?” My voice was a hoarse growl, laced with desperation. I shoved him away, needing answers, needing action.

“Why don’t we go sit down and talk?” he suggested, his tone patient but strained. His gesture toward the parlor felt more like an order than a request.

That’s when I saw them—the guards stationed at the end of the hallway. Their eyes locked on me, their stances casual but unyielding, hands resting on the hilts of their swords. Their armor was all wrong. Black plate glinted ominously, scarlet capes draped across their shoulders.

It hit me like a punch to the gut. Hyrax had already claimed the castle. His soldiers stood where the Athenian ones once had, their loyalty stripped away like everything else.

I swayed on my feet, disoriented. “How long have I been asleep?” I muttered, more to myself than to him.

Caldrius touched my elbow, guiding me back into the room. “Bring her bread and water,” he barked to someone over his shoulder.

I ripped my arm free, spinning on him. “Don’t touch me.”

His jaw tightened, but he didn’t push back. Instead, he followed me inside, shutting the door with a quiet click. “Still angry, then?”

I ignored him, my thoughts spiraling into chaos.

“Sit,” he ordered, his tone clipped. “You’ve been asleep for a week.”

My head snapped toward him. “A week?”

He nodded. “You woke occasionally—enough to eat and drink. You don’t remember? ”

I shook my head, frustration tightening in my chest. Everything felt hazy, like I was trying to grasp memories through a fog.

“Where are my friends?” I demanded, my voice trembling under the weight of the question.

His answer came quietly, but it hit me like a hammer. “In the dungeons. I’ve done what I can to delay their executions.”

The word executions sent ice down my spine. My knees buckled, but I caught myself on the back of a chair.

“No.” The word escaped in a whisper, barely audible.

I lunged toward the door, intent on doing something—anything—but Caldrius stepped in my way, his arm like a steel bar blocking my path.

“Those guards outside have orders to keep you here,” he said evenly.

“Let them try.” The defiance in my voice sounded hollow, even to me.

He didn’t flinch. Instead, his expression softened, his blue eyes dark with something I couldn’t place. Concern? Regret? It didn’t matter.

“Thea,” he said carefully, his words deliberate, “can you use your powers?”

The question stopped me cold. My hands twitched, instinctively reaching inward, searching for the familiar warmth of my magic. It was always there, just beneath the surface.

But now… nothing.

“My powers…” I trailed off, panic bubbling under the surface. “Why can’t I feel my magic?”

Caldrius sighed, his shoulders sagging. “Pasnia’s spell forced you far beyond your limits. You’ve drained yourself completely. Hyrax believes its normal for someone as young as you. Your powers haven’t fully matured.”

He hesitated, his voice softening as he added, “I didn’t know if you were going to wake up.”

His words were a slap. My legs gave out, and I sank onto the couch, my body heavy and numb .

“What does that mean?” I asked weakly, though dread was already coiling in my gut.

“It means we don’t know if your magic will return.” His voice was steady but edged with pity. “Maybe with time. Maybe not.”

The finality of his words settled over me like a shroud. My magic—everything that made me more than just a frightened girl—was gone. I had nothing left.

Mortal. Weak.

Powerless.

And trapped in this room. Just as I’d been before. But this time, the stakes were so much higher.

My friends.

My enemies had won, and my friends would pay the price.

Caldrius let the silence stretch, giving me space to absorb the crushing weight of reality. I stared blankly at the floor, too overwhelmed to meet his gaze.

Finally, I forced myself to speak, though my voice was brittle. “Why are you here?”

“I’d like to help you get your friends out of here,” he said simply.

I turned to him sharply, narrowing my eyes. “Why?”

He hesitated, rubbing his jaw. “Because I’m the only one who can, Thea. You act like I’m some monster.”

“You are a monster,” I spat, standing abruptly. The room felt too small, his presence too close. “You lied to me. My face—my entire body—it isn’t even mine. It’s hers.”

Caldrius flinched, but his voice remained steady. “I may be a monster, Thea, but I’ve never been one to you. I’ve been nothing but kind.”

“Kind?” I let out a bitter laugh. “You manipulated me into trusting you. Into thinking I mattered. You wanted me to love you because I look like her. ”

His expression flickered, a shadow of something raw crossing his face. “You’re nothing like Isidore, love. You may resemble her, but you’re far more difficult—and far more interesting.”

“Glad to know I’m such a challenge for you,” I sneered.

His eyes locked onto mine, unwavering. “Hardly.”

The tension between us was suffocating. I didn’t trust him—I couldn’t. But what choice did I have?

Without magic, without allies, I was nothing.

“Look, you want to save your friends, and I want to help you.” He sighed, rubbing his temple. “But we both know that won’t happen unless we give Hyrax something to hold on to.”

With a sigh, I sank back onto the couch. My voice was thick with resignation. “So, what do you propose?”

Caldrius leaned forward, elbows on his knees. The fire crackled in the silence as he studied me. Finally, he spoke.

“I want you to marry me.”

The words destroyed what little remained inside me.

“What?” I whispered, the word barely audible.

“You heard me.”

I rose to my feet again. I was either going to vomit or punch him.

Maybe both.

“Are you insane?”

“You asked what I wanted,” he reminded me, with an infuriating shrug. “That’s the price.”

“We just established that I’m. Not. Isidore. Did you forget already?”

He stood too, his presence overwhelming. “You’re not Isidore. And this isn’t about love. It’s about survival - yours, mine, and your friends. You need my help. And I need yours.”

“What does marrying me possibly accomplish for you?” I spat, hands clenched into fists to stop their shaking .

“Hyrax will not be content here forever. He’s spent a millennium missing his family - his brother.

Once you’re strong enough, he’ll ask you to open the door to the Upperworld and when that happens, this realm will need a leader.

You may be his heir, but I was born to rule.

Marrying you allows me to do that.“He stepped closer, jaw tightening. “And marrying me keeps you and your friends safe. No one in this castle will question your loyalty if you’re my wife.”

My vision blurred with rage, my thoughts a whirlwind of helplessness and resistance. I wanted to scream, to lash out, to cry.

But… he was right.

What other choice did I have? I was powerless, trapped, and surrounded by my enemies. Caldrius was my only chance to save my friends.

“I’d rather die,” I said, but even I heard how hollow the words sounded.

“Hyrax won’t allow that, Thea. But he will kill your friends if you don’t do something about it.”

I exhaled shakily, my fingers twitching, instinctively reaching for magic that wasn’t there anymore. The magic that might never flow through my veins again.

“I hate you,” I whispered.

“You’ll have the rest of our lives to get over that.” His lips curved into a faint, bitter smile. His tone wasn’t mocking nor cruel. It was quiet, resigned. “So, is that a yes?”

I forced myself to meet his gaze. My voice cracked as I breathed the words to life.

“Yes. I’ll marry you.”

T he woman who stared back at me in the looking glass was unrecognizable.

Her hair was twisted neatly away from her face, but no amount of effort could mask the dark, sleepless shadows framing her blue eyes.

The bruises were gone, but the scars—oh, the very many scars—they lingered, silent witnesses to everything I’d lost in just a week.

Even the gown I wore felt wrong. The soft white fabric, cinched at the waist and draped off my shoulders, might have been beautiful on me at one time.

Now it only clung to me like a shroud. It wasn’t the gown I’d imagined wearing on my wedding day.

Then again, nothing about this was what I’d imagined. Nothing about this was supposed to be.

The guards arrived without ceremony, their gazes fixed firmly ahead as they led me down the hall. Their silence was unbearable.