Chapter 58 The Truth, The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth
Eldoria E Esperanza was efficient.
She was sharp and intuitive as well, and Maeve knew that. She believed it. From the moment Aegon made the claim that Eldoria wanted the Life Bond.
It was clear from his responses that he believed she had evil reasons for it.
But Eldoria had never shown signs of pure evil before.
There was a reason for her madness, usually. A point. If the war had ended, and there was no point for her to try hijacking the life bond and using it for an evil purpose, then what other reason could it be?
And as Maeve stared at the scene in front of her…
She knew she had been right.
Eldoria stared down at the man that she had stabbed, the blood on his chest spreading while some of it stained her hand— with tears falling out of her eyes.
She did not let out a sound of pain.
Instead, her body shook, each sob she made showing up in her body as vibrations.
Maeve somehow, in that moment, could sense it. The guilt she was feeling, it felt like something sharp was digging into her chest and it was making it hard for her to breathe.
But she snapped herself quickly out of it when Maeve heard her say quietly, “You may show yourself. I swear not to harm you,”
Maeve did not believe it. And why would she? It was common sense not to take anything Eldoria said seriously… but for some reason, Maeve’s legs moved, and slowly, she got to her feet and walked out of the bushes she was in.
The second she was no longer covered by the bushes, Eldoria pulled the knife out of Lir’s body— Maeve saw him better, realizing that he was breathtakingly gorgeous in a way that made her feel like she was losing her breath— and faced Eldoria again.
The woman was staring at her, her eyes red from the tears she had shed but whatever sadness she was showing before was gone, left with a blank slate that felt almost empty. “You are human… or something that pretends to be,”
Maeve could not help the way the word left her mouth. “Pretends?”
Eldoria nudged her head forward. “There are Wraiths waiting for you. Dark spirit beings. Things. Did you dabble in dark magic to come and kill me all this way? If you did, I must applaud you for your strength,”
Maeve wanted to test the waters again. “And what if I did?”
The Eldoria she knew would have smiled, maybe laughed— but this one? All she did was let out a sigh and turned to face Lir, her hand reaching out to brush away the hair on her face, “Then be done with it as soon as possible, Isabella Montague. I would rather you do so quickly,”
Isabella Montague. She knew that name. “How… how do you— how do you know that name?”
“Must I beg—?”
“Eldoria.”
Perhaps it was the way she said it, or the fact that she had not heard anyone else call her that name in a very long while… but the woman in question’s head snapped towards her, her voice low, “You,”
Then with a speed Maeve could not even foresee, threw the knife at her.
All she did was blink— and the knife had passed through her and hit the tree behind her. Maeve heard her heart beat loud, the angry words leaving her mouth before she could stop it, “YOU JUST SWORE NOT TO HURT ME,”
“You are connected to the Life Bond,” There was a different glimmer in Eldoria’s eyes now.
She let go of the man laying on the table, rising as a crazed look flashed through her eyes. “The fact that you are here means it was all consensual. That old bastard let you? As a human?”
Maeve assumed it was Aegon she spoke of. “There was a trial—”
“Yes. That nonsense,” Eldoria cut in. She moved closer. “How did you do it? How did you get here?”
Maeve felt herself move back. “I.. I don’t—”
“Go back and find Lir,” Eldoria cut in again. “Tell him never to speak to me. Tell him let me be— or listen to me!”
“I don’t know how I got here, okay?! I don’t even know what it is I’m supposed to be doing here,”
Eldoria stopped. Not slowly or cautiously— but sharp, like something had pulled on her tight, forcing her in place. Then Maeve saw it… the sadness. Her eyes dimmed, then the tears began to fill both of them as she stared behind her, “This moment… this moment cannot be… changed,”
“Eldoria—”
“The Universe is vast and mysterious, with abilities that exist to make life… easier for you. Like this… Life Bond. A chance to learn your past, present and future… to grow,” Eldoria continued. At that moment, it seemed as if she was talking to herself. “But events are fixed. They cannot change. You might be allowed to see them… but you cannot change them,”
Maeve watched as she hurried back to Lir, her hand rushing over the wound while she tapped his face with the other one, “Nonono, wake up. Wake up. Please. Please. I made a mistake,”
Her head snapped to Maeve. “Go and call for help! They will hear you!”
The woman in question moved closer. “I don’t think they will,”
“You do not need to think. I give the order, you listen!” Eldoria hissed, then her voice cracked. “Why do you not… listen? Why are you…?” Then she faced Lir. “I made a mistake. I should… I should never have come here,”
Maeve faced her on the opposite side, watching as the woman let out a chuckle as she wiped off the tears that had fallen from her eyes onto Lir’s face. “I am not even certain how I came here. One second, I had been bleeding, and poisoned. I was far from Aeltherra, this, I knew… and the blood would not stop. But the next… I was waking in his tent, and he was helping me,”
“You do not have to tell me—”
“You are here to listen and learn,” Eldoria cut in again, her attention still on him. “If you cannot change it… then you must learn, and soon, I will request for the same from you in return,”