Belladonna toyed with the dagger in her hand, one that Anok had given to her before seeing her to her door and stationing himself by it.
She was worried about way too many things that she didn't think about what the consequences of him standing against the King might bring. It was surprising that Eli had easily let them go too. It made her feel uneasy, on top of how the discovery of the coffins made her feel.
They had been empty but when she moved closer, she had sensed something in them, seen something too. She rubbed her fingers against her temple, as she paced around the room.
She had not gone back to the King's chambers, it just didn't feel safe there anymore.
A while later, there was a commotion outside the door.
The King had sent guards to take Anok away, Seb had led them here and the look on his face showed that he was doing this by an order.
"What is going to happen to him?" Belladonna asked in panic. "Is he going to take him to the den?"
"I don't know, My Lady."
Anok looked calm and he did not struggle with them as they took him away. He looked like he had been expecting them.
Belladonna was too shunned to wrap her head around what was happening. Too much was happening, the weight of it all, pushing down on her shoulders.
Just as she was about to leave the room and search for the King, to plead for Anok's life, she met him at her door. She had begged that he shouldn't take Anok to his mad dragon, and Eli had agreed to that only if he would give him a chance to explain himself.
She had readily done that, keeping a distance between them while they spoke in her room.
He spoke on and on about how those coffins contained essence that had been kept there, so that when the Blood Moon comes, all the bodies of the brides would return. Alive or dead. For the ones alive, they would be taken care of and returned to their families and for the ones dead, they would be buried by him, or their families, if they wanted it.
Belladonna felt disgusted but she feigned understanding, her heart racing as she wondered if he was going to do something to her soon.
"You have to believe me, I would never---"
"I just want to sleep." She pressed her hands against her temples again. "I will feel better in the morning. You won't kill Anok, will you?"
"No." The corners of his lips dipped in displeasure. "But he will not go unpunished."
Belladonna nodded slowly.
Eli was someone who took, taking responsibility for one's actions seriously. It made her worry about what consequences she might face as a result of her discovery.
Death?
Disappearance like the other brides?
She couldn't trust a word out of his mouth, there were too many possibilities of him lying to her. He had been doing that for a while now. Hiding the truth was after all a form of lying, if that hidden truth was this big.
Why hadn't he just told her from the beginning?
"I told you everything. I just did not tell you about the coffins."
"Because you didn't think they were important?"
He reached for her but his hands dropped to his sides immediately he saw her flinch.
"I was screamed that you would think me creepy."
Oh, she was thinking worse right now.
"So you thought if I found out myself, I would think you charming?"
"You were not supposed to find out at all."
Something turned in her stomach and she looked away. "I really want to sleep. I feel very tired, I---I want to sleep."
She indeed felt tired and sleep seemed to be the only thing she could find comfort in.
"I will give you some time to yourself, then we can talk whenever you are ready." His brown eyes were misty but she refused to be moved by his tears, no matter how much her heart ached to see him like this. This man was keeping coffins!
"We will talk when you are not dead set to think that every word out of my mouth is a lie."
Well, he was good at reading people.
"Goodnight, Donna."
"Goodnight, Your Majesty."
He stopped abruptly and looked back at her, his hand tightening around the doorknob as his lips parted as if to say something but he shook his head and decided otherwise.
Wordlessly, he left the room.
Belladonna pressed her hands against her temples as she yawned.
It didn't seem like the right thing to do but every muscle in her body craved sleep.
Why was she feeling so sleepy?
She could be in danger right now, in trouble and the only thing her body wanted was sleep.
It just didn't make sense.
She shook her head, fighting it. Then, she leaned against the wall for support, while she thought about her situation.
Just then, there was a knock.
She had wanted to ignore it at first but it was Lady Kestra.
"I heard everything, you pretty little thing. Let me come in, let us talk."
"How much of everything?" Belladonna stood by the door, looking blankly at her. She wondered if she knew that the King was keeping coffins.
It just didn't seem like a normal behavior no matter how hard he had explained its purpose. No matter how much he had said he kept them locked away because they were a painful reminder of the pain that he caused.
199?!
So she was the 200th bride then. She had guessed that there were a lot of brides but since they were all guesses, even her large numbers had not affected her, but knowing that this was a reality was honestly unsettling.
How old was the King?
Was he immortal?
How old was Kestra?
"About Anok what did. Is there more? Did you fight with the King?" Kestra extended her hand to Belladonna's hair, running her fingers through the lines. "Let us talk while I style your hair into something lighter and simpler."
Lady Kestra's voice had faded into an echo, instead, a blue glow colliding with a red one flashed into Belladonna's mind.
It was so fast.
Like she had been raced through so many memories at a time. It was a blur, yet everything was so vivid she could feel the emotions from it like she was reliving them.
She remembered.
Her nightmares.
Lady Kestra's participation in it, the way she had almost sacrificed her, the way she had killed the witch in the dream, her fight with Eli in it.... and the Bride Thief.
That invisible creature.
Alaris.