The Cursed Kingdom

FORTY-TWO

~ BETRAYAL ~

All I could see was pure, utter red as the door slammed shut behind me and I stormed inside Henrik and I's bedroom, my heartbeat running a mile a minute.

"Get away from her!" I shouted, running towards them with the intention to pry Jerium's hands off of Oriana, the sight making my heart sink to my toes. The moment I saw him so close to her, that same sensation of helplessness that I'd felt when my mother and the twins had died seized my body. It was all I could feel except for the scorching anger pulsing through my veins.

The hybrid looked surprised to see me, scared even, and he let go of her so quickly that his hands were mere blurs of pale skin in the air. He nearly stumbled into the bedpost as he backed away.

Jerium's hair was wild around his head, dark circles surrounded his eyes, and his boots were covered with mud as if he had been endlessly walking for miles on foot. His unkempt appearance made me uneasy. Jerium wasn't supposed to be back for another week and the reason as to why he had returned so early was a mystery to me.

"I'm trying to help," Jerium told me as calmly as he could muster despite the nervousness building behind his eyes as he took in my approaching form, fists planted at my sides and aching to hit something.

Jerium looked to a stunned-looking Oriana, and I ground my teeth together when I felt a shift in his magic, like he was preparing to use it against me.

The thought had my pulse quickening to an unhealthy rhythm, pounding against my temple like a drum of war.

"Get out," I gritted through clenched teeth and my nostrils flared in rage as I continued to walk towards him but this time slower and with squared shoulders, the thought of yielding never once entering my mind as a possibility.

I just wanted him gone.

"Raena, stop." Oriana grabbed my shoulder and turned me around to face her, her hands on my upper arms anchoring me in place. My eyebrows furrowed, confused by her calm composer. Her eyes scanned my face, softening when she noticed my swollen, red eyes and heaving chest that was full of unreleased emotions. "It's okay. He's telling the truth," she told me slowly and I wanted to scoff at the meaning behind her sentences.

I wanted to scream and cry and kick and shout and tell the whole world that nothing could ever be okay again—that Henrik had destroyed everything—that we had both destroyed it.

Oriana slowly turned me towards Jerium, gesturing to him with a sweep of her hand. The sight of her thin wrist made me wince with concern and disgust for what she'd been put through. "Raena, this is Jerium—my friend."

I blinked, looking at Oriana and then back at Jerium.

I blinked again.

"What?" I exclaimed, staring at the hybrid who massaged the back of his neck awkwardly with the pads of his fingers. His eyes remained glued to the ground and his body subtly leaned away from me as if he wished to be anywhere else but there. "What do you mean friend?" I sneered the last word and Jerium visibly flinched, his cheeks turning a faint hue of guilty red.

"Raena, I know it sounds strange and I'll explain everything later, I promise. But right now we need to focus on how we're going to get out of this place," Oriana said, her motherly tone adding to my confusion. It was too gentle to be discussing such somber things.