Beneath the surface: Forbidden Love

Twenty One

Marisela

Regret and worry intertwine within me like a pair of serpents, their fangs sinking deep into my conscience. Regret gnaws at my heart, a relentless presence, as I replay the past few hours.

Worry, on the other hand, is the looming shadow of the future, casting doubt on the paths I've taken. It's the relentless "what now" that gnaws at my peace, like a storm cloud on the horizon. I fear the consequences of my decisions and their impact on what lies ahead.

Kael returns a few hours later. He was surprised to see me still awake when he walked in. I couldn't sleep at all since our argument.

"I thought you'd be asleep" he says, clearly still upset.

I sigh and look down at my fingers. So many things were swarming through my mind which made it difficult to sleep. Rosa kept playing in my mind and my worrying only worsened.

''I didn't know she was poisoned.'' Guilt flows out through every word. Kael doesn't respond, he doesn't even look my way.

''How?'' I get up off the bed and slowly walk towards him, ''She looked fine when I was with her, How could I have not noticed anything wrong with her."

''None of us knew, Marisela.''

''I don't understand, what happened?'' I ask him. Kael eventually sighs and finally looks at me. For the first time since our argument, I could actually see how much he's been hurting. This only made me feel even more guilty.

''One of the guards found her outside the castle gates," he tells me. "She looked fine but after, she started to complain about a headache so we took her straight to the pack doctor, only he didn't find anything wrong as well.'' Kael stops for a minute and walks over  to the balcony, I follow quietly behind, not sure if I was supposed to, but then he starts to speak again. ''She only got worse and none of us knew what was wrong.'' He grips hard on the railing, his knuckles turning white. He was hurting, and I felt like it was my fault.

I feared for Rosa.  How did I not know?

I slowly walk towards him. when I am finally stood behind him, his back was to my front. I wanted so badly to comfort him, but I didn't even know how to do that.

''We did all the tests,'' he speaks, his voice sounding far away, ''and we still didn't find anything wrong, I don't understand what's wrong.'' My heart was slowly breaking as I listened to the pain in his words.

''Kael,'' I hesitantly place my hand on his back, I could feel the electricity swarming through me from the touch. I know Kael felt it too. He's body still slightly tensed. ''I need to tell you what happened.'' Slowly after some time, he nods his head and turns to me. His face was cold and distant, but his eyes, God those eyes... They held so much emotion that it was breaking me inside.

I lift my hand and touch his face. He closes his eyes briefly as he leans into my touch. At least he didn't flinch away.

''I think I know what happened.'' I tell him and his eyes instantly open. "But I can't say for sure who did it, I'm still not certain on that."

''I know I told you, you needed to rest, but-''

''Its okay, Kael, I'm fine.'' I tell him, he looks at me and nods slowly.

As the sun starts to set, I feel a slight breeze, so I pull him back into the bedroom and towards the bed.

''Please sit.'' I tell him and he complies, but I don't follow him, instead I stand before him, raking my brain on how I would put into words what has happened.

Suddenly, I start to feel hot. Like I was burning up inside. It was a foreign feeling. Kael watches me quietly. I start to pace back and forth trying to calm myself down.