Chapter3

Someone kept calling my name. I opened my eyes. I found myself in the infirmary.

"Sevran." Irem sat by my bed. Her eyes were red. She rubbed her face.

I looked at her. I asked in confusion, "Irem. What happened?"

She held my hand. Her grip was tight. "You slept for four days. You scared me."

Four days. I stared at the ceiling. During these four days, Kaelzen guarded Vesya. He diverted all royal healers to her room.

The Ash Gate would open tomorrow. I had one day left. Finally, the Duskthorn caravan would come to pick me up.

Irem choked on a sob. "Sevran. You need to know something. You had a miscarriage."

Miscarriage?

I touched my flat stomach. I felt a dull ache inside. I did not know I was pregnant.

"Two months along," Irem whispered. She wiped my cheek. "Vesya pushed you down the stairs. Then Kaelzen kicked your abdomen and caused the miscarriage."

I nodded. A mother's instinct took over. I burst into tears.

Suddenly, the heavy door slammed open.

Kaelzen strode in. His face was a mask of pure rage.

He stood over my bed. His jaw was tight. "Why did you kill her child?"

I looked at him. My pulse stayed steady. "I did not touch Vesya. She pushed me. Then you kicked me. Her pregnancy is a lie. Call a doctor. Check her body. The truth will come out."

His eyes darkened. Anger twisted his handsome face. He reached out. He grabbed my throat. He pulled me up from the mattress. I gasped for air.

"You disgust me," he snarled. His voice dripped with hate. "You slander her to cover your murder. She is kind. She would never fake a pregnancy."

He dragged me out of the bed. My bare feet hit the freezing floor. My bandages tore. Fresh blood seeped through my dress. It dripped onto the stone.

Irem jumped up. She grabbed his arm. "Let her go! She just woke up! She is bleeding!"

Kaelzen shoved Irem back. She hit the wall hard. "Shut your mouth. You side with a murderer. Speak again, and I will exile you. I tolerate no traitors."

He pulled me down the hall. My knees scraped the rough floor. Guards watched us. No one stepped forward. Kaelzen was the heir. His word was law.

He stopped at the next room. He threw me inside. I crashed onto the floorboards. I curled into a ball.

Vesya lay on a bed. She looked pale. She propped herself up.

"Sevran," Vesya wept. "I know you hate me. I never meant to compete with you. But why hurt my child? The doctor said it was a boy. How could you be so cruel?" She held her stomach. She cried loud.

Kaelzen knelt beside her. He dropped his anger. He kissed her forehead. "Hush. We will have another child. The gods will bless us."

Two tall guards stepped forward. They pinned my arms to the floor. I pressed my face against the cold wood.

"She wears a fake belly pad," I said. My voice was flat. "She cracked a blood pouch on the stairs. Check the floorboards. You will find the truth."

Kaelzen glared at me. He sneered. "You are insane. You think I will doubt her for your lies?" He stood up. He looked down at me.

"I would have spared your dignity. But you crossed the line," Kaelzen said. "I offered you a place here. You ruin it. Go to the ancestral stones. Kneel in the snow. Repent for my dead child."

The room was deadly quiet.

"If not," he continued, "pack your things. Give the bride title to Vesya. Leave my territory."

This threat meant nothing to me. My parents and Lothian waited for me. I was completely ready to leave.

I pushed the guards away.

I staggered to my feet.

I stood straight. I looked directly into Kaelzen's eyes. I felt absolute clarity.

"Alright," I said. My voice was steady.

Kaelzen frowned. He expected tears. He expected begs. My calm voice confused him.

I looked at him resolutely. I said, "Fine."

I turned around. I walked out the door. I did not look back.

Kaelzen watched her departing back. A strange unease crept over him. He pushed the feeling down. He convinced himself it was a trick. He stayed by Vesya's bedside.

Night fell over the Frostfang citadel.

Midnight arrived. Kaelzen left the healing ward. He walked to my room and wondered how I was faring now.

He opened the door. "Sevran."

No one answered him.

The fire in the hearth was dead.

He walked into the bedroom. He stopped. The wardrobe was wide open. It was entirely empty.

He walked to the desk. The drawer was empty. She took everything.

Panic hit him. He breathed fast.

"Sevran!" he yelled.

No one answered.

He stormed down the corridor. He kicked open the door to Irem's quarters.

Irem sat by the fading fire. She looked tired. She did not jump at the loud crash.

"Irem," Kaelzen demanded. He stepped inside. His voice shook with anger. "Where is Sevran? Tell her to stop playing games. Is she hiding here?"

Irem looked up. Her face was perfectly blank.

"Sevran?" Irem asked. "You told her to leave."

Kaelzen crossed the room. He stood over her. His fists were clenched tight. "I was angry. The blizzard is starting. She cannot survive out there tonight. Where is she?"

Irem stood up. She did not back away. She laughed. The sound was cold and bitter.

"She left," Irem said. "You told her to leave. She went back to Lothian. She accepted the Duskthorn marriage alliance."

Kaelzen froze. Duskthorn. Lothian was his ultimate rival.

"What nonsense are you saying?" Kaelzen scoffed. He pulled his pride around himself like armor. "She loves me. This is just a pathetic tantrum. She wants my attention. She would never choose Lothian over me. Tell her to come back."

"She is gone forever," Irem said softly. Her words pierced his arrogance. "You drove away the person who truly loved you. You are a complete fool."

Irem paused. She stepped right up to him. She looked directly into his eyes.

"You guarded Vesya for four straight days. You banned the doctors from Sevran's room. You didn't know why she was hospitalized." Irem said.

Kaelzen stopped speaking .

"Four days ago, you kicked Sevran on the stairs," Irem said clearly. "You caused massive bleeding. She miscarried. You killed your own real child with your own foot."

Kaelzen stood frozen. His hands shook violently.

He was utterly stunned. How is this possible?