Page 13

Annalise

“C ome. Come to me.”

Ciel’s smile widens, and he holds his arms out, reaching for me. I mirror his smile as his chubby legs help him to walk to where I am seated. He stumbles slightly and bounces in place, bending his knees as a cry of joy leaves his lips, forcing a smile on my own.

“Yes, you are doing so well,” I say encouragingly. He holds his hands out in front of him, his fists clenching as he makes his way toward me.

“Amamama.” The sound of his voice is music to my ears.

When it was just me and him across the sea, I would take him to many places to strengthen his legs in hopes that he would be walking soon. Now he is a few months past a year and smiling as he finally falls into my lap.

I hold him to me, reveling in the feel of his pure love and innocence. It is the only way for me to feel anything other than terror at the hands of his father. I pull him back to look into his eyes. The color matches Cyrus’s and when I reach up to push his hair out of his face, the silver strands slip easily through my fingers.

“If you dug a canal from the sea to freshwater, would it remain freshwater?”

Felix’s words barrage me as I take in my son. I rarely brought him to public places when we lived away from here because I feared humans would take notice of his physical features, and word would spread of the boy with white hair. Everything about him screams he is his father’s son, Including his confidence.

“You’re very good at that.”

I’m pulled out of my thoughts at the sound of the familiar voice. Cyrus stands in the doorway of my bedroom with a small smile on his lips as he takes us in. Instinctually, I pull Ciel in closer to me, and Cyrus notices the motion, his smile disappearing as he steps deeper into the room.

“Oh please, Anna. You’ve done more harm in the time you’ve had him than I ever co—“ Cyrus immediately notices his folly, a look of irritation on his face as he plops down onto the cushions above Ciel and me.

He has kept his promise not to mistreat me in front of Ciel, and that includes speaking to me in a certain manner. He seems to want to portray that we are happily together and that he has no animosity toward me whenever Ciel is around. But whenever Ciel is gone, it’s a very different story.

Cyrus studies us silently, gesturing to his own features as he speaks.

“He has your nose… and your lips,” he says softly.

He leans back in his seat, his attention fully on Ciel now. I tense when the foreign sound of a language comes from his lips, and Ciel immediately perks up, opening his mouth to imitate his father. I watch the exchange in fascination, chills breaking out on my arms from the sound.

Finally, Cyrus stops his communication, and Ciel once again falls into my lap. A light knock sounds on the door before the servant I’ve come to dislike enters the room. She’s the servant that comes to take Ciel away from me. And up until recently, she never acknowledged me. Ever since Cyrus’s command, she begrudgingly greets me. Right on cue, she bows to Cyrus with a smile and greeting before turning to me, giving me a sloppy bow without uttering a word. Cyrus watches the exchange in silence, allowing her to pick up Ciel.

“Come, little prince, let us get you fed,” she says as she rubs Ciel’s hair.

I feel a pang of anger deep in my gut as she takes my son away from me. But Ciel is watching, and so is Cyrus. So I blow him a kiss, giving him a small wave.

“Bye, my love,” I call to him, and as if sensing my pain, he waves back, easing my heartache, if not for a second. The servant closes the door behind her, leaving me alone with Cyrus. A shaky breath leaves me, the feel of his gaze on me adding to my tension.

“You’re good at that as well,” Cyrus scoffs above me.

I raise my head to meet his gaze and he’s watching me with an expression I can’t quite read.

“At what, your majesty?” I ask.

“Acting as if you are in such pain because our son has left you,” he says in irritation.

I bite my tongue, not giving him a response. If I learned anything the other night, it’s that Cyrus’s sanity is hanging on by a thread.

“Come sit with me,” he says.

Just as I stand, the door opens, and more servants enter with a spread. It’s nothing elaborate, just tea and biscuits. The servant setting the tray up smiles politely, bowing and greeting Cyrus. I can’t help but wonder if he has fucked her while we are here. He hasn’t touched me, and for that, I am grateful. But he is insatiable as he is impossible to understand.

Cyrus silently watches me as the servant leaves, then gestures to the spread.

“Pour.”

I don’t know what direction he is suddenly taking with me, but I do as he instructs, remembering my days as a slave. He’s watching me intensely as I follow his command, waiting until I am finished to issue another one.

“Drink.”

I reach for the cup, my fingers trembling under his scrutiny. I almost have the cup to my lips when he laughs, pulling my attention.

“Stop, I can no longer watch you,” he says in amusement.

“Every movement you make is clumsy and unsure. It is frustrating. We will be leaving Felix’s estate in the morning. You will accompany me to the royal estate in the mountains, where I shall train you on my own. I don’t have a lot of time, but you must be introduced to society sooner rather than later. Especially if the court is to accept you as Ciel’s mother someday.”

I blink in shock, finding it difficult to process Cyrus’s plan. He wants to train me to carry myself as a beast so he can have me become a part of the society my kind is strictly forbidden from being a part of. Felix was right when he said Cyrus didn’t understand how reckless his decisions would be.

“Don’t act as if this is shocking news. You knew this was coming, and you will no longer hinder Ciel,” Cyrus says.

I narrow my gaze, finding the strength to finally speak as the last of my patience is tested.

“How is being with his mother a hindrance?” I seethe.

Cyrus raises a brow at my tone, but he manages to keep himself calm as he places his cup back onto the tray before speaking.

“Being born to a being who doesn’t understand his true needs was a hindrance. He should have already had a taste of his true power. He should be able to see and understand what may someday be his, including preparing for his transfiguration. And he should have been hearing our mother tongue long before you spoke to him in this language,” he says.

“Because you took him and raised him as a human, he is having a difficult time understanding everything we are trying to teach him. He has been capable of receiving information for months now, but because of your lack of knowledge, his days were spent in silence,” Cyrus finishes.

I once again bite my tongue, but this time Cyrus notices.

“Speak your mind,” he says.

“You only feel he is hindered because you are raising him as a beast. He never had to deal with that when I was raising him human,” I say.

Contrary to what I thought would be his response, Cyrus laughs.

“Right,” he says, shifting his attention out the window. He then looks back at me.

“What are you going to do when he is older and you do not understand him as a beast? Are you going to shun your own son because he is not what you want him to be?”

I shake my head.

“I would never—“

“Then stop acting as if he is human. He will never be able to understand a human’s life,” Cyrus snaps.

“You won’t give him the option!” I counter.

“You are correct about that. I would never. In the time he was raised as a human you have placed him so far behind that you have negatively impacted him. Tell me, what would he have to gain from being human? Slavery?” he asks.

I open my mouth, immediately closing it as I am at a loss for words.

“Why hunt me down? Why… bring us back here if you are so disappointed in his growth,” I say.

Now, Cyrus seems at a loss for words, his eyes roaming over my face. He releases an irritated breath.

“You know why. You know I have this… unbearable desire when it comes to you. I cannot think straight unless I know where you are and that I can find you. And even then… my logic flies out the window. I don’t know what to do with you. I’m… making decisions even now that I should not,” Cyrus says.

“I never asked you to. I never asked for any of this,” I say.

Cyrus’s gaze narrows.

“Do you think that I did? Do you think that I wanted to lower myself to sleeping with a human? Do you think I wanted you, of all beings, to be the mother of my child—”

Cyrus stops himself when he notices me visibly flinch from his words. He sucks in a breath to calm himself down as he stands to leave the room. He pauses in the doorway, turning to look at me.

“Ciel didn’t ask for any of this either. But it’s our job now to be what he needs.”

My eyes widen as Cyrus continues speaking.

“Joan has already begun packing your things. Ciel will not be accompanying us. So make your peace and say your goodbyes for now.”