King's Sword

The Fall: Part Two

VANCE

"Welcome, Christopher." Adelaide says with a sweet smile at her uncle and the room becomes eerily quiet and still. I can hear my heart beating in my neck, and see the way Julianna tucks her sister behind her.

Christopher turns to examine everyone when his eyes land on me, they flinch slightly but quickly move back Adelaide. He's older than I remember him, skinnier, but perhaps that has something to do with the amount of hospitalizations he's had since I saw him last.

"What's he doing here?" The pig asks Adelaide with a gesture my way.

"He's my husband." Adelaide says with her hand on my back, and amidst all the rage, hearing her call me her husband sparks me with unfiltered joy. "I'm glad you could make it." She lies as she draws small circles on my back.

Rosie stares at the ground with distaste, only looking up at Adelaide and I in the center of it all. Christopher uses his cane to approach us slowly, eying the decorations and the guests in attendance as he does. While I keep a reassuring hand on Adelaide's back, I feel her begin to shake.

"That's far enough." I say to him, making his foggy brown eyes shoot up to me before he scoffs. I should have killed him years ago.

"Where's the birthday boy?" Christopher asks Adelaide as she steps closer to me slightly, but he seems preoccupied with staring at one of our catering girls to notice.

"Here, uncle Chris." Dallas says as he rushes into the kitchen with a smile that makes me search for Morgan in the crowd. She glances over at me and nods once with a bored look. Of course she gave him something to make sure he wasn't a complete wreck tonight.

"What's wrong with Dallas?" Adelaide whispers up at me with a worried frown. I shake my head and pull her in close enough that she's pressed against my side as I lower my mouth to her ear.

"If you were ever to depart, you'd take with you my lungs, my brain and heart. Give me your storms, your sorrows and rage, so that we shall never be apart again." I whisper to her truthfully, fearing what Dallas' actions might do to her beautiful bleeding heart. I pull back to look at her stare up at me with curious glossy eyes.

"I don't know that one." She whispers back to me as a smile creeps up on her face.

"I wouldn't expect you to, he's just some amateur lovesick dog." I say, watching her smile grow wider before I wink at her. "There is no darkness you will wander alone." She nods softly up to me.

"There is no darkness I will wander alone." She breathes out clearly before standing on her tiptoes and kissing the corner of my mouth. "I will make a writer out of you." She teases me quietly as she returns her eyes to her family.

"Good luck, little one." I reply while pulling her to mingle with her other friends. As much as Cam irritates me, he is harmless and will keep her talking forever. "Didn't you say her current favorite author just released an extended version of her first book?" I ask Cameron as I point down at Adelaide with my eyes. He turns to me curiously, clearly not expecting me to be addressing him without Adelaide's prompt, but he still takes the bait.

"Yeah, I thought you'd be all over that by now." He says down to her when her eyes widen.

"You're kidding." She says, apparently starstruck by the news, and I'm very grateful for the news subscription I receive every morning on current book releases. I search for Morgan in the crowd and clear my throat when I find her.

"Morgan's calling me." I say to Adelaide who simply waves me off as I smile and walk to the other side of the kitchen. "What did you give him?" I whisper to the old witch who fixes herself a plate of finger food.