Chapter 20

They were still holding each other when Dalia found them an hour later.

“I can’t believe you, Ophelia,” Dalia said, coming closer to them, her steps heavy. “Could you be any more pathetic?”

Both pairs of eyes snapped to her at the words, but Ophelia did not remove herself from the embrace. She was past caring for convention at this point and if Dalia wanted to blame her for Emmett’s death, then it was no fault of her own. She understood that her friend was going through a tough time and needed someone to fault for what had happened. Ophelia was happy to take the blame if it would make her happy.

“What do you want, Dalia?” she asked.

“What did he do to you?” Dalia's voice was a mixture of astonishment and disappointment as if she could not fathom why Ophelia would choose to love a man that hunted her kind for a living. “If Emmett was here, he’d be disappointed in your terrible choice of men. Then again, you never did know how to pick them.”

Kane grabbed Ophelia’s hand and squeezed as if telling her that he was here and everything would be alright. That had always been her line of thought but right now, it felt like her world was spinning on its axis and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Ophelia faced Dalia. “If you want to blame me for Emmett’s death, then it’s fine. I won’t object. But don’t you for one moment think that I’m not hurting too. He was as much my friend as he was yours.” In Ophelia's opinion, she'd lost both of her best friends in one day. However, the same could be said for Dalia.

“Yeah?” Dalia sneered. “Is that why you ignored his feelings for you all for those years?”

She would not lie and say that she had not been aware of Emmett’s feelings for her; they had been as clear as day. But she had done nothing to encourage it out of respect for their friendship and if Dalia had not seen that, then maybe she had not been paying attention.

Gently pushing Kane to the side, Ophelia got to her feet. All day, she had done nothing but apologize for one thing or the other. Yet as she really thought about it, none of it had been her fault. It had not been her fault that Fiona had fallen in love with Kane and tried to kill her out of jealousy and it certainly wasn’t her fault that Emmett had gotten in the way of the blade and gotten killed instead.

It was easier to blame anyone else other than oneself but it was time Ophelia stood up for herself.

“If you’ve got something to say to me, spit it out. Otherwise, get the fuck out,” she spat at Dalia, displaying her yellow eyes. She was just one bout of anger away from revealing her fangs but she would save that show for later.

Dalia’s eyes flashed with shock first before anger took over. Satisfaction filled Ophelia at the first emotion. When Dalia took one step forward towards her so that their faces were barely inches away from each other, Ophelia stood her ground, meeting her friend’s gaze head-on.

“I’m so going to enjoy the look on your face when the king makes good on his word and hangs him at Dawn,” Dalia hissed, her voice low but hard. “I’m going to savor the hurt in your eyes as you watch him hang by the neck and struggle for air while the life gets sucked out of him.”

Ophelia’s heart descended into panic. That meant her father had finally made up his mind about what he wanted to do with Kane and just like she’d predicted, he planned to kill him. Or had he always known it all along and was only just voicing it out?

“Over my fucking dead body will that happen,” she said, her mind reeling with all the ways she could stop the execution. She was coming up short.

“I’ll see to it that you’re standing at the very front so you don’t miss one second of the show.”

As she stared back at her friend, Ophelia wondered if this was the true definition of pain. Not even when her mother died had she felt this bitter. Had Emmett’s death been enough to change Dalia for the worst? Where had it gone wrong with their friendship? Sure, she’d expected Dalia to hurt and cry and feel the pain to the very depth of her soul; Emmett had meant a lot to the both of them. He’d been a brother, a friend, a companion. But wishing Ophelia this much pain? It was inconceivable.

Venom swirled in Dalia’s gaze as she stared back at her. “I’d die first before I let that happen,” Ophelia said. “I promise you.”

“You’re already dead to me.” Dalia shrugged. “It’ll make no difference either way.”

Ophelia couldn’t help the sob that flew out of her mouth. “I’m so sorry, Dalia. I didn’t mean for him to die.”

It was the first indication that Dalia felt anything more than anger; the bright sheen of tears that swelled up in her eyes. She blinked, probably trying to clear her eyes, as if the tears had acted out of their own volition and had surfaced unknowingly. A futile attempt, because a few seconds later, tears were running down her face.

“If you’re really sorry, you’ll let go of him and marry Viktor like you were supposed to do.”

Ophelia shook her head. “I wish I could.”

Dalia scoffed, wiping her cheeks with the heel of her palms. “I don’t even know why I bother.” She let out a humorless laugh. “I’m sure you haven’t heard but the king moved up the wedding.”

Her ears were instantly alert. “What?”

Dalia smirked. “Just after the execution, you are to marry Viktor at dawn.”

“No,” Ophelia echoed, stepping back as she shook her head violently. “No.”

“You don’t have a choice, Ophelia.”

“Yes, I do,” she almost yelled. “I will not marry a man I do not love.”

“Yet you’d marry one who tried to kill you and your people? Are you alright in the head? Can’t you see you’ve been seduced?”

“I don’t care!” Ophelia was full-on crying by now. “I will not subject myself to a life of sadness and regret for people who will not remember my sacrifice in a year. I will never submit to a man who thinks I’m nothing but a property to own and showcase like a damn trophy. You, Viktor and my father can all go to hell!”

Dalia stepped forward, her furious gaze traveling from Kane to Ophelia. “I swear by the moon goddess, if you do not do what’s right, I will spend the rest of my days making your life miserable. You owe to Emmett, at least. Stop for one moment and think about it. There will never be a future where the two of you are happy. Even if he doesn’t die by morning, which is pretty fucking unlikely, your father will never accept your relationship. Your mother would be turning in her grave, seeing her daughter with the devil’s spawn. These people tried to kill your grandmother, for goodness' sake. Get your head out of your ass for just one second and think.”

She walked away angrily and Ophelia was left standing there to stare at her retreating. Her chest heaved with heavy breaths as she pictured the executions in her mind’s eye, feeling her throat constrict. Dalia might have thought she had been bluffing but Ophelia would never let it happen. Losing Kane meant losing a part of herself.

Maybe Dalia was right; she should do the right thing. It was just that they had different definitions of what the right thing entailed.