ICE

134. Heartache

The announcement of the king's death was a royal affair. The moment that sunlight crossed the morning sky, the Imperial guards gathered citizens of the Capitol into the streets. Crowds clustered together around the edges of the palace and waited, with bated breath, for whatever bad news was to be delivered.

Eoin and Ravenna were bathed and dressed separately. Both were dressed in dark, inky outfits with violet colored accents. Eoin's usual Blood Knight cape was replaced with a cape made from black velvet. It had a violet colored underside that revealed itself whenever he moved. He wore a simple white-diamond crown with smaller faucets set within brilliant silver. Ravenna sported a new crown of her own — it matched the crown that Eoin wore, only instead featuring a mixture of small violet jewels and white-diamonds. 

Once they were deemed ready to face the kingdom, Eoin and Ravenna were lead out onto a balcony that overlooked the front entrance to the palace. Happy cheers and screams exploded through the air the moment that they were spotted. It vibrated the stone that Ravenna stood on.

It was overwhelming and, honestly, heartbreaking to her. She knew that the cheers would be short lived.

Eoin seemed to cling to her hand. His fingers curled tight around her palm, tight enough to hurt her. Heavy bruises covered the skin beneath his tired, red-rimmed eyes. His expression remained somber and somewhat stoic. He wasn't as skilled at hiding his emotions.

Ravenna cautiously scanned over the crowd, making sure not to focus on anything in particular. Every single human in front of her was small — so small and insignificant that their features all blended together in a blur. It was hard to pinpoint specific individuals, specific emotions. She stood so high above them that they looked like wildflowers in a massive field.

An unfamiliar woman stepped forward beside Eoin. The moment that she began to speak, Ravenna recognized her as the archbishop that had officiated the royal wedding. The archbishop sported darker robes of mourning, just as Eoin and Ravenna did.

The crowds became unusually quiet as the archbishop talked. With a sorrow-filled voice, she announced the death of the king, of Eoin's father. Then a moment of silence passed.Ravenna squeezed her eyes shut. The world had come to a complete standstill. There was no sound. No birds chirping, no frogs croaking, no humans breathing. She had never experienced a pained, shocked sense of quietness at this scale before.

Then the archbishop continued. She explained that three days of mourning would take place, each filled with magnificent feasts and prayer ceremonies for those who wished to mourn. All three days of mourning would be spent celebrating the life of an accomplished king.

The moment the grieving period ended, however, the heir to the throne would be crowned as the new king and a new era would begin.

Eoin seemed to brace himself as the archbishop's speech closed out. He stepped forward to face the crowds and deliver a small, thoughtful speech of his own. It did not last long and, the moment it ended, the royal announcement was deemed complete. The archbishop returned to the palace, with Eoin and Ravenna trailing behind.

The palace walls did little to drown out the heart-wrenching wails from the Capitol.

~

The three days of mourning passed swiftly. Each day, humans took to the streets — both young and old. They marched, danced, and ate their way through their feelings. They sobbed together. They mourned together.

On the last night of mourning, Ravenna found herself seated in her own bedroom, once again focused on Caelan's spell-book. She had most of the pages memorized, but his scribbles brought her an endless sense of comfort.

A knock sounded on her door. Before she could react, Eoin burst into her room. The door slammed shut and he swayed toward the seating area again. Ravenna watched, displeased, as he slumped into the chair and took a swig of his mead. She stood and walked over to him, claiming the chair beside him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him softly.

"I do not think that I can do this," Eoin whispered. He stared brokenly at the drink in his hands, watching the frothy bubbles that sat atop the liquid inside. "I am not ready. I can't go through with tomorrow."

Ravenna stayed quiet for a moment. The sorrow and pain radiated from him in palpable waves. She reached out and hesitantly touched his hand. "There are no other options," she reminded him softly. "You are the rightful heir to the throne. This is your birthright. Eoin, you have been groomed for this position since the moment you took your first breath."

He flinched.

"There is no one else that is better equipped for this position," she continued. "You had already taken on most of his responsibilities before he passed. You know what needs to be done and how to do it properly."

Tears glistened against his cheeks. He squeezed his red-rimmed eyes shut and sunk down further into his chair. Ravenna watched him, tears forming within her own eyes. She gently stroked the back of his hand with her thumb, rubbing small comforting circles against his skin. Eoin appeared to break down before her very eyes. His tears suddenly fell harder, a heavy stream that raced towards the ground. His shoulders shook as his chest heaved around heavy sobs.

Ravenna grimaced.

Her heart ached with Eoin. She watched him crumble into pieces and couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with guilt. He felt this way, right now, because of her actions. Ravenna killed his father. Ravenna caused the agonizing pain that he felt.

Eoin had been through so much in life. Losing his mother to an early death and then his father to alcohol. He had to pick up the remnants of his strength and secretly rule a kingdom, all while his father chased women and drank himself silly. His father was usually aggressive and incoherent — both learned behaviors that Eoin developed himself later on.

Yet despite everything, Eoin strongly loved and cared for his father. It was shown through the sacrifices that Eoin willingly made for him. It was obvious that he wanted nothing more than for his father to be happy, to be proud of him.

Now his father was dead. Dead and gone. Leaving behind a kingdom and a fractured son.

And it was all Ravenna's fault.

A burning sensation appeared against her chest. Her free hand automatically lifted, flattening atop the talisman to stifle its glow. It scorched her skin.

The guilt that she felt started to fade, replaced with a numbing coldness. All of her emotions vanished. Her tears dried and her throat cleared. She blinked and watched Eoin sob hysterically in front of her.

Eoin deserved this, she told herself. Her thoughts flashed back to his fingers curled tight around her throat. To the anger that he showed her. To the aggression. He was an abusive human weak to the thralls of alcohol. Just like his father.

And no amount of tears could change that.

~

Hello sweet friends! 

I hope that everyone is having an awesome Monday so far! I'm sorry for not uploading a new chapter last week. Things got a little wild on my end. To make up for it, I will be uploading two new chapters this week! One today and then I will try to post the next chapter on Wednesday/Thursday-ish. 

I really appreciate you all so much. Thank you for taking the time to read this book and for all the support that you've shown. You all are so unbelievably amazing! 

I hope that you have a super rockin' week and that you are staying safe/healthy! ❤

ash ❤