Burning Bridges (19 page)

“
Well, then,
”
someone whispered.

Mother looked from Noah to me.
“
Echo?
”

I shook my head and stepped away from him.
“
Mother, I didn
’
t do anything with him, I swear it.
”

“
You better not have!
”
she yelled, and my eyes shot to the floor.
“
You are to be pure and—
”

“
Abriel!
”
Father shouted. His voice echoed around the room and I sunk deeper into the floor.
“
Discuss this privately, not here.
”

Mother looked embarrassed. She grabbed me and pulled me towards the doors. Sha
dow and Everlae stood off in a
corner of the room and they both shook their heads at me as if asking
‘
why
’
.

Mother pulled me into the hallway, far from the throne room
,
and began to pace
the long, marble hallway
. I grew agitated watching her and finally spoke up.

“
I
’
m sorry—
”

“
No! Echo, can you even begin to comprehend
what you
’
ve done to this family?
Thank the gods that it wasn
’
t some vagrant or peasant! Why?
”

I stared down at my hands and tried to get the dirt from under my nails.
“
I do not know.
”

Mother stopped pacing and said,
“
Do not make me regret you, Echo. Remember who you are! You are not one of
them
, you have a duty here. How do you expect to gain respect from a nation you are
supposed to rule if you do this?
Such a scandalous thing to do!
”

At her every word, I flinched. They cut deeper and deeper into me, breaking down a wall I barely knew I had. But it was there, and she
’
d finally managed to destroy it. The words came and there was no stopping them.

“
I am a disgrace! I
’
m pitiful, Mother! You and Father have this hideous image of who you expect me to be, but I do
n
’
t
have the same mindset. I
’
m dif
ferent and forever will be. I don
’
t want to be a p
rincess; I don
’
t even want to be here right now!
”

Mother frowned.
“
You don
’
t know what you
’
re saying. You
’
re tired.
”

“
No!
I didn
’
t leave with Noah, I
hate
him! I
’
d rather die a painful, slow death by my own hands than marry him.
I left for Old Haven and returning wasn
’
t
even a thought. I met a boy, Mother,
and he underst
oo
d me! I might even be in love, I don
’
t know. I just know I do not want to live this life…
alone
.
”

My mother stared at me with tears in her eyes. She shook her head and
, before I could react,
her hand came out and
she
slapped me across my face
, the sound so loud it
could have been h
eard from anywhere in the house
. I was shocked at first,
but
when I tasted
my own
blood in my mouth, I grew angry.

“
I advise you to clean your
self up. You will be Queen in
a matter of
days, start acting and looking like one.
”
She turned and made her way back to the throne room
, her heels clicking behind her
. The blood in my mouth lost its taste and the pain subsided.

As soon as she was gone, I screamed, I threw things, and I
swore; I became someone else.
I
’
d thought I was alone, but when I turned, Silas, Everlae
’
s husband, stood watching me. I said nothing to him and I didn
’
t even bother with the fact that he might
’
ve heard my confession.

I didn
’
t know how I made it to my room, but everything from my wardrobe to my bed made me so angry. I stripped my bed
and threw everything to the floor. The trinkets, perfume bottles, and jewelry on my dressers smashed to
the
floor with finality. The picture on my wall, the one of King Val, rested on my floor in shreds. If I could have peeled the pink wallpaper from my walls I would have.

I crashed from the high too early, the adrenaline leaving me in a rush. I dropped on my bed and did what every broken princess does.

I cried.

T H I R T E E N

Ayden

I
took a breath.

I shook my head as if to rid myself of everything. I stomped, I cursed, I screamed, and I grew nothing but angry. Though
,
through
it all
, I never found my
release. As I walked away
from the gates, she was still on my mind. Her face, her hair, her scent—all of her. My hands shook and clenched at my sides
,
and a pounding head
ache
grew in my head
from the sudden stress
. I had my doubts, of course; I wanted to run through the border and tell her that I couldn
’
t get her out of my head. Even thoug
h I
found that she could be
excruciatingly
annoying
w
hile ranting on the way she did
, she was irresistible.

Irresistible?

I shook my head again and kept walking. How do you go about forgetting someone who
’
d slowly become a part of you?
Maybe it was the day at the ball or even last night. I wasn
’
t sure, but there was a point when I realized Echo Abbeny was different. There was something in her walk, or was it her smile? She didn
’
t smile often, I realized, but when I caught one last night, I
’
d lost myself. Talking to her was like…talking to myself, as odd as that sounds. It came naturally, and e
ven though I was sure we had nothing
in common, somewhere in me I knew Echo understood me.

I smiled.

She
was
different.

I stopped in front of the house and willed myself to turn back. I
’
d never been so eager
about a girl in my life, much
less a princess. I
’
d met other woman, but they
’
d never stuck to me so easily in the time Echo has. She angered and w
eakened me at the same time. I was a rational man, I was
.

The thought had me reaching for the doorknob
. Ayden, what are you thinking? The Princess?

I heaved a sigh and walked through the door, kicking off my shoes in the corner. Milo sat on the couch in the small living room, flipping through an old magazine he couldn
’
t read. I assumed everyone else was washing up for breakfast.

“
Hey, kid,
”
I said, settling down beside Milo. He looked up at me and shrugged.
“
What are you reading?
”

He smiled.
“
Hell if I know. Dad taught you anything yet?
”

“
You
’
re funny,
”
I murmured, kicking my feet up on the wicket table. I looked at him and he averted his eyes, staring blankly at the magazine. He tried to hide it, but I
’
d been reading Milo so easily since he could talk.
“
You want to read, don
’
t you?
”

Milo shrugged.

“
You can tell me.
”

He set the magazine down after a moment and sat facing me with his legs crossed.
“
What if I said I did, and Misty too?
”

“
I
’
d say
you
’
re
not the only one.
”
I shook my head and
stared up at the ceiling.
“
You
’
ll learn, I promise. I know…I know that you want to go to school and all that crap, but you got to give me some time, alright? I
’
m trying.
”

“
That
’
s the thing,
”
Milo whispered.
“
Why are
you
trying, Ayden? Is that not Father
’
s job?
”

There he was with that ancient talking again. I frowned.
“
No, he doesn
’
t think so. I
’
ll work and get you and Misty in a school. Me, not him. I
’
m not your father, Milo, but I
’
ll be damned if I let him ruin this family.
”

Milo
shift
ed
on the couch and
I
felt his head on my shoulder. We both sat silently in thought, listening to the silent movements in the house. I was sure Mother was going to demand she go into town before Mass. Father would try to stop her,
but being the pushover that he was, he
’
d
let her.

After another long moment, Milo said,
“
Who was that woman, Ayden? The one with you?
”

It didn
’
t come as a shock to me that he knew. After all, he was watching us through the window. My answer didn
’
t come as a surprise either.
“
A very special woman, Milo, with special powers.
”

Milo laughed.
“
What kind of powers?
”

“
Special ones, I guess.
”
I shook my head and allowed my mind to wander.
“
She can make you really angry and happy at the same time. She makes you laugh even when you don
’
t want to, and worst of all, she has a way of making you want to open up to her and tell her all of your secrets. You feel like you
’
ve slipped into another world when you stand next to her, completely different from this one. You can
’
t ignore her either, she
’
s
everywhere. You can
’
t take your eyes off of her face, especially with those dimples. It
’
s almost as if…
”

“
She cast a spell on you?
”
Milo offered.

I laughed, Echo
’
s face coming to memory.
“
Yeah, actually. You could say that.
”

“
I don
’
t like girls,
”
he confessed
, shivering as if the thought scared him to death.

“
What
’
s
wrong with them?
”

“
Trick question, right? Isn
’
t it obvious? They
’
re annoying, just like you said. And they whine and cry. I think I could go without them.
”
He nodded self-sufficiently and I just had to laugh.

“
Tell me that when your thirteen and going through puberty. I
’
d be glad to hear it.
”
I smiled at
him and shook out his hair, which
desperately needed a cut. I noticed then that he wore his church clothes. Well, what we considered appropriate for church with the money we had.
“
You
’
re going with Mother and Misty?
”
I asked him.

“
Surprising, ain
’
t it? Mis said she
’
d clean my half of the room for a week if I went.
”
He shrugged.
“
You should come with.
”

I immediately shook my head and jumped up from the couch.
“
Don
’
t think so. The gods don
’
t like me much, we still have a few, uh, things to work out.
”

“
Right, right. Things.
”

I frowned and punched him in the shoulder. He rubbed at it as if I
’
d really hurt him and smiled.
“
You hit like a girl.
”

“
You look like a girl,
”
I countered. He laughed
,
and then shrugged me away.

Father came into the room then and we both stopped laughing. It was like he sucked the fun right out of the room. We glared back at him as he motioned us into the kitchen.
“
It
’
s time for breakfast.
”

“
What
’
s it this time, boiled rats and sewage water? Yum,
”
Milo quipped underneath his breath. Father didn
’
t hear it, but I did, and I had to fight to
contain the laughter
.

We sat around the table with the one light hanging low above us. Misty was bouncing in her chair and playing with her hair. She looked up at me and smiled.
“
Thanks for the story, Ayden,
”
she whispered across the table.

“
Anything for my girl.
”
Misty giggled and turned to take Mother
’
s hand. Mother didn
’
t look too good, as usual, but today she looked really under the weather. I wondered how she was feeling and if she
’
d been taking the vitamins Miss Bluejay
’
d been giving her. Every time I asked, it was only instinct for her to lie. She was getting worse and I knew it.

“
Who wants to pray?
”
Mother asked. Everyone sat quietly.
“
Okay
, then
I
’
ll pray.
”

Mother began a steady prayer I
’
d unfortunately managed to get stuck in my head from the age of five. Not that I understood a damn thing she was going on about, but I knew that some of the gods she mentioned were Zeus and Iris. A
gain, not that I knew who they we
re or what they did, but apparently they were important to Old Haven.

Mother finally closed off with
“
amen
”
and Father went to dish out breakfast.
“
So Ayden, what
’
s new?
”
she
asked.

I shook my head.
“
Nothing, Mother, why do you ask?
”
I looked up at her and frowned at her aging skin. Her tattoos didn
’
t look half as great as they did years ago. The tattoos were a symbol of our lineage, the only thing worth feeling prideful for. Every child received them at the age of eleven and from
there
every tattoo was achieved
as they all held their own meaning
. Mother had several from marriage and birthing children, Milo and Misty had one
, I had three, and Father had too many to count. They were all innocent markings, though. Some tattoos represented gangs or conspiracies, sometimes even cults. When one marked their body with Hell
’
s ink, there was no way of turning back.

“
Oh, I
’
m just curious. Did you hear about the Princess?
”
Mother draped a napkin across her lap and did the same for Misty. Her hands shook as she did
it
.

“
I did,
”
I said without pause.
“
It
’
s unfortunate, really, but what can you do?
”

Mother sighed and shook her head. Father came back with plates of bread and broth
and set them on the table in front of us
. At least, that
’
s what it looked like.
Milo shoved a handful of the bread into his mouth and started to chew. He looked at me and I almost died. He took a napkin from the table and discreetly spit it out.

“
How
’
s it taste, Milo,
”
Mother asked.

He gave her a thumbs up.
“
Delish.
”