Chapter 5- bread, Water, & Regret

Chapter 5- Bread, Water, and Regret

RONAN POV

The walk to the holding cell felt longer. My feet were unsteady beneath me, a heavy weight pulling down on my chest from the inside.

Everything else sucked.

The bloody council. Aurelia’s trial. Everything fucking sucked. Because for the very first time, I was torn between doing what was right and fighting for the one my heart yearned for. The sense of duty hung around my neck like an invisible noose, ready to yank my head off my neck.

The investigation was thorough. And even with the staggering evidence that only seemed to get worse and worse, I still refused to believe Aurelia would murder an elder.

Not when she worked so hard to make everything perfect.

Even yesterday, she had been the one to receive each and every single guest who arrived, standing tall and proud, a warm smile on her face.

She couldn’t have possibly had any motive to ruin all her hard work.

So it sure as hell did not make sense when I found a vial of poison hidden among ample loads of makeup containers amongst her many girly belongings in her bedroom. I took it for testing, trying to decipher what kind of poison it was that would snuff a whole werewolf in a matter of seconds, and I was not prepared for what I found.

Everything was blowing out of proportion and it felt like I was losing my grip on control.

I didn’t want her to die.

Not like this. Not when everything was shrouded by uncertainty so bad that I felt like I was losing my mind.

I swallowed audibly as I opened the door to the holding cell. Everything felt wrong. This was no place for someone like Aurelia. This was for evil-doers.

A silent crack sounded in my chest as I took in the side of her huddled to the corner, her neck bent in an unnatural manner as she snored softly. She must have dozed off.

She looked… peaceful. Just how could someone like this commit such a crime? She knew the use of magic was punishable by death in our world. Just how-

Aurelia stirred as she sensed my presence, and then she jumped, eyes glowing gold as her wolf jumped to the front. I nodded softly at her, not knowing what to do, or say.

Her shoulders relaxed visibly as she took in the sight of me.

“Oh. It's just you.” She slowly smoothed the wrinkles of her gown before walking to the small bench and perching herself. I shifted to open the bars and slowly walked to her, then perched myself next to her before offering her the bread and a bottle of water I managed to sneak from the kitchen.

If it were up to her dad, she would have been starved before being killed. I refused to have that.

Aurelia clasped onto the foil before ripping it to reveal a stuffed bread, then munched on it like it was her first time eating. I watched her gobble the scraps with the kind of desperation that broke my heart. Her hands even trembled when I handed her a bottle of water. She downed it in a heartbeat.

“Damn, that was delicious. I would have preferred meat though.” Always the smooth talker.

Silence stretched between us for a minute too long. I waited for her to ask me why I did not defend her yesterday, and whether I completed my investigation. But she never did. I waited for her to rant, to talk about how unfair all this was. But she never did. She just sat there, silently, her heart beating calmly.

There was so much I was yet to find out, so many things that did not make sense and the sentence was already hanging over her head like a black cloud of an ominous curse.

“What’s wrong? You are awfully quiet.” She asked after a very long pause.

I contemplated telling her what I found, that the witches were called, and that the use of magic was just added to her sentence. I contemplated telling her my plan. That I planned to swap her with somebody else who would take the fall, and that I would snuggle her off the boarders.

I had people. Connections. Someone to take her away and hide her far away from this place that seemed to have waited for her downfall her entire life.

But somehow I couldn’t get the words past my mouth.

“Nothing,” I grumbled in a low tone, my eyes falling onto my hands. I felt her nod beside me.

“Do you also think that I did it?” Her voice was low, cautious. I could only shake my head as I waited for her to reprimand me.

“Great. At least someone still has faith in me.” She chuckled smoothly. “It's time isn’t it? They are all already waiting.” She called out again, and once again, words failed me.

MY wolf growled in frustration and I felt like I could slap myself too. But I had so many things to figure out if I was going to execute this well.

“It is. We should get going.” I responded in a low voice, matching hers. She got up and jumped, then clapped her hands.

“So, are you going to cuff me?” She tilted her head to the side, as if daring me. I really hated this whole thing. It was coating my tongue in bitterness and I just wanted to spit it all out.

“You are not a criminal, Aurelia.” I got to my feet, then took a step towards her. My hand shot out and caught a single strand of hair before looping it around my fingers. So smooth. So right. And yet, so wrong in so many ways it was driving me to the edge of delirium.

We stayed silent, her eyes roaming my face like she was imprinting my face to memory. Her scent washed over me like soft cotton, and I knew right there that I had to fix this.

I had no single glue on where I was going to start. Not with all the evidence gathered and presented to the court. But I had to.

“I am going to make this right.” My eyes found hers, “I promise you.”

Or I would fucking die trying.