I'm lying on the table in the medical centre. It was cold, metal, harsh. The Doctor is looking over me and doesn't say anything. He attended to my small wounds and gave me some herbs to numb the pain. After Damien vanished I passed out. Don't ask why. They took me back to the castle. The tree was safe for now. It was now under the wolves protection, they could inform me of anything went wrong. When I woke up, I was in my own bed. In my own chambers. Drake was there beside my bed holding my hand, waiting for me to wake up. And when I did, he didn't say a word to me, nor I did to him. But the I saw relief wash over him. There are too much memories in this room. And memories equals pain; speaking to each other required too much effort. Effort we didn't have. Trika went out with the rest of the pack following my orders to find Lavria. They informed me that they found her trying to board the boat with Ashley and flee Valtor. Thankfully Trika found her in time and arrested her. They put her back into the dungeons, I don't know what I want to do with her. Ashley decided she wants to stay for a while and they both should be here soon. The grounds are a mess, remains from war are never pretty. There are dead bodies scattered around the courts and the villages are completely pillaged. Fires are still being put out and the remaining of Lightning soldiers who surrendered are being put in the dungeons alongside their king. He is also down there, begging for mercy. I will deal with him later. There is a lot of work to do. But ever since I got back, my stomach doesn't feel right. I can't explain it, but it's not right. Drake insisted that I see the doctor. So here I am.
"So is everything alright? can I go yet?" I say to him. He doesn't look me in the eye. Infact he is looking everywhere except at me. He clears his throat and gives me a gentle smile.
"Karina, the injuries that were sustained on the inside of your womb were too- extreme for the foetus to fight" he takes my hand and puts one hand over it. He lowers his voice to a feeble whisper "..so my lady, please accept my utmost sincerity. Meaning my lady, the child , she did not survive..." I didn't hear anything else he said. all that stuck with me was 'she.' A daughter, we were going to have daughter. I was going to be a mother..I was.
*3 MONTHS LATER*
"Karina there has been no change! No progress! He is giving us nothing! I say we just kill the fucking bastard already!" Drake doesn't hold back. I wanted to hold a private meeting to discuss the prisoners in the dungeons, and how we should move forward. I have already released the Lightning soldiers back into Haydren. But not the King. Drake has been in charge of interrogating King lucent for months now. He always sticks to the same thing.
'I don't remember anything, last thing that I am aware of was that me and King Edwards were outside the cave going to murder Andrea for the murder of my wife. Anything after that I cannot remember.' It seems that Andreya was stronger than I thought. King Lucent cannot remember the last 200 years of his life. He cannot remember marrying Andreya and he cannot remember Damien at all. He denies that fact that he ever even had a son. At first we didn't believe him. But truly, it seems that he was a vessel of Andreyas mind for years unable to break through her spell. She made His conciousness dormant for 200 years. I underestimated her.
"LORD SALVADORE, you know DAMN WELL he was put under my step mother, Andreyas spell for 200 years. He was unaware of anything he was doing during that whole time! He is innocent! Release him into my custody and let him be tried under the Lightning laws." Ashley is still here, trying to bargain the release of her father. She has no family left, with Damien gone, her father is her last piece of family. She is not leaving without him. I like to watch her bicker with drake, she challenges him in a way Isla once did. With her here, she makes the air around the subject of Isla lighter to breathe. They continue to bicker forgetting I'm also here.
"Both of you shut up!" And they did. They can't see but I'm internally laughing. "Drake I think Ashley is right, we can interrogate him much as we want, but the facts don't change, he knows nothing. He may not be innocent but his mind is." I see Ashley smile victoriously, but I'm not done. "But Ashley, the injustice he has done to our people, Damien, and my brother, will NOT be ignored. Let's not be so quick to forget his crimes. He WILL answer to the suffering he has caused to many, many families, not just mine." She puts her head down avoiding my eyes.
"My lady, Your brother was nothing but kind to me, and what my father did was unfortunate I know, but you must realise, it wasn't my father who is responsible, it's Andreya."
"And Lavria" drake adds on. Ahhhh I had a moment of peace where I had forgotten about Lavria. Traitorous bitch. I clear my throat.
"As a compromise, King Lucent will not be 'interrogated' anymore, no more harm will come to him. Of that you have my word Ashley."
"But Karina-"
"But, he IS staying in the dungeons. And will be tried under OUR law. And on that, I will not compromise." They both swallow the rest of their objections on this matter.
"My lady, after tonight's event, I will be returning back to Haydren. It has been a real honour my lady. Truly. I'm so sorry for all the trouble my house has caused, I wish us to be friends in the future. Perhaps be better than our parents in every way. " I take her hands and give her a hug.
"You are family to us Ashley, you are welcome at any time. Valtor is your home too." And with that she gives a slight bow.
"Don't worry, I'll be back soon." She winks at Drake and leaves the room. But as she left, it became more serious, Drake wants to ask me about everything, but when it's just the two of us we are reminded that it's not the four of us anymore. We are down to two , it's depressing. Just being together, it's depressing. He looks straight at me, he has grown a little stubble on his face. There are new scars under the greyness of his eyes. His eyes have become like the glimmer of a sword, it's actually quite gorgeous. His hair has grown too, there is a strand that hangs over his eye, over his lashes. He looks tired, not sleeping properly. He has lost weight too, not eating properly. He moves closer to me, close enough that I can smell him. He smells like trees, and fresh grass in spring. It's comforting. But I know why.
"Drake, are you sleeping properly?" I ask meeting his eyes. He doesn't answer me, he takes a silent breath. His eyes waiver for a second. He looks down on me.
"You know I'm not." He says. When something bothers drake, he can't sleep. He'll go out into the woods, and sit there watching the sun come up. He will wait alone for the sun to lighten the sky, and so that way he can escape the night, and the nightmares that come with it. He usually does this for a day or two. Never months. "I can't sleep properly anymore. Are you sleeping?" He says.
"I am, but Not well" I reply. "I don't see them anymore if that's what you mean. But I see her." For the first month, my nightmares would consist of Ryan's death, and The last moments of Isla that I spent with her. I couldn't get them out of my head. Drake would tell me that they are now reunited in the heavens, but they should never have had to go so far to be together in the first place. But now their memory has been replaced by my daughter. When she died inside of me, I named her 'Willow.' My favorite tree. A cause of my happiness and the centre of my peace. I see her, who she would've been. Had she been allowed to live.
"And what about Damien? Do you see him?" Drake asks.
"Yes..Every night. But You will never mention him again to me. He is dead to me. When I needed him most. He left me. I'm done. With crying over him. You hear me?" Drake moves closer, I see the scars clearer now. "You don't mean that. You have barely spoken about it." I see that There are bruises too under his eyes . "What have you been up too Drake? These are fresh bruises, not even purple yet. I touch the bruise and he winces at my touch. Definitely fresh. He catches my hand and holds it there for a second. His thumb rolls over my hand, his eyes searching mine. He wants me to help him. He is begging for it. "Stop punishing yourself Drake. No more fighting with the CREE. You are blameless, ok?" I say.
"I don't believe it though." He tries to smile. But sorrow pours from his eyes. He stays there a second, it almost feels, normal.
"Drake-" I start to say but the doors open and drake steps away from me putting his hands behind his back standing like a solider.
"My lady, Shall we bring her in?" A guard says to me. I look to Drake and he slightly nods his head. I clear my throat.
"Yes bring her in." The drag her in one guard on each of her arms, She is sobbing, wailing, she is not even on her feet. There are chains restricting her arms and ankles. The drag her across the hall straight to my feet and drop her. She lays there for a second still wailing. I roll my eyes.
"Get up." She acts like she didn't hear me and continues to sob.
"Get up." I say again. She looks up at me slowly, wailing and shakes her head, her eyes are red and her face is badly swollen. Losing my patience I look over to the guards, they roughly grab her and as they do she screams and fights them, they thrust her into her feet and step back. She stands there crumbling into herself. Her sobbing hasn't stopped. Her clothes are ripped, there is fresh gashes on her legs and arms, she can't look at me. She is a afraid of me. As she fucking should be.
"You know when we met. You knew me as a friend. I was kind to you, showed you respect and gave you my trust." I move closer to her, she starts to shake I see tears stream from her eyes but no sounds come from her now. "When you double crossed me, my people, and my brother, you became my enemy. Do you like being my enemy?" She shakes her head roughly from side to side. She doesn't want to speak. I get closer to her, I see the air caught in her throat, but I can't help myself. I take out my knife and grab her hair making a fist in it. I twist her around so her back is on me and pull her head back and rest the sharp knife on the pulsing vein of her throat. She screams and Drake jumps forward and so do the guards.
"WHAT DID YOU THINK?" I press harder with the knife. "I'D FORGET-I CANT FORGET! ITS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU- he loved you you know! He did!" I press harder, blood starts to emerge. I hear her gurgle - NO I want to see her eyes. I push her onto the floor and keep the knife to her throat. "I'll kill you like the rat you are."
"KARINA STOP!" Drake says. "We need her alive!"
"No we don't, she has nothing to offer us. She had a lot to offer the Lightning's didn't she though. I lost everything because of her Drake! EVERYTHING! It's time for her to feel the how hot the fire of hell actually is!"
I add more pressure to the knife.
"My lady please! I did not know that he was going to kill him- I swear! Please my lady! Banish me- take my powers- just not my life please I beg of you my lady- show me mercy- please!"
"MERCY!? YOU THINK I OWE YOU MERCY!" The darkness moves to my heart and surges through my blood. I throw my knife away and wrap both my hands around her throat. I watch her eyes bulge out of her head as her cheeks start to go red.
"Karina stop!" Drake says. I hear him. But I dint stop. She is a constant reminder of Ryan. This is justice. Suddenly Lavria slides out of my hands across the floor to Drake. He lifts her up to her feet. She vomits and spits on the floor. Breathing in the oxygen. "This is not our law." He says to me. He is right. I wait for the Darkness to diffuse again before I get up. "You're right" I say and I lick my lips.
"Hey" I say to the guards "prepare for a Kalzaring... And make sure that once it's done, you throw her as far away from here as possible." I start to walk out of the room. I hear Lavria's shrieks begging for mercy, she shouts and screams, but I don't care. We haven't done a Kalzaring in years, I once told Damien about it in the woods. It's the worst fate for any Nightslayer. Where you are stripped of all power, all title, all connection to Dark magic. You are left as nothing. Left to fend in the world, defenceless. It is The most painful process known to us. But For me, this punishment is still not enough.