The Fae Princess' Hidden Fate

12.

Silence descended on the study, and for a very long time everyone remained in that shocked state. None of them could believe what I had just said, and even I couldn't believe that I had said that.

Even though I couldn't explain why I had said it, or what exactly had led me to this conclusion, I knew deep down that it was true.

I could have sworn on my life force that it was correct, and that whoever had sent Sebastian to Nibiru, had done that with the sole intention of having him get close to me.

"Layla, what are you talking about?" father asked. "How do you know that he is here for you?"

"Because I heard him say it," I said.

Sebastian's eyes widened in shock, and he couldn't believe what I had just said. But now that the truth had finally come to light, I supposed it was time to finally say exactly what I had seen.

"When was this?" father asked.

"It was the day when Antonio came to dinner drunk," I began. “After I left the dining hall, I found him confronting Antonio over what he did to me, and now it makes sense. He said that I was his, and he didn't want Antonio anywhere near me." I explained.

Sebastian paled at my words, and it was clear that he never expected me to have heard him. The disbelief was evident in his eyes, but more than that, there was also an element of fear in them. It was clear that he had wanted it to be a private moment, and my arrival had completely ruined his plans. I struggled to imagine what would have happened if I never saw them together.

A murderous look crossed father's face as he turned his gaze on Sebastian. Sparks began to fly from his fingertips, and the air in the room suddenly became too thin. Whenever father got angry, his magic would lose control, and it would project itself outward and manifest in everything around him. His desk began to tremble, and so too did the many books on the shelves.

"You treacherous snake," he spat. "You think you can come here and harm my daughter without us suspecting you? You think we are stupid enough to allow you into our lives without raising an eyebrow on where you came from, or what exactly you have been up to?"

Sebastian turned to me quickly, ignoring everything father had just said. There was a desperate look in his eyes, like that of a convicted man who knew his life was about to end. It was the look of a criminal who had been caught, and he knew what punishment was coming his way. I would have felt sorry for him if I didn't have all the evidence presented before me.

"You misunderstood me, Layla," he said, his voice rising to an octave in desperate attempt to explain himself. "I didn't mean it like that. Whatever happened with Antonio was a misunderstanding. I promise you, I am not here to harm you or anyone. I don't even remember how I wound up here, so how can I be held guilty for something which I don't even remember doing?"

"Then explain what you meant when you said 'She is mine' the other day," I said bitingly. "You said it so confidently, and now I understand what you meant. Clearly you wanted to get Antonio away from me so you could carry out your mission without anyone hovering over your shoulder."

"I don't know why I used those words when I was speaking to him," he gritted, "I don't even know what came over me. But I know I only confronted him because of what he did at the dinner table. It was obvious that he had annoyed you, and I was trying to show him that what he did was wrong. Maybe my words may have been wrong, but my intentions were clear. I never meant to do anything that would hurt you. Surely you must know that."

"I don't know what to believe anymore," I sighed. "With what I've seen today, I don't know if I can trust you anymore."

"You can trust me, Layla," he pleaded. “Please, you must understand. If I could figure out the truth and remember how I ended up here, then I would have done so. But I can't, and all I know is that I would never hurt you, or anyone else. I don't know if it's the spell talking, or if there is something more to this that I do not understand yet. But I know I will never betray you, and I will do whatever I can to protect you."

"She doesn't need your protection," father spat. "You have no power over her, and as long as she remains in my custody, then I am the one to protect her. What makes you think that I would trust you after everything we've seen?"

"I'm telling the truth," Sebastian pleaded, his gaze only momentarily shifting to father. He immediately returned to me, and it seemed like the most important thing for him was that I should trust him and his intentions.

I didn't know how I felt on the matter. On one hand, I could sense the desperation in his heart, and I knew that there was a very high possibility of him actually telling the truth. This could all be one big misunderstanding, and he had made a mistake which could cost him dearly. But on the other hand, the evidence was too jarring to ignore. It was so obvious that I couldn't just turn away and pretend it wasn't there.

"You will be returned to the dungeons until you are ready to tell us the truth," father declared. "And if you don't, then you will face the council and present you case. We will pass our judgment on you, and that will be final. But you should know that I hold the power of the council, and I already deem you to be guilty. So if you do not confess right now and tell us what your true intentions are in Nibiru, then you will be facing a punishment worse than anything you could ever imagine.

"Your Highness," Sebastian said, eyes still pinned on me. “I know you can look into my heart and see if I am telling the truth or not. I can feel it in you that you want to believe me. Can you just trust me on this and know that I am telling you the truth? I wish I could remember how I ended up here, but I can't. I don't even remember this bag, or any of the items in it. And ask yourself this: if I was truly after you, then how could I have compelled you to invoke the law that would bind us together? I cannot harm you, because that would be a detriment to my own self. Surely you can see that."

I turned away from him, too angry to even consider what he was saying. I needed to get to the bottom of this, and the only way that would happen was if I didn't listen to him. His words were already beginning to compel me, and that was the last thing I needed. Blind trust would not work in this situation.

"Take him away!" father ordered, and the guards stepped forward to grab him.

It took me about half a second before the guards laid their hands on him for me to realise that something was wrong. I whirled around immediately, and just as I reached out to try and stop them, an earth-shattering explosion erupted in the middle of the room. Sebastian and I were thrown in opposite directions, and I slammed against the shelf behind me so violently that I went blind for a split second. A blinding light erupted in the middle of us, and Sebastian was thrown towards the door. Both guards had been knocked to the ground as well, and father's desk was completely destroyed along with everything on it.

A shrill, piercing sound rang in my ear, and I couldn't ignore the sharp pain which went all the way to my head. Blood trickled down my face, and it dropped to the ground as though in slow motion. I looked up slowly, my head still swaying from what had just happened.

Father had stepped away from the explosion at the last second, and he only looked dazed and confused from it. Cassia had been knocked to the ground as well, but already she was rising to her feet with a disgruntled look on her face.

"What the hell was that?" she demanded.

I turned to Sebastian, who had been knocked cold from the blast. If it weren't for the slow rising and falling of his chest, I would have presumed he was dead.

Father rushed to my side immediately, barking at the guards as they rose to their feet and hurried towards him. He grabbed me by the shoulders and hoisted me up gently, fear and panic in his eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I muttered, trying and failing to stand on my own.

"It's my fault," he said. "I should have remembered that the bond was still in play. And with you standing back and letting him be taken, it would have constituted as an attack which you failed to stop. He was scared and didn’t want to be taken away, so, his fear reflected in the bond created by the law.”

"Is he alright?" I asked, not that much concerned about myself. I was more concerned about him, because there was a tight panic in my chest regarding him. Perhaps he had been telling the truth after all, and none of us considered what he was saying. I felt stupid for not remembering that there was still a bond over us both. This time, the blast was more powerful than the first time it happened, and I guessed it had something to do with the fact that Sebastian had been terrified.

"Get him up," father barked at the guards who hurried to lift Sebastian from his fallen state. Blood was trickling down his face as well, and even though his lips were slightly parted, it was clear that he had been knocked out cold. They dropped him carefully into one of the chairs, and he slumped forward until one of them held him back against it.

"Go to the infirmary and call one of the healers," father said. "Tell them there has been an accident, and they should get here at once."

As one of the guard hurried to get the healer, I managed to squeeze out of father's hold and made my way towards Sebastian. I needed to check something, because I could feel a strong pull coming from him. I could have sworn that his lips were moving slightly, and he could be muttering something incoherent.

"How are we going to capture him now?" Cassia asked. "If we cannot hold him in a cell, and we cannot just allow him to continue roaming about the palace, then what can we do? He is clearly too dangerous to be left alone, but this law of first sight has caused us more problems than solutions."

I ignored everything she said, and I placed my hand on his shoulder. I held my breath as I felt the pull intensify, but for a moment everything seemed normal.

And then, I heard a sharp cry in the distance. The scream of the woman returned, and it was so loud that I thought my head would explode from it. I was suddenly pulled away, and I found myself standing in the middle of a large clearing, surrounded by thick bushes and tall trees. The smell of the forest was around me, and somewhere in the distance was the sound of running water.

Sebastian lay before me, and he was kneeling before someone and pleading desperately.

"Please," he said. "I'll do anything. I beg of you, just let them go."

I couldn't see who he was talking to, but I could feel a great sense of evil around us. There was a darkness hanging over the clearing, and the evil seemed to seep into the very trees and the grass around.

I was suddenly pulled back into the study, and father's arm was around me as he asked, "Are you alright, Layla? What happened?"

It took me a second to catch my breath before I said, "I know why Sebastian is the way he is."

"You do?" he asked. "How?"

"Because I felt it," I replied. "He is under a spell."