Page 50 of Where We Belong

The King’s grief and guilt consume him so completely that he cannot see clearly, and while we focus on Nyk, the actual culprit is running loose. Aiden has made several appearances with a teary-eyed Eira who brings fresh flowers and smooths the already perfect bedsheets. Tonight, we sit in an all too familiar silence. When I have Eira’s word, they won’t leave until I return, I decide to pay Nyk a visit. My mind plagued with too many thoughts to count. Starting with how could he have admitted to something he did not do? The jail is a damp maze of rock passages. The cell bars, crafted from Pheonix bones imbued with Cinder blood, glimmer faintly from the dim sconces.

Nyk offers me a humorless smile. “You look like you’ve seen better days, brother,” he says, voice hoarse. He’s slumped against the wall, knees pulled to his chest. His clothes tattered; white hair stained with blood. And the exposed skin on his chest is a latticework of cuts and bruises.

“Leander.”

Nyk nods. “He had no choice.” Aiden’s request for Leander to punish rebels had been passed. I shake my head and ease myself onto the stone floor, careful not to brush against the bars.

“I haven’t been in one of these since we stole Herod’s ring.”

Nyk lets out a booming laugh. “Right off his finger. My Gods, you were slow back then,” he scratches the back of his head and a wistful smile tugs at my lips. We sit in heavy silence for a while before Nyk finally breaks it. “I heard Nefret and Fareese are refusing questioning.”

“Apparently, Feye told them they don’t have to take the Cursewater. He also said Wren and Arita don’t have to either. How convenient.” I chuckle darkly, my thumb drawing small circles over my palm. They’re on my list of suspects, but without their testimony, Nyk stays caged like an animal. I sent Nefret a Pyreling, a worthless effort. There is no love between them, and if she poisoned Ashley, she’ll never confess. Not even to buy her own soul back, let alone to free him. I reached out to Nyk’s mother as well. Nothing. But I won’t tell him; he would rather die than receive any help from his family.

“I didn’t do it, Kae.”

I frown, somewhat offended. “I know that.”

“Do you want to know what really happened?”

A slimy voice snakes through the air. I don’t bother turning around to look into the cell behind me. Instead, heat burns at my back and black smoke coils from my wings. Some stray tendrils slither between the bars and into Theron’s nostrils, laced with the acrid fumes of the prison lands. A dull thud follows as his body drops to the floor. Nyk wrinkles his nose, waving a hand in front of his face. “Seriously? You couldn’t use something less…smelly?”

I shrug, yawning. “Theron finally speaks?”

“He hasn’t shut up since I got here. Same old shit. King this, Aiden that. They should have kept him in his damn quarters. Alone. How’s Ashley doing?” Nyk asks. Something twists in me at the mention of her name, at the thought of losing her. This one-sided bond has been hell, but I’d live it a thousand times for her. It drags me toward her, only to smash into a wall I cannot cross. It hurts every time I remember I couldn’t keep her safe. My life, my duty, everything I am is bound to her. But over these months, it has grown into something more. Something new to me. And something I did not think I would ever be worthy of having. Some nights when we talk until the Core brightens, I catch myself thinking perhaps she feels it too. Even in her offense.

“She’s still unconscious,” I say, my throat tightening. “Nyk. Three more minutes and she may have died.”

He sits up. “How is that possible?”

“Anka’s trying to figure it out,” I mutter. The Cinder Twins volunteered their blood to help her, which doesn’t completely remove them from my list, but it knocks them down a few notches. Especially since they, along with Ashen’s leaders, have exercised their right to refuse the Cursewater too. “Someone has finally figured out a way to end the bloodline.”

He exhales sharply, shaking his head. “So they’re trying to kill her now? But why? What’s changed from when they needed her alive? They either know something we don’t, or it’s not the rebels at all. It’s Nefret and her posse trying to secure their seats on Aiden’s counsel. Either way, not good. Potentially, they could keep us here for eternity, change all the laws they want from their counsel seats. Power.” The air between us feels cold with what this could mean. In the wrong hands, even an ordinary civilian’s, it could end with the palace overrun, blood on every floor. It cannot get to that. I pull out the sandwich I brought for him and wrap it into a tight bundle, hitting him square in the face. Nyk chuckles. “You would hit a soldier when he’s already down, Captain?”

“Didn’t take you for someone who stays down, Lieutenant.”

He unwraps the bread and meat slowly. “Me neither.”

“Chin up, you’ll be out soon.” I try to sound confident, though the sight of his battered body gnaws at me. I haven’t seen him this injured for a long while, but I also take comfort in knowing his pain tolerance matches mine.

“Not if whoever’s trying to frame me has anything to do with it,” he says between bites, wincing. Maroon bruises blooming beneath his black stubble. I straighten at his words, a spark igniting in my mind. “What if…” I trail off, piecing together my thoughts. “What if Aiden is trying to frame you?”

Nyk’s bruised eyes lock onto mine as he chews, “He’s an asshole, I just don’t think he would go that far. He’d just strip me of my post.”

“I’ve had a glimpse into what he’s been dealing with, it’s not pretty, Nyk. It hurts. Really hurts. It’s enough to drive me crazy most nights. And he’s killed for Eira before.” I think back to that gruesome day a little differently now. Aiden panting, standing over a body mutilated beyond recognition. No regret in his cold, green eyes. I squint at Nyk, racking my brain. It’s as if there’s a block on my thoughts, but desperation and anger still find a way in. “Who is conducting the interrogations?”

“Before I was arrested, there were plenty of people on rotation,” he says, counting off names on his fingers. “Lili, Tobian, Yash, Erik… too many to keep track of. Check the rota.”

“And Aiden? Was he around?” I ask, lowering my voice as I rack my brain.

Nyk shakes his head. I clench my jaw, the threads of suspicion tightening into a clear picture with a chunk missing. It is a bold move to frame Nyk, one that could easily get someone killed if uncovered, but Aiden’s obsession with Eira had long since consumed him, even before his vow.

“Your trial will come quickly,” I say, rising to my feet. “I need to move fast. I will update you when I can, but hopefully you are freed before I need to.”

“Get him a blanket,” I bark to the guard on duty before I take to the air, my wings cutting through the night. I speed back to the infirmary, noting to myself that I won’t leave Aiden alone with Ashley again. My mind churns with every beat of my wings and though I suspect Aiden may have something to do with this, I know Nyk as well as I know myself. And if I’ve learned anything tonight, it’s that he’s hiding something too.

I return to the Princess’s bedside and murmur goodnight to Eira and Aiden. Something about him looks more wound up than usual. Anka enters shortly after, her long golden ringlets pulled out of her face. She declares a little too loudly, “I’m just going to shut this to give her some privacy.” After peering cautiously into the hallway, she closes the door. A frown tugs at my lips as my finger taps the arm of the chair.

Her voice drops to a whisper. “My family owes yours a great debt, and for generations, we’ve never been able to repay it. Please, consider what I’m about to tell you as a small way to chip away at that.”