Chapter 12: Unreal Sacrifices
>>Aelin
The dim light of my room felt colder than before.
I sat curled on the edge of the bed, knees pulled tightly to my chest, trying to steady the storm inside me. Across the room, the black-fox spirit maid perched quietly on the small couch near the corner.
I stared at the shadows on the wall for what felt like hours before I broke the silence, my voice cracking, fragile. "Who saved me?" I couldn’t recall who it was, no matter how much I thought about it. I do remember someone pulling me out of the water, some muffled voices, but nothing else.
The maid’s ears twitched, and she lifted her head, her black eyes catching the faint light. She didn’t answer right away, as though carefully weighing her words. "Princess Alishay did, my lady," she said,
I flinched, the name slicing through me sharper than I expected. Alishay. Of course. I swallowed against the knot in my throat, forcing myself to breathe past the ache. My fingers trembled against my knees as I pushed out the next question. "Does... does Draegon know?"
She hesitated, her tail curling protectively around her waist like a shield, then nodded. "Yes, my lady. He was informed."
The answer wasn’t a surprise, but it struck me anyway, a heavy blow to a heart already cracked and bleeding. My pulse thundered in my ears, my throat raw as I forced out the words I dreaded most. "Did he come?" My voice wavered, faltered. "Did he..." I couldn’t even finish the thought. "Did he visit?"
Her gaze dropped to her lap, her hands fidgeting slightly. The silence stretched too long, and then she shook her head. "No, my lady. He didn’t."
I stopped breathing for a moment. The room felt impossibly still, as though the entire world had paused to let me drown in this truth. My chest heaved, but the air seemed too thick to pull in.
Silent tears began to slip down my cheeks, unbidden, unstoppable. I didn’t bother to wipe them away.