"Crowns topple easily. Thrones crumble like dust. Hearts cease to beat. Thorns draw blood."
In a country torn into two, there should have been no room for mistakes. Especially not at the very core of the royal family. That was what she was. Yes, a...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Father! What on earth is going on?"
Irina exclaimed, pushing Oleg from their father's side.
She could feel Oleg glaring daggers at her but she didn't care as she peered over at her father.
"Irina?" King Andrei croaked, looking up at her with lidded eyes before closing them. His breathing was heavy, as if each breath took tremendous effort to take.
Tears threatened to fall from her eyes as she saw her father's state. He looked his worst, his eyes bugging out and his skin almost yellow. He looked more like a corpse than a living man.
"You're supposed to be in your bedroom, sister," Oleg said, busying himself. "Oh, maybe this is for the best. At least, now, I do not have to tell you myself that our father will pass soon."
Irina could vaguely hear him pouring himself a glass of brandy. She gritted her teeth. "You don't have to sound so happy about it, little brother."
He cringed, always hating to be reminded of his young age yet he had the nerve to chuckle. "I'll leave you to say your goodbyes."
She stopped him before he could leave. "You gave the command to arrest the people with me, didn't you? It was your orders, not father's."
"It was the king's orders, sister." He quipped, before grinning. "The future king, that is."
Oleg gave her a wave, leaving the room with the brandy still in his hand.
Irina turned back to her father, tears already slipping from her eyes. She reached for his hand, feeling the clammy skin. She knelt by her father's bedside, pressing his hand to her face. "Father, please. You can't die. Please, I still need you."
If King Andrei were to die, her despicable little brother would be king. That means that everything she and Aleksander wanted would be torn down before it even began.
If her ability had been suppressed under her father's rule, her ability would die with her under Oleg's rule.
She could not, would not let it happen. No matter what happened.
Irina looked up at her father, wiping away a tear and coming to a decision. "Forgive me, father. Some promises are meant to be broken."
At that, she grasped his wrist tightly and called to her ability, called to that thing that had lain dormant.
She willed his heart to beat faster, his blood to flow steadily. She willed his veins and arteries to function properly and soon, his skin had gone back to his natural color.
She had never tried to attempt healing someone with her ability, but she found that it came to her as naturally as it did her ability to hurt someone.
She continued to use more of her ability and it only took a few minutes, that her father had gone back to normal as if he was not even ailed with sickness.
