Altair turned towards me and his gaze softened. I clenched my fists as I watched the witch leave.
“Civilians do not learn how to speak to their superiors properly, it seems,” Altair said quietly. “Are you okay, Your Highness?”
“How much did you hear?” I questioned instead. Altair dropped his gaze to the floor.
“I just got here,” he answered. “I didn’t hear anything. I suppose you’re here for your medium, right?”
Within five minutes, I had the magical object in my hand and I was out of the classroom. I released a puff of air. Ariadne was going to pretend, but I knew who she was. The urge to bow before her had not lessened in her presence. It only seemed to get worse.
I knew I was close to plunging into darkness again.
Kaden’s POV:
Andreas and I were running towards the Prince’s room. I was in a rush—both of us were in a rush of what we’d found out. I knocked once and didn’t wait before I pounded on the door.
It opened and a growl reached my ears and I took in the disheveled form of the Crown Prince. I paid no attention to his swollen mouth or the way his shirt was crumpled. I especially didn’t pay attention to his annoying, “What?”. I dragged in Andreas and slammed the door shut before I turned to look at Colton the ideas.
“The dark magic within you is growing,” I breathed out harshly. “I—I was reading in the Royal Library and I found a few notes on dark magic. Andreas and I researched more. The reason your control is fading more is because the dark magic is growing stronger. It’s actually growing inside of you. It’s living, Prince Colton.”
Elle's POV
I whined softly when Colton pulled his lips from mine to answer the door, but he paid me no heed, probably trying to tease me…. When he answered it, and I saw my best friends stumbling inside, I grew concerned. They looked so afraid, had something happened? Had their relationship been discovered?
But as I listen to Kaden speak, my blood turned to ice. "No—" I choked out. "No. There–There has to be a mistake. Incorrect symptoms. Anything."
Colton’s POV:
I’d like to say I was surprised. I’d like to say I was terrified of what I had heard. But I wasn’t. I wasn’t surprised and I wasn’t terrifief because I had expected it.
“I’m sorry,” Kaden said quietly. “We researched for an entire week. That’s all that we found. And… the only way to cure you, Prince Colton, is if you kill the one who cursed you.”
Now that sent icy water tumbling through me. I hissed, baring my teeth. I was not going to kill her. I was never going to bring my mistress harm.
I tightened my grip on Colton's arm, breathing heavily. "Then—Then we'll find her," I stammered, "And we'll do it. It's not like we have a choice."
“And you must keep him away from her,” Kaden said, narrowing his eyes. “No matter what happens. Because if you are in her presence, there’s nothing you won’t do upon her command.”
My grip on his arm tightened even further, and I gave a shaky nod.
"Y-Yeah. Yeah. I can do that."
How ironic, I thought. I was already in her clutches. But I didn’t say it out loud.
“Why would she even come to a place where she could die?” I smiled tightly. “It’s suicide.”
I shook my head slightly. "If you can't tell anyone, and she has a good enough alibi, then what does she have to lose? You—You remember that thing we did with Altair…? Where–Where our fears reflected what was–what could happen?"
“Wait, what do you mean?” Kaden raised an eyebrow as if it was news to him. I wasn’t surprised. We never mentioned it to him.
“What about it?” I asked Elle softly, though I had an idea of what she was trying to say.
I lowered my eyes to the floor.
"Well…. the woman could be acting on that…. if it really is her plan…"
I sighed heavily, running a hand through my hair.
“I’m not letting her touch even a hair on you,” I promised Elle. “Don’t worry.”
Andreas narrowed his eyes at us.
"What are you two talking about??"
I sighed heavily.
“Altair’s training us Type A’s,” I answered, clasping Elle’s hand tightly in mine. “He’s having us face our fears in his illusions. That’s what we’re talking about.”
Andreas pressed his lips into a hard line. "Elle said….'what could be'?"
I looked at Andreas right in the eyes, saying the words Elle couldn’t bear to hear but the ones I didn’t care about as long as it meant she was safe.
“In those illusions, Elle was cursed,” I started softly. “And I let her kill me.”
I swallowed and squeezed my eyes shut. “And in mine—I—I had to——Altair said that—“
“Those illusions aren’t a lie,” I continued for Elle calmly. “We might face that harsh illusion in the future. It symbolizes something.”
“Might symbolize something,” I forced out, unable to stomach the nauseating images that came to mind.
I pulled Elle into me, pressing a loving kiss on the top of her head. “I told you before and I’m going to tell you again,” I said against her. “I will protect you. I will even lay down my life if it comes to that. I may be cursed to worship her, but I was created to serve you.”
“No.” My voice trembled violently. “That’s what I’m afraid of, Colton, you getting hurt because you were protecting me. I’m the one who’s supposed to—who’s supposed to k—do the deed. If anything, you need to be protected.”
”Like I said,” I stared right into the eyes I loved the most in this unfair world. “I’ll go down protecting you. No matter what, and no matter what you say, that fact will never change.”
No. No, no, no, no. No.
I merely turned my head away, trying and failing to mask the misery in my expression.
Ignoring the other two, I cupped her face in my hands and turned it so she was looking right at me.
“I love you,” I said to her, my voice neither breaking nor trembling. “More than anything in the world. I will love you until the universe exists no more, and I will love you even when there’s nothing left of me but broken memories. And because I love you, Elle, I will come back to you, because you aren’t just my girlfriend. You are my home, and no matter how far I am, I will always find my way back to you. Not even death can keep me away. Do you understand?”
A rupture formed down the centre of my heart. My voice caught in my throat, so I didn’t try to speak. I merely leaned forward and placed the side of my cheek against his chest.
I wrapped my arms around her, taking a deep breath.
“Good,” I rasped out. “Always keep that in mind.”
I slipped my arms around his middle, holding myself close to the amazing man before me. Having lost the energy to speak, j turned my eyes towards Kaden and Andreas, waiting.
Kaden’s POV:
I had looked away the moment the Prince began to speak to Elle, knowing I wasn’t needed in this conversation. The love from which he spoke to Elle nearly caused my eyes to water. He looked at her like she was his lifeline. He looked at her like there was nothing more valuable than her, and I was happy it was the Prince Elle had fallen for. I couldn’t think of anyone else with Elle.
When I felt eyes on me, I looked back and sighed.
“Why didn’t you tell us before?” I questioned softly, no hints of accusations in my voice. “We would have started researching faster.”
