ICE

137. No Other Choice

A MOMENT OF silence passed between them and Ravenna simply stared at him, her expression incredulous. Her mouth hung open, lips parted around soundless words. Her brain fumbled for a believable explanation. Eoin ducked his head down and a sad laugh escaped him.

"Mylo thought that you might be using magic," he said. Pain flooded his eyes. "He mentioned it right before he left. I thought that he was crazy. I did not want to believe him."

Her blood raced through her veins, fueled with fiery anxiety. She curled her free hand into a tight fist, her nails digging deep into the skin at the base of her palms. "You are delusional," she insisted. "I am not using magic at all."

Eoin's fingers curled tight around the edge of her bed. He used it to push himself upward, onto his feet. He swayed slightly on his feet. His eyes squeezed shut for a moment as dizziness washed through him. "I should have known better," he murmured to himself. "Magic is the only explanation that makes sense. Not even the royal physician could figure out how my father died. His body showed no evidence."

"You aren't making any sense," she said.

He glared at her. "I felt pain when that...that thing was touched." He pointed at the blood-doll in her hands. "That thing is connected to me, isn't it? You are going to kill me next, aren't you?"

She realized that it was useless to argue with him. Seeing and holding the blood-doll in person was all the evidence that Eoin needed. He had been able to connect the puzzle pieces together on his own. She heaved a small sigh. "You gave me no choice," she told him.

He frowned at her, confused.

"Eoin, you are just like your father," she elaborated. She shook her head and met his gaze, an unspoken sadness swallowing her. Her hand gestured toward the bed. "You drink too much. You are abusive. You cannot act like you did not just force me onto that bed when I explicitly told you no."

"My father just died," Eoin snapped. His emotions exploded across his facial features, contorting them with rage. Tears pooled at the corners of his eyes. "You have no idea the amount of pressure I am under. I have a whole kingdom, millions of lives to take care of. There are so many lives that are dependent upon me."

Ravenna shook her head. "That is not a valid excuse," she told him. "You cannot just treat me like a toy or a piece of meat. I am your wife."

Eoin grimaced. His hands grasped at his head, fingers tangled in his hair. His eyes squeezed shut and he shook his head. His tears flowed freely now. "Stop distracting me. You are the one that killed my father. You are the evil one here," he growled.

"Am I though?" Ravenna asked him. She carefully balanced his blood-doll within her hands. Her talisman began to burn against her chest.

"You killed the king," Eoin hissed. "And now you are trying to manipulate me into thinking that I am the bad person here?"

She stared at him for a moment, her eyes narrowing. "I am not trying to manipulate you into believing anything," she said. "You are the one coming to conclusions for yourself."

He let out an incoherent shout and jabbed a finger into her direction. "You are a witch!"

"And you are a physically and sexually abusive drunkard," she shouted back at him.

Angry flames engulfed his eyes and a stream of curses echoed against the walls around them. He launched himself at her.

She was out of time.

Her next movements were quick. Before Eoin could reach her, Ravenna squeezed the blood-doll so tight that it burst within her hand. The gooey jelly-like substance burst through her fingers and fell toward the floor in thick globs.

Eoin fell to the ground. His head hit the hard stones with a sickening crack. Blood instantly began to pool around his head.

Ravenna stepped backward, until her back was pressed against the wall behind her. Shock tore through her body. Her stomach withered away, leaving behind a heavy, churning nausea that burned at the back of her throat. Hot tears pooled at the corners of her eyes and spilled down her cheeks, burning her skin. Her hands started to tremble in front of her as the last remnants of the blood-doll vanished.

"Oh god," she whispered.

A scalding sensation appeared against her chest. The talisman. Her palm flattened against her chest, pushing the scorching pendant harder against her flesh. The pain allowed her to focus, to think more clearly. She had to act fast. Ravenna squeezed her eyes shut and whispered a quick spell. Four menacing ice soldiers materialized in front of her, all surrounding Eoin's lifeless body.

Their weapons were drawn and aimed at her.

A high-pitched shriek escaped Ravenna's lips and echoed throughout the halls of the palace. Heavy footsteps instantly came running down the hall, toward her room. Within seconds, her bedroom door burst open and Imperial guards flooded through the room. Hands grabbed at Ravenna. She was yanked backwards, away from the ice soldiers that loomed over Eoin's fallen body, and was hastily ushered from the room.

Tears clouded her vision. Her broken sobs drowned out the sounds of fighting that emanated from her bedroom. The guards around her tried to move quickly, guiding her toward the throne room.

Memories flashed within Ravenna's mind. Memories of Eoin and the happy times that they had shared, before coming to the Capitol. Before she learned of his royal status. And for a moment, she genuinely felt sick to her stomach. She felt guilty.

But Eoin had to die in order for her plan to work.

She had no other choice, she told herself. 

~

Don't hate me! 😭 It had to be done!!

The next chapter will be posted tomorrow! I seriously set a reminder on my phone. I totally forgot last week to post the second chapter that I'd promised and I'm so sorry about that!!! My brain has just been kind of all over the place at the moment thanks to work. 

If that makes sense at all. 😂

Thank you for taking the time to read this book. I seriously appreciate you all so much!! ❤

ash ❤