Unlocking Adeline (Skeleton Key) (26 page)

“Have I ruined yer little plans for me tonight, Princess?”

What’s his problem?
“Well, when you blow me off for dinner and I find you in here drunk, yeah I guess you
did
ruin my little plans.” I’m not sure what has changed with him, but I’m not about to put up with his mood swings. I cross my arms over my chest, “I don’t know what your problem is all of a sudden, but I put a lot of work in tonight.” He stands instantly, knocking over a decanter. His quick movement startles me, causing me to jump. Storming toward me, I do my best to stand my ground, but the look in his eyes sends me backwards a few sudden steps. Within reach of me, he lifts his hand to my hair wrapping a soft curl around his fingers. Leaning forward, I’m now able to clearly smell the alcohol on his breath. “I’m going to ask ye this one last time. Where were ye the other night?” His question throws me for a loop. But then Farah’s conversation slams into my mind. “I was at Greta’s, I told you.”

His grip on my strand of hair tightens. “Do not lie to me.”

“Locke, let me go. I’m not lying. I told you, I was at Greta’s all night.” He’s starting to scare me. I try and pull away from him, but he grabs for my bicep pulling me closer. “When were ye going to tell me ye were playing me for my brother?” His voice deep and threatening. “All this time, did ye just want to taste a bit of us both? Or did ye just want to see how it would feel to get me to cave to ye? Is this yer way of getting back at me for taking ye? Break me?”

I try again for him to release his death grip on me, but it’s useless, “Locke, I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re making accusations that you are going to regret later. So you better watch what you say to me.”

“Regret?” He bends down, hovering over me, almost knocking us both over, “Regret? My only regret here is letting ye trick me.”

I gasp. With my free hand, I slap him across his face. I can’t stop my lower lip from beginning to quiver. “How dare you accuse me of this?” My voice strangles, “I have only been with you—”

“LIAR!” he booms, startling me. Releasing me with a shove, I stumble back, almost losing my balance and falling over. “Ye lie. Have ye been lying to me this whole time? Playing us against one another maybe? Or has it always just been him? Wanted to play a little on the wild side maybe, before ye got rid of me and ran off into the sunset with my
brother
?”

“What? No! Where is all this coming from? I have done nothing wrong. All these accusations, why don’t you ask me what’s the truth or how I feel? I told you I trusted you. And maybe right now you should trust me!” I’m returning his anger. I thought we were finally on the same page.

“Enough about trust! Ye can drop the naïve act. I know ye were with my brother. Don’t lie to me. Ellie told me when I came to fetch ye. Sad thing is? I didn’t believe it. I didn’t think ye had it in ye to betray someone. Especially me. But then Farah just confirmed it. She confirmed ye and Christof were indeed together. Were ye both planning this? Huh!?”

That conniving bitch.
“Farah is lying.”

“Is she now? Ye just expect me to believe someone like ye, over someone I have known my whole life? Someone who would never betray me as ye have?”

I can’t believe this. I should have stuck with my gut on Farah from the beginning. I take a step toward Locke. “Yes I do, because she is obsessed with you. She’s setting me up. I bet she was the one who sent me that note, and tried to fry me! I just had a run in with her, and speaking of, she told me how the night I was trapped in the shed, you two were together! So don’t you come yelling at me about betrayal!” I snap, throwing accusations right back at him.

“I don’t believe ye.”

“Well then, ask her! Why don’t you bring
her
in here and accuse
her
? Or wait, do you want to spare your playmate’s feelings?” He storms at me, but this time I stand my ground.

“At least she has been faithful to me, unlike ye.” I go to smack him again, but this time he catches my arm.

“How dare you,” I breathe.

“That will be the last time ye touch me,” he says, his words harsh, like a knife stabbing straight through my heart. Offering me his back, he walks back behind his desk. He grabs his glass and empties the remainder of the liquor. “Next on our agenda is dinner. How long were ye planning that one for? Did ye think ye would get away with it?”

“Now what in heavens are you talking about?”

“Dinner. How ye tried to poison me.”

Poison?
This is just getting absurd. “You know what? If you want nothing to do with me fine, but these ridiculous accusation are not needed.” I’m feeling so hurt: first to accuse me of sleeping with his brother and then to poison him?

“Are ye going to deny that ye were in the wildflower fields today?”

“I was, so what about it? Oh yeah, I forgot, it was
off limits
. Please send my condolences to the wildflower board—”

Locke’s glass goes flying at the fireplace, glass shattering everywhere. I duck, his sudden outrage shocking me. I look up to see Locke heaving. He picks up a piece of paper from his desk. “The wildflowers are off limits because they are poisonous, as I’m sure ye already knew. And are ye also going to tell me that this isn’t a menu request, specifically asking to use the ingredients ye supplied for our meal tonight?”

What? “What? I… I gave a menu request, but I didn’t give any ingredients with it.” I walk forward so I have a better look at the note. It’s not the one I sent down with Ellie. “Locke that is not the note I sent down. That’s not even my handwriting!”
This is insane.
He slams the piece of paper on the desk, leaning down and picking up, what turns out to be, the dress I had on earlier today. “Do ye want to continue to lie to me, or do ye want to scoop out the flowers in question out of yer pocket?”

I am at a loss right now at the events that have transpired. It doesn’t look like anything I can say will make Locke believe me. I’m so hurt and sad, but mostly angry for what he is letting himself throw away.

“You know what?” I pause to swipe away the tear that has fallen down my cheek. “You can go to hell. I should have stuck with hating you.” I shake my head, praying for the strength. I take a deep breath and look directly into his eyes. “And I may be naive, but I have never been as naive as I was with you. You worked your way inside and made me want something from you. You tore down all my defenses and showed me what my life could be like if I willingly stayed. You made me believe it was going to be with you—” I have to stop because I’m choking up on my words. Another deep breath, “—But no. How silly of me to think that. Instead, I stand before you being accused of the craziest things. And what’s even crazier? Is that you believe them. Did you ever—ever truly want me? Was anything that we shared real? Or was it just a mirage you created for me, so in the end you can allow some wretched obsessed bitch to take any form of happiness away from you?”

He doesn’t respond. He just stares at me with the fire in his eyes. He looks wounded, but not as disappointed as I feel. “So why then?” Emotion thick in my throat. “Why did you even bring me here if you didn’t want me? If you never planned to allow me inside?” I bow my head, ashamed of the emotions that I’m allowing him to see.

The room is heavy with silence until he speaks, “Because I didn’t want anyone else to have ye.”

I bring my head up, looking at him. “You what?” I hiss, hoping I heard him wrong.

“Because I didn’t want anyone else to have ye. I didn’t ask for this life either. I didn’t ask to be paired up with someone. Forced into marriage and take the all mighty crown of this land. I wanted none of it.”

“Then why did you TAKE ME?” I scream, the words burning in my throat.

“BECAUSE YE WERE MINE, DAMMIT! Not for anyone in that world ye lived. Not for my brother. Mine! Only mine. Ye were bred for me. And I couldn’t watch another single person take what was mine. Yer damn right I shouldn’t have taken ye. But I couldn’t leave ye either. I watched ye with every person ye came across. I saw how every man looked at ye with want. Eating up the sweetness that ye radiated. And I couldn’t stand that. Ye don’t think that every time ye made plans with some nitwit boy, I didn’t sabotage it? I did. Every single one, because they didn’t deserve ye. They didn’t deserve to know how it felt to be near ye. To touch ye. To be inside ye. Ye were mine.” His heaving causes him to stop.

“Then why?” I choke out, barely able to get the question out. “Why are you doing this? After everything. What I gave you, what we shared, you can think so horrible of me?” He huffs in frustration, placing his hands on the desk before him. He seems to take his time answering and it kills me every second that passes that he doesn’t lift his head and tell me that I’m wrong.

“Because I don’t trust ye.”

I gasp at his words. What a coward. “That’s bullshit and you know it. I’ve done nothing to not earn your trust.” I step forward, so only the desk is separating us. Forcing him to look me in the eyes when he gives up on us. “You’re a coward, you know that?”

He finally lifts his head. “And ye are a conniving liar who won’t admit she has been caugh—”

I smack him across the face. I don’t allow him to finish. “I hate you,” I choke out.

This time there is no reaction from him. “Good. Now if ye hate me so much, here.” He opens his hand and tosses something at me. I numbly catch it and when I realize what it is, I gasp.

“Don’t act so shocked, it’s what ye wanted this whole time isn’t it? To go home? Well then, leave. Don’t let me burden any more of yer time. Go home, Addie.”

He’s just giving up?
“So that’s it? You’re just gonna let Farah win? Sabotage something that could be wonderful and then tag out? I thought we were the chosen? Bonded for life? Is that nothing now too?”

“That’s right, now ye have what ye want. Now go.”

“But you can’t just—“

“GO! GET OUT! LEAVE ME! Damn ye, just go!” he bellows, causing the floor to rattle.

I want to yell back. Punch back. But I just turn and run out. I try and plead with myself not to cry, but I fail and the tears fall in waves. Worried that someone will see me, I run toward the armory, behind the sheds for some privacy. It’s when I finally slide down the stone wall that I open my palm to see the key. The one thing I have spent my entire time here searching for. Now that I have it, I feel sick with regret that I do, because deep down I don’t want it. I want Locke. I want to stay, and I want him to learn to love me. I can’t stop the tears as I think about all the horrible words we exchanged. I told him I hated him when I don’t. I far from hate him. I’m struggling to keep my composure. Trying to catch my breath I stand. I need to go back. I can’t give up on him. That’s what he expects me to do. I need to march back in there and tell him the truth. That Farah set me up and it has always been him. I wipe at my stained cheeks and take a deep breath.

As I turn the corner I bump into someone. “Oh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was goin—”

I’m cut off by the sight of Farah. “What do you want?” I snarl at her. I don’t have time to deal with her antics.

“Oh, nothing. I heard a commotion coming from Locke’s quarters so I went to see if he was alright.”

Oh, I’m sure she did. “Get out of my way, Farah.” Once I square things away with Locke, I will have my turn with her, but right now, I need to get back to the castle.

“He seems to be relieved about something. Now that I see ye holding the key, I know why.”

I twist to face her. “You lie.”

At that she laughs, “That what, Locke is glad to see ye go? I think this whole kingdom will be glad for yer absence. I’m surprised it took ye this long to figure it out, though.” I want to claw her eyes out right now, but that’s what she wants. She is goading me, and I won’t fall for it this time. I need to focus my energy on Locke.

I go to walk around her but she blocks me. “Oh I don’t think so. It’s time for ye to go home, Adeline. Locke is mine. He has always been mine. Ye coming here has done nothing but confuse him.” I look at her and her expression is one of complete evil. “Weeks, Adeline.
Weeks
is all I had left until he was released of yer damn bond. And somehow, ye had to show up here. He doesn’t want ye. Can’t ye see that? Pretending that ye two have something. Ha! I get a good laugh every time.”

I take a menacing step toward her, “Oh, and you think you’re the one for him? That
you’re
the one he’s going to settle down with?” I spit at her.

“Yes, I do. He just told me the other day. But ye know that already, because ye saw him leaving my home. After showing me just how much he loves me.”

The rage inside me ignites. Her words set me on fire and I explode. “You bitch!” I jump at her, but she was ready for my reaction. Before I make it to her, she lifts her hand from her dress and takes a sharp blade to my stomach.

Once, twice, three times in and out she stabs into my flesh, until I fall to the ground in agony. She bends down and I attempt to grab at her ankle, but she takes a swift kick to my stomach, the pain doubling. “Sorry to ruin such a nice dress, but this is to make sure that ye stay gone.” This time, she bends down, grabbing my hand and placing the key into my palm. Squeezing my fingers around the key, she recites the same spell Locke did the day he took me and a wind tunnel of color surrounds us both. The electronic gravity swirls around and electricity shoots into the sky. Before us the door appears.

“Noo…” I groan, tying to fight off the grip she has on me. “Sorry,
Princess
, but yer time is up. I’ll make sure to treat yer spot will all due care.” She rips the key out of my hand and places it into the lock. The door creaks open and the dull colors of my living room appear.

“Any last words?” Farah laughs. I try and push her off me but I’m losing a lot of blood and am now too weak. “Good riddance, Princess,” she says, taking the key and tossing it inside the door. With her foot, she pushes me through the door and everything goes black.