Page 144 of Andreas

Mad. He had gone entirely mad.

Perhaps this was not his fault? Perhaps the rebels were the ones using her brother while he was in this vulnerable state?

Yes, that made sense. It had to!

The Silas she had known would never do this.

The air fizzled and warped against the far wall, and a flash of red flew past the opening and disappeared behind a boulder.

They were here!

Relief swarmed her ribcage like a hive of bees. The others had made it, and Caius, who had remained still throughout the whole exchange, began to examine the room. She needed to keep the attention on her if this was going to work. ‘I don’t understand,’ she said, moving to stand in front of Rymedur, who still lay weakened and immobile on the floor. His chest slowly rose and fell in deep, shaking breaths—the only source of comfort she could find in that moment.

Following her movements, Caius raised the sword, slightly angling himself between Silas and her. Good, just what she wanted.

That’s it, focus all your attention on me.

Taking note of the way Caius’s gaze constantly flicked over his shoulder, Areanel used the habit to her advantage. Every time he looked away, she approached on small, soundless steps, inching further to her right and closer to the still-rambling Silas.

‘You know,’ Silas continued, not noticing her subtle movements, ‘I tried to kill you when you were younger. Ha!’ Shock jolted through her at the admission, but Silas only laughed, like he was discussing dinner plans and not admitting to attempted murder. ‘Father did not like that.’ Silas shook his head again, sending sticky strands flying, plastering against his pale face. ‘Mother had said: The monster will come in darkness and devour us whole in the wake of the wolven war.’

Areanel’s face pinched in confusion. What was he talking about? The prophecy? ‘Mother did not say those words.’

‘No!’ Silas whirled on her in a flurry, the too-large cloak flapping around him like some bird’s clipped wings falling to the floor they dragged as he stepped forward. Drag. Thunk. Step. Though this time, it seemed like he wasn’t even trying to lift the limp limb, just hauling it behind him.

‘No—’ his voice, callous and cold, thundered through the chamber. ‘No. Deep. Dark. Dead. Mother said—’ his bony fingers shot into his head and he gripped the strands, pulling at his loose hair so hard his head tilted to one side. ‘A beast, the wolves, hands of fate, clash and die.’ His words were choppy, his voice strained and stuttering like he couldn’t get the words to make sense.

Caius looked over his shoulder again, this time longer as he stared at the raving prince with furrowed brows. Was he finally coming to the realisation that insanity gripped Silas’s mind?

Areanel did not ponder the thought for long, and moved further forward, away from Caius and towards the dark waters of the pool just as Silas bent to it, dipping his hands under. However, when they came back out, it was not water that dripped from his hands but blood.

‘Are you talking about mother’s prophecy?’ Areanel asked, keeping her voice steady, though her heart beat like a war drum within her chest. A flash of fiery red dashed across the space behind the two males. She needed to keep the focus on her.

Silas seemed to be getting his words muddled—his once brilliant mind now working against him. What was it her mother had said again? A war waged from the hatred of one's heart shall befall the land.

‘Happy. Harbinger. Change. Andreas.’ Silas’s hacking cough interrupted her thoughts, and Areanel’s heart bled with the memory of the brother she once knew. The one who spoke in a calm, raspy voice when he soothed her to sleep with a story after one of her nightmares. Was this what his illness had reduced him to?

With each word, Silas seemed to grow even more frustrated, so much so, he began to hit his palm against his head. ‘Power held. Good controlled. You!’ His eyes seemed to clear for a brief moment, like there was some reprieve amid his confusion. Silas jolted forward.

Clumps of raven hair fell from his hand like ink. He reached for her. ‘She saw the light you consumed.’ Silas had managed to fling himself at her, and a sharp sting flared from her injury when his hands seized her upper arms, his grip like a vice. How did he find the strength?

Copper filled her senses as the blood on his hands, mixed with hers, oozed from the cut Caius had dealt. Areanel tried to shake off his hold, but it was nearly impossible with the way he leaned into her, clutching with a bruising grip, like his fingers could make her understand what he was saying.

‘Ivan didn’t want to believe it. He couldn’t. He loved you too much. Sister. Our little sister. He couldn’t see past that love. Your valiant protector, always. He’d do anything to keep you safe, keep you loved and cared for.’ Blue eyes bore into her own, frantic as they moved to look between her eyes. He nodded like she was now able to make sense of it. ‘Mother didn’t love you.’ Hurt, deep and raw, struck like a dagger to her heart at the reminder. What was he gaining from this? ‘Father was so hellbent on moulding you into his image. No, Ivan was the only one.’

‘What is the point of this, Silas?’ Areanel’s gaze searched her brother’s. There had to be something behind the madness. What did he mean?

‘I did all I could,’ Silas shook her in his tight hold, his hands slipping on the blood that coated her arms. She was perturbed when the words slipped from Silas’s pale, chapped lips. ‘A disease. A parasite. A cancer. You sucked the light from everything. Rid this world of evil. Paranoid danger. He killed them, don’t you see? Colliding worlds. That’s how we stop it.’

Silas’s cold hands came to hold the sides of Areanel’s face. Squishing his palms flat against her cheeks, the blood on his hands smeared her skin. Areanel felt her teeth nip at the soft flesh of her cheek. The taste of copper mixed with her saliva.

‘Stop what, Silas?’ she tried to ask. Her eyes darted to Caius’s grey stare, and his sword lifted to strike if she made a move.

‘I tried, sister.’ Silas’s voice had dropped to a sombre whisper. ‘It’s full of non-believers.’ His eyes shifted to the side, and Areanel followed her brother’s crazed gaze to the cave opening where the rain poured in.

Non-believers of what? Was he talking about all of Idyssa?

‘The city will burn. It’ll destroy Idyssa and all it stands for. The gods will walk with us again; don’t you see it?’ With a bruising grip, he forced her head to the side so that she was staring at a tank-like machine filled with a greenish liquid. Eyes travelling over the copper that encased the human-like machinery, Areanel marked the runes carved into the metal.