Page 16

Annalise

I feel no pain. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I feel comfortable. For once, my body doesn’t ache and throb. It feels weak, but not in a pained way—just like I haven’t eaten in a few days. As my consciousness slowly comes to the forefront, I detect a weight across my legs. But the more I awaken, the more I continue to register. I’m not in a cell or dungeon. In fact, I don’t remember anything past being dragged through the docks.

I slowly open my eyes, taking in my unfamiliar surroundings. This looks nothing like Elias’s palace, nor does it look like his tent. I shift my attention to the weight on my legs, my eyes widening as I take in the small child who sleeps peacefully. The more I stare at him, the more fascinated I become by his angelic features.

His hair is white and looks soft to the touch as it drapes over his face while he sleeps, matching his brows and lashes. His cheeks are rosy, and his lips are slightly parted as he snoozes, allowing a steady stream of drool to seep onto the sheets. I blink in confusion, my fingers tingling at the tips with the desire to push his hair from his face, but I stop myself. I don’t know who this child is. Nor do I know why he would be lying on me so comfortably.

I slowly pull my legs from under him, and he doesn’t stir. He seems exhausted, his breathing deep as he slumbers peacefully.

“Anna?”

I shift my attention to the sound of my name, my heart fluttering in my chest when I see it’s Dimitri who called me. My body comes alive at seeing him, even though he looks much different than he did the day I saw him last. His hair is much longer, and his body is much more toned than it was in the village. He looks much more mature in an eerie way than when I saw him last, and to my shock, there’s a healed brand on his face.

I want to ask him what happened, but I can’t think of anything else to do other than holding him in my arms again, overjoyed at seeing a familiar face for the first time since all this began. I jump from the bed, stumbling slightly as my legs refuse to hold me up, but Dimitri is up as well, catching me before I hit the ground. Tears spill down my cheeks as I hold him in an embrace, reveling in his warmth. I feel his hands close around me, and I trail my fingers up his neck, holding him in my hands as I bring my lips to his.

Dimitri tenses instantly and pulls away from me, shock plastered on his face. He watches me in horror, but his attention shifts beyond me as he quickly falls to his knees at the looming presence in the room. I follow his attention, my eyes widening as I take in the terrifying-looking beast who stands near the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. A look of controlled anger studies the both of us as he pushes himself off the wall.

I’ve seen him in my memories, though none of them ever became clear enough for me to understand who this man is. His dark blue eyes indicate that he is no man but a beast, and judging by how Dimitri reacted, they must know one another.

I shift my attention to Dimitri in confusion.

He’s trembling next to me, his head down as he kneels before this beast.

“Have you finally lost what little bit of sanity rattles around in that head of yours?” the beast asks, pulling my attention.

He knows me, and judging from his tone, he knows me well.

I don’t have a chance to respond as a small voice calls out from the bed.

“Mama? Mama! Hi Mama!” All of our attention shifts to the small child screaming from the bed, his eyes wide with joy as he looks at me. He clumsily makes his way to the edge of the bed, falling to his knees as he grips the sheets in his little hands. He watches me impatiently, beginning to grow frantic as I don’t move to scoop him up from the high bed.

I flinch as someone gently touches my hand, pulling my attention from the child, who has begun screaming as he reaches for me. It’s Dimitri who stares at me in caution, slowly rising to his feet.

“Anna… don’t you recognize him?” he whispers.

“Mama! Mamma! Mama-Ahh!”

The child’s wails cause me discomfort, and I quickly pull my hand from Dimitri’s grip, my eyes shifting around the room in confusion as a feeling of overwhelmingness washes over me.

The large beast Dimitri fears still stands over us, blocking me from escaping. He glares down at me, trying to understand what’s going on himself. His attention shifts between me and the screaming child before he makes a decision.

“Dimitri. Take Ciel to the gardens,” he says.

Dimitri quickly moves to pick up the child, completely dismissing me as he does so. I watch in disbelief as he follows this beast’s command, making his way to the doorway that is no longer blocked. The child’s screams grow until he is wailing and thrashing as he is taken from the room, reaching for me as he screeches. And I note that Dimitri doesn’t even look in my direction as he leaves.

He’s terrified of the beast who remains behind me.

“Dimitri!” I scream, tears burning my eyes, and as I take a step in his direction, the beast he fears grabs me.

I shift my attention to him, my eyes narrowing.

“What did you do to him?” I snap.

The beast scoffs softly, stepping closer to me.

“I think first we need to explain—”

I quickly call on the seal, the beast’s eyes widening in shock as I rip his grip from my arm, using his weight to flip both of us until we are rolling over the floor. I’m quickly on my feet, sprinting through the door to go in search of Dimitri, the seal allowing me to see everything in great detail around me.

“Dimitri!” I scream.

I cry out as a heavy force crashes into me from behind, sending both of us tumbling to the ground. Once we land, the beast pushes his knee into my back, pulling my arm at an uncomfortable angle.

“Agh!” I cry out as he pulls even harder to accompany his following sentence.

“I would rather not have to break anything after what the healers revealed about your physical state. But if you keep being difficult, I will break whatever I have to for you to calm yourself,” he growls over me.

The hall falls silent as he remains on top of me, and my hitching breathing echoes as I try to use the seal to get him off of me, but I can’t. He’s powerful and a seasoned fighter. He knows how to keep his prey where he wants it.

“Now. I’m going to release you. And you will not cause trouble in my estate anymore, nor will you traipse after Dimitri like a lovesick puppy. He is not yours to covet,” he growls over me.

My eyes widen as more tears pour down my face. The world as I knew it is no more, and this new one is full of mysteries that I am terrified to learn about, including the white-haired child who called me “Mama.” As the beast finally releases me, my mind begins its torturous method of putting the pieces of this muddled puzzle together as I realize the child who screamed at me shares the features of the terrifying beast who destroyed my village.

Cyrus.

The beast holding me down finally releases me, standing. He doesn’t speak as he watches me slowly spiral into a small breakdown. My tears fall hard and fast as I am no longer able to control them, and I slowly look up into the strange beast’s face as he watches me in what could pass for pity.

“I… don’t understand,” I whisper shakily.

He releases a deep breath, kneeling in front of me.

“You will.”

As I stare at the steaming cup of tea in my hands, it’s all I can do not to scream. After a moment, I notice the liquid is rippling much faster, signifying my trembling grip. And as much as I want it to stop, I can’t. The information given to me is too much to process.

It’s too outlandish.

The child, Ciel, is mine. I had him with his father, Cyrus, the king of the beasts. My father is dead, as are all of my friends from our village. Dimitri and I are nothing to each other. In my mind, he is the man I was going to marry. But it’s been years since that day, and he belongs to the beast who I attacked, Felix.

And the worst truth of all. My time with Elias was not because I ran away. It was not because it was willing. Elias had taken me from my life here. His lust and jealousy drove him to steal me away from my life, almost killing me when I decided to fight back.

I flinch as a warm hand closes over mine, looking into the eyes of another stranger. A beast who claims she owes me her life. And I can’t even remember saving it.

Calista.

Her presence has been helpful as Felix tells me bits and pieces of my past. But I know he is keeping more from me. Elias may have been my enemy, but he was also Cyrus’s enemy. I am sure whatever he told me about Cyrus was not a lie, especially since I have not seen any human other than Dimitri since I awoke.

“I know this is a lot to process, Annalise. We are not your enemy. We are your loyal subjects. And once His Majesty returns, he will be able to fill in many more gaps than we have,” she says gently.

I shift my attention from her to Felix. He stands silently near the fireplace, watching me carefully. My heart is freshly shattered as I look at the beast who now holds Dimitri’s affection. But I’ve pushed down my emotions for the sake of understanding just how much of my life has been wiped from my memory.

“Where is he… Where is Cyrus?” I whisper, trying my best not to give away the terror in my voice to the possibility of learning his whereabouts. If what they say is true about me and him, nothing in my memory says that being with him was positive. It makes me hesitant to see him.

Even still, Elias’s purpose for coming here was to destroy Cyrus, using me specifically as a secret weapon, and now I see why. I can’t imagine why Cyrus wouldn’t have been here long before I awoke, or why his son is here without him.

“He went to Elias’s lands to look for you,” Felix says. That’s all he offers, however, as if he doesn’t trust me. But my mind is too quick to miss the meaning of his words. Cyrus is in Elias’s kingdom, which makes me think of Elias’s words to me during our battle for my life.

“Cyrus will rue the day he eradicated my world.”

I suck in a trembling breath, looking back down to the tea. I don’t know how it could be possible. And if it is, Cyrus is much more dangerous than Elias initially let on.

“Is it true then?” I whisper. “Everyone there is dead? Everything is gone?”

Felix’s expression shifts as he approaches, confusion on his face. “How do you know that?”

I release a trembling breath, glad that I haven’t eaten anything prior to this conversation, as nausea hits me from this realization of what Cyrus has done because of me.

“It is why Elias tried to kill me,” I say.

Calista releases a gasp, placing her hand over mine. “Elias did this to you?” she whispers.

I nod as I force myself to look at both Felix and Calista as they watch me, unaware of the threat that has landed in their home. The threat that I coerced into coming.

“He said he would make this his home… that he would take everything Cyrus has ever known and loved starting with me,” I say.

Calista gasps next to me, and Felix suddenly turns rigid as his gaze narrows.

“Make this his home… Elias is here?” he asks.

I nod.

“He’s been here for weeks, gathering humans like me who were cast out while spreading his men throughout this kingdom. He’s going to attack it from within,” I say.

Felix narrows his gaze.

“And you’ve been by his side, aiding in this planned attack?” he asks.

I close my eyes as memories of my time aiding Elias wash over me. My survival hinged on getting him to come to this land by any means necessary. And that meant doing whatever it took along the way to secure his trust, even helping train and gather humans like me. It’s only by a stroke of fate that I survived escaping him.

“It was my idea,” I say softly.

Felix chuckles but says nothing beyond that, so I decide to speak.

“Elias said he had taken something from me… something precious that spurred my desire to fight against him in the beginning… Do you have any idea what that might be?” I ask.

Felix still has his back to me, and I notice Calista looking at him briefly before responding.

“I think it’s best that you try to process everything we’ve told you for now. Cyrus will be able to fill in the important gaps upon his return,” she says softly.

I inhale a deep breath, fighting the urge to scream once again. It’s frustrating and frightening all at once. There’s so much that I don’t want someone else to fill in; I just want to know it myself.

Felix makes his way toward the door, clearly done with the conversation.

“The king should return in a few weeks. In the meantime, we’ll need you to tell us everything you know about this invasion and how soon Elias plans on enacting it.”