Seeds of Sorrow (Immortal Realms Book 1)

The last thing Eden wanted to do was sleep while others battled, but she had nothing left to give, and without her magic, she was nearly useless. Unable to beckon the flora to her, Eden would only serve as a distraction and endanger Draven. And the paltry moves she’d picked up during her combat training would not serve her well against a manticore.

Her back ached, but luckily, one of the servants in the castle could heal too. Eden had suffered a stab wound in the back, but she’d been so focused on everyone else and on simply surviving that it had nearly been forgotten.

Once she was cleaned, healed, and changed, she nestled into an oversized bed. She was assured the palace healer was tending to Travion, and without the constant influx of adrenaline coursing through her, Eden gave in to the heavy pull of exhaustion.

There had been hope within Eden when she had awakened that everything would turn out to be a dream. But unfortunately, it was reality. As her mother stood before her, she found herself wishing that she was still asleep. Despite the grogginess tugging at her, the adrenaline coursing through her once more roused her enough to keep her very much awake.

Naya lifted her chin, clearly unrepentant. With one assessing glance at her mother, Eden knew she was determined to defy them and would gladly die for her cause.

What would make her rethink it? she wondered as she listened to them speak. But when Draven shifted his hand, Eden knew at once he’d found a vulnerability to expose. No matter what had passed between them, Eden trusted Draven with her life.

She gasped as he pinned her arms down, straining against his hold to bring the playact home. When he exposed her neck, the shudder that wracked her body wasn’t a farce, but it also wasn’t done out of fear. Every inch of her flesh knew him, and the last time his lips had been against her neck had been in her bed.

If playing along would make her mother speak, so be it. Eden only needed to follow Draven’s cues, which he guided her through.

A part of Eden detested the trickery, but seeing as how her mother had left them no choice, it was the only way. Since Naya didn’t believe her daughter could possibly come to love the king of nightmares, it made it all the easier. Although it wasn’t easy on Eden, not as the scent of Draven invaded her senses, his hands on her body and his lips secured to her neck.

It was the slumping in his arms that finally sent her mother over the edge. Eden could almost feel her hysteria mounting before she burst with the information. If she was lying . . . Eden would have to rethink allowing Alessia to tamper with her mother’s mind.

“Eden! Eden!” her mother howled the entire way out of the throne room.

When Draven relinquished his hold on her, she longed to say something and yet didn’t. With the moment gone, she averted her eyes, then glanced toward Zryan. “The medallion,” she murmured. “I saw it in the study when I was there. I didn’t think anything of it.” Eden shook her head. If she’d known . . . “It’s hanging on the third shelf in a glass display on the far side of the room. At least, that’s where it was last.” Eden flinched, recalling how her mother had thrust her against the wall without a care. “Wait. While you’re there, go to my room and find Drizz—he’s my goblin friend.”

Alessia lifted an eyebrow. “Thank you, Eden. I will retrieve your friend for you.” She inclined her head toward her husband. “Let’s get this done. Mind your skirt on the doorknobs, Zryan.” She leveled him with a look, then winked before strolling out of the room.

Left alone with Draven, Eden fidgeted in the strained silence, until finally she couldn’t bear it any longer. “How did you know she’d bend?”

He lifted a hand and picked at his thumbnail. “Because you are what she holds most dear.” Draven’s blue eyes settled on her, not entirely free of the wall he often put in place. “And when people are desperate to protect the ones they cherish, they’re willing to do anything to ensure their safety.”

Eden turned, facing him. She kept her hands at her side, not trusting that she wouldn’t continue to fidget beneath his gaze. There was far too much between them that had gone unsaid, and now alone with one another, Eden felt the weight of it.

“Draven, I . . . ”

“We don’t need to do this now.” His expression said he would prefer it wasn’t now, but Eden knew better than to let the moment slip away. Draven had a way of retreating far into himself, and she knew there was a point at which she wouldn’t be able to reach him. It was now or possibly never.

“We do,” she started, then rushed into her next words. “I said things I never should have, and I need to apologize for that.” Eden’s shoulders slumped forward, but her eyes never left his. “Draven, you’re the most selfless person that I know, and to say otherwise is simply a lie.” She chewed the inside of her cheek and shook her head. “You’ve been nothing but honest with me all along, so to call you manipulative was simply cruel.” With her hands spread out, indicating to the throne room, Eden sighed. “For my words, I’m sorry. And for all of this. I wish I could have stopped it . . . that I’d known . . . ”

“You had nothing to do with this. Don’t apologize for the evil your mother has done, and don’t for one moment let her deeds taint you.” Draven closed the distance between them in two strides. He lifted his hand to brush back her hair, then tilted her head back. The shaky walls he held up crumbled in an instant as his head dipped forward and he pressed his forehead against hers. “Eden, you have been my greatest comfort. My wish was to keep you safe, because if I lost that, don’t think for one moment I wouldn’t tear the world apart as punishment.” His lips tilted at the corners in a subtle smile. One that was wholly for Eden.

Her heart fluttered in response to his words, to the smile, to the earnest expression in his eyes.

“Excuse me,” a voice came from behind them. “His Majesty is requesting Lady Eden’s presence.”

Both Eden and Draven twisted to look at the intruder, who seemed to notice his presence was very much unwanted. He quickly bowed and dipped out of the room.

“We are not done,” Draven murmured, then claimed her lips in a firm, drawn-out kiss that ignited Eden’s bones.

Reluctantly, she pulled away from him. Eden nodded, touching her fingers to her lips. There was hope blossoming in her chest that this wasn’t the end and that they wouldn’t part for good. “No, we’re not,” she finally said, then left the room.

By the time Eden reached the king’s quarters, Travion had fallen asleep again. With no healer in the room with him, she eased the blankets down from his chest and examined the healed wounds. A nasty scar would remain from his shoulder all the way to his hip. Eden grimaced as her fingers spread across his abdomen. Mend, she thought. There was little power in her, but what she possessed from the hour of rest she gave to Travion.

Whatever her mother’s punishment would be, Eden would make sure it was befitting of the crimes she’d committed in all of the realms. For Travion, Draven, and Zryan. For all the realms’ sakes.

When Travion woke, he jolted from the bed and immediately groaned in protest. No doubt his muscles ached from being stitched back together.

“Easy,” Eden murmured, gently pressing on his good shoulder, and was met with a grumble. Travion’s furrowed brow and mutterings made her think of Draven, which brought a wave of complex feelings to the surface. Every time she looked down at Travion, it was as if she were seeing Draven in a similar position. “We have worked very hard on you. It’d be a shame to put that all to waste.” Eden lifted an eyebrow as she lightly reprimanded him. “How are you feeling?”

Travion’s eyes raked over her face, then her clothing. An unreadable expression clouded his gaze as he settled against the mound of pillows. “I’m not dead.”

Eden squinted. “Besides that?”

“That’s all I’ve got.” He chuckled, then promptly winced. “It feels like my innards were used to tie an anchor hitch. Is that better?”

Eden pinched her nose and shook her head. “No. I’m sorry I can’t do more—”

“No, Eden. Don’t apologize. You’ve done more than enough.” Travion reached for her hand and squeezed it. “You saved my life, and I owe a great debt to you.” He drew it toward his mouth and laid a soft kiss to her knuckles. “For one who was so haphazardly tossed into chaos, you have done exceedingly well.” A tired, lopsided smile touched his lips. “For what it’s worth, I think you are what this family needs, what my brother needs.”

Eden smiled at his words, squeezed his hand, and opened her mouth to reply, but the sound of approaching footsteps stopped her.

A moment later, Alessia entered the room, golden cheeks flushed. “It worked. The talisman has been broken, and the sun is returning to the sky.” Her dark eyes shifted toward Travion and Eden. “Your friend is in the kitchens eating everything in sight.”

Oh, Drizz. He must have been terrified and hungry. Then Eden stilled. The sun had returned to the sky—the spell had been broken. Relief flooded her, but also dread for what was to come.

Travion gritted his teeth. “Then bring the witch in here. I’m not missing her judgment.”

Eden remained quiet as Alessia left. Her mother’s punishment drew near, and although she knew that Naya Damaris deserved whatever they deemed fit, she was still her mother. Albeit a twisted version of the woman she once was, but she was still the same flesh and blood that Eden possessed.

The quiet was disrupted as Zryan strode into the bedchamber, still wearing his drapes as a robe. He grinned widely as he stood next to the head of the bed. “You’re awake. You slept through the best part of it all.”

“I wasn’t sleeping,” Travion bit out.

“Right, laying in a pool of blood and resting your eyes.” Zryan winked. His dark brows lifted as if he were waiting for something.

Travion narrowed his eyes. “No.”

“Yes. Come now.” Zryan waited patiently.

Perplexed by the exchange, Eden watched them until Alessia entered the room again.

Travion shifted his jaw, shaking his head as he stared up at the ceiling. “Thank you for saving my life, Zryan.” The words had barely left his lips when Zryan bent down to half embrace his brother.

Out of everything thus far, this was what broke the dam of Eden’s tears. She swiped away the trail as quickly as they formed. If Zryan hadn’t been there . . . both of his brothers would be dead.

The tension in the room surged the moment Draven and Naya entered. Guards flanked her as she came to stand at the end of the bed. The royals, including Eden, remained at the head of it, staring Naya Damaris down.

Despite his current state, Travion stubbornly willed himself to sit upright. Even Eden could tell it pained him. “Naya Damaris, your crimes are impressive. You’ve committed treason against your sovereigns, nearly committed regicide twice over, and in unleashing your hordes in Lucem as well as Midniva, you’ve slaughtered countless innocents. What have you to say for yourself?”

“I am not sorry. You’re all wretched, all of you. My crimes pale in comparison to those of King Zryan.” She spat her words. “Sending my Lelantos to his death, stealing Eden from me. What of these crimes?”

“We are not judging Zryan,” Travion bit out.

“And it is no excuse to turn around and kill hundreds of people!” Eden leaned forward as tension coiled within, ready to spring forth. How could her mother still excuse her actions? “Papa would be ashamed of you and what you’ve done. You know that.” Eden’s tone remained crisp and cool.

Naya flinched at her words as they hit their mark, and her bottom lip quivered. “Eden I . . . ”

Eden lifted a hand to silence her mother. “No. You are not here to beg us for forgiveness or plead your case. You are here to receive your punishment.” Eden glanced in Draven’s direction. He cocked his head, and his brows dipped inward in question, but when she looked back at her mother, and Naya still wore the face of defiance, Eden settled on a growing idea.

Death was too kind.

Death was too swift.

Death was a reward.

“I know it isn’t up to me to decide, but I offer up my opinion to Your Majesties that Naya Damaris doesn’t receive a punishment of death.”

At once, all eyes were on Eden. Draven’s anger rose within her, but he was quiet, waiting for an explanation, waiting for Eden to continue.

“You would let her live?” Alessia scoffed.

Travion, not so quietly, swore a blue streak but waved Eden on. “As you were.”

Rightfully, they were all upset, but a dismissal of her mother’s crimes was never the intention. Eden believed she deserved a punishment most befitting of the crimes she’d committed and the stain she’d left on each realm.

‘For tormenting Andhera, Midniva, and Lucem, I bring forth the motion to imprison you indefinitely. Trapped by iron and mind. To live in the prison of chaos you thought to unleash on the realms.’ Eden lifted her chin, watching as her mother’s face hardened into a scowl. Gone was her caring mother. No doubt she now saw Eden as in league with the royals. To her mother, Eden was likely as monstrous as the rest.

“Death is too swift, too kind of a punishment,” Eden added.

“I must say, I wasn’t expecting that,” Travion offered. “But I agree.” He paused for a moment, then, “It seems, Naya, that Andhera has done your daughter well, and she isn’t as weak as you thought.”

Eden glanced down at Travion, catching his blue gaze, which was so familiar and yet not. In his eyes, beyond the hardness, there was a playful glint.

“What say all of you? An indefinite imprisonment of mind and body?” Travion posed the question to the room.

Eden shifted her gaze from Travion to Draven. She could feel the war within her, the one he battled. He’d want blood for blood, flesh for flesh, and even doling the punishment out himself, it didn’t seem equal to what a mental punishment could inflict on her.

After a pause, Draven shifted from his rigid stance. “I was picturing a slow, torturous death, but I suppose an unrelenting mental torture would be fitting.”

Zryan chuckled behind Eden. “Well, darling, what do you say?”

A dark smile tugged at Alessia’s lips as she stared intently at Naya. “I will gladly do it.” She turned to look over at her husband. “And I have just the punishment in mind.”

That was it. It was over . . . at least for now. But with the book missing, Eden wondered how long it would be until they faced a similar situation—or worse.