112

112

ARIADNE

I nodded, quickly glancing at Sera who was already beside herself with smiles because she saw us hugging, thankfully she didn't make anything about what Callan had just said about my powers. That word "powers" buzzed in my head like a warning bell. Because it aligned perfectly with what I had been told in the trance, that voice had said to me that my body was perfectly capable of handling the poison. Something that nobody else could have been able to handle. 

He finally pulled away and stood up. And I knew it was better to change the topic of discussion before Sera found out. I didn't want her to know any of that now. Until I had discovered everything about what these powers were and where they came from, I needed to keep a secret from everybody. Looking at the dark circles under their eyes, I knew just the thing to say. 

"You both could use some sleep. Look at the dark circles under your eyes." 

Sera, however, wasn't having it. She shook her head furiously and hugged me tighter again. "Don't even think about it, sister. I am not leaving this place until you start walking again. What if something happens when I'm gone? What if..." the rest of her words trailed off. I figured that she didn't want to say it because she was scared. She just finished with. "No, I'm not leaving. I'm staying here with you." 

I swallowed hard, feeling guilty because of whatever trauma she had gone through last night because of Magnus. Seeing your loved one dying had to be one of the worst things that could happen to anybody, and Sera had witnessed it all. It was at that moment that a thought hit me. My heart skipped as I thought about it. It felt like a cold blade against my spine. I remembered Magnus was here earlier and when I woke, I thought he was going to find out I wasn't a boy. It scared me, and I wanted to speak, to ask the doctor to get him out of the room, but the oxygen mask was still over my face, and Magnus seemed to be getting closer. 

That's why I reacted that way, shaking furiously so he would get away from me. And thinking about it now, I was scared he found out. My heart rate had already gone up at this point, pounding in my chest and roaring in my ears and the blood beat in my skull. 

"Callan," I whispered, motioning him closer. He leaned closer, glancing towards the door before looking at me. "Did he... Did Magnus find out I'm a girl?" My voice shook with the weight of the secret I'd kept from everyone but Callan all this while. 

He shook his head quickly, reassuringly firmly. "No. I made sure he didn't find out. But he sat there beside you, touching your face when we came in. I told the doctor to refer to you as 'he' every time Magnus was around. He stuttered around a few times because he was scared, but thankfully, Magnus didn't ask any questions about that. And you were covered the whole time. There was nothing for him to see, nothing for him to suspect. The wave of relief that came crashing over right after almost broke me. My shoulders sagged and my breath left me shaky. 

Callan flashed me a smile and continued. "He didn't notice, I assure you. And I'm going to remind the doctor again, should my brother come back. You're safe." 

I met his eyes and whispered. "Thank you." 

And that was the first time, since I woke up, that my heart felt very light. Callan, however, wasn't done. 

Because he hesitated for a second and then asked me. "I was wondering. Would it be too early to ask... how did you know? That we were going to be poisoned?" 

I flashed him a ghost of a smile, knowing that talking about it meant talking about my strange powers that he'd told me we'd talk about later, but I guess I just had to veil the information so Sera wouldn't suspect a thing. 

"No. It's not too early." I replied. 

I took a deep breath as I remembered everything that happened. "The guards locked me in one of the rooms at the guard's quarters after they dragged me around. And while I was there... I don't know why it happened, but I started hearing things." 

I sounded calm but deep down I was reliving the whole thing, how the air had gone still and the way my sound prickled, how every voice outside sounded faint compared to those two voices plotting the attack. 

"I was hearing voices and at first they were muffled, but as I listened in, it started to become clear." 

Callan frowned. "But the whole gathering was very noisy. How could you have heard-" 

I cut him off before he could finish. "That's the troubling part of it. Even with the noise around me, I could hear it. Their voices cut through everything else. I could hear them talking as if they were right beside me. Talking about the plan and talking about putting the poison in Magnus’s drink." 

Sera reached out and touched me, her hand tightening. 

I continued after giving her an acknowledging nod. "It felt strange. Unreal. Like I wasn't just hearing them, but... inside them somehow. It felt like I was connected to them alone, and it scared me to be honest." 

Callan studied me. His lips were pressed tight now. 

"I ran to the window of the room and scanned the whole gathering and that's when I saw the both of them. One of them was one of the chief guards. I'm pretty sure about it because I recognised his voice when he suggested I should be thrown out when Magnus asked me to drink the wine. And the woman... I didn't clearly see her face. But I know certainly that she was in charge of something during the ceremony. Honestly, I wasn't going to stop it at first, because I wanted Magnus dead. I'll be honest with you, Callan, even though you might not be happy hearing me say that. But I wanted him dead for everything he did to me. The humiliation and all." I paused for another moment and continued. "But then I saw it. I saw that you were going to drink too. And I heard them clearly state that uum... that it didn't matter who died with Magnus. They said that the only thing that mattered was Magnus dying. And when I saw you were also going to make the toast. I couldn't let it happen. That's why I stepped in." 

Silence followed. A thick, heavy one. 

"No offense to him," I added, sounding a lot sharper now. "But Magnus has made my life unbearable. He has nearly come close to killing me a dozen times. Maybe more. I don't owe him a damn thing." 

Callan placed a gentle hand over mine. "I understand. I truly do." 

Sera finally broke the silence with a question. "Are you still going to take part in the games? Magnus said you were going to be his partner. Remember?" 

I shook my head. "No. I can't. I have to tell him that I won't be able to do it. Maybe we should talk to the doctor to write a report stating I should be out for a very long time. That should change your brother's mind." 

Callan straightened. "I'll talk to my brother. I don't think the doctor will be able to handle that. He's already feeling terrible that I asked him to lie about your gender." 

Another wave of relief came crashing over me. "Thank you so much." 

He nodded, flashed me a smile and then said he was going to check in with the doctor. Then he slipped out quietly, leaving me with my sister who still held my hand like a child holding their favorite doll. 

Despite all that, my mind wasn't calm. Because the moment the silence returned, my mind went back to the trance again. I remembered the prophecy that voice warned me about in the trance. About my mate and my destiny. And as much as I didn't want to think about it, it felt so hard getting my mind off it. It was impossible to ignore, because she had made it clear that I could dread it, run away from it, but when the time was right, my destiny would find me.