DOTD Chapter 13

Rune & Fluer argue, The darkness seeps through, A burial for Edwin

I said nothing.
My mouth had gone dry, and with it my words, shriveled up and turned to dust.

He ran his finger along the sleeve of the fabric, assessing, scrutinizing. Jerking my arm up towards him and bunching the sleeve in his hand, he breathed it in. His entire face dropped as he released me, realization settling in.

“ Rune-” I pleaded quietly, “ Just wait!”

“ God! You even smell like him,” he said with disgust.

He pushed off me and stood to his feet, his features contorted in devastation and twisted betrayal. Shaking his head in disbelief, he stepped back slowly, each one a symbol of the separation now growing forever between us. A separation we were also doomed to live in.

I scrambled to my feet, the muscles in my face straining with need for his understanding.
How was I going to explain this?

I chased him to where he finally slowed at the foot of my bed. He ran his palms through his hair, sweat beading at his hairline, the heat from moments ago shifting to a boiling anger. His eyes met mine, pointed and fuming.

“Whose is it? James’s?” he snapped, jaw clenched so tight the muscle twitched.

“ No! God no. Is that what you think?” I replied, my voice carrying louder than I intended, as resentment bubbled up to the surface.

He tossed me a look of disbelief as if an affair with my sister’s fiancé was completely probable. He began to pace, long rhythmic strides adding fuel to the flame.

“ Whose then? Does he know you're happily straddling your former lover on your closet floor? Damn it, Fluer! Who is he?” he boomed. Every sentence was sharp, clipped, spat through gritted teeth.

Something inside me snapped. My ears flooded with heat, a red haze falling over my vision. I’d had enough. I stormed closer to him, fists bunched at my side.

“ It doesn’t matter! You don't know him! Besides, you’re supposed to be married to some village girl in three months time, why do you care what I do with my life?” I seethed, words uncontrollably falling out of my mouth.

He scoffed, puffing his chest. “ You act like I want this! Like I have a choice! You think my idea of a good life is being forced to marry some girl I’ve never met?” he countered, finger pointed at me as if I myself had sentenced him to this miserable existence.

My face soured, scrunching in unison with the sarcasm lacing my next words. “ Oh, you poor thing! You’ll actually have to finish something for once in your life. However, will you manage?”

His lips pressed into a thin line, eyes lit with flames. “It’s not about that!” he fired back, “ It was never about that-”

“Then what, Rune!?” I clipped, cutting him off. “ The only thing you’ve ever been committed to is the childish, ridiculous act you put on when you’re around me...someone you truly sees you for what you are… afraid!”

He stilled for a moment, a red flush creeping up his neck, tangled waves falling across his face. When he spoke, his voice cracked through the room with thunderous volume.

“ Don’t pretend you know me, Undergrove! You have no idea what it is to walk a day in my shoes. You’ve been fed from a silver spoon since you could crawl, never having to work for anything, walking along the marbled floors of your life as servants scurry out of your path! Do you know what it’s like to worry about your next meal? To know that one day your freedom and free will will be sacrificed to make ends meet? No, you don’t see me, My Lady,” he boomed, words slamming into me, heavy and solidified.

“ You think this is freedom?” I fired back, arms heaving into the air. “ You think stuffing myself into a mold and trimming off the excess is living? The bars I reside in might be made of gold, but they are still bars! I didn’t choose this life-”

“ No, no, no don’t start with that ‘ I was born into this’ bullshit!” He riled, interrupting me mid-sentence and batting a dismissive hand in my direction.

My skin was ablaze, hot with contempt. I felt like ripping my hair out!
God he was infuriating!
“ You can bitch about my station all you want but one day you’ll have to face the facts,” I spat back, “This is the way the world is Rune! Just because I happened to be born onto the side with wealth doesn't change who I am! It never has and it never will. Would I have even been with you in the first place if I cared about any of the frivolous nonsense? Get your head out of your ass!”

His eyes sharpened, pinning me with a look that suggested he’d figured me out. “ Oh, I get it,” he said, the word rolling off his tongue with disgust. “That’s it then. I’m too lowly for you! I suppose this other guy is a Lord, perhaps a Duke? Shit, why not a king?”

“ My business is my own, asshole! Leave him out of this! I fail to see what I’ve even done wrong here in the first place!” I barked, shaking my head furiously.

“ You’re right about one thing. You are blind! Your mouth on mine, all while you’re still wearing another man’s shirt from the night before? You’re sick,” he snapped, face flushed a deep red. His mousy hair was sweaty, stray strands slicked to his forehead as heat poured off of him.

Too small. The room was too small, walls closing in around me, suffocating my air and my will to speak cordially.

“ The irony of this conversation is laughable! You’re yelling at me about a situation you know NOTHING about when you’ve practically slept through the entire island! You’re ridiculous!” I thundered, throwing my hands violently in the air.

He stormed closer to me, eyes blazing.
“ Oh, so you’ve slept with him then?” he interrogated, hands slicing through the air as he spoke, voice rising with every sentence.

“ And what if I had? It’s none of your damn business! Besides, what right do you think you have to dictate what I do? You don’t own me, Rune Fletcher, something you seem to be incapable of getting through your thick skull!”

He closed the distance between us in a few long strides, scooping my waist in his hands aggressively and pulling me close to him. The heat of our bodies collided in the small space between us, the line of desire and hatred blurred.

“ You’re mine,” he growled, his voice low and rough. “ You’re supposed to be mine.”

“ No…..I’m not!” I retorted, the words slapping him in the face with a sharp sting. “ I haven’t been yours since you decided Salome Rathore’s neck was more important than our future together!”

There it was. The great fallout. An event that changed the course of what we were forever. It would never be erased, never forgotten, always existing, mocking me for being so incredibly stupid to believe in love.

He released me, scoffing, pacing in front of me.
“ That was years ago,” he said, dismissing me.

The fractured pieces of my heart screamed as his words ground them into dust.
Years ago. It felt like seconds ago…

“ That…was my heart,” I stated, my face stilled into cold, unrelenting stone. “ And you-you shattered it.”

The last few words felt like broken glass scraping out of my throat, painful and slow. They were words that had circled my mind, plagued my heart, and dictated my actions for years, and in this heated moment, they had finally been spoken. They hung in the air like smoke dying from a fire, thick, clouding, continuous, lingering longer than they should have.

He stopped dead in his tracks, turning around to face me. A heavy sadness flickered in his eyes, his mouth twitching like words were forming on his tongue, banging their fists behind his teeth. His eyes trailed along my face as if he were committing every curve, every unique feature to memory. When he finally spoke, his words were cracked.

“I'm sorry….for all of it. I know that I hurt you beyond repair, that I still hurt you. It just scares me how much I lo….how much I…”, he trailed off, eyes shutting tightly as the words caught in his throat. “ I know you don’t trust me, but….just don’t. Promise me you won’t be with him.”

I didn’t want to presume the meaning of his words. I was afraid that if I knew, I would unravel completely, losing every ounce of composure I still had, and crumble to the floor.

No. Rune was incapable of those feelings.
We’d been here before, and I knew how it ended.

“ I won’t promise you anything,” I replied, salt stinging the corners of my eyes. “ Our vows to each other have clearly never held enough weight. ”

A coiled mix of angst and anger twisted across his face, eyes darting around the room, blinking furiously as bitterness wrapped its fingers around his heart.

“ Oh, and that’s all my fault? You wouldn’t even let me apologize for months! You shut me out for good! I was young and stupid, and I made a mistake. Will we never move past this?” He pleaded, chest rapidly rising and falling.

Move past this?!

“Yes! It is your fault! There’s nothing you could’ve or can say that will change my mind. You chose this Rune! Not me, YOU!” I yelled, my words echoing off the walls like a thunderclap.

He ran both hands firmly through his chestnut hair, scoffing and shaking his head. “ You know what? I don't need this shit! Next time you feel like playing with someone’s emotions, call on James. I hope that asshole, whoever he is knows what he’s got himself into!”

“ Get out!” I yelled, finally breaking. Hot tears streamed down my face. “ Get out, now!”

He stormed towards the window, his eyes flashing wildly. “ With pleasure,” he sneered and tossed both legs over the edge.

Just like that, he was gone.

I stood there, chest heaving in breaths, hands trembling. It was all too much. My head was spinning, heart pounding so frantically I felt as if it would rip clean through my ribs. I hated him. Hated him with every fiber of my being. Hated that he made me love him. Hated myself for giving in, for being so incredibly foolish. Why would I assume anything had changed? All these years passed, and he was still the same: arrogant, selfish, infuriating! He had barged into my life yet again and left me with another impossible mess, one I wasn’t sure could be cleaned up.

I took a few shaky breaths, calming my rapid pulse. I glanced over at my reflection in the mirror. A small, beaten down figure looked back at me. I didn’t recognize her. I didn’t want to acknowledge her. This wasn’t me…vulnerable, weepy, penetrable.
The tears dried up.
I was done. Done hoping things would be different.

No, I would make that asshole pay for what he did. Watch him suffer in misery and heartache just as he’d done to me. It was time he drank his own, mind-crazed, bitter poison and went mad. And I knew just the way to do it. Oh, I was going to that damn ball and I would dance with every eligible bachelor there, watching Rune soaked to the bone in a cold, consuming jealousy. I would show him I didn’t need him. I was tired of being talked down to and overlooked. A night that was meant for the unhappy couple would become mine, commanding the room with every lilt of my gown and tilt of my head.

A small, devilish grin tugged at the corners of my mouth as I strolled towards my writing desk and plopped down. I would need Lys to make a few alterations to my dress… delicious ones. With the ball postponed, she would have plenty of time to make the adjustments, and I was certain she would be more than happy to oblige. Aurelia’s misery was no longer my main concern; it was Rune’s, and I planned to drive him positively insane.

I needed to write to her, make her aware of the changes, and pick her masterful, genius brain. White would no longer do. White was for the pure of heart, the doves, the ivory blooms, those who spoke like lace. No, it would not be white I wore. It would be red. A smashing, deep shade of crimson, seductive and unwavering. Heads would still turn to me, but for different reasons. Reasons I hope would fray Rune’s mind and strangle his heart, till the relentless picture of me in his head had him begging for me to put him out of his misery.

I pulled out a sheet of parchment and began to scribble my ideas and designs onto paper. I knew if anyone could pull off such a masterpiece, it would be Lys.

“ There,” I said, satisfied, folding the letter and dotting the address.

Eleanor’s eyes could not read its contents, or my plans would be dashed on the steps to the ballroom. I would need to make sure it was hidden. I lifted up the stack of books on my desk to slip it underneath when-

Edwin’s letter stared at me. Folded, bloodied, and full of deep sorrow. I slipped Ly’s note underneath the books and removed the other. The steady ache in my chest surged forward, melting my spite into familiar grief. I tucked away my wrath for Rune as I cradled the small envelope in my palms. The heaviness of his death settled once more in my bones, dampening my anger. He deserved a proper burial, one where all was known and lies hadn’t muddied his memory. One where he was truly known...left to rest in peace. The thought donned on me all at once.

I could give that to him…
I owed that to him.

There was a tree, a singular willow that grew in the woods. A place where I’d spent hours, days, months, years escaping to. It was a peaceful haven where the soft grass sang sweetly to me while I daydreamed, and the earth held memories. My tears had watered that tree, my sleep peaceful against its trunk. That is where I would bury the letter.

That is where Edwin would truly rest.



I dressed in black. The gown was a starless night sky, the long, tufted sleeves cascading down and melting into the pitch folds of the skirt. I let the dark fabric swallow me, my skin like alabaster stone cloaked heavily in raven’s wings. A single strip of lace wrapped around my neck, and on each ear, droplets of black diamonds hung. The glossy, onyx stones dangled like shadowed tears, a tribute to my grief.

I let my hair fall free, midnight waves melding into my gown and twisting softly around my face. I tucked Edwin’s letter and my dagger into my dress, a small safety in a world that held none. I glanced in the mirror once before taking my leave.
I was a lone lily drowning in dark waters.

“ It’s all for you,” I whispered.

The walk through the hall and down the stairs was strange. It felt as if I had left my body and was watching from above as mourning took complete control of me, the clink of my heeled boots not my own. I couldn’t remember how I’d gotten from my rooms to the front doors, but here I was, the weight of the letter pulling me into the hard ground. I reached for the handle, fingers numb.

“ And just where do you think you’re going, priss?” called an arrogant, female voice.

I turned my head in the direction of the jaded question to find Aurelia dressed in elegant shades of navy, layers of lace falling around her like fully bloomed delphinium. Sonnet was at her side, in soft pinks, biting her lip anxiously and fidgeting with a ribbon. Aurelia glided towards me, the shuffle of her gown as aggressive as her steps. Her face twisted with disgust as if she tasted something bitter, sharp brows coming to the center.

“ You think I wouldn’t get wind of Jame’s abrupt arrival this morning?” she interrogated, her words dripping with acid. “ Explain, Wretch! Why was he in your rooms?”

I didn’t need this. Not now.

This moment was about honoring Edwin, not Aurelia’s sour tantrums. I sighed, too exhausted to deal with this.

“ James is his own man, Aurelia. He is not my responsibility,” I replied, my tone calm, unaffected. “ Perhaps you should ask him yourself.”

She scowled, huffing out an appalled breath. “ That’s exactly what someone would say who's trying to cover something up!” she trilled, heat pouring off of her. “ Answer me!”

I rubbed my temples, a headache brewing behind my eyes.
“ He came to see if I was alright,” I said flatly, my patience fraying. “ That is all.”

As the words hit her, she froze, just for a moment. Her brown eyes narrowed, jaw tightening like a coiled wire. Her breath became labored like she was trying to keep something volcanic from erupting, as a flush crept up her neck, inflaming her painted cheeks.

“ He did what?” she breathed. Her voice was low, too low, like the kind of quiet that comes just before a scream. Behind her, Sonnet has stiffened, as if bracing to receive a blow.

“ He was concerned for me,” I replied, a tinge of gloat swelling inside me. “ Something neither of you deemed necessary. At least he had the decency to see if I was alright.”

She stepped in front of me, blocking my exit, eyes taunting and spiteful. She primped her fingernails leisurely as she spoke.

“ Why would I pay mind to the mud on the bottom of my shoe? Dirt is meant to be trampled,” she replied, spitting the words at me with force.

I stepped closer to her, at my limit and exhausted from my explosion with Rune. “ Yes, and without a beating heart, you’ll rot, Aurelia. You’re in my way. Move.”

I shifted to walk around her, but she shoved her face into mine, heavy notes of jasmine strangled my nasal cavities. She curled a polished nail around the lace on my neck and yanked me closer. When she spoke, her voice was furious, dark, just like…the Duke.

“ You won’t get away with this. I’ll be sure to inform Father when he gets back. I can’t wait to see what he does to you this time,” she sneered, a smug, satisfied smile creeping across her pink lips.

Before I could think, Lucien’s dagger was in my hand, the tip of the blade pointed at her throat. Sonnet gasped from behind us. The room went still.

“ Fluer!” she pleaded from the stairwell.

I ignored her, pinching the blade to Aurelia’s skin a little more. Aurelia swallowed hard, shock and fear flickering across her features. She loosened her grip on my choker, dropping her hand to her side.

“ Threaten me again, you trifle bitch, and I’ll slit you ear from ear. Got it?” I uttered, my voice low and lethal.

She nodded. I waited another moment, memorizing her fear-light face before slowly removing the dagger. They both stood still, afraid to move. At my wits' end with this conversation, I turned to the front door once more and cracked it open, the late afternoon breeze greeting me.

“ I suppose the rumors are true then,” Aurelia chimed from behind me, her voice hesitant but still full of animosity. “ You did kill that red-headed bastard. What was his name again? Edwin?”

Something inside me snapped. Dusk flooded my vision, fingers coiling into tight fists at my side. The words triggered something in me. Something dark, something…

Powerful.
Pressure bloomed in my chest, forcing my back to arch. A breathless gasp left my lips as it snaked down my legs, my arms, the tips of my fingers, setting my birthmark ablaze. It burned its way through my veins, pumped through my heart, climbed up my throat, and seared my tongue. It was all-consuming, flooding every inch of me. The air in my lungs, the beating of my heart. I was it, and it was me.

“Careful,” the stranger’s voice called in my mind. The words were muted, like screaming behind soundproof glass. My ears were numb, and they were too small, too quiet.

I slammed the door with so much force that the hinges blew off, the sound of the metal crashing into marble echoing through the foyer. The door swayed, wobbled, then gave, smacking into the hard floor with a deafening boom. I stood still as the dust cleared, chest rapidly rising and falling, body surging with a twinging presence.

Both girls gaped in horror, hands pressed to their chests in shock.

“Don’t…speak…his name,” I hissed, steam rising from my tongue.

Cold panic was plastered across both of their faces, feet frozen in place.
A tear glistened in the corner of Aurelia’s eye, her mouth wide open.

“ How- How did you?” she whispered.

Sonnet rushed to her, pulling at her shoulders. “ Come on, Aurelia. Leave it,” she urged, yanking her towards the hall. She stepped back slowly, confusion contorting her face.

I turned and exited without another word, leaving them both dumbfounded and riddled with fear. I trudged across the grounds, my legs pumping me forward with unnatural speed. My insides still blazed, heat pulsing behind my eyes. On and on I went till I reached the treeline, not turning back once. The soft pad of grass below my feet faded into the crunch of leaves. The sunlight dimmed as I pressed on under the cover of the trees.

I paused, bracing my palm against a trunk, panting. Slowly, the pressure drained from me. I felt it retract from my limbs, drop by drop, and wind itself back into my heart. The absence of it left me off balance, the light weight of my body making me dizzy. I stumbled slightly.

“ What the hell was that?” I breathed aloud. The effort it took to get volume into my words provoked nausea along my stomach line. My hands flew to my stomach, hunching over. Vomit rose in my throat and purged relentlessly. I wiped my mouth with my sleeve, hands trembling from the sudden response.

I had just…snapped a door…completely from its hinges.
Ho- How was this possible?

First the locks, now this? And the pressure, it had burned this time. Actually burned. Not in the way a flame would, more like…acid. It had never felt like that before. My head spun, searing pain pitching the back of my skull.

“ I need to sit down,” I stammered, fumbling along the trunk with my hands on the way down. I pressed my back hard into the bark, hand brushing the hair from my face. Placing a palm to my chest, I took three long breaths in and out, slowing my heart rate. “ Breath!”

This wasn’t normal, not that normal even applied here. It hadn’t been like the other times. Something felt different, darker. I could feel it pulling from my pain, my rage, as if the emotions themselves were fueling it.

What did this mean?

A shiver ran down my spine, chilling the last few remnants of heat wafting off my skin. Why had the stranger tried to warn me? There was still so much I didn’t know about this…ability. Who would know? Who would possess the knowledge? Who could tell me what I was?
I would never tell Lucien. What if I were the darkness he hunted? I shuddered at the thought. No, Lucien would never be an option.

The stranger. I could try to ask him. He had spoken to me just moments ago.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in, filling my lungs mostly with doubt. Quieting my mind, I reached for him.

Are you there?

Nothing.
I tried again, heart pounding in the silence.

What’s happening to me?
Silence.

“ This is useless,” I huffed, opening my eyes.
I stood to my feet and began to pace beside the tree, each hurried step loosening the chains that held down my fear. Back and forth I went when all of a sudden, a thought hit me hard and fast. As soon as it entered my mind, I wished it would leave, begged the gods for another idea, another option. But there were none. No other would possess the knowledge I desperately needed. No other who could explain this. I knew who I needed to visit.

The Viel Mother.

She was an oracle. The only one I knew of. After all, she’d helped me before, even if I had barely escaped with my life. She had wanted my blood. Perhaps a trade could be made…

The thought had my skin crawling.
My blood, a currency…..

Even if the vile woman were willing, where would I find her? The carnival was long gone by now. Did she live nearby or travel with the circus? Perhaps there was a way to get a message to her. I shook my head, staring down at my asterisk birthmark. It was risky, maybe impossible. But it was my only plan at the moment.

Fear trumped reasoning. Fear of what I was, what I was capable of. I needed answers, even if they put me in danger. Perhaps Lucien could find her with his keen hunting abilities, hunt down her whereabouts, pick up her trail. Maybe he could even teach me a few tricks of the trade on killing a witch. If things went south, at least I would have a backup plan. But I knew Lucien enough to know it would raise suspicion. The stubborn bastard would want to know why and would likely keep me from going if it put me in danger. I would have to play my cards well. Outwit the fox in his heavily armed hole.

It was decided.
I would somehow get Lucien to find her and then….. I would meet with fate.