Free Web NovelChapter 23: Chapter 23: The Poison in the Vows
Ryophlira POV
Only four days remained until the grand wedding. Yet, as the morning sun beams through the drapes of my room, I felt completely unraveled.
I had hardly slept. Every time I closed my eyes, my mind replayed the scene of last night. I could still feel the heavy weight of Yue-Senn’s hands locking around my waist, the sharp, bruising sting of his teeth tracing down my neck and worst of all the maddening reality that I hadn’t pushed him away. I had leaned into him. I had cupped his face and kissed him, tasting his lips.
"Ahhhh!" I screamed directly into my pillow, thrashing my legs beneath the sheets. I was going entirely mad.
The heavy curtains suddenly rattled open, letting in a blinding morning light. Ari stood there, looking completely unfazed by my breakdown. "The other palace maids won’t be coming in today, princess. I personally made sure of it." She stepped over to the wardrobe, pulling a magnificent dress from the rack. "We need to get you moving. Today is your official wedding dress fitting."
Hearing the word wedding sent a fresh jolt of panic through my chest. I began rolling back and forth across the mattress, kicking the blankets and screaming face-first into my pillow like a wild animal.
Suddenly, I stopped. I sat up lightning-fast, my hair exploding everywhere in a tangled, chaotic nest.
Ari startled, jumping back with a small, breathless sound, her eyes wide. She blinked at me, letting out a weary sigh. "Let me guess... you didn’t sleep well."
"You can tell?" I whined, my voice cracking as I slumped forward. freewebnovel.cσ๓
I reached up to aggressively brush the wild strands of hair out of my face, but a sharp tug made me wince. Something caught. I looked down, and my breath hitched as the morning light caught the heavy, twisted gold band and the deep green crescent-moon emerald resting on my finger.
A sharp, hysterical shriek tore from my throat.
Ari jumped a mile, completely dropping the dress she was carrying onto the floor. "You have to stop doing that, Ryophlira!"
I couldn’t even formulate a proper sentence. I simply held my hand up in the air, my mouth hanging wide open as I stared at the emerald ring. "Father... Father is going to kill us both," I whispered in horror. "If anyone sees this—"
Ari’s expression hardened into a serious, practical nod. She scrambled forward, grabbing me by the arms and physically hauling me out of the bed. "Which is exactly why we need to get you styled and structured before anyone walks through those doors. Move!"
The morning routine became a blur of frantic pulling, lacing, and pinning. Ari helped me into another off-the-shoulder gown woven from heavy, sun-spun gold and cream lace. Why the hell did it take me this long to notice just how many of these dang off the shoulder dresses I owned. The structured, embroidered corset hugged my waist perfectly, trailing down into dramatic, billowing bell sleeves that draped past my hands, while a sheer, gossamer cape pooled around my ankles. On my feet, she laced the stiletto heels intricate masterpieces of gold filigree, adorned with sparkling, crystalline flowers that wrapped up my ankles. I left my hair down, weaving delicate, pale blossoms through the waves to soften the look.
But as I sat before the vanity mirror, I realized that all the marks he gave me were exposed.
I immediately grabbed a container of heavy, pale powder, ready to cake it over the skin. "Ari, help me blend this."
"No," Ari said, her hand firmly clamping over mine to stop me. "He explicitly told me not to let you cover them. He wants everyone to see them for the final plan to work at the altar."
I aggressively brushed her hand away, my eyes flashing with irritation. "Screw his plan! If Mother or Father finds out about this before the ceremony, he might not even make it to the wedding alive. Hold the mirror."
Defying his orders, I quickly worked the powder over my neck, frantically dabbing the concealer until the angry purple marks were completely hidden beneath a flawless, porcelain finish.
"Ryophlira, come on! We don’t have all day!" Mother’s sharp, authoritative voice echoed from the outer corridor.
Ari and I shared a panicked look, smoothed down the heavy gold lace of my skirts, and hurried through the double doors, stepping out into the grand, mirrored hallway of the residential wing.
We hadn’t even made it past the first junction when I caught sight of a familiar figure walking toward us. It was my sister, Aiyolistra. But as she drew closer, a strange, unsettling details caught my eye. Standing directly behind her was a completely unfamiliar person wearing the uniform of a high-tier lady in waiting.
I slowed my pace, my brow furrowing. "You got a new lady in waiting?"
I looked past her shoulder, scanning the small frame following her. Every single face was unfamiliar. The loyal maids who had tended to her since we were children were entirely gone. "Wait... why is your entire staff new?"
Aiyolistra stopped dead in her tracks. Her vibrant, blazing red orangish hair seemed to crackle against the pale walls of the corridor, and her deep purple eyes locked onto me with a cold, detached glare. "Why do you care, Ryophlira? Don’t you have your own things to worry about today?" ƒrēewebnovel.com
Her voice was utterly frigid, lacking any emotion.
"Did something happen?" I asked, genuine concern cutting through my own anxiety. I took a step closer, extending a hand toward her. "Everyone is new. Aiyolistra, are you okay?"
The moment my hand moved forward, the heavy gold and emerald crescent ring glinted prominently in the hallway.
Aiyolistra’s gaze instantly snapped down to my fingers. Her purple eyes widened, a horrific, manic realization. She took a massive step back, away from my outstretched hand.
"Did he give that ring to you?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
"Please, stop this madness and just talk to me," I pleaded, taking another step. "I am your sister. What is going on with your servants?"
"What do you want me to say, Ryophlira?!" Aiyolistra suddenly screamed, her voice creaking with a devastating wave of raw emotion, though not a single tear fell from her eyes. "How about how I had to personally slit the throat of my own lady in waiting last night? Or how I had to suck the life and magic out of each of my personal servants? Is that what you want to hear?!"
I froze, the blood running entirely cold in my veins. "But... why? I don’t understand."
"They were spies for the South," Mother’s voice cut through the tension as she walked into the corridor, her face pale. "They betrayed this kingdom, and they betrayed this family."
"I am so confused," I stammered, my head spinning as I looked between them. "They have serviced our family for years. Something isn’t right..."
"You happened!" Aiyolistra taking a step toward me, her curls swaying wildly. "All of this is because of you! My maids saw how broken, how utterly humiliated and sad I was after my so-called sister accepted a proposal from the man I was betrothed to for years! They used my grief!"
"Enough," Mother commanded, her voice cracking. "Not another word, Aiyolistra."
"How many times do I have to say I am sorry?" I yelled, a single, tear finally escaping my eye and tracing down my cheek. "I didn’t want any of this to happen. I never meant to take anything from you."
Mother shook her head, looking utterly heartbroken, her gaze darting between us as if she couldn’t decide which of her shattered children she was supposed to comfort.
Aiyolistra sharply turned her back to us, taking a breath as she aggressively wiped at her eyes. When she turned back around, a wicked, smile cut across her lips a smile that sent an immediate wave of dread straight to my stomach.
"Just know one thing, Ryophlira,you can take what was never yours to began with" Aiyolistra murmured, her voice dropping into a sickeningly sweet register. "After all we both share something very intimate in common with our husband. It seems he is incredibly fond of his late-night meetings."
My heart stopped beating.
"He left me a little parting gift last night, too," she sneered. With a slow, deliberate movement, Aiyolistra reached up, pulling her hair completely back over her shoulder.
There, tracing cleanly down the sun-kissed skin of her neck, was a neat row of dark, unmistakable hickeys.
"What the fuck did she just say?" A raw, suffocating weight crushing my chest. Our husband? Late-night meeting?
The world around me seemed to tilt, the gold lace of my gown suddenly feeling like a shroud. A monstrous, suffocating wave of profound betrayal, hot anger, and agonizing hurt roared through my veins. The memory of his lips on my skin from last night didn’t feel like a secret vow anymore it felt like a joke. A calculated, disgusting lie. He had left me, left my lips, only to slide straight into my sister’s room to leave the exact same marks on her.
"Did he..." I turned my head slowly toward Ari, my voice shaking. "Ari... did he really gave her those marks?"
Ari didn’t answer. Her light blue eyes were wide, staring at Aiyolistra’s neck in complete, stunned silence.
The pain inside my chest mutated instantly into pure, rage. My eyes glowed bright, I didn’t care about the wedding. I didn’t care about the alliance. I marched straight toward my sister, my fists clenching so hard the gold ring dug into my skin, ready to burn everything to ash.
Mother immediately stepped in between us, her hands flying up to hold me back. "Ryophlira, stop this instantly!"
Aiyolistra stood behind her, locking eyes with me past Mother’s shoulder. She looked right at my glowing, furious face and let out a cold, mocking smile.
Suddenly, a strange, heavy pressure shifted in the air behind me.
Before I could even register the movement, a hand reached around my shoulder. A sharp, icy metallic sting drove violently forward straight through the center of my chest.
My breath caught in a choked gasp.
The light in my eyes instantly shattered. I looked down in absolute shock, watching a bloom of crimson stain the pristine cream lace of my bodice. I stumbled backward, my legs completely giving out from beneath the golden butterfly stilettos.
As I fell, Mother lean forward to catch my collapsing frame before I hit the floorboards. My vision began to rapidly blur, turning dark and heavy at the edges, the strength completely draining from my body.
Through the fading, hazy light of my closing eyes, I looked past Mother’s calm face. Aiyolistra was already turning her back, walking down the long corridor, her cold, ringing laughter echoing through the hall as the darkness completely swallowed me whole.
