Chapter 37 (Tarak)

The guards didn’t take long to escort him down into the holding cell for interrogation. I could hear him protesting at the guards as they walked closer to the cell I was waiting in. The sound of trepidation in his words told me he was confused and scared.

“I demand you tell me why I am being dragged down here. Princess Elanora will hear of this. Mark my words. I am Her Highness's personal guard.” his words echoed into the empty cells he passed.

I hated this room. It reminded me of the cell I lived in while working in the mines. I went from one dark, damp space to another back then. When I was finally released from that hell, I vowed never to return to such a place again. Yet here I was, putting another human through the same thing.

As Tate was nudged into a seat across from me, I could see him looking around nervously. Tools to extract information were hung around on the walls around the room. They had little use since I had become King, but the fear instilled in those who came here by blood rusted onto them from the former King's reign helped in these situations.

Looking from the door to the two guards on each side of him, to the walls of the cell, his eyes finally settled on me, and I could see his face harden as he understood his situation.

“Sweet welcome you have here, your Majesty.” he whistled as he kept looking around. He relaxed into his seat as he started to stare me down. “I bet Elanora has no idea I am here, does she?” he cocked his head to the side, emphasizing his question.

“Is it really relevant if she knows you are here or not? I know the Princess is a fraud. As I see it, she will not tell me the truth even if I dared to put a sword to her throat, but I wonder would her tongue wag like a dog if I did the same to your throat?” I could feel my anger growing with every word that fell from my lips.

Everything I uttered was true, but it pissed me off. She would rather die than see him come to harm. She was my wife even if I didn’t know who she was, mine, not his. I could see his eyes go wide at the realization of the threat. The bond between them was profound. The few times I had seen them together had been enough proof.

“I don’t care what happens to me. I am ready to lay my life down for her, but do not harm her; she is innocent.” He pleaded, his words quivering at the thought of her dying.

“Then tell me, tell me who I married! If I deem her innocent enough, I may just spare her and you!” my words ripped from my throat, unable to control the anger I had swallowed till now.

“I can not tell you. King Emerson would have her….” He paused as if his words were stuck in his throat. I watched as he contemplated his following terms very carefully.

“Tate, you can save her. Just tell me! I need to know who she is.” my words softened as I tried to reel my emotions.

“I have no loyalty to the Befriel crown. My loyalty lies with her. Where she goes, I will forever follow. I can tell you someone very dear to her heart is being held as a hostage to blackmail her back in Befriel. She just wants to survive to see them again. That is her only wish. Please do not make this harder than it has to be for her.” He sounded defeated.

“Your loyalty is not enough to save her, but I understand your desire to protect her. If King Emerson is blackmailing her, I will make him pay tenfold, but I need to understand her situation. You need to give me more than that.” I prodded him for more information, needing to understand.

“You're right. I am not in a position to protect her the way she needs to be. She married you to sacrifice herself for her loved one. If I had the power that you do, I would give her the world. She deserves it. She doesn’t know how to put herself first. .” he hung his head in his hand.

“The King’s daughter is still back in Befriel. The true Princess is an awful human being like her Father. She was the one who suggested the switch. I can tell you that, but please let your Elanora tell you anything more than that. She deserves to tell her own story to you.” His words went soft as he talked about her.

I may not have gotten the whole story, but I did understand that he was telling the truth. My gut told me he had nothing to hide, but he did have everything to lose. As he talked about my forest nymph, how his eyes softened, and his voice went sweet irked me to my core.

I dismissed him shortly after that, realizing I wouldn’t get any more information from him. I sat in that damp, dark cell that reminded me of when I also did not have the power to protect the ones I loved and tried to digest all the information I was just given. I wanted to believe Elanora was innocent, to go back in time to when we sat in the forest together in peace.

The truth of the matter was King Emerson had just sealed his own fate. He had not given me the Princess I was promised but a servant instead. I now had the cause to start a war and a reason to sever that bastard's head from his useless body. It made perfect sense if I thought about it. All the little mannerisms she had shown throughout our time together were not those of a noble but of someone who grew up to serve and think of others first. My forest nymph was a pawn in a sick man's game. A game I was prepared to win at all costs.