DELTON’S MIND was in chaos. He kept replaying what happened on the way to his destination. Delton had confessed his greatest weakness to his wife. He felt raw like he had been cut open and left bleeding. Yet, he also felt lighter, like all the space Karina’s memory had taken up had been cleared away. Even now, he could feel Xara’s gaze upon him, prodding him, and watching over him as he divulged his greatest secret. It had felt like pulling out needles that he didn’t know were embedded in his skin. Every memory was painful, every word a reminder of how he had suffered.
He couldn’t believe he’d ever thought Xara was tame and harmless. She had broken down his defenses little by little until he had no choice but to give her everything. Yet, he’d felt safe with her. She listened, truly listened, to everything he had to say. It made him wonder how things would’ve turned out if he’d told Xara the truth on the day of their wedding. Could he have spared them both years of suffering?
Karina’s betrayal would always be part of his story, the ugly ink stain in his flawless life. But Xara didn’t need to be part of that story. Delton sat alone in the dark carriage and realized that he had been unfair to his wife. He owed her an apology, for she had no part in her father’s scheme. She wasn’t Karina. She hadn’t broken his heart. But he’d broken hers.
On that uncomfortable thought, he arrived at the prison where Walric was. General Darius was waiting for him when he stepped off. It was time to focus on work.
“Has Walric said anything yet?” he asked, burying their earlier
“Nothing useful. Amara is still in there with him.”
Delton groaned. He couldn’t afford a repeat performance of Osric.
“I’ll make him talk.” Delton stepped past the threshold. The prison guards stood in attention, bowing to the king as he passed by the cells filled with snarling, loud criminals. Felix followed him like a shadow.
When they arrived at Walric’s prison, he threw the door open to find Amara pouring a bucket of water in the prisoner’s face. She paused and bowed upon catching sight of him.
“Don’t stop on my accord,” he told her, glaring at Walric. “Finally, I have you. Are you going to start talking or should we escalate the torture?”
“You…” Walric spat out a mouthful of cold water. “How dare you show up in front of me after what you did!?”
“That’s my line,” Delton said, his boots gliding on the wet stone floor. “You’re a traitor. You’ve been plotting to dethrone me for years. I’m being merciful by letting you live.”
“You? Merciful?” Walric scoffed. “The second I reveal Ifer’s identity, you’ll have my throat slit.”
So, he wasn’t as stupid as he looked.
Walric’s light eyes glared at him as if trying to burn him to death with a single gaze. Delton grabbed him by the throat and roughly tilted his neck up. “You will talk, Walric. Or, I’ll make you wish that you were dead.”
“I know of your torture techniques,” he said. “And I’m not going to give in to them. I’m a prince. I deserve to be treated as such.”
“You deserve to be tossed out with the trash,” he said. “I should’ve killed you when I took the throne of Escayton. An oversight on my part. Weeds like you have a tendency to destroy the garden they’re planted in.”
“I’m a weed, am I? Then, what are you, Delton?” Wet hair curled around his forehead. “You forced my uncle to surrender Escayton. You broke our family apart and Xara was forced to marry you. When you asked for her hand in marriage, I at least thought you’d have the decency to treat her well.” The mention of Xara’s name fanned a flame in his heart. Her face swam into his vision, and he shrank. He had meant to apologize to her earlier, but Felix’s arrival had torn him away. “Nothing to say?”
“This isn’t about her, it’s about you. And Ifer.” He calmed the swirling feelings in his heart. Even in the heat and stink of the prison, he felt her touch on his skin, the scent of roses that clung to her skin an indelible memory. “There’s something that bothers me about him.”
“I bet.” was the prisoner’s sarcastic reply.
“Why does he want to rule Escayton? I’ve been reading reports on him. He’s from Snakefront, not Escayton. Why would someone with no connection to this land want to own it? He’s going to extremes to take control of this country.”
“Perhaps it’s because this place needs better leaders. Ifer recognizes an opportunity when he sees one. My uncle has been dead for several years and you’ve never even been here. It’s a good place to begin his conquest.”
“Begin? Does he plan to expand his influence to Inferno?” Ifer was ambitious, but Delton had never thought him so ambitious. He was as foolish as Elian if he dreamed of usurping Delton’s authority.
Walric shrugged noncommittally. The enigmatic answer irritated him.
“Where is he hiding? If he wants to take over Escayton, he should fight me, not hide.”
“You never play fair, Delton. You’ve ruled Inferno for a hundred years. You have the continent’s largest army at your disposal, not to mention that insatiable greed for power that you wear like armor. Ifer is not stupid enough to take you on when the odds are stacked against him.”
“He must be waiting for an opportunity to strike.” Delton moved closer, his shadow covering Walric. “What about Osric? You must know I rescued him.” Delton’s fingers clasped around Walric’s throat. He needed answers now. This whole thing with Ifer had gone on long enough. “Have you been plotting together?” When Walric said nothing, he tightened his hold. “Start speaking Walric or….’ Magic surged through him, dark pulse bubbling up where his fingers met the traitor’s throat.
The touch of death.
Walric winced in pain.
“How did Ifer get my key?”
“I-I don’t know.” Walric’s hands pressed on Delton’s. “Stop it, Delton. If you kill me, you will never find out who Ifer is.”
Reluctantly, he moved his hand away. A swathe of skin on Walric’s neck had turned black, shriveling under his touch.
“What is it going to take to make you talk? Money? Ending your exile?”
“You can’t make me talk. I would never betray Ifer for the likes of you. You’re the enemy here.”
Delton smiled. He was about to order torture when his eyes fell on the puddle of water collecting under the torches. At once, his mind went back to the night Xara had fallen into the canal under the palace.
The scene had bothered him for a long time. Xara said she was afraid of water because she’d almost drowned when she was young. The urge to know more overtook him. Her lack of explanation had bothered him. Xara wasn’t easily spooked but she had been terrified when he fished her out of the water. If she’d almost drowned when she was younger, Walric would know about the incident.
“Leave us alone for a few moments.” His orders echoed in the prison.
“Your Majesty?” Felix stepped forward.
“All of you.”
Darius was the first to leave.
“Please don’t kill or maim him. It was a lot of trouble getting him,” Felix said before leaving. Amara followed.
When the opaque, heavy door to the cell closed, Delton leveled Walric with a glare.
“What? Are you going to threaten me with torture again?”
“In a few minutes,” Delton said. “But before that, I want to ask you about Xara.”
“Xara?” His eyes widened. “Wh-what about her?” He looked far more scared than he did when Amara was questioning him.
“Why is she afraid of water?”
He expected Walric to brush it aside but he didn’t.
“How did you find out?” Walric asked instead, growing oddly quiet. There was something there—something Delton didn’t know.
“She fell into the canal under the palace. I was under the impression that she could swim but apparently not. When I asked her, she said she’d almost drowned as a child. Is that why she’s afraid of water?”
Walric let out a sarcastic laugh. “Of all the people to ask about her phobia…it has to be you…the irony of it.” His laugh turned to a sharp, cutting expression. “I almost want to withhold the information, but you should know. You, of all people, deserve to know why Xara fears water. You’re responsible for it, after all.”
“Stop talking in riddles, Walric.”
“Xara didn’t drown when she was a child. She tried to kill herself by drowning.”
As soon as the words were out of Walric’s mouth, Delton stilled. His heart felt heavy and unmanageable. The lights around them began closing in on him. “What!?”
“Xara tried to end her life by throwing herself into the Wolfburg after you exiled her. That night, you told her only her death could make you happy. You monster, how could do something like that to your wife? Vengeance or not, she was innocent.” Dark claws of guilt coiled around his gut. Xara had tried to kill herself? It was beyond anything he could imagine. She had never shown any sign of weakness. She hadn’t even cried when he’d let her go. Something deep in him rebelled at the thought of her disappearing from this world forever. Though he bitterly hated Elian, he’d never hated Xara. With every word that he heard, it became apparent to him. She was the light to his darkness. And the world needed light. “Xara was heartbroken by your rejection. She’s always been romantic, so unlike my uncle. She’d hoped to make this marriage a success. When you cast her away, all her dreams crashed. My uncle was right. You don’t deserve her. You never did. If Osric hadn’t rescued her, she’d be dead, deposited at the bottom of the river.”
As Walric piled on the accusations, Delton felt a sting in the back of his eyes. Though no tears formed, he felt her sadness like it was his.
So this was why Xara wanted him to apologize. Even without finding out about this, he knew he’d treated her badly. But Walric’s words made him realize how low he’d fallen. Delton had never felt this uncomfortable before, like an unbearable pain claiming his body.
What was happening to him?
When Karina had betrayed him, he’d felt bleak and hopeless, wanting to give up on life. But his inner strength had pulled him through the darkness. Xara, unfortunately, had been much younger and far more inexperienced. He should’ve known she’d do something drastic. He should’ve known his words could wound her. But he’d been so preoccupied with revenge. How foolish he’d been in his narrow-minded pursuit of justice. He was beginning to see everything clearly now—every careless word, every thoughtless gesture, and every stupid decision that had led them here. When had he become like the people he had hated so much?
“I had no idea…” Everything appeared blurry.
“That is why I can never forgive you. You deserve everything that Ifer does to you. Xara was young and full of dreams for the future…and you broke her heart. I know you only married her to exact revenge, but you crossed a line, Delton.”
He had never thought of the consequences of his cruelty before. But the truth hurt far too much. No wonder she hated him.
“When she told me the truth, I wanted to kill you right away.” He went on.
“Why didn’t you?”
Walric laughed. “God, I never thought you’d ask me that. You know how much of a bastard you’ve been, then.” His eyes softened and he swallowed, letting Walric continue his tirade. “She said it was futile to kill you. I can’t imagine how hopeless she must’ve been to say something like that.”
Every word was like a needle pricking his heart. The extent of his wrongdoings washed over him. Last night, she’d listened to him whine about Karina. All the while, she’d carried this unbearable pain inside her. Was she ever going to tell him?
“If you have any decency, you’d let her go,” Walric said. “I don’t understand why you cling to her, even though my uncle is gone.”
“I’m not a decent man, Walric.” Even as he said it, he hoped things had been different. His voice was steady, but he was shaken on the inside. She should’ve let him bleed to death when she had the chance. How was he supposed to make up for what he had done? “Besides, marriages in Inferno are forever.”
Those were the facts. But were the facts the only reason he’d held onto her for so long? Willpower was Delton’s forte. Patience was his only virtue. If he wanted, he could’ve instituted a law sanctioning divorce. After Elian’s death, he lost his passion for vengeance. But he’d still kept her. What did it mean? Had he hoped to save their marriage subconsciously?
“Xara was forced into this marriage by you. I admit she was foolish for ever having hoped for love. Monsters only turn out to be princes in fairytales.”
“Are you done slinging insults?” No matter how shaken he felt, he couldn’t reveal his thoughts to his opponent.
“Not nearly,” Walric said. “Stay out of her life Delton. And Ifer’s. If I were you, I’d reflect on what I did before causing more damage.”
He didn’t need to reflect. Delton had already concluded that he had been wrong. Though he would never claim to possess a sense of justice, he didn’t intend to go on hurting his wife. Not after she’d saved his life. Not after he’d kissed her and discovered what pleasure tasted like. This storm had been brewing inside him for weeks. They needed to talk. He needed to apologize and make her see how much he regretted his actions and the effect they’d had on her.
Weakly, he reached for the cell door. “I hope to have Ifer’s name the next time I’m here.”
Walric scoffed.
With that, he left.
Outside the cell, his mind was heavy with thoughts. With recriminations and apologies. He hadn’t apologized to her because he had held onto his past. He’d thought he was justified in his revenge. But Delton knew better now. He knew nothing could justify treating Xara the way he’d treated her.
He ran straight into Felix, Amara, and Darius, waiting outside. Darius’ eyes turned to his conflict-ridden face. The last few hours had been emotionally draining, but Delton had achieved greater clarity thanks to all the information he had unearthed. It was time to make amends.
“Deal with him,” he ordered. “I’m going home.”
He didn’t linger to see their responses. Delton was determined to return home and face Xara.
The more he thought of Felix’s words, the more his heart constricted. Now that he’d gotten the past off his chest, he could see where he’d gone wrong.
He owed her an apology. Hell, an apology wasn’t enough. He had to beg for her forgiveness; find some way to make things okay.
And tonight, he’d do exactly that.
