TMBIPYMEN Chapter 26

His unexpected question left Laila's mind white and blank.

What was she truly afraid of? Was he really asking that now? Of course—the latter.

To become the Crown Prince's wife was to stand before all the world and declare, I am a witch—there was no difference. She would wear no hood to conceal her hair. She would don those stifling, constraining garments she had never worn before and become a spectacle.

"I am not a three-eyed beast! I am not a court jester to perform tricks before nobles! You may think otherwise. Perhaps you believe a witch's existence is precisely that—some thing to be gawked at. But I am not. I am human. Human, do you understand?"

Her cry cut through the quiet garden like fractured glass, sharp and wounding. Tears finally broke free from her clenched eyes. Her shoulders quivered, her fists gripped so tightly her knuckles blanched white.

Yustar listened to her sob in silence, then carefully wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"Laila, look at me."

"No. Go away. Leave me alone."

"I cannot do that now. Look at me. Please."

Look at him. Laila felt she would go mad from the other voice—that inexplicable presence—sounding within her mind.

Yustar's words became something she could not refuse. That unnamed voice grew steadily clearer—like a plant taking root in her heart, growing ravenous and thick.

Laila's gaze shifted slowly. Her reddened eyes, brimmed with tears, gleamed like pomegranate seeds.

Yustar spoke, "No one will treat you that way. Not if you become my wife. Not if you leave your hair and eyes uncovered. No one will mock you. I promise. I realize I may have forgotten to mention it—but I am the one and only brother of the King who rules Sierrow. There is only one person who can command me: His Majesty himself."

"And if he mocks me? Then you cannot stop him, can you? If he orders me to move like a beast on all fours before everyone—you cannot prevent that!"

"My brother is not such a man."

"Your brother is insane!"

Laila shoved at his chest. He did not move.

"Laila, trust me. My brother is not mad. I do not know what drives him to wish our marriage—and if I asked, he likely would not answer. He could have explained then, in that chamber, but he chose not to. Nevertheless, I would swear on my life: His Majesty will never mock you or make sport of you unjustly. And if he does, I will stop him."

Laila regarded Yustar's solemn face. She could see that his words were truth.

For reasons she could not name, she knew—not because she wished to believe, but the way one simply knows the stars will rise when the sun sets. It pierced through her mind as clear and certain as that.

Yustar continued.

"But from your position, I cannot imagine you wish to marry me. We have known each other less than a week, and as I said before, you are a person who does not need love. So let me propose something: an agreement."

Laila did not wish to answer. She did not wish to hear more. Yet her lips moved of their own accord.

"What agreement?"

"Follow my brother's command. Become my wife, my consort. But you need not fulfill any conjugal duty toward me. We will only appear as husband and wife when necessary, and otherwise I will make no personal claim upon you whatsoever."

"You said I was necessary to you."

Yustar nodded as though that were obvious. His long hair, caught by the wind, brushed lightly across her face.

"Of course I need you. But that is Tentinella's affair, not ours as husband and wife. It is unrelated. So let us set a deadline. Tentinella's purpose is to eliminate the phenomena plaguing Sierrow. The Sinks did not always exist. They began appearing suddenly, one day. We are seeking the cause. Once we resolve the fundamental problem, no more Sinks will form."

"And then?"

"And then..."

As his words trailed, Laila's hand moved without her willing it—nearly reaching up to touch Yustar's cheek. Perhaps because his lowered eyes seemed so sorrowful. Or perhaps because his smile, strange in its loneliness, drew her.

Yustar continued on.

"When the day comes that Tentinella is no longer needed in this realm, Laila, I will set you free. I will ensure you can go anywhere without persecution. If you wish, I will give you land where no one dwells. There I will have a beautiful house built, where you can do as you please and live in peace. No one will point fingers at you."

"It is impossible."

"No, it is possible. It is possible."

Laila meant to protest further, but her thoughts and actions diverged. The desperate, grief-stricken creature who had screamed and wept moments before was gone. She still seemed bewildered, yet far more composed.

—Please, Laila. Do this for me.

Yustar spoke.

Or rather—he did not speak. Yustar's lips remained firmly sealed, unmoved.

In that instant, Laila shoved him back, her eyes widening. Yet Yustar's lips remained closed. His expression registered only surprise at her action.

"What did you just do?" Laila's voice trembled.

"I? What did I do?"

"You just spoke into my mind! What was that? Are you truly not a sorcerer?"

Laila was alarmed. Yustar seemed far more alarmed than she. He stared at her, unable to comprehend her words—until suddenly, his brow creased.

"Did you read my thoughts?"

"My thoughts? I read your thoughts?"

"What did I say?"

Laila drew a harsh breath.

"You said... for me... you asked me to do it. You begged me."

"I did not speak aloud."

"I know! I know you didn't say it with your voice. It was in my mind—!"

"I was indeed thinking it. But I did not..."

Suddenly Yustar's eyes widened with comprehension.

"You saw my core."

Laila could not understand his words.

"My core? What do you mean? You are alive, Yustar. You are not a ghost!"

"That is so. Yet a core exists in ghosts and in the living alike. Perhaps your eyes and ears are beginning to open toward the living as well."

"Does that mean I...? Can I read other people's thoughts now? Will it continue?"

Yustar shook his head. Yet his expression grew graver than she had ever seen it. Laila felt a chill match his gravity.

The ability to read another's thoughts—such a thing appearing suddenly? And she had never wished for it!

"Right now—"

He had begun to speak when urgent footsteps echoed from the corridor. A strange man came rushing toward them both.

Laila recognized his clothing at once. It was identical to the uniform Yustar had worn when they first met.

"Lord Yustar."

Yustar turned toward him.

"Barens, what is it?"

The man named Barens bowed hastily and cast a sidelong glance at Laila. She glimpsed surprise flicker across his eyes and found herself looking away.

"Lord Yustar, we have received word from the Second Branch. In the Kizel Gorge, near the Kizel River, a Grade Three Sink has manifested. Three villages surrounding the gorge have vanished entirely."

"What do you mean, three villages? What were they doing while entire villages vanished?"

Barens swallowed dryly, tension etched in his face.

"The entity that emerged from the Sink is a beast-form aberration. It is extremely swift and cunning. The operatives we dispatched lost five members in the attempt to neutralize it. Therefore, Lord Olga, the Chief of Havasuka Command, wishes to speak with you regarding the situation."

"It seems Olga is under considerable stress. Very well."

"Shall I prepare a portal?"

Yustar nodded, then gathered his long hair and bound it up.

"Prepare it immediately. And insert one additional temporary access token—under the name of Laila Chrysrad."

Laila's head snapped around. She stared at Yustar. It was an order she had never anticipated. Barens seemed rather flustered by it, but with no time to spare, he hurried away in haste.

"A beast-form aberration?" Laila asked.

"Yes. There is no time for lengthy explanation, so I will brief you as we go."

"Am I to go in this dress?"

Laila lifted the hem of her voluminous gown. Yustar's expression flashed with chagrin at having forgotten, but he quickly nodded.

"It is acceptable. There will be clothes to change into once we arrive. And today, you will not participate in combat. But you do need to see what we are facing, so you will come with us."

Yustar moved with swift strides. Laila pursued, keeping pace as best she could.

The dress tangled around her feet awkwardly. She gathered the skirts so high her calves showed, nearly running to keep up with him.

"If it is Grade Three, is it dangerous? You mentioned Sinks go up to Grade Five."

"Grade Five is the classification, though in truth we have yet to encounter a Grade Five Sink. Last winter, below the Del River, near the quarter where sorcerers dwell, a Sink of terrifying power manifested. Members from two Branches responded, but we suffered near-catastrophic losses—nearly half our forces fell. And even that was not Grade Five."

"Then..."

"A Grade Three is quite dangerous, in other words."

The two entered deeper into the castle and soon passed into the Cersita headquarters. When Laila first arrived, the space had been empty. Now five figures occupied it.

Their gazes fixed on Laila for a moment, but she, suffused in the urgency of the moment, did not register the attention of these strangers.