Chapter 35 CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
ROSALINDA
Seraphina stood in the doorway of the library, her chest heaving as if she'd run leagues. Diana remained frozen, her eyes wide and glossy, staring at the woman who had just shattered the silence. I moved away from the door slowly, my legs feeling like they belonged to someone else. The revelation that Cyrus- the man I'd been trying to figure out for months was actually Grayson, my childhood heart, was a blow I hadn't yet processed. Neither was the fact that he was the true heir to the Elrondi kingdom.
"You both are liars!" Seraphina yelled, her voice like a jagged scream that tore through the quiet of the library. "I asked again, what did you just say?!"
My eyes trailed to Diana who didn't flinch this time. She wiped a stray year with a trembling hand and stood up. "Everything I just said...is the truth. You can scream until your throat bleeds, but it won't change what Valerius has done and you have no right to barge in here demanding for answers!"
She literally stole the words out of my mouth. But unfortunately, I was too shaken to say them.
The fire in Seraphina's eyes died instantly, replaced by a hollow, terrifying emptiness. She collasped to the floor, her silk skirts blooming around her like a dying flower. She began to mutter under her breath, her voice a frantic, low hum that made my skin crawl.
"He lied to me. He said it was for the best....and I would be heavily rewarded...he lied to me..."
I stepped towards her, my suspicion hardening into a cold knot in my stomach. I reached down and gripped her shoulders, forcing her to look at me. "What are you muttering about?" What do you mean he lied to you? Who lied to you? What did you do?"
Her eyes were darting everywhere but at me. She looked frantic, like a trapped bird. "I have to go-" she suddenly gasps, shoving me back with a strength like she was possessed. She scrambled to her feet and bolted out of the library.
"Seraphina! Wait!" I yelled, finding my stride and chasing after her. We sprinted through the palace corridors, our footsteps echoing like gunfire against the marble. We passed startled maids who flattened themselves against the walls and guards who didn't know whether to salute or intervene. Seraphina didn't stop until she reached the guest chambers we had given her, slamming the door so hard it remained open.
I ran in after her, she went in straight for her vanity, pulling drawers so violently that jewelry and perfumes clattered onto the floor.
"Seraphina!" I shouted, breathless as I stepped into the room. "Stop this! Talk to me!"
But she ignored her, her hands shaking as she dug through a hidden compartment at the back of a mahogany drawer. My patience snapped. I strode over, grabbed her wrists, and yanked her away from the desk, pinning her against the floral wallpaper of the wall.
"What is it??" I hissed, my face inches from hers. I wasn't the sweet princess Rosalinda right now. I was a woman whose past and future were being burned alive in a dungeon.
"Rosalinda?!" I heard a familair voice yell. "What in the hell is going on?"
I turned around to see Zade standing in the doorway, his face a mask of confusion and simmering rage. He looked like he hadn't slept in days- probably because his best Knight and friend was soon to be facing a headsman's axe.
When had he arrived?
"Let go of me! I have to fix this!" Seraphina shrieked, twisting in my grip. I let go, but before she could dive back into the drawer, but she tumbled. Zade walked in and caught her before she hit the floor, his brow furrowed.
"Fix what? Seraphina, you're hysterical," Zade said, his voice tight. He turned to face me, obvious for answers. "What's going on? When I heard there was a commotion between you, I got so worried. Rosalinda what's going on?!"
I wanted to answer, but I couldn't. I had too many questions and none at the same time.
I wanted to tell him.
I wanted to tell him everything that Diana had told me.
But I couldn't.
I couldn't let him know, for now, it would be too risky.
But even if I try to hide it, wouldn't he later find out?
"Rosalinda!" He yelled making me flinch.
"I-" before I could speak, Seraphina sank to her knees in Zade's arms, a broken sob escaping her.
"Valerius..." She murmured. "He lied to me. He told me Cyrus was a spy, a threat to the crown from both kingdoms. He promised me that if I helped him plant that evidence, no one would get hurt. He said he'd just exile him and now I come back to find out that everything was a lie and now Cyrus is going to die!" She looked up at me, her face a mess of makeup and regret. "I helped him. I admit it. I was behind it all, I was behind it because I was jealous of you and wanted either Zade or Valerius to myself and now an innocent man is going to die for a sin that wasn't even his!"
I felt the air leave the room as her confession slipped from her lips.
'I don't like Seraphina. She can't be trusted.' My mother's voice rang in my head.
I should have listened.
I should have realized it but I was too blind chasing shadows.
She had been the snake in the grass.
And I brought her in.
Before I could find the words to scream or curse at her, a long loud trumpet blast shivered through the palace walls. It was the sound of Cyrus's sentence.
"It's time," Zade said coldly as he let go of Seraphina as if she was made out of poision, he looked down at her as he walked towards me. "Fix this."
Her eyes darted from him to me, then from me to him again. She swallowed hard as if rethinking her decision to make the confession few seconds ago.
"I..I don't think I can...Valerius has all the evidences and-"
"You're more than enough evidence," Zade said. "Fix this. Or I kill you personally."
"But how?!" Seraphina screamed. "If I expose the truth, I'll lose everything. My title, my freedom-"
"Your freedom and Cyrus's life," I seethed, stepping towards her. "Which is more important? Well, let me answer that for you. Cyrus's life is. He's not just the man who saved my life, he's my fiancée Knight and friend!" I yelled, grabbing her shoulders.
And....my only true love.
"You have to fix this!"
She let out a choked sob, then nodded. "Okay." I let go of her, then watched as she stood up, wiping her face. She looked at me, and for the first time, I saw a flick of spine of someone who was truly sorry.
"You're right. I have to fix this," she says. "However, I'll need your help."