Inferno Hearts

Turning Tides

Manik's POV

"This has been the third assassination attempt on my life in the past six years, and frankly, I am getting quite bored of them." I drawl, my eyes fixed on the chandelier that now resembles a mountain of haphazardly broken crystals. "Perhaps our kind friends should do it once, but do it right, instead of wasting both their time and mine."

Amongst the rubble are the remains of the breakfast that was meant to find its way into my mouth, and not make love with the marble on the floor.

"Bored?" Cabir echoes, his glare boring holes into the side of my head.

"What a nuisance," I whisper under my breath. "Sebastian, perhaps I will take you up on that offer to put you in charge of my armed men. Maybe then we can put an end to this monotonous game of cat-and-mouse."

"Most certainly, Your Highness. If only you'd accepted my proposal all those years ago, no one in this world or the next would have even dared to touch a hair on your head in these past couple of years." If I had the energy to do so, I would reprimand Sebastian for the bucketful for over-confidence that is dripping from his words.

"Manik, matters of the state cannot be taken so lightly," Cabir reprimands me, instead. "Perhaps we should first allow the council to sit down and discuss whether or not Sebastian is even capable of taking up such an honourable responsibility."

"Perhaps." I murmur, nodding my head in agreement, but my eyes are still fixated on the scene of the crime. Would it be such a terrible occurrence if one fine day the assassins were successful in their attempts? The thought further hardens my resolve to appoint Sebastian as the head of my men; his incompetence is exactly what will allow me to meet my goal. Such a death will bear no shame upon my family name and I will be able to attain the very thing that is just out of my grasp nowadays, peace.

If not for Cabir today, it would have been my day to bid goodbye to the torment that burns the blood in my veins day in and day out. For fuck's sake, even my nights are plagued with this ailment. Recalling an evening when I have been able to shut my eyes and not be haunted by nightmares is a far fetched dream for me.

Alas, I wish they were nightmares that I loathe, but instead they are the short moments of reprieve during which I can see her; almost as if she were real. Unfortunately, they do not last for very long, and every single hour when I wake up - drenched in the folds of my own sweat - I'm thrust back into my very own hell - one in which she does not exist. Thus, for me those dreams are nothing but mere nightmares; for although I chase them, and wish to prolong them, they are just a bitter reminder that the beautiful life I once shared with her is now shattered, just like the crystal chandelier that lies in ruins in front of me.

"Manik, I need to have a word with you," Cabir says.

"Go ahead," I urge. Is this how I shattered her dreams of bearing our child? Did her heart break into a thousand tiny pieces that could never be put back together, just like this chandelier, because of me? Is this crime so grave that I deserve to be punished for the rest of my life for it?

"In private," Cabir adds, his hand coming to rest on my shoulder, as if he can pull me back from the spiderweb of my thoughts by doing so.

"Okay," I agree. With one last look at the destruction that lies in the centre of the dining hall, I turn on my heel and leave the rubble behind me. If only I could turn my back on the haunting thoughts that plague my mind just as easily.

"I-I'll ensure that this mess is cleaned up by lunch!" Sebastian calls out from behind me.

*****

"You need to find a wife." Cabir spits out his words in a rush, as if he will lose the courage to say them out loud if he wastes another second without voicing them out loud.

"But I am already married." Although I am surprised that Cabir has the audacity to broach this subject with me, I am unfazed by his doing so. Perhaps because I knew that sooner or later, if not him, then one of my advisors was bound to bring it up. What is a king without his queen, and an heir?

"Manik, I am serious." Slapping his palms onto my table, Cabir stares at me from between hunched shoulders. "Nandini's gone, our kingdom does not have an heir, and people are quite evidently trying to get rid of you as a daily habit now." Given that I do not have the energy to argue with Cabir, I continue to stare at him.

"Oh for crying out loud, Manik!" Cabir yells, throwing his hands up in the air. "You are taking down a whole reign of our lineage because of a bloody woman!"

"Watch your fucking mouth," I spit, my fist wrapping around the dagger that is strapped to my hip. "You are speaking about my queen, and the queen of these lands. Do not utter words of disrespect."

"Or what, Manik? You're going to slice my throat with that dagger of yours?" Cabir scoffs, nodding his chin in the direction of my weapon. "Well, then go right ahead because I'd rather die at the hands of one of my own than be enslaved, and tortured by our enemies."

"And I'd rather let this kingdom burn and go up in flames than betray my Princess like that by giving myself to another." Lips pursed, Cabir stares me straight in the eyes, refusing to back down from his argument. Unflinching, I meet his gaze head-on.

I have made a ton of sacrifices for this kingdom, and my people, but I will not protect it at the expense of my beloved. There is only one queen who deserves to rule over these lands, and my heart. No one else is allowed to share so much of a morsel of what is hers.

An urgent knock at the door forces Cabir and I to bring our battle of wills to an end. Clearing my throat, I nod towards Cabir to let whosoever has a fire burning under his behind to be let in.

"My Lord, I have come bearing news regarding the assassins." A male voice speaks to Cabir from across the threshold of the door. Nodding, he steps aside, and allows the visitor entry into our midst.

"Your Highness," the guard greets me, bowing his head. "My men and I have received news that the assassins who have been putting your life at risk for all these years reside in the town that is but a stone's throw away from our palace walls. With your permission, we would like to bring them into our custody and question them, to ensure that the information we were given is accurate."

"Indeed," I agree. "You may go and retrieve them today before sundown, and I would like to be informed once they arrive in our palace."

"Most certainly, Your Highness." The guard offers me another nod of respect. However, just as he is about to leave the room, a thought strikes me.

"Wait!" I call out, making him halt in his tracks. "I would like to accompany you and your men for this journey."

"Manik what - " Cabir exclaims. Raising my index finger, I cut him off mid-sentence.

"We shall gather in the grounds in an hour's time," I instruct the guard.

"We shall await your arrival, Your Highness." Without another word, the man exits the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Manik, what is wrong with you?" Cabir cries out. "Are you truly going to accompany your men on such a menial journey?" Not obligated to offer him an explanation, I simply shrug my shoulders.

However, the truth of the matter is, each day for the past six years has been one monotonous cycle after another. Nothing in my schedule changes, and nothing in my routine alters itself. Today at last, there has been a disturbance in that redundant cycle and I'll be damned if I let the opportunity slip through my fingers.