The Death of a Tyrant's Concubine

CHAPTER 48 - The March Began

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【𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐉𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐄】

Two weeks slipped by in the blink of an eye. Somewhere along the way, Sylvos and I had fallen into a strange routine. I kept him company most nights while he worked, and when the candles burned low, I shared his bed.

Though I couldn't stand being in his presence, I couldn't deny the peculiar comfort of sleeping beside him. For reasons I couldn't explain, the nightmares that had plagued me since my revival never came when he was near. And the absence of those terrors was a relief I had never thought I'd cherish.

How ironic...

The very man who plagued my nightmares was also the key to getting rid of them.

Alas, winter was not forever.

That morning, I stood on the balcony as the first light of dawn stretched across the sky. The snow had melted into silvery streams, and small buds were pushing through the thawed earth in the garden below.

Though winter always held its own beauty, spring had forever been my favorite. It was the season of rebirth. Of new beginnings. It was when even the dragons rose from their slumber.

I hope Mistfang is well...

While I watched the sun climb higher, Ryn's voice suddenly murmured close by.

"Happy birthday, Rainey," he said.

A smile touched my lips.

Of course he knew...

"My whole family have their birthdays in spring," I said softly. "Claude will turn twenty-five next month... And sweet Skye will turn fifteen after that..."

I breathed in the fresh air, letting it fill my lungs.

I didn't feel my age at all. Though I was technically twenty today, I felt like a hundred.

Ryn's voice came again, a little excited.

"Do you want to see your birthday gift?" he asked.

I frowned and unfastened the dagger from my hip.

"You got me a gift?"

"Don't look yet!" he warned. "It's a surprise..."

I chuckled at that.

"And what could a ghost possibly have gotten me?"

Ryn's laugh was low and soft, almost fond.

"You shouldn't underestimate me so much, mortal..."

I couldn't see him, yet I felt his presence close, almost as if he stood right behind me. His voice brushed my ear like a whisper of wind.

"You can look now," he said.

Intrigued, I slowly lifted the dagger and tilted it to catch the reflection.

My breath caught.

Though in reality my chamber seemed normal, neat with my trunk sitting upon my bed, in the dagger's reflection, it was completely transformed.

Every inch of the chamber was blanketed with flowers — an endless sea of breathtaking colors blooming brightly. And not just any flowers either...

Snapdragons.

A sob caught in my chest, and tears welled in my eyes.

Snapdragons were such a nostalgic memory from Drakfjord... Sprouting wild and free across every field during spring. Their fiery colors had been the backdrop of my childhood... Even Skye only wore dresses in the same hues as them.