The Stains of the Crown

Chapter Thirty Four

Trigger warnings: fear of miscarriage.

Smut warning.

It takes Lania three days to come to the castle. In that time, Damia had kept her distance. Things had stayed tense between Vix and I. Finley had been the one staying with me most of the time, which I didn't mind all that much. Still, I'd been missing Jovi. I'd let Finley and Jovi do most of the fake, 'getting to know each other,' bullshit. They were certainly better actors. Still, not being able to talk to Jovi about what she'd had to go through when I was being tortured bothered me to no end. Watching them pretend had become a bit of a sullen reminder of that fact.

"Echo," Sevas says, grabbing my attention. "Lania's waiting for you at the gate." I furrow my eyebrows.

"Why's she waiting at the gate?"

"I'm not sure. Isn't she the girl who kidnapped you for Mazus?"

"For her kid, yes."

"Then she's probably just worried about upsetting you. It's been a long time since you two have spoken." I sigh, nodding. "Are you two gonna be okay?" she asks as I stand.

"Oh, yeah. I'm not upset with her. I'd rather her daughter be safe." Sevas gives me a nod and a soft smile. I head down to the front gate, seeing Lania and her family still sitting on their horses. Lania gets down. Lilah immediately scrambles towards her mother's legs, seeming more shy than the first time we'd met.

"It's okay, sweetheart. You've met Echo before."

"Mazus said Echo was a monster," Lilah whispers, clutching at her mother's legs like someone might rip her away. If her words hadn't been enough to break my heart, that sight definitely was.

"Mazus was wrong, love. You can't listen to him," Acer says, setting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She just continues to hide. I try not to let it hurt me, especially since Mazus had tried to implant that same thought in my own brain. It wasn't her fault.

"Acer, I think Vix and Sevas are out in the gardens if you and Lilah would like to join them."

"What do you think?" he asks, crouching next to her. She nods, grabbing his hand. She keeps her distance from me as he leads her past me. I can't help but sigh.

"I'm sorry about her." I shake my head.

"No, I should've expected that." She furrows her eyebrows, staring me down for a minute.

"He did a number on you, didn't he?" I laugh, more out of surprise than anything.

"What gave it away?" She doesn't laugh, doesn't seem to find it even remotely amusing. I didn't either, but her reaction is a reminder of how truly bleak things had been. The fact she'd noticed the toll it had taken on me was just another reminder.

"You don't seem like yourself, though I guess that could be attributed to the pregnancy." I sigh, resting my hands on my stomach.

"That's his doing, too," I say grimly. She sighs, shaking her head.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," I shrug. She scoffs.

"I'm the one who kidnapped you and gave you to him. It is my fault."

"You did that for Lilah. Besides, even if you hadn't, he would've found another way to capture me. At least this way, Lilah's safe." She sighs heavily, shaking her head again.

"She's different now. I'm not sure what he did to her, but she's changed." I nod sadly.

"He's the master of mind games." I trace the scar over the tattoo on my wrist before continuing. "I don't blame her for being scared of me. He's had me afraid of myself since I got out."