AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She rushes over to me and pulls me into a hug. I’m so shocked by her actions that I don’t immediately wrap my arms around her.
“I’m sorry. I know I’m not supposed to…” Isolde starts to pull away, but I finally snap out of my shock and pull her closer.
“I know you tried to save her,” she whispers, making me freeze.
My shoulders drop when I finally speak. “I was too late,” I tell her.
“It is not your fault,” she says with vehemence in her voice.
“You don’t know that. I…” I pull back to look at her, swallowing hard at the complete sadness in her eyes, knowing that I am the one who put it there.
“I am the one who brought it here,” I tell her, dipping my head in shame and guilt as I wait for her wrath and rage. But all I am met with is silence. And after a moment, I glance up to find no anger, hate, or resentment, just sad eyes that hold nothing but compassion and understanding.
“I was there,” she says, taking my hand in hers. “I was there when you killed it. In the room.”
“Then you know,” I whisper.
“I know.” She gives me a look. “Iknowit was not your fault.”
“But Isolde—” I start, but she stops me with a shake of her head.
“Many think the servants do not know what goes on around them. We are told to be quiet, to make ourselves invisible. They taught us to be unseen and unheard. But they became complacent and forgot about us completely. They forget when we’re in the rooms and along the halls. And we hear things. Things about how the Sidus suffer and starve in a town full of darkness. Of creatures that seep in through the shield and kill.”
Tears start to run down her face as she grasps my hand tighter. “Things about a Sidus competitor that was placed in a cell and beaten by the guards for their amusement.”
I shake my head, but I don’t know what to say to her. I do not want to lie to her anymore. But I also don’t wish to cause her any more pain either. So I glance down at our clasped hands and wait for her to tell me what she needs from me.
“I do not blame you for her death,” she says, and my head whips up to meet her eyes. “It is not the first time we have seen one of those dark creatures, and I fear it will not be the last.”
“Isolde? What do you mean?”
She shakes her head. “There is an evil in this palace, and it is not the dark creatures but the guards and their leaders.”
“Isolde?”
She shakes her head once more, not telling me any more. “I heard you are putting yourself in danger to try to save those missing women.” She gives me a look that would rival Visha’s meanest glower.
“I just want to help. I don’t want any more people to lose a loved one,” I tell her, and she gives me an expression full of sympathy and gratitude before shaking her head and clearing the tears from her face.
With a determined glint now in her eyes, she gets up and swipes a hand down her wrinkled clothes. “I will make sure your bath is warm and lay out some clothing for you.”
“You don’t have to?—”
She turns and gives me a sharp look. “Just say ‘Thank you, Isolde,’ and let me take care of you.”
Warmth fills me at her words.
“Thank you, Isolde,” I whisper.
She nods her head and begins to turn but pauses. “Visha… Visha would not want you to be sad for her. She would want you to live.”
I swallow hard against the burn in the back of my throat. “I’ll try,” I tell her.
“And you will succeed,” she commands with a look that makes me smile.
She turns and walks to the tub and starts moving about as normal, and as she does, something loosens in my chest, making me feel slightly lighter.
Once the tub is warmed, Isolde leaves me to enjoy it, demanding I take my time and try to relax.
