Extol of Agnatic Dreams (The Extol Series Book 1) (30 page)

Panting, Evangeline did not need to be told twice. She raced from the room, pulling the door open and slamming it closed. She didn’t get far, however. Struggling to catch her breath Evangeline fell against the wall. Tears threatened her eyes but she wasn’t sure what was causing them. She wiped at them stubbornly with the back of her hand but it did nothing to stop them from reforming and clinging to her lashes.

Her breaths came fast and erratic, and Evangeline felt like she was about to suffocate although she had nothing to stop her from taking a full breath. It was like the air had been stolen from the space around her. Looking one way up the hallway, she turned the other and spotted a small window. Throwing herself towards it, she thrusted it open and gulped down the night air.

“I knew you would not last.”

Evangeline cringed at the voice, knowing who it belonged to before she even turned to face Luella. Of all the people to see at this moment, Evangeline did not want to see her. She almost hoped to see Glais had given chase, knowing he would save her from this woman but she was alone. Evangeline tried to stand a little straighter, but her chest was still compressed with a panicked chill that kept her from looking anything but pathetic.

Luella chuckled at her, enjoying the demoralised Evangeline as she struggled. She reached out and threw Evangeline’s hair to the side and exposed her neck. “As I suspected. One bite and you are ready to quit. Glais will be begging for my forgiveness before the sun is out.” Luella stepped into Evangeline. She took her chin in her fingers and forced Evangeline to look at her. “Fear not little princess. I shall keep your husband satisfied even after you are married. I perform the acts you never dare consider.” Luella tossed Evangeline away.

Evangeline fell back against the wall, hitting her head against the window edge but she said nothing as Luella walked away. For all of his shortcomings, and Evangeline felt like Glais had many, the obvious reasons he kept Luella around was lost on Evangeline. Someone who was willing to put her life on the line must be slim to come by, and yet surely there was someone else who could take her place. Anyone.

Evangeline sniffed and reached back to check her head. Bringing her fingertips back to her face, she saw there was no blood but it did not mean that she felt nothing. The point of impact was pulsing loudly and giving her the worst of headaches. Wincing, Evangeline attempted to stand but she didn’t get fair before her feet tangled over themselves and she found herself sitting down hard in the corridor.

Deciding that she needed rest, Evangeline crossed her legs and concentrated on staying with her back to the wall while it threatened to let her fall. Evangeline heard a slam from up the hall, and the walls seemed to vibrate with the force. She turned to look and couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her. Luella stood at Glais’ door, her mouth was stuck open in a silent protest from being denied.

Feeling eyes on her skin, Luella snapped to where Evangeline sat casually on the floor, leaning back on the wall. Evangeline smiled, only a hint of her pleasure at the scene. Stamping her foot Luella huffed at the closed door. She paused for a moment as if something might change Glais’ mind. Once it was clear he had no plans to allow her entrance Luella walked the other way. Pleased to see the other woman rejected Evangeline attempted to stand and this time succeeded. Her discussion with Glais might not have given her the closure she had imagined but seeing Luella dejected had lifted her spirits.

E
vangeline had been instructed by Kyleigh to meet her in the gardens in the early afternoons. Evangeline was not excited by the prospect of doing so. Since Glais’ attack, his parents had been different with her. Kyleigh less so since there was so little she seemed to understand. Whatever she feared the day Evangeline had attempted to escape was long forgiven, or forgotten. Quintus, however, was quite the opposite, and when Evangeline was around, there was a feeling of caution as if she might run spooked from the room at a moment’s notice.

In truth, Evangeline had finally come to accept her fate as it had been written. Evangeline could not leave Braykith or Glais. With every passing day, it seemed all the more likely her parents couldn’t even come to Braykith for the wedding. What luck could she ever have in leaving it? So far there had been no official announcement concerning this, but the whispers of the rebel forces were being held all over the Kingdom. Her father would take all precautions but they could not manage to lose him. Evangeline understood however she felt the need for her parents more than ever before. It was too late to call off her engagement to Glais, she had long given up on that ever happening, but she just needed a friendly face in the crowd.

Standing in the fresh greenery, it was hard to believe it had been just weeks since the grass had shivered into nothing. Just the memory of it made her skin crawl in response and self-consciously she touched the side of her neck. The marks had faded but she never quite forgot how they had marked her for days. Even with her hair out, Evangeline had been cautious to keep her neck hidden because it embarrassed her.

Kyleigh waved and got Evangeline’s attention. Drawing her back into the moment instead of being caught in the past, Evangeline was quick to join her. Behind the Queen of Braykith came two of the soldiers that Evangeline recognised as her personal guards. Would Evangeline be forced to be accompanied by guards once she was married to Glais? She wasn’t sure how she would feel about that. Behind the guards, she spotted Thomas, his hands busy with a small statue. Now that was curious, and Evangeline stopped thinking of Glais and his condition and instead meet Kyleigh half way across the gardens.

“What is this?” Evangeline asked, gesturing to the statue.

“It is a small tradition of my family actually.” Kyleigh shrugged, looking down at the ground as if she was embarrassed but Evangeline smiled. “I took on almost all that Braykith has to offer however this little piece of my home means a lot.”

“This came from where you are from?” Evangeline asked and approached Thomas, taking the statue from him. It was made of stone, carefully carved into the shape of a person. There was a hole in its hand where a piece of paper was barely seen, and another larger hole in its chest where the heart would be. Evangeline turned it over in her hands carefully. She dreaded to drop it.

“It comes from Eoboven, yes.” Kyleigh smiled down at the figure.

“Where is Eoboven?” Evangeline asked, still turning the figure around and seeing the smaller details inscribed on the solid rock. It was so intricately described, the scribes delicate and seemingly impossible to manage such finery in jagged rock and yet they had managed to do just that. She did not know how to control her hand well enough to create such work and she knew no one else of such skills. Evangeline was impressed.

Kyleigh offered to take the statue and Evangeline quickly gave it up to her. Thomas started digging a hole while Kyleigh’s guards took their positions, casually keeping their eye on the borders and the Queen, who seemed oblivious. “We call this the Thosei statue. It is a gift to the bride when her wedding approaches.” Kyleigh wiped her hands over the statue. “My mother presented one to me and so I present one to you, Evangeline. I hope you don’t mind such a little tradition.”

“No please Kyleigh, share this with me. What is it for?” Evangeline encouraged her and was rewarded with a smile from the uncertain Queen.

Kyleigh knew it was silly to cling to this tradition since she was now a Braykith royal but she couldn’t bring herself to dismiss it. “In his hand, he carries a note. It is given to the spirits of the earth as the worms eat at the cloth it is written on.” Evangeline nodded and politely pointed to the other hole in the statue to keep Kyleigh speaking. “Ah, that carries a seed. It is believed if the seed survives, you will be blessed with children. As many branches as the bush has by spring.” Kyleigh chuckled at the look on Evangeline’s face. “I do not think it is quite that literal, but a good growing tree is a positive sign of a strong family tribe.”

“Where is your bush?” Evangeline asked, looking around and hoping to spot it.

“It never grew until you arrived.” Kyleigh said and she handed off the statue to Thomas, who caught it while still balancing the shovel. Apparently they did not have the same fears that Evangeline had in holding it. Kyleigh lead the way over to the furthest point in the garden. “My room with Quintus is there, and so we planted our Thosei statue here. I cried for the first few months when nothing grew. Quintus told me it was superstition and meant nothing but you know what it is like. It might seem odd, but you believe in the fairy tales you grew up with.”

Evangeline looked at the garden now with its lush greenery and the showy flowers in bloom. She spotted the plant out of place with the other flowers. There was no other bush like it. “The seed comes from Eoboven?” Evangeline guessed.

“Yes. The Clovart plant.” Kyleigh stood with her hand behind her back, looking down at the bush that grew now without any stresses or a care in the world. “I suppose it is just superstition.”

Evangeline shook her head. “No. Your message was received and your plant grew. Braykith soil tried to stop it but that seed stayed there in the earth just waiting to show itself to you Kyleigh. I think it magical.”

Kyleigh wiped at her eyes with a finger and made a soft affirmative noise as if she couldn’t risk words. She feared that she might cry if she did attempt to thank Evangeline. Instead, she took her new daughter’s hand and braced herself for a moment. “Men will never understand the struggles we endure as their wives. Leaving all we know behind for a land and man who are unique and foreign.”

Those struggles seemed so small when compared to the Braykith kingdom’s curiosities, but Evangeline dare not mention that so obviously. Instead, Evangeline squeezed her hand back. “I would be honoured to continue this tradition with my own children should we have daughters. It will not be forgotten.”

Together the women approached Thomas, who held out the paper to Evangeline along with a charred point of a stick to write with. Evangeline took it, pressing her lips together as she considered what she needed the spirits to know and how best they could guide her in the future. Speaking to the messengers of the Gods was always tricky and it was best to keep it simple.

With Kyleigh standing so close, she would never write something against Glais but that was all that came to mind aa she stared down at the firm cloth. Finally, she wrote the only thought she felt safe writing in such company.

Allow my children to bring an end this curse

She rolled the parchment up and returned it to the statues hand. Kyleigh pressed a kiss to the seed and added it before Evangeline knelt before the freshly turned soil. Gently she placed the stone figure within its resting place and stood back to allow Thomas could fill it in. Evangeline refused to meet his eyes as he worked silently. Kyleigh took her by the elbow and thankfully began to lead Evangeline away from the scene.

“I am sure this might be an awkward conversation to have with your future mother in law, but with your mother absent, I feel it is my responsibility to have such discussions with you Evangeline.” Kyleigh sat on a bench and Evangeline had little choice except to join her.

“If you mean to discuss the wedding night with me, I appreciate your wisdom in the matter.” It wasn’t the act of sex she was nervous for although that was a small concern as it had always been for Evangeline. It was the blood lust she feared. Glais had made it clear that the blood and the desire for intercourse were linked. Could he perform one without the other? If anyone was to know how best to deal with the Braykith curse, it was Kyleigh.

The danger of this discussion was of course not being able to mention the particulars of her fears and Evangeline feared that Kyleigh was so simple in her desires and personal outlook on life that she would miss the real questions Evangeline wanted to ask. Evangeline needed to choose her words carefully. She had no desires to kill eavesdropper.

“I am aware of Glais and his activities.” She started, staring into Kyleigh’s eyes and hoping she understood the context. Kyleigh knew that Evangeline knew of the curse, but would she understand that she was trying to discuss his blood lust and not anything else? Evangeline was not confident as Kyleigh smiled gently back with her head tilted just a little to the right. “I have a healthy fear of the wedding night.” Evangeline admitted.

Kyleigh nodded. “As did I. I trembled so badly that Quintus struggled with the simplest of knots.” Kyleigh chuckled at the memory but Evangeline’s shoulders slumped. She would not find the advice she was looking for here. “The Braykith men are wild, but they are sensitive when it matters. Glais will treat you properly.”

Evangeline nodded and placed her hands on her lap, looking out on the views of the land. “Shall I be able to satisfy him?” She asked softly. “Can he be satisfied?” She sighed and held her hand up to stop Kyleigh before she answered. “Please, no Kyleigh. This is no fit conversation between his future wife and his mother.”

Kyleigh nodded, following Evangeline’s lead and looking out into the gardens, her eyes instantly skimming over the guards that had positioned themselves strategically around her. “You have created a false impression of my son.”

Evangeline froze, unsure if Kyleigh was aware that she spoke the same consciousness as her son had done. “I can only do what I can to survive here. If it is false, he has left a false impression for me to take.”

Kyleigh nodded. “Yes, he is not as level-headed as his father, but he holds other traits that Quintus did not have. Glais is quick to react but he does so with total truth. He does not question his motive but rather believes it as the only one correct course to take. He believed in love, and foolishly acting rashly.”

Evangeline’s thumb ran the length of her finger, a distraction from a conversation she did not wish to have and yet it was unfolding before her. “I cannot help the way he makes me feel Kyleigh. We had always struggled to communicate, even before I arrived and the distance he put between us cannot be placed on me. That was his decision.”

As was his decision to attack her and leave her to wake alone with more questions then she dared to ask. When she found enough strength to ask them, Glais provides so little information that she never felt satisfied. Evangeline shivered although she was sitting in the full view of the sun, goosebumps threatening her skin as she fought the urge to inspect her neck again.

“I suppose there is truth in that Eva. However, it is your decision on how to move forward. Only you can decide on that.” Kyleigh ignored Evangeline as she made that internal struggle. She understood they couldn’t talk freely so Kyleigh said all that she could say. “Glais is your husband, and Braykith is your home. You will need to perform as a wife regardless of how you feel. The questions become Eva, will you wake at night fearing him or will you embrace all he is?”

It was quite a question, one that Evangeline never imagined she would struggle with. Before coming here, her biggest fears were other women and now she wished for nothing more than for Glais to find solace with another woman so she would not be forced to do so. “I wish it was an easy answer.”

“It is one you need to have by your wedding night. It will be witnessed, and for the sake of our Kingdom Eva, it must be believed that you are not afraid of Glais. It will bring with it to many questions, too many dangers.” Kyleigh said, her view still of the visible grounds even though she was addressing Evangeline.

Evangeline looked at Kyleigh suddenly, her heart leaping into her throat. “Witnessed?”

Kyleigh chuckled. “I mean that retiring to his chambers will be witnessed. Monitored by guards to ensure that the wedding is consummated. Come morning, the sheets will be checked.” Kyleigh rose and paused while Evangeline struggled to control her fear at that prospect. “Being Queen is all an act Eva. It never ends and every scene is harshly judged by ill-witted critics. You cannot make a mistake.” She reached out and her thumb stroked along Evangeline’s cheek. “I am sorry for your burden, but as far as responsibilities go it is not the worst.”

Evangeline could not imagine anything worse than her union to a monster who drunk blood to sustain himself. A monster who swallowed the blood of another, and then slept with them. A monster who admitted this to her, looked right into her eyes and said these things and then did not apologise for the behaviour. Glais claimed it was a physical need and he was powerless. Evangeline was expected to handle her own impulses and stay loyal.

It was maddening and depressing. Kyleigh had given her a fair warning, though. The wedding night viewing would happen, and she would need to act for all the Kingdom as a young girl in love, or at the very least to appear as if lust had overcome her. Evangeline would draw on her inner Teagan and try her best to make her friend proud of her antics for as long as someone watched her.