In the Shadows~zayn au~Completed ✅EDITING

~Chapter 31: Secrets~

Not gonna lie, this week has been rough and it's only gonna get worse, cuz midterms are here. Can't promise if I'll have an update next week cuz of it! Sorry!

UPDATE: Wattpad figured itself out, so the following chapter is dedicated to AngeleeG because she's pretty stinkin' awesome!! Awesome voting, awesome commenting, and just general being awesome. #stayexcellent. And that's how you get a dedication people. Lots of being awesome + voting + commenting.

Kalysta's POV

The minute the sails were unfurled and the anchor retracted she felt her stomach lurch. This time, though, she was able to control the urge to retch. It was controllable, but still miserable. She wished she could have some privacy in which to be miserable, but there was nowhere in her room to be sick if the need arose.

She tried moving about the deck again, but eventually resigned herself to curling upon the extra sail fabric again. Sleep made the time pass more quickly at least.

—- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —— —-

"Princess, you're supposed to be watching this," a voice said.

Kalysta opened her eyes and looked around. She was sitting in the council chambers. What was going on? She stiffened in surprise as the scene took shape around her.

Prince Niall of Mullingar sat next to her at the table of the council chambers. In front of them, Mullingan guards held her father, mother, and brother on their knees and had swords to their throats.

"You understand, we can't have any threats to our rule, don't you?" the Prince asked, his low voice cajoling, even comforting, which belied the fear and anger she felt. "They have to go and you need to agree with it, or you'll join them." His tone turned sinister at the last.

She tried to cry out, to protest, to fight back, anything, but all of her body seemed frozen. Every part of her was immoveable and, as she sat there silent, the guards dragged the blades across the throats of their prisoners, her family.

Red lines appeared on their necks where the blades had been and as blood poured from the wounds all three wore shocked expressions. Then, as one, their dead eyes turned to look at her, accusing and angry. They seemed to say "Why didn't you stop this?"

She woke weeping, shuddering.

"Princess Kalysta?" someone shook her. "Are you well?"

She couldn't answer.

The person put their arms under hers and pulled her into a sitting position.

"Princess Kalysta, what happened?" The voice and the arms belonged to the Ambassador.

She looked up at him, still shuddering, then covered her eyes, trying to scrub away the image of her family dying in front of her. It didn't work. Nor did it erase the irrational guilt that had welled up inside of her.

"I'll be well, soon enough," she answered, her voice shaking with the rest of her. "Just a dream."

"Alright, men, that's all," Louis' voice rose up. "There's nothing to see here. As you were. Back to your jobs."

"A dream?" the Ambassador asked, pulling her hands away from her face. "What sort of dream would cause such pain? You shouted loud enough to alert the entire ship."

She felt his fingers swipe at the tears that were now falling down her cheeks. An involuntary gasp escaped her at the contact. No matter how often he touched her she wasn't prepared for it.