Forbidden Darkness (Whispers Prequel #1)

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

“Are you alright?” Nadir inquired, examining her features as if they held all the answers. Forcing a smile onto her face, Thyatira met his gaze.

“Of course I am” She replied coolly, holding his gaze for a few moments longer so he could see the seriousness in her eyes.

 Breaking his gaze, Thya looked around the room. She was seated at a long, timber table filled with Kitsunes, Amaryls and Tephras that had decided to make an appearance at her betrothal celebration dinner. There wasn’t one Whisper in sight, which saddened her. ‘The Whispers should be represented too. They’re as much as a part of this kingdom as the rest of us.’

Learning about Tanoan’s life really struck a chord for Thyatira. The world wasn’t as happy and cheerful as she thought it was. It had never occurred to her before that there were people within her kingdom suffering. The Kitsunes, Tephras and Amaryls had always lived peacefully together and treated each other with respect and as equals. The Whispers had never been bestowed that courtesy.

Thyatira had always believed that the Whispers were the evil creatures, that they’d been kept at arm’s length to protect the people. Their shadowy and mysterious nature had always supported this theory, but now she realised that they only kept to themselves to stay out of trouble and stop themselves from becoming a spectacle.

It surprised her how much the situation emotionally impacted her. This was her kingdom. No one should be suffering or being out-casted in her kingdom. Especially a creature that was as kind-hearted and caring as Tanoan is. The Whisper had been through more in his life then she could ever comprehend.

Ever since she’d been born, Thya had grown up in the castle with a loving family and everything she’d ever wanted had been given to her. Not once did she have to worry about not having friends, since she had Nadir. Or having nowhere to go or not have anyone to talk to. Until now she’d never had to question anyone motives, all her decisions had been made for her.

 Even the decision to marry Nadir had been made for her since she was just a child. It had always been expected that the two of them would be married and Thya hadn’t even realised that there were other options out there. That she could chose the path that she wanted and actually make a difference in the kingdom. The first thing she wanted to change was the way the Whispers were treated.

“My dearest Thyatira,” Nadir’s voice echoed around the large room, snapping her out of her thoughts and back to the present moment. Everyone had gone silent and all eyes were trained on the two of them.

“When we were just children I always told myself that I’d marry you one day. You’re my best friend and we’ve always had each other’s backs, no matter what. You’re the sweetest, gentlest, kind-hearted and definitely the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid my eyes upon. I’m still amazed that now I get to keep you all to myself forever. Maybe one day you’ll finally beat me in a race.” Nadir winked at her conspiratorially.

This time a genuine smile spread across her face until she remembered Tanoan’s words. ‘There’s a side of Nadir that you haven’t seen.’ The sentence echoed through her mind, making her smile disappear just as quickly as it. ‘He detests my very existence.’

‘But why would Nadir hate Tanoan so much? Was it all Whispers or did he just have something against Tanoan?’ Nothing made sense to her anymore. Everything just felt like one big lie to her. Glancing around she heard her family and friends wishing her well for her future with Nadir, patting her on the back and winking at her.

‘Is everyone lying to me? I know father certainly is. He knows more than anyone else does. Is Nadir in on it too?’ Two days ago she would’ve vowed that Nadir wouldn’t do anything to harm another creature. Now she was beginning to trust the word of a Whisper.

It had been a full day since she’d seen Tanoan, he’d been nowhere in the castle. ‘Father or Nadir must have him out running errands.’ The thought disgusted her. Tanoan deserved to have so much more. The Whisper had bigger dreams then being a servant his whole life and Thya was going to make sure that they’d come true.

“My beautiful princess,” Nadir began again, Thyatira almost felt frustrated at him for interrupting her thoughts for a second time, but she concealed all emotion off her face. “When my eyes captured this, I just knew that you had to have it.”

Touching her wrist for a few moments, Thya wasn’t even interested in what he was doing. Her thoughts kept attempting to wander elsewhere, but then her eyes caught hold of the piece that Nadir had attached to her arm. It was unique and unusual, definitely something that he would’ve gotten from the markets.

Examining the bracelet that clung to her wrist, Thya traced her fingers along the interwoven silver vines that formed the chain. Little gold flowers encrusted with amethysts dangled off the sides of the vines. There was no doubt in her mind that the bracelet was made from Amaryls

.Just having the piece on her arm made her feel more connected to nature. It was the same feeling that overtook her in her wolf form, but somehow it’d been bottled into a delicate, intricate bracelet. Thya could feel all the eyes in the room burning into her, as they waited for her to say something.

“Thank you, Nadir,” Was all she uttered.

 The disappointment that wafted off the people was almost tangible. They’d expected her to make a grand speech or declaration of love, like Nadir had. But Thyatira’s heart just wasn’t it at the moment. Seeing the smiles and laughter of the people surrounding her, Thya wandered how many of them knew the truth about the Whisper’s treatment.

Surely not everyone was blind to it like she had been. There’d be some people out there that would have witnessed the abuse and control. ‘But why wouldn’t they speak up? They could’ve made a difference!’ Thyatira screamed in her head. ‘How many people in this room have turned a blind eye on someone’s suffering just because they’re different?’

Watching her friends and family, Thya realised that just yesterday she’d been just as naïve as them. Seeing her father’s laughing, smiling face made a heat began to rise in her stomach. ‘He has to know that what he’s doing to Tanoan is wrong. His using the Whisper’s abilities for his own gain, letting Tanoan think he might be able to sway the king if he followed his every command.’

There was no amount of good deeds that Tanoan would be able to do that would change the king’s mind, he enjoyed having a servant too much. Thya could see that and on some level she knew that Tanoan had to have known that as well.

Suddenly she felt like an outsider amongst all these people. No longer could she pretend to laugh, smile and hear about their petty problems. They hadn’t experienced the revelations that she had. ‘I’m not going to turn a blind eye. I will make a difference!’ Thyatira exclaimed inside her mind and she knew she had to get out of this place, otherwise she’d burst.