Page 47 of Wrath Of Suns And Shadows (The Osparia #2)

Chapter Thirty-Three

Emelyn

O ne week.

A week of stewing in this room. Having three meals delivered a day.

Evereht and Kade had only stopped by a handful of times. If I could guess, I would think this was what it felt like to lose your mind.

I tossed on my bed—Kade’s bed—the faintest scent of him still lingered on the sheets as I stared out at the balcony.

The orange glow was barely a whisper over the horizon in the distance.

I blew out a breath. I hadn’t been sleeping much, no matter how hard I’d tried.

Everything felt off. Too normal. Despite being a prisoner, I wasn’t neglected.

If anything, I should be happy. There were plenty of people I was sure would love to be in the position I was in.

Free meals and a clean bed.

But deep down, I knew it was a facade. It was all a waiting game until Valos could finish whatever plan he had started.

The door creaked open, and I jolted upright in the bed, glancing over to see Kade quietly coming into my room. A prince sneaking around in his palace.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Come on,” he said, grabbing for my boots. “Get up, I want to show you something.”

“Kade, I’ve already seen every hall in this place. The sun isn’t out yet.” I huffed, and he insisted.

“That’s the point of the sneaking, Bunny. I want to show you something outside. Now, hurry before it’s too late,” he urged, practically putting my boots on my feet for me.

“Alright, alright.” I stood and looked ridiculous in a silky pajama top and bottoms with war boots on.

Kade pulled iron cuffs from under my pillow quickly and hurt stirred in his gaze.

I lifted my wrists and hissed in pain when he leashed me with them.

Kade held my elbows, keeping me upright as I adjusted to the loss.

Once I was steady, he pulled out a blindfold from his pocket.

“I can’t have my prisoner knowing how to get to this place.

It’s a secret,” he said, and I begrudgingly closed my eyes and motioned for him to continue.

He gently tied the blindfold, and I had to focus on my other fae instincts to guide me.

He held my hand, and we moved. The palace seemed quiet in the early hours of morning, and it made me wonder if he was taking me through some secret passage outside of the palace. Was he going to let me escape? My heart fluttered at the thought of freedom, but my mind knew it couldn’t be true.

We walked for a few minutes before I felt the ground shift from the palace tiles to uneven terrain. The warmth of summer hit me first. The smell of stardust and stone filtered through my next breath. Where was he taking me?

His hands rested on my shoulders as he guided me forward a little farther before he stilled me and removed the blindfold.

The room was barely lit with the growing sunrise over the horizon, but it looked like it was made of glass.

Upon further inspection, I realized it was crystals, all gently shimmering and slowly changing colors depending on how the faint light touched them.

I glanced up to find where the light was coming from and saw an opening within this cave. It seemed to be deep underground.

A small spring lay just ahead with water that was so turquoise, it was too beautiful—otherworldly with the flashes of rainbow light.

“Don’t move,” Kade said as he stood next to me. I looked over to him, but he mouthed the word watch as he looked ahead.

I followed suit as the first large ray of light cascaded through the catacomb of crystals and an explosion of colors overtook the cove we were in.

My lips parted as I stared at the shimmering lights in awe.

Kade stood next to me, and I could see out of my peripherals that he was watching me take in this beautiful sight.

I felt the lightest brush of his knuckles against mine.

The crystals sparkled like millions of iridescent stars around us, but he didn’t watch the twinkling shades of colors as they collided with my vision.

He watched me intently while I took in everything about this beautiful place.

“This is beyond words . . . ,” I said, glancing over at him and realizing that our fingers were interlocked. I cleared my throat and let go. “How did you find this place?” I asked, glancing around and noticing other tunnels that had to lead either out of here or to dead ends.

“My mother used to bring me here when I was a boy. She would teach us bending, Rhet and I. She used to tell us over the years that this place grew with the love she had for us, but as we got older, we learned that it was probably just from all the fire blending with the moisture of the cave.” He smiled to himself, as if the memory were playing out in front of him.

“What happened to your mother?” I asked, regretting it the moment I saw the uncertainty flash across his face.

“My father got rid of her a long time ago,” he confessed, and I didn’t meet his eyes as I stared at the beautiful lights flickering through the crystals in every direction. I heard a thud, glanced back over to Kade, and noticed he was taking off his boots.

“What are you doing?” I asked as he started taking off his shirt. I eyed every curve and divot of muscle along his abdomen. My eyes lowered when he began taking off his trousers, but I looked away before I could see anything. He chuckled, and I heard the water shift as he lowered into the pool.

“Come on, Bunny, the water’s warm,” he coaxed, and I couldn’t deny that it sounded nice after being cooped up in that palace for what seemed like forever.

I looked over at him, and he had dipped under the blue surface.

When he popped back up and shook the water from his hair, it fell over his brow as his amber eyes watched me.

“Well . . . turn around, Prince. I’m not getting undressed in front of you,” I hissed. He chuckled as he stood to his full height, and the water stopped just below his waist, barely covering his cock from view. As he turned around, I could see every flex of the muscles in his back.

I swallowed to battle the dryness in my mouth, shucked off my boots, quickly took off my silky pajamas, and stepped into the water. I lowered myself enough so that I was completely covered.

He turned back around and lowered himself into the water again, only leaving his heads above the glass surface.

I moved to one side of the pool, keeping a healthy distance between us.

The water was warm and refreshing. I dipped my head beneath it and ran my hands through my hair as I came back to the surface.

Kade only watched me as he lolled his head back against the ledge of the pool.

“How did your mother find this place?”

“She told us she stumbled upon it while looking for ways to escape my father.”

“Why would she try to escape? She was the empress.”

Kade scoffed, “My father used her for her womb and nothing more. He wanted an heir, and he got one.” He motioned to himself with a furrow of disgust over his features.

“She held no authority. If anything, she was just as much of a prisoner here as you are now.” He shook his head. “I vowed I’d never be like him.”

“And yet here I am, in iron gauntlets. How ironic, the man that vowed he’d never be the same.”

Kade moved quickly, towering over me as his chest heaved with frustration at my harsh words.

Water dripped from his dark hair and streamed down his muscled body.

Fear slithered through me, and as soon as he noticed it in my eyes, he paused, his taut body relaxing.

His gaze pierced me with so much twisting, raw emotion, my throat bobbed from the hurt I saw lingering in his eyes.

He palmed my cheek. “I’m sorry. You’ll understand one day,” he said as he caught his breath and moved to get out of the pool.

I didn’t glance at him while he threw his clothes back on.

“Come on, Bunny. We have to get back. Wouldn’t want anyone to think you ran off.

” He turned his back to me to give me privacy.

I got out and dressed, he blindfolded me, and we walked back to my room in tense silence.

I moved the peas on my plate quietly as Kade sat at the small table across from me.

He ate his lunch, not paying much attention to me.

I knew I had hurt him in the catacombs. The tension hung between us like a damp cloth.

I was about to speak when a knock sounded, and Kade got to his feet to answer it.

It was a letter, wax sealed with Ember’s emblem of a phoenix in a beautiful envelope.

Kade opened it, and I noticed him stiffen.

“What is it?” I asked, and he glanced over the paper at me.

“My father is making you tonight’s entertainment. You’ll be fighting.”

“And why do you look like you’ve just seen a ghost?” I asked with a cock of my brow.

“I don’t think you understand, Emelyn. These are some of the best fighters. You’ll be in irons. He’s doing this to torment you while he goes about with whatever plans he’s working on in the background,” he clarified, frustration thrumming off of him.

“At this point, Prince, I’ve experienced torment since the moment this war started.

This is just another trial.” Hurt flashed across his firm features, and I couldn’t understand how he could look at me with such pity.

It made anger simmer under my skin, how my pain could affect the man who was a key part of all of it.

I thought that about Kade—but, I knew Crow’s secrets from being apart of the war, from being in the Western Wyverns, for knowing about the plans and sitting by and doing nothing about it until it was too late, and yet, what could he have done?

He was only one man, and regardless of everything, I had still fallen for him.

Could I be mad at Kade? What could one prince do against an entire empire?

“There will come a day when you no longer feel the agony this world has caused. I swear it.”