The Art of Courts and Lies (Book 1 in The Gifted Trilogy)

48- A Proposal

The two simple words sent me stumbling back slightly as I felt a shiver of surprise run down my spine. For a moment I couldn't remember how to form words. After a few long moments the tool came back to me.

    "Are you always this romantic to your prospective suitors or am I just lucky?" I asked, a burst of laughter bubbling in my chest. He couldn't be serious. He couldn't honestly-

    But as he took my hand gently into his, I realized that he was. With a gaze that seemed to burn into my own, he spoke in a pleading voice. "He can't protect you, Wren, and I know you don't believe that is important but you don't know Nox like I know him. He is cunning and manipulative and he will stop at nothing until he either has you as his prisoner or he's killed you. At least if you were the Queen of the Ocean Court he would hesitate in his plans."

    "He'd hesitate because he would know that he's already won" I argued back, pulling my hand out of his. "I'd be under your thumb and I'd be tied to your court. By marrying you I'd strip away any freedom I had left and tie it all to you."

    "But you'd be alive, Wren!" Marlowe exclaimed, distress fueling his words. "You'd be right at my side and as long as you were there, Nox wouldn't be able to harm you. I'd make sure that not a single one of them could touch even a hair on you."

    "And what do you gain out of all this?" I questioned him. "Because this proposal surely can't be fueled by genuine feelings that you have for me. What is it that a non-Gifted like me can give you?"

    Marlowe slowly shook his head. "Oh Wren, I'm sure you're aware of the fact that you are most certainly not non-Gifted."

    His words struck me as a realization took place. "So that's what you're after. You saw what I could do against Nox. You want that source of power for yourself. You think that if he ever does attack your Court that I'd be able to hold him off, to keep him from harming your people."

    "Is that such a selfish idea?" he snapped back. "To see the potential you have inside to protect innocent people? To grant you an opportunity to use your abilities, not for destruction, but for preservation?"

    "You mean to use me as a weapon" I countered, letting out a bitter laugh. "And for that alone, you'd be willing to marry a woman who would never love you back."

    Marlowe flinched at my words as he looked away. "You could learn to love me" he whispered, a soft hopefulness to his voice.

    My heart squeezed at the sincere hope behind his words. "No, I couldn't" I responded, my voice both gentle and certain. "Because every time I'd look at you, all I would be able to see would be that ice wall. All I'd be able to think about is the fact that Nox would be dead right now if it wasn't for you. That my tormentor and keeper of my nightmares would be stone cold right now, if it wasn't for your intervention. I don't forgive easily, Marlowe, and I'll never forgive you for keeping that monster alive."

    "What were my alternatives, Wren?" he cried out in an exasperated voice. "If I had let that dagger kill Nox then the entire Shadow Court would be in utter chaos. Nox has no living relatives and has yet to produce an heir. What would happen to the Shadow Court's throne? Who would take his place? Who would attempt to topple the whole thing over? In the struggle for power between the Gifted and the non-Gifted, who would succeed at grasping power? Any threat to another king's crown is a threat to my own as well. Everything affects everything."

    "You can't stop the inevitable, Marlowe" I replied as he began to pace. "War is coming to Naturian. Whether it simply be Nox against me or Kingdom against Kingdom, blood will be shed. You can't stop the slaughter."

"No, but I can prolong it" he argued, whipping towards me. "I can keep it from reaching my people. I can keep it from toppling my crown."

My heart thudded as I took another step back from him. "That's what you're so afraid of" I breathed out. "You're not scared of the innocents that will die at the hands of Nox. You're afraid that this war will lead to an uprising from the non-Gifted. You're afraid that someone will destroy your throne and any claim you have to it."

Marlowe didn't even attempt to deny my statement. "If you haven't realized yet, crowns tend to fall in the face of war." His voice was tired, revealing how draining this conversation was on him.

I turned my gaze past him to the six empty thrones that rested in the front of the room. How many lives had been sacrificed for those thrones? How many innocents killed to ensure that a Gifted remained on the throne?
    "And maybe they should fall" I muttered.

Marlowe let out a bitter laugh. "You insist that you don't want to see the death of innocents yet you propose the overthrow of an entire government."
    I shrugged. "You state that you make your decisions based on the good of your own people yet you'd back the side of a self-proclaimed murderer who rules over his people with fear and suppression."

"And which side are you backing?" he sneered. "The one being led by a man who began his reign with the massacre of his family? One who has countlessly proven himself to be as cold and merciless as Nox himself?"

"I'm sure he appears that way to you" I muttered. "Seeing as you're looking at him from the opposite side of a battlefield."

Marlowe let out a heavy sigh. "He's a murderer, Wren."

"And you're a coward!" I snapped back, my voice sharp with ice that intended to cut. "Which is the worst one to have on your side when you're on the brink of war, I wonder?"

"Wren, please-" Marlowe tried again but I refused to hear any more excuses leave his spineless lips. Turning my back to him, I headed for the throne doors.

"Goodbye Marlowe. This is the last we will see of each other for a long time. If my answer wasn't clear enough already, I reject your proposal of marriage."

Opening the doors, I turned to cast one more look behind me at the man I had weeks ago thought to be my strongest ally. I believed that he was the most merciful of the kings. The most human.

Now I knew the truth. None of us were truly human anymore. We had given a part of that up the moment we accepted the rule of monarchs over our land.

My voice came out strong and unwavering, the way I assumed it would sound in an alternate universe where I had actually become Marlowe's queen.

"I do sincerely hope that the next time we see each other won't be on opposite sides of a battlefield."

Marlowe nodded sullenly. "Until the time comes where we find out ourselves."

At that, I allowed the door to shut behind me and headed down the hall towards Kess's bedroom where he and Porter were currently waiting for me.