To Scale the Emerald Mountain (The Willowbane Saga #1)

33. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

ELLYA

W e walk through the Vahnsing District for the next hour.

Cescily points out different extravagant homes and tells me the dirty family secrets of those who live there. We laugh uninhibited at the ridiculous stories. I don’t remember the last time I really laughed and my sides ache from the use of neglected muscles. I’m still decently drunk, my head swimming and limbs heavy, despite the scones and coffee Cescily grabbed for us shortly after leaving the wine bar.

“That one right there, the Lihnser family lives there. Aldros Lihnser’s father died during the Culling and he married his stepmother Mischa right after. They had been having an affair for decades. Everyone knew. They didn’t even try to hide it.”

“No way! That’s disgusting!” I cringe.

“Yes, it is. Rumor is that Aldros and Mischa killed him. That they had been wanting to get rid of him for a while. Then his father’s generation started dying off, and they seized that opportunity to murder him and used the cover of the Culling.”

My mouth drops open in shock at the juicy gossip. “How did he die? ”

“He was found dead in a pool of his own blood at the foot of the stairs in that exact house.” Cescily shrugs. “Say that he fell.”

We come by an ornate brownstone mansion that appears empty. There are no decorative lamps on the porch like the surrounding houses or decor of any kind. The garden is kept but bare, and there are no lights on inside. A lifeless husk nestled between extravagant homes that inexplicably calls to me.

Cescily glances at it and quickly averts her eyes.

“That one almost looks abandoned. There must be a good story there,” I say pointing to the house.

Cescily gives me a tight smile and shakes her head. “Not really. But this one over here—“

I stop walking, cutting her off. Entranced, I’m unable to break my stare from the house. “Something happened here. Come on, I’m certain.” Cescily smiles wider and grabs my hand, trying to pull me forward, but I don’t budge. “Well, now you must tell me. You’re having a weird reaction.”

“How so?” she asks, her voice an octave too high.

“Your voice is weird, your face is weird, your haste to pull me away from it is weird.” I tick off my fingers. “Plus, the feeling I have about it is weird.” Biting nervousness is thoroughly blanketing me.

“There’s not really much to tell,” Cescily says with a forced smile before it falls and she drops her act. “Shit. That’s a lie. I’m sorry.”

I plant my feet on the sidewalk. “I’m not leaving until you tell me.” Cescily is incredibly uncomfortable, and it makes my uneasiness increase. “What is it?”

“Oh, Elly!” She shuffles her feet impatiently, physically showing me her reluctance to elaborate. “Alec is going to kill me! It was me that let it slip the first time.” Cescily bites her lip and gives me a pleading look. “It shouldn’t be me who reminds you. ”

This house has something to do with Alec.

“Tell me, now,” I demand.

“Oh, alright. Only because we made so much progress today. But you have to swear.” She points her finger in my direction, her face turning serious. “Swear to me that you will still go speak to someone. And not go murderous rage on me.” I narrow my eyes. “Promise me, Elly!” Cescily practically screams.

“Fine, I promise I will still go talk to your professional,” I tell her reluctantly.

“And?” She jabs her finger into my chest.

“And I will try not to go into a murderous rage.”

My face is numb with anticipation. Cescily’s eyes land on a bench and she nods towards it. “Let’s sit here.”

“Fucking Mother, what are you about to tell me?” My heart is accelerating at an alarming rate.

“It really should be Alec,” Cescily starts, but I shoot her a glare that makes her stop speaking immediately. She leads me to the bench and forces me to sit before exhaling and smiling sweetly. “That house belongs to a shipping heiress from the Ruby Shore of Halliveen. One week from tonight, it will have been empty for twenty-four years.”

“Samhain?” I ask.

She nods. “More than that: your birthday. It’s been empty since the night you were born.”

“Why?” I ask, drawing out the word.

She sighs again and shakes out her shoulders. “You really should go talk to Alec,” she pleads.

“Cescily.” My voice is threatening, and she grimaces before continuing .

“Because Rahleigh left that night and has not returned to The Capital since.” Cescily smiles at me and goes to stand, but I pull her back down.

Something about the name has my blood heating in my stomach, not in a good way.

“Who the fuck is Rahleigh?” I ask dangerously, the name tasting like decay on my tongue. An uncomfortable roiling is beginning in my gut, my spools of power glowing.

Cescily smiles tightly again. “Remember, you said no murderous rage,” she sing-songs. “Okay. Alec’s going to kill me. Okay.” She shakes her shoulders out before giving me a soothing smile.

It does not calm me.

“Samhain twenty-four years ago, you were born into this world and took your first breath. With that breath, a light in my brother’s chest came alive, and he knew that you—his mate—had been born. Alec says he had been experiencing a joyous restlessness all day long that he couldn’t place. It was the anticipation of your birth.” Cescily pauses, taking a deep breath.

“After you were born, Alec ran through the streets wearing nothing but sleep pants, forgetting that he even had magical abilities to bring him where he needed to go, running to this house to break off his engagement with Rahleigh.” Cescily grimaces at me when she finishes the tale.

My head fills with blood; rough pounding hits my ear drums like the crashing of ferocious waves while my vision simultaneously tinges red. My face turns feral. I stand on my feet and face the house as a single memory shatters through the glass barrier around my mind without a fight.

I’m twelve. Cescily and I are laying on our stomachs in the grass facing Nana’s cottage. We pick petals from wildflowers as she tells me about her new school at The Capital. She chatters happily about her friends, and I glance up to see Alec conversing with Kraeston animatedly.

“You would love the library, Elly,” Cescily tells me. “It’s a massive cavern filled floor to ceiling with everything you’d ever dream of.”

“It sounds lovely, Cessy. Maybe you can show me the next time I come to The Capital?” I ask her hopefully.

Cescily stops to think, and then snorts a laugh. “On second thought, you might not love it.” She’s grinning at me mischievously.

“Why not?”

“I forgot, it’s being renamed after Rahleigh’s father after he gave a donation of rare books from the Territories.”

I stop plucking at flowers and sit up, anxiousness gripping my belly. “Who?”

“Rahleigh,” Cescily repeats, confused, searching me for recognition. “Alec’s ex-fiance.”

Sweat breaks out across my lip, nauseating acid churning in my gut. My breathing is rough as her words sink in.

Cescily’s face morphs to realization and she curses. “I’m sorry. I thought you knew.”

My breaths become panicked gasps when I turn to Alec, him and Kraeston now watching us with concern.

“Elly,” Alec says and begins walking towards me.

A strange ache in my stomach develops, a heaviness that begs to be relieved. As I look at Alec with betrayal in my eyes, I instinctively put my hand on the ground and pull on that powerful pang. Veins of white-gold lights run across the ground before coming up in a beam of light just beyond the door of the cottage, collapsing the roof in a plume of smoke.

Alec stops and stares at me in shock.

“Elly!” Cescily yells, but she sounds far away.

Nana appears outside of the cottage, panicked. “What happened?” she asks, turning on the spot, searching for the threat.

A tight sob escapes my throat before I stand and run.

“Ellya! Wait!” Alec yells, but I don’t stop.

Hot daggers scrape at my insides as I run, crying hysterically.

Alec was going to marry someone else.

The thought makes me sob harder, and I increase my speed. I hear Alec racing behind me, yelling my name. Scampering into my favorite magnolia, I hide in the small space beneath the branches, knowing Alec won’t fit. I pull my knees to my chest and bury my face, letting my feelings bleed from my eyes.

“Ellya,” Alec says softly, crouched low and peering at me between the branches. “Please, come out and speak to me.”

My response is to place my hand on the ground, directing my new power towards him, but it’s weaker now. Alec curses and jumps out of the way before it can hit him.

“I am sorry. That is not how you should have learned about my previous engagement.” Hearing it from his mouth, confirming it wasn’t some joke or lie, makes me sob harder.

“You are the only one I will ever love!” I yell pitifully. Alec sighs audibly and asks me to come out again. I shake my head and bury my face further, leaves rustling beneath me.

“Ellya, I will not stop you from having the same experiences as others—if that is what you want,” Alec says with a tight voice.

I pull my head up furiously at his insinuation.

“No! I don’t want to love anyone else. I want to be the only one you will ever love!”

Alec looks pleasantly surprised before his face breaks out into my favorite, wide smile, and he laughs .

“Go away!” I yell, embarrassed, and bury my face in my knees again.

“Come out so I can tell you why I am laughing. Please? I will take you into the city and we can share a piece of strawberry cake the size of your face after.”

“That’s a terrible deal. My face is quite small.” My voice is muffled against my knees.

Alec laughs again, louder this time.

“Fine. We can share a piece of cake the size of my face. Would that be fair?”

I sniffle a few times and then reluctantly crawl through the dirt towards him, my palms scraping across strewn sticks. Alec takes my hand and helps me out the rest of the way. I sit down, and he plants himself next to me, nudging my knee gently with his.

“You have nothing to worry about, Ellya.” Wiping my cheeks, I dare to look at him. “Yes, I was going to marry, but not for love. I was going to marry because, as a king, duty requires it.”

I scowl at him, understanding his meaning. “This isn’t making me feel better!”

Alec laughs again. “I was so happy when you were born, relieving me from the burden of a loveless marriage in favor of something infinitely more precious and beautiful.”

I sniff one more time as another salty tear tracks down my cheek.

“Ellya, I have never been in love before.”

Cescily leaps to her feet next to me, grabbing my arm as the memory fades away. “You said no murderous rage!”

Shaking her off, I storm in the direction of the house. Red stains my vision as I crouch to my feet, place my palm on the ground, and let the unspooling threads from my belly loose .

Crackling electricity bursts from my fingertips and bleed out, reaching their target without breaking. My power explodes through the center of the house with a boom and it implodes with a rain of golden light. Roof tiles and sandstone fall into the newly formed crater with a great cloud of dust.

A shimmering smoke, smelling of cloves and jasmine, permeates the air around us.

Cescily grabs my arm just as I grasp for the tether that I’ve been desperately trying to ignore, allowing it to lead me where I want to go as I jump into the void.

Cescily and I reappear in the pool courtyard at the palace.

In the middle of the jade green pool—submerged and unaware of my destruction and lingering smoke—is Alec.

His toned body cuts through the water as he swims laps. The muscles of his shoulders ripple beautifully with facets of light from the dying sun shining down on his strong form through the disturbed water.

I break out of my momentary spell and inspect around my feet before I see a loose paving brick and pick it up. Tossing it once in my hand, I catch its heavy weight before aiming it at the back of Alec’s infuriatingly handsome head. I throw it with all my might, and it splashes loud against the surface of the pool.

“Oh, shit!” Cescily laughs.

The brick hits the back of Alec’s head with strength.

A plume of blood discolors the water as he flails awkwardly, small bubbles breaking the surface of the pool.

Alec gains his composure enough to jump above the surface, coughing and spluttering horribly. He shakes his head, sending droplets of water and blood raining around him while a crimson river drips down the side of his face and neck .

Alec rubs his eyes and searches the courtyard for the assailant. His eyes land on me with my hands on my hips, glaring at him with murder in my eyes. I’m beaded with sweat and mottled blotches cover my flaming cheeks.

Alec’s eyes widen in shock before his face shifts to pure rage.

“Ellya!” He slaps the surface of the pool with both hands, sending water flying around him. “What the fuck!”

The blood from his wound is already slowing, and I’m tempted to throw another brick at him.

“You were engaged?” I roar.

Alec pauses before his eyes slowly roam to Cescily, pinning her with the same violence that I’m currently fighting. He laughs darkly, the sound skating across my skin. “Again, Cessy?”

Cescily holds her hands out in surrender, eyes gone wide and apologetic. “I tried to tell her that she already knew! And I tried to tell her to come hear the story from you!”

“How did the subject even come up?”

“We were walking and came up on the empty house and Elly was drawn to it, like totally fucking fixated—“

My ears drown out the rest of Cescily’s hasty explanation.

Engaged. To someone else.

Alec nearly married a woman who was not me. He would have had children with a woman who was not me. She would have slept in my home, in my bed, wrapped in arms that belong to me . A primal urge in me longs to find this Rahleigh. To rip her head straight from her shoulders with my bare hands; for her blood to slide down my arms while I steal her life.

“This is exactly why I told you to stay away!” Alec is screaming.

“Oh, please. I think I just did you a favor!” Cescily defends .

“You know how Elly reacted the first time! You should not have told her and insisted she come speak to me!” Alec bellows.

Cescily raises her hands again, lost for words.

“Could you not have at least warned me?”

I scan the courtyard while they continue to bicker back and forth.

“And denied myself the opportunity to see this? Ha, I think not!”

“Fuck you, Cescily!” Alec pushes his arms forward, splashing at her angrily and drenching the hem of her dress. “You are always dipping your grimy little fucking fingers in everyone else’s lives—“

I throw another brick, but Alec is more prepared, his senses no longer muted, being above water. He dodges my attack quickly and the brick splashes in the pool behind him. Alec quickly turns to face me, making waves in the pool.

“Stop throwing bricks at me!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. You seemed like you needed a reminder that I’m still fucking here!” I scream right back.

Alec puts one palm at the edge of the pool and pulls himself out in an impressive feat of strength, exuding nothing but infuriating masculine grace.

Water drips from every pane of his body as he pads heavily to me.

“As if I could ever forget,” he hisses in my face.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” My chest is heaving.

“When? When would I have told you? You have been rejecting me for weeks—only being receptive to me when it suits you. You flee any time I try to say something real. And now you throw a brick at my head out of jealousy for a woman that I left years ago? For you? ”

“I am not jealous,” I snarl, and he laughs in my face.

Alec gives me a cold smile and cocks his head to the side, a cobra preparing to strike. “You are a brat, Elly,” he says heatedly.

More boiling blood rushes to my face as I rear back to slap him, but he grabs my wrist and tosses it aside, like it’s nothing more than a pesky fly.

“Who do you think you are?” I scream at him indignantly.

“I think I am the one who personally cultivated that personality trait! Because you deserve everything you want. Every whim, every desire. They shall be yours, and I will be the one to give them to you!” Alec’s deep, booming voice echoes against the walls of the courtyard, amplifying his words.

He’s breathing heavily through his nose and looking down on me furiously, riding a very fine line while barely holding in his composure. Blood and water drip down the expanse of his chest, running through the deep gouges of his scars. I swallow hard and force myself to meet his eye again.

“What do you want?” Alec asks me with a bite.

Burning fire still incinerates me, begging me to keep fighting with him.

“I want you to tell me something.”

“Anything,” Alec says desperately, softening. He gently cups my cheeks in his large hands, holding me as if I’m made of glass.

“You’ve lived a long life, Alec. Just how many lovers have you had?”

I know that I’m playing with fire, my own fire, and I will surely burn.

Alec falters, dropping my face. Guilt etches its way across his face. He recovers his slip quickly, but not swift enough. My eyes go wide, and I laugh in shocked disbelief as blood pounds heavy in my ears.

“Do not do this. Not right now,” Alec pleads with me, knowing what his face gave away.

Crossing my arms, I gape at him as rotten, dirty bile creeps up my throat.

Unwanted images flash through my reeling mind. A whole montage of hundreds of faceless people touching what’s mine, taking what’s mine, while Alec freely gives it to them. I fight the urge to be sick.

“That many?” I ask softly and retreat away from him.

Alec follows my steps, determined to deny me the distance I put between us. “You cannot fault my actions before you even existed. I have had no one for nearly twenty-four years.”

Shooting him a glare with as much malice as I can muster, I give him words I know will strike home. “I’m not trying to fault you, Alec. I’m just wondering how many lovers of my own I should take.”

I look up at him challengingly and see my sick rage mirrored in Alec’s face. His jaw clenches, the muscles feathering dangerously. “That is not funny, Ellya.”

“I guess I’m going to have to fuck my way across both continents before I finally get to you .”

His face pales.

Alec growls in my face with ferocity, and I quickly back away from him. He stalks towards me menacingly until his imposing frame shadows me. “If anyone touches you, I will gift wrap their entrails and present them to you with a silk fucking bow,” he says with lethal softness. Alec holds out his hands, miming the action of tenderly passing me a gift .

A cold laugh works past my lips, and Alec smiles right back. He takes another step towards me, close enough that water drips onto my chest and slides down the low cut of my dress.

I don’t back down.

“What were they like, Alec?”

He laughs deep, the luscious sound holding no amusement. “You want to know what my previous lovers were like? You truly want to know?”

My head nods enthusiastically. “I sure do.” My hands are balled into fists at my sides, shaking uncontrollably. I know I should stop. I know I won’t like the answer.

Alec puts his face right in mine. We are both panting—sharing breath. The heady musk of his scent invades my senses and threatens to dissolve my rapidly crumbling composure.

“Bland.” Alec emphasizes the word, sounding bored. He moves forward another fraction. “Flavorless,” he hisses against my lips. He backs away enough to study my face before smiling smugly down at me. “I have found more pleasure fucking my own fist to thoughts of your scent alone than I ever did with those meaningless fucks.”

My breath catches at his boldness.

My mouth drops open, a soft gasp escaping from my parted lips.

Alec’s arrogant smile grows at my erratic breathing, the quick bloom of my pupils, the blush creeping up my neck like climbing ivy.

“Okay, I’m leaving now,” Cescily says in a high voice before the sounds of her retreating footsteps.

“What is wrong, Ellya? Not the answer you were expecting?” Alec asks .

Fury takes over. My resolve grows and solidifies with his arrogance. The remaining parts of my rational brain kick in, and I remember a certain vision I had only months ago. Conversations with a disguised woman of royal errands and the next best thing race through my mind, another piece of mystery popping into place. Excitement owns me as I prepare to wipe that smile right from Alec’s face—and I find another reason to hate this woman I’ve never met.

I move closer into him, and he leans down to breathe me in greedily.

“Alec,” I whisper quietly, our lips barely skimming with the movement of words spoken.

I feel his heartbeat increasing, beating in tandem with mine.

“Yes, my clove?” His voice has gone husky and dark as he places his hands on my hips, pulling me closer, soaking my dress.

The smile I give him is completely genuine, but not for the reasons he thinks.

Alec relaxes against me, he pulls our bodies flush. He thinks he’s won.

But he’s wrong.

“Did Rahleigh and Ceivise fool around after you broke off your engagement?” I ask him softly, seductively.

Alec’s confident smile falls. His demeanor immediately changes, and he backs away to take me in fully. I hum with satisfaction at catching him so completely off guard.

“What’s wrong, Alec? Not what you were expecting?” I ask snidely.

He drops his hands from my waist and takes another step back. “Ceivise?” he asks, brow furrowed tight. “How do you know that name? ”

“Answer the question.” I manage to look down my nose at him as he shrinks back.

Alec’s face knits further with his confusion. “Yes, I believe they did. Why are you asking this?”

“Nice, Alec.” I laugh coldly and push him. He barely stumbles as I walk past him, letting loose an unhinged cackle while my anger grows to new heights. “Really nice!”

Alec follows, his frustrated footsteps falling heavy just behind me. “What are you talking about, Ellya?”

“I’m talking about your twin brother and your ex-fiancé working together to kidnap me and use my magic to find god power. Really! Fucking! Nice!” I scream each word louder.

“What?” he roars behind me as I storm towards the steps of the porch.

I’m nearly to the open doors into the palace when Alec grabs my arm and pushes me against a large stone pillar, the porous material scraping my bare shoulders.

“What are you talking about?” Alec has a palm on my rising chest, firmly holding me in place. “What have you Seen?”

“Why don’t you just look?” I challenge.

“Is this you giving me permission?” He watches me seriously, waiting for an answer. I glare at him before dropping my steely expression a fraction, nodding. As much as I’m enjoying this victory and keeping him in the dark, I know that this is important.

Recognition flares on Alec’s face as he drops his hand from my chest, confirming the person going to such lengths to hide her identity while speaking with Ceivise was indeed Rahleigh.

“Fuck!” he bellows and turns to punch another stone pillar, a large chunk breaking off and digging deep gouges across the porch. I gape at his impressive burst of strength .

“Does this ever fucking end?” Alec runs both hands through his hair, looking slightly crazed before trapping me in between his arms. Despite the gravity of the new information I’ve dropped on him, I’m not prepared to give up my fight. He was right, my drunken jealousy is thriving, demanding to swipe at him with furious claws.

“I can’t believe you gave her a whole mansion while you keep me in your palace,” I spit. “Even worse than that, you keep me caged in your fucking chambers!”

Alec pinches his eyes closed. “I did not give her a house. It was her father’s.” His eyes pop back open, and his fiery stare pierces me, heating me further. “And I do not cage you in my chambers, Ellya. If you need a house, say the word, I will give you a fucking house. Would that make you feel better?”

I haven’t seen Alec so angry before. His brother’s anger terrified me, made me uncertain of myself, and how my actions would set him off. Seeing Alec’s has my blood singing and pleading for more—more of his fire to match mine for us to burn bright together.

“I don’t want you to give me a house.”

“What do you want!” Alec screams in my face, his fury rattling in my chest.

“I want to be free.”

“Then leave,” Alec says, drawing out the word. He drops his arms from the pillar and steps back, effectively uncaging me. “You are not a prisoner here. Go and find yourself a new path that does not include me, if you think that will make you happy.” He grinds his teeth and crosses his arms tight across his broad chest. “I will let you go willingly. ”

My heart cracks in my heaving chest as he gives me exactly what I said I wanted.

He looks utterly apologetic—eyes shining and biting his lip to keep his words behind his teeth. Before he decides to speak or clamp onto me and follow wherever I go, I reach into myself and disappear into the void.