The Lost Knight (Volume IV) The Lost Prince

Chapter 2: Your Fault

I'm rescued from my nightmare when a flick on the nose wakes me. I open one eye and see Dathid's smug face resting on the pillow next to me. I rollover.

"Go away," I groan.

"I've been gone this entire time, and you can't even say hello?"

"Hello. Go away."

My brain replays images of the last time he came back to Cromsmead. I was thrilled he returned. It hurts remembering being happy. I shut those thoughts down and close my eyes. If I lie still for long enough, my body will go into a twilight haze. I won't dream, but I won't think either.

Dathid gets up from the bed and heads toward the door. I want to feel either happy or sad that he's leaving, but I feel nothing. The numb fog is already enveloping me. The covers are whisked from me with such force it creates a violent chilling wind. I would kick him, but that's the reaction he's looking for. Instead, I curl up in a ball to conserve heat.

He grabs my foot and sends me flying to the floor.

"Are you crazy?" I yell. "I'm injured, you moron! I've only just recovered. Are you trying to break me again?" I wave my freshly unbandaged hand up at him.

He squats down, so we're face-to-face. "Re-cov-ered," he says irritatingly slow.

I smack him across the face with my recovered hand. Fire burns in his eyes as he lunges for me. I scream and jump to my feet, but he tackles me. I roll over and punch him in the shoulder. I would've hit his jaw, but he deflected it. I kick him in the back and roll to my feet again. He grabs my ankle, and I face-plant into the rug.

Rage seethes up from the depths of my being. I slap him again, but it's not a well-coordinated, highly trained fighting move. It's a stupid childish whack to the shoulder. I cuff him with my other hand, and he grabs my wrist. I slap him and scream in his face. "This is your fault! I hate you! How could you let this happen? You're so stupid!"

I hit and scream until my voice cracks and my words fail. My hands are numb, and my arms hurt. He's not fighting back. He's letting me hit him; blame him.

I look into his sad eyes and burst into tears.

He pulls me into a strong embrace, and I sob so hard I don't produce tears. We sit on the floor, and he rocks me like a child and strokes my hair. I don't deserve this comfort. I didn't know how badly I needed it until Dathid gave it to me.

He consoles me well after my tears cease. "What am I going to do? How can I walk among these people that have been so kind to me? Trelix! What I did to Carfron. Lenox is missing." The tears start again.

He strokes my hair but doesn't answer.

I press against him, afraid to let him go. Afraid the darkness will come back. "I don't know how to go on. I don't know how to get over this. I can't even mourn them because I'm the one that killed them. Please, tell me how to make this right. How do I make it go away?"

When he doesn't answer, it's because he can't. He doesn't have an answer. I have a magic wand, but it won't turn back time.

I break our embrace and stand without looking at him. He wraps an arm around me and guides me to the sofa. I rest my head on his shoulder as he strokes my arm.

"Agatha, from what I was able to gather. Stratagor Ziras told you his side. He sounds like a charming enough man, so why wouldn't you give him the benefit of the doubt? That's all you did. You were not free to make any choices. Had you strayed from the route he set for you, he would've shot down your...he would have killed you."

"I didn't have to believe him."

"Agg, he told you the truth as he saw it. It's believable. Granted, he left out a lot of details. Frankly, I blame the council. They should've been more open and forthcoming with their knowledge. Had you been armed with many more facts, you would've not been so susceptible. But even so, you were taken prisoner by the Salt Demons and delivered to Stratagor Ziras by those stupid Chimnockies."