Abide: An Awakened Fate Novella (6 page)

“So?” I demanded. “What is this? One minute Ren’s trying to protect the royal family and the next he’s putting out a warrant for our grandfather? What the hell is going on?”

Niall hesitated, the weird seriousness that had been on his face this entire time finally cracking into something more embarrassed. “I was going to tell you.”

“Tell me
what
, Niall?”

“Some of the stuff that happened out there… some of the things that girl said…” He grimaced. “It was part of what made me question her in the first place, before she went nuts.”

“Get to the point.”

He glared at my harsh tone, though the expression didn’t last. “It sounded like Granddad was involved,” he sighed. “Like he was a part of what happened to Dad.”

I stared at him. “
What
?”

“He was out in the wastes for ten years, Ina. Ren even told me he admitted to spending time with the Vetorians and the tribes in the Zone. And now he disappears
just
on the tail of finding out things went wrong with that girl?” Niall made an incredulous noise. “Is it so hard to believe he sided with them?”

I put a hand to my face, just trying to make sure I was still awake. This was insane. “Against
Dad
? His own
son
? Niall, he would never–”

“How do you know? Have you seen him? Have
any
of us seen him all these years?” Niall shook his head desperately. “They fought all the time. Granddad never thought Dad was doing a good job as king. Even before Driecara, he was always giving him ‘advice’, telling him how to rule. You don’t remember, but I do. Ren does. It wasn’t good, Ina, and now…”

Niall looked away.

“But he wrote me,” I said, my voice weak. “These past few years, we wrote each other and he said he wanted to–”

“People lie.”

His expression was pained. I turned away, my arms wrapping around my middle to stop the way my stomach churned.

I couldn’t believe it. Not Granddad. It didn’t make sense. I mean, no, I hadn’t seen him in years. I had no idea where he’d been in all that time or what he’d done.

But still…

“No,” I said. “No, he wouldn’t–”

“Are you sure?”

I looked back at Niall. Hovering by the door, he watched me, his brow rising.

And the words hurt. No, of course I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure of anything anymore, from what I’d seen of Chloe to what I’d seen in that message from Zeke. My whole life had been turned upside down in the space of only a few days, and every other minute it seemed like one of my family members was accusing the other of being responsible.

I just wanted things back to the way they were before that girl had ever shown up.

Niall swam over to me and put a hand on my arm, about the closest he ever came to being affectionate. “Hey, it’ll be okay, alright? We’ll–”

“Ren’s going to
arrest
him, Niall. How is it alright? He’s going to lock him up and there’s no
way
he could have–”

Niall shook his head. “Ren’s not crazy. He won’t hurt him. He’ll probably just put Granddad under house arrest somewhere. I mean, it might even be good for him, right? Keep him safe, rather than out there on his own.”

I gave a choked scoff. Yeah, right. Trapped in one place for the rest of his life? Granddad would be miserable.

And stigmatized as the man who conspired to murder his own son, the king of Yvaria.

A ragged breath left me. It wasn’t possible. Granddad wasn’t a traitor, Niall wasn’t a cultist and Zeke wasn’t an idiot. Of everything, those three facts were all I was certain of anymore.

“Granddad is a good person, Niall. I
know
that. He’s loyal to the king – Ren
and
Dad – even if he didn’t always agree with Dad’s decisions, and he would
never
betray his family by taking our father away from us.”

Niall was silent.

“I don’t care who it was, or how much he agreed with them,” I continued. “He would never,
ever
allow someone to do that. Not to Dad, and not to us.” I moved to keep his focus as Niall turned aside. “He loves us, Niall. He could never be that horrible–”

“I’m not saying he doesn’t
love
us,” Niall snapped. “Okay, Ina? This isn’t against our grandfather. This is me trying to keep our family safe.”

He spun away, swimming back to where he’d been by the door. “I mean, that’s all I’m trying to do here. That’s all I’ve ever
been
trying to do. And if Granddad…” He made an angry sound. “Maybe he was trying to protect us too, you know? Maybe he just saw this as the only way to keep us safe, even if it came with a terrible cost. Because to him it was worth it.
Because
he loves us.
Because
he’s a good person, even if he did things that make him not seem that way.”

I stared at him.

“I care about our grandfather too,” Niall continued, looking up at me. “But what I saw…” He shook his head. “There’s a lot of bad out there, Ina. Dangerous, horrible things like… like crazy girls, and monsters, and stuff you can’t even imagine, and we’re in a war against all of it.” He paused. “Maybe Granddad just chose the wrong side.”

I didn’t respond. I wasn’t sure I could.

Niall grimaced as if trying to calm down and then he turned, touching the lighter patch of stone by the doorway.

“Ren won’t hurt him,” he told me firmly. “Even if our grandfather did work with those people… he’ll still be okay.”

He swam from the room without another word.

I didn’t take my eyes from the doorway.

The way he’d said that…

Shivers ran through me. My teeth were chattering.

His words…

The look on his face…

That desperate, angry, hurt, and tense look, like he’d been pushed too far and was about to break.

A sharp breath entered my lungs.

He’d done it. Oh sweet merciful…

Zeke hadn’t been wrong.

My stomach lurched. Gasping, I turned and my hand found the edge of the table just to stop me from sinking to the ground.

Niall… he’d…

I swallowed hard, trying to keep from throwing up. My gaze darted around the apartment, searching for something, anything to connect me to a reality other than this one.

There was nothing. The stupid, empty, boring room stared back at me.

I had to get out of here. Do something.

Niall had killed our father.

I choked, my hand clenching on the side of the table. My big brother who’d put squids in my hair… he’d murdered Dad.

My gaze snapped to the door. I needed to tell Ren. He’d probably still be on the upper floor. He had to know this.

Niall might be in the hallway.

My heart raced. Kicking my tail hard, I sped to the window and shoved past the leaves to the outside.

“Princess?” the guard cried as I shot by him.

I kept going. The opening to Ren’s floor came into view quickly, with guards on either side.

“Move!” I shouted at them.

They darted out of the way and then spun to follow me. Racing down the hall, I ignored them, my gaze fixed on the door to Ren’s study.

His guards flanked it. He had to still be there.

“Highness,” the guards at the doorway protested as I came speeding toward them. They moved to block the entrance. “You can’t go inside–”

They caught me when I tried to push by them.

“I have to talk to him,” I insisted, breaking from their grasp and looking past them to the door. “Now. Let me in.”

“You can’t–”

I darted at the door again. “Now, damn you!”

They grabbed me. Twisting in their grasp, I drove my elbow into the midsection of the one on my right and he choked.

Spikes came out on my arms.

The men let me go.

Shoving past them, I rushed into the room.

Ren paused halfway to the door, alarm on his face. “Ina, what the hell–” He glanced to the guards who’d followed me. “Get out. It’s fine.”

Breathing hard, I tried to find the words as the soldiers retreated and then sealed the door behind them. “It’s… Ren, Niall, he… he did it. He’s… Zeke wasn’t wrong.”

Ren stared at me. “What?”

I swallowed another breath down. “I talked to him. Just now. About Granddad and he…” I felt like crying. “Ren, Niall’s what Zeke said. He was behind it. He killed Dad.”

For a moment, Ren didn’t move. “Niall told you this?”

“He…” My brow furrowed as I struggled for words. “We were talking, and I was saying how Granddad would never let anyone take our father away. That he couldn’t be that horrible and Niall, he just… he just like
snapped
. He got so upset and–”

“Ina.” Ren came over to me and gripped my arms as if to steady me. “Breathe. What did he
say
?”

I closed my eyes briefly, trying to do as he ordered. “He told me that there were bad things out there, and that we were in a war, and that Granddad chose the wrong side. He told me maybe Granddad did all this because he loves us and wants to protect us, even if what he did made him seem terrible. But Ren, it wasn’t what Niall
said
. It was
how
he said it. Like, he made it sound as if he wasn’t talking about Granddad. It seemed like he meant it about himself.”

Ren was silent.

“If he did this, Ren… if he really–”

“I think I know what you heard.”

I waited.

Drawing a breath, he moved away from me. “Did Niall tell you…” Ren shook his head. “Ina, he blames himself. He’s doing everything he can to help, but… he still thinks it’s his fault that Chloe got away. That he didn’t see what she was like sooner. And now with Jirral…”

I stared at him.

“Niall’s right.” Ren’s mouth tightened, as if he wished he didn’t have to say the words. “This
is
a war. There
are
bad things out there, bad people who want to hurt us, and we have to do whatever we can to protect each other from them.”

My brow furrowed again. I couldn’t believe this. “Ren, the
way
he said it–”

“I’m not going to turn against my brother based on the way he said something.”

A breath left me. The words stung. I wasn’t trying to turn against anyone. “But you’d turn on Granddad.”

Ren glanced back at me, his face darkening. “Jirral is a different story. Jirral is not one of us, and he hasn’t shown the slightest interest in
being
one of us since he took off ten years ago. That he turned up in the city
now
, just ahead of our father–”

A desperate noise escaped me. “He didn’t do this!”

“And Niall did?”

I stared at him.

“You can’t let them get into your head like this, Ina. Not like Zeke has. These people want us terrified. They want us fragmented and attacking each other, and so we
have
to stick together.” Ren shook his head. “Niall feels terrible about how things have gone, same as I do. We both wish we could have done
anything
to keep this reality from being what it is.” He paused. “And I’m sure you feel that way too. I’m sure Zeke does – even if he’s confused on who’s responsible. But don’t misinterpret Niall’s guilt over
that
into being something else. That’s just what these people would want you to believe.”

He swam back over to me and took my hands in his own. “I know you’re scared, okay? I’m scared too. But don’t you think it’s possible that what you heard was your own big brother wishing he could have done more for us, rather than some monster confessing to a crime?”

I looked away.

“Come on,” Ren said. “Head back down to your apartment. Get some rest. We’re doing everything we can to fix this. Trust me.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. Niall’s face, the way he’d said those words…

“I don’t think that’s what it was, Ren,” I whispered.

His mouth tightened. “I do. And once we have those people in custody… you’ll see.”

Pain twisted in my chest. I wanted to keep arguing, to try to make him understand.

But there wasn’t any point. I hadn’t heard proof. Niall hadn’t said anything. It was just my impression.

And the sickened feeling slowly choking me from the inside.

Trying not to cry, I swam from the room.

Chapter Six

Guards were waiting beyond the door, and they trailed me while I headed for the opening to the outside. Without looking at them, I dove along the slope of the mountain till I reached my room again, and when I slipped back through the window, the soldiers said nothing and stayed beyond the leaves.

I closed my eyes. I wanted to believe Ren was right. I wanted to push this all aside and go back to the way things were an hour ago… a week ago… before that damned girl had ever come to our home.

But I knew what I’d seen.

At least, I thought I did.

Gasping, I slammed a fist to the side of my tail. I didn’t know what this was. I didn’t know anything.

Except what I’d seen on Niall’s face… the chills it had sent through me…

Maybe it was what Ren said: guilt over not stopping Chloe.

Maybe it was something else entirely.

My stomach was in such a knot, I thought it would climb from my throat just to flee what my mind was thinking.

I
didn’t
know. Not for sure. I didn’t know if the Sylphaen were real, or if Niall had joined them, or anything in the world– Except that Granddad couldn’t be behind this.

And that Ren thought he was guilty.

I swallowed hard. Ren wanted us to protect each other, but to me, that included our grandfather. Who knew what the guards would do to him or what the sentence would be if he came back here? Niall thought – or maybe just consoled himself with the thought – that Granddad would simply get put under house arrest somewhere.

But if Niall was wrong… if Ren condemned our grandfather to die for treason and murder of the king… if there was even a
chance
he would…

Another breath left me in a gasp. Enough. I had to go find Granddad. I needed to warn him about everything so he wouldn’t come back. I had to stop at least
one
part of this insanity before it became any worse.

I just needed to figure out how to leave.

My gaze went to the door. The guards would be watching. They wouldn’t let me out of the palace, let alone the city.