Eternal Sins

•Chapter Nineteen•

Returning with a victory somehow felt like the weight of a scorching loss.

By the time Ben returned to his castle, his grounds, with Cordelia in tow, some of her injuries had already been healed.

But the pain in Henry's eyes as he looked over her face, her bruised lips and cheek, the chopped side pieces of her hair to rid of the matting, was disheartening. More than anything, he could see her broken spirit, which was the whole reason Ben rushed home. Cordelia needed Henry.

The sting of her rushing to his arms in the foyer, the urgency in her need for him to comfort her, it reminded Ben of what he thought he no longer had.

Eva was not far off after getting word of Ben's arrival, Cedris close on her tail. She looked rested, bright, and Ben wasn't sure if he should be grateful or not.

Her deep red hair had been pulled into a knot on her haid, held together by multiple sticks and pins. Due to the season, she was in a layered floor skirt that slit to white woolen stockings then a loose, shoulder gaping sweater.

Her eyes brightened at the sight of Ben but clouded quickly as Cordelia looked to her friend.

"Cordelia, I'm so sorry," Eva was the first one to speak, everyone just taking in the energy of the room. It was somber, the flames on the walls low.

"I had to pay you back, my Queen," Cordelia answers, referencing her guilt for the winter solstice. Henry refuses to let go of her, even as Eva nears, grabbing a hold of Cordelia's arm.

"A price paid triple fold. You didn't deserve this."

Cedris and Ben lock eyes for a moment, assessing the other.

Cedris appeared strained. His jaw was locked, his own eyes tired and haunted. His hair was growing to an unruly length, his clothes bulky around his suspenders.

Ben himself looked as any man would after days of horseback travel; exhausted and in need of a bath.

A gasp from Cordelia, blood rushing to her face as Eva's eyes turn over to black. They hadn't done such a thing in a long time, since her arrival back at her family's farm.

The grip Eva has on Cordelia hardens and everyone in the room watches as Cordelia's skin returns to healed and glowing, while Eva's takes on each detail of her friend's beating.

"It is my burden to carry from here on out," Eva explains to her, Cordelia's eyes widening in shock. Henry watches with a nod of approval and Eva returns it.

Ben instantly hated it, despite her nobility. She was fragile enough, she did not need to take on physical ailments on top of it.

"You can transfer?" Cedris speaks, his face bewildered.

"I wanted to," Eva answers him simply, "and so I did."

He raises an eyebrow at that, "you continue to amaze me." And the sentence makes Ben ball his fists.

Henry clears his throat, feeling the building tension, "let's get you to bed," he whispers to Cordelia to leave the three to themselves.

The trio face each other a few feet apart, eyes wondering around the room.

It was pulses, angry static shooting in a triangle through the three of them. Anger and frustration and nibbling, crawling waves of need.

Eva could feel it drape over her body, her skin sensitive to the flames that grew tall now on the walls. A seventy foot high fire reaching through to her throat, lacing her words, hesitant to jump into Ben's arms. "I missed you dearly."