I’m the poison.
The reason Graeline is missing so many young girls and children.
“What did she say to you?” Apollo asks as we stop in the hallway outside of their quarters. I can feel his and Ares' intense stares lasering into me.
“They are your end. I am your beginning.” I repeat what she spoke and quiver as the words rush through me. “What could that mean?” I murmur again.
“It was the dark mage. She’s come to collect on her dues.” I hear Callista’s soft voice from the shadows.
“Arianna? Dear, are you okay?” Mother's confused comment breaks through the crowd, surrounding me as she walks up with Papa.
“Put me down, please.” I stare up at Ares, realizing I still don’t know their real names. Reluctantly doing as I ask, he keeps a hand on my hip to hold me at his side as Apollo’s hands graze along my body, ensuring that the strange woman hasn't hurt me.
“Callista, what do you mean, the dark mage? Who is she?” I have so many questions, but I sense I may only gain a few answers from these two alone. If I’m granted honesty.
“Your dreams–”
“No, Callista.” Papa’s booming voice interrupts her before she can speak more.
Stunned, I turn to him. His face is ashen, his bright green eyes—so much like my own—are filled with…regret?
“What, Papa? Who is she?” When I go to take a step towards him, Apollo holds me back. “Let me go,” I hiss at him.
There’s something in his eyes that I can’t interpret. Looking up to Ares, I see the same expression. Something is going on, and for whatever reason, these men have picked up on it whilst I continue to remain in the dark.
“Tell me!” I shout. “I deserve to know, more than anybody else.” Ripping my body out of Ares' and Apollo’s hold, I step back from everyone. Kicking my shoes off, I’m ready to leave if I'm not told what’s going on.
“Darling, please.” Mother holds her hands out for me, tears on the cusp of falling as I back away. I don’t want handholding right now.
“Answers,” I demand. Turning my head, I look to Callista, contrition is reflecting in her own gaze, and I’m even more confused. “You know. You've known all along, haven't you?”
I battle back my emotions. Between sadness and rage, I don’t know what to feel for my only friend in the world. I trusted her. I shared with her my fears and secrets, and now, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at her again.
Spinning on my heel, I head up the stairs to my tower. My prison. My hell.
Asher
“Someone better start fucking talking.” Watching as Arianna stomps up the stairs to her room, I can feel her distress. Which is a really lame way of saying she feels betrayed by the only people in her life that she could trust. They've let her down in the most profound way.
“Now!” Ares shouts as we stare at her father.
His head hangs with shame before he finally speaks. “Arianna was a miracle baby. We should never have had her.”
“Stefan,” the queen cries as she grips his arm.
“It’s alright, love.” Wrapping an arm around the woman he loves, he gains the courage to speak with more confidence. “We lost hope after so many failed pregnancies. I grew desperate. The only thing Leah ever wanted was to have a child. I sought the dark mage in the Catalina Valley. I begged, pleaded, and finally bargained for Leah to become pregnant.” The couple shares a look of sorrow.
“What did you bargain for?” I growl, already sensing the direction this is about to go.
“The mages have been in Graeline for as long as our country has existed. I have no idea why they aren’t dispersed throughout the rest of the world; it’s something about the land here, I suppose,” he continues to explain and avoids the answer.
“Tell them, Your Highness,” Callista whispers from her spot by the stairs. “They have to know in order to protect her.”
“Protect her? I thought you wanted us to find the traffickers?” Ares questions.
“We did. Do, still. But I fear my child is right. I thought if we pushed her worries away, life would carry on, and we wouldn’t have to be concerned for her safety.” Stefan shakes his head before finally saying, “For generations, we’ve celebrated births with opulent parties and allowed all the good mages in Graeline to come and provide the children a wish. Happiness, love, laughter, leadership. Positive things. The dark mage wanted to participate as well; she wanted to bestow a wish on Arianna, and I agreed.”
“But…” I prompt. There’s always a fucking but.
“Leah never knew of the bargain I struck. I only wanted her to worry about the child. When it came time to invite the mages of the lands, I did not include the dark one. I couldn’t risk her cursing Arianna.” His wife is openly sobbing in his arms now.
“But she did it anyways,” I observe.
“Yes, she materialized in the night when the party was over and the castle was at rest. She cursed Arianna with finding and losing love on her eighteenth birthday. For months now, my daughter has been having nightmares of that night and another.”
“Another?”
“When Arianna was ten, after her birthday celebration in Cherish, darkness surrounded the island, and we were attacked. Entire families slaughtered over the course of the night. If not for Arianna lending me her strength, I couldn’t have stopped it,” Callista explains.
“Her strength?” Now I’m confused.
“Yes, the dark magic that was used to impregnate the queen affected the fetus.” Holy shit.
“Are you saying—”
“Arianna is a mage. In some senses, anyway. I’ve remained here to keep the darkness at bay in fear that she could ruin not only the kingdom but the world if she was not shown all the goodness our magic can possess.” Motherfucker. Callista’s explanation, Stefan’s revelations, were not something I was prepared to hear.
Arianna
My entire life has been a lie. One big deception after another. They pile up quicker than the stones in my tower.
Darkness surrounds me, and now I recognize that it’s my fault. They've always known, and not once did they bother to warn me. The people who should have loved me the most, above all else, have spent a lifetime spitting untruths at me.
There has always been this blackness in my soul. A feeling I've had that something isn't quite right, and now, the truth has been unveiled, and I’m unsure of how to react. How do I accept that I’m a product of the dark mage?
Amidst all my uncertainty is understanding, though. The prevalent nightmares after all this time make sense now. This woman was trying to tell me something. I was being given clues, and now that I have some answers, maybe it is time for me to leave Graeline.
I’m not an inherently evil person, and I’d hate for the poison flowing through my bloodstream to be fully activated because I’m here. Perhaps, if I’m in another part of the world, out amongst the rest of humanity, I can suppress it. Stifle it and live in peace.
Shuffling silently the rest of the way up the stairs, I knew that eavesdropping was the only path to finding out what my parents and Callista were hiding, and I was right. Locking the door behind me, I'll have to wait until everyone is asleep before I can sneak out, and even then, I’m not entirely confident I’ll be able to get past the guards. But I have to try.