Forbidden (The Secret World Of Atlantis 2)

Chapter 7 - Secrets, Lies And Confessions

I stand there, stunned and at loss of words, as I stare into Eros’s eyes. He tenses up as soon as he realizes, that I’m truly standing in front of him. Moments pass, neither of us making an effort to speak up. How is this possible? How could I be around him for so long and not realize, why everything kept drawing me to him again and again?

“You shouldn’t be here,” he speaks up suddenly, his cold voice waking me up from my thoughts. I frown, shaking my head. Won’t he address what just happened? Isn’t he as stunned as I am? Unless …

“How long have you known?” I ask, anger stirring up inside me, as I remember Silver’s words on the day of my blessing. He’s told me I had another bonded, who refused to reveal himself to me. I should’ve known it was Eros all along. My patience disappears into thin air, as Eros looks away, refusing to open his mouth. “How long have you known, that we were bonded?!” I rage at him, my jaw clenching. He seems ashamed of himself, but still doesn’t lift his head up.

“Since the first time we touched,” he admits in a broken voice, making me feel stunned. All this time? And he said nothing? Not even once? I get a feeling like my knees are about to give out, so I lean against the wall behind me.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why keep me in the dark? Didn’t it occur to you, that I might find out one day?” I keep asking, but he doesn’t seem interested in answering any of my questions. And it pisses me off even more. “Look at me!” I yell at him in despair. But when he does, I regret demanding it. His eyes are reflecting so much hurt and disappointment, that it knock the air out of my lungs.

“Happy with what you see? Now go. Leave,” he hisses. His words feel like he’s just plunged a dagger deep into my chest. I flinch in hurt, but I refuse to cry in front of him. He doesn’t look at me like Eros. He’s more of a stranger. “I can hear everything, that you think of,” he remarks coldly, his body tense as he glares at me. I blink furiously.

“Good! Maybe I want you to hear it, so you can stop acting like a jerk! I came here to get you out and this is how you decide to act?” I burst out, stomping to his cell, so he can get a better look at my furious expression. I try to reach out to his mind, not really sure how this works, since I was never able to contact Silver without touching him. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to get a single thought. How is this possible? I heard him loud and clear, when I was walking to his cell.

“Maybe I don’t want you to save me … And stop poking around at my head, it’s getting annoying,” he grits through his teeth. I freeze, stopping every attempt to get a glimpse of his mind.

“Why are you pushing me away?” I ask, hating how much hurt my voice is giving away. But I can’t help it. I’ve gone through hell to get here and he acts like I’m the enemy, when all I’m trying to do is help him. I am met with silence once again, as he stares at the wall in front of him. “Eros, please … Talk to me,” I beg him, swallowing the last bit of pride I have left to reach out to him somehow. The hard gaze I am met with, pins me to the spot, as he finally stands up and slowly approaches me.

My heart is beating like it’s about to jump out of my chest any time. There are bars separating us, but the last time I’ve been this close to him, didn’t end well. I can feel something coming from him, though. His emotions are like a swirl, all mixed up and threatening to take me with them. “If you stay a moment longer, I’m going to break out of here and finish what I’ve started. Now … Get. Out,” he growls lowly, making a breath hitch in my throat.

“You can’t mean this. Eros, you’re not a monster! I know you didn’t hurt me intentionally! This isn’t you! Who made you stay outside on the full moon?” I keep pressing onto him, refusing to believe his words. But he seems to be running out of patience.

“Leave!” he roars suddenly, making me flinch in surprise. His eyes are angry, but I can see the pain behind them. Why does he insist on carrying this burden on his own? I place my hand on the bars subconsciously, trying to reach out to him. You can imagine my surprise, as a powerful blast shocks me and throws me against the wall on the opposite side of the cell. I didn’t think the cells would be protected with a spell. Quite foolish of me.

I grunt in pain as I pick myself up again, my gaze flickering to Eros. In that brief moment something familiar crosses his face. Concern. But it’s gone as quickly as it appeared and he moves back to his bench. I stare at him, stunned. Why is he acting like this?

“Walk away, while you still can. You can’t save me,” he grunts, leaning his head against the wall. I get closer to his cell once again, this time being careful not to touch the bars. I stare at him, trying to ignore the pull of the bond, that screams at me to reach out to him. I am longing for his touch so much, that I can feel physical pain. But the bars aren’t the only barrier between us at the moment.

“I can. And I will,” I reply to his statement. As he doesn’t respond, I finally grant his wish and storm off, no matter how hard it feels. If I didn’t quicken my pace, I’d probably turn around and go back. In contrast to what I thought this visit would bring me, I got completely the opposite. Instead of closure, even more questions rose up. Instead of granting forgiveness … I only left with more baggage.

I nod to the guards as I exit, fixing the scarf, so it covers my hair properly. The magical blast from the bars threw it off my head. As I look for a sun clock, I soon realize, that I have an hour left, before Eros’s hearing. More than enough to grab a bite and go to the Courthouse to prepare.

I dine in a full tavern, where it’s less likely, that people are going to recognize me. And that’s solely because of how drunk they are. I manage to avoid having wine spilled over me, as I pass a group of excited young men. Luckily, they don’t pay much attention to me and I’m able to find a quiet spot at the far corner of the room.

I avoid looking at anyone the whole time I’m there. Not even the waitress. My eye colours stands out too much. Only members of the Royal family are known to have turquoise eyes. And I can’t risk revealing myself, when I’m this close. I do however leave a generous tip for the girl. She needs it more than I do.

As I find myself walking past the prison once again, the guards recognize me and give me a polite nod. They better stick to their word. Those bracelets were worth double the prize on my head. Each. But I’m not going back to Eros. He’s made it clear, that he doesn’t want to see me. I still can’t believe how our encounter went down. To think that he threatened to drink the rest of my blood … I would never expect something like this from him.

I walk around the Courthouse, until I find an unguarded backdoor. As expected, it’s locked. But I’ve spent enough time around Elena and Eros to know how to unlock doors without using keys. I squat down, to make sure a nearby tree is covering me from curious gazes. I don’t want to be caught in the act.

I then point my finger into the lock, a soft beam of green light travelling inside it. I let the light form a tendril and make it pull and turn inside the lock, until I hear a familiar click. I stand up, turning the knob as silently as I can. I don’t want anyone to hear me entering. Then I wouldn’t have the element of surprise on my side.

I peek through it carefully, soon realizing, that I’m looking at a long hallway from my far left, to the end of my right. I sneak in and close the door behind me, then start thinking feverishly. It’s my first time in the Courthouse, so I have no idea, where I have to go, to reach the person, that I need. I don’t even know, how they look.

I step through an archway, that leads to a grand foyer with a massive staircase. I hide just in time to avoid a guard from spotting me. That was too close. I glance back after a few moments, betting that I need to get up that staircase, if I want to reach the hall, where Eros’s hearing is going to be held. I look back at the guard, who has his back turned against me, now walking down to the entrance. I need to distract him somehow.

I soon get an idea, as I notice a fountain right in front of the main entrance. I let a smirk make its way on my face. Perfect. I don’t think twice. I can’t afford to waste any time now. I make the water rise slowly, forcing the current to start spilling itself out towards the entrance. The guard looks around before rushing over to the fountain and I take that as my cue. I rush towards the spiral staircase, all the while maintaining the spell. The guard is trying to fight it with his own magic, but I can’t let go just yet. Not until I’m out of his sight.

I push even harder, forcing the water to splash around and fight him with waves crashing into his legs. He’s too busy fighting them off to notice me disappearing upwards. Only then I break the spell and let the guard deal with the spilled water. It’s almost time. I need to find the judge, who’s in charge of the hearing.

I don’t walk down the hallway for long, when a tall old man makes his way out of a room. He frowns at sight of me, already opening his mouth to yell for the guards, but I pull the scarf off my head. As I reveal my hair, his eyes widen and he gapes at me in shock.

“Good afternoon, sir. I believe you’re assigned to the case of Eros Callisto?” I question him. He nods, bowing awkwardly to me.

“Yes, yes, I am. Princess, you’re not safe here. There’s a prize on your head,” he warns me in a polite tone. Glad to know he’s on my side. But I’m not here to listen to him telling me how much danger I’m in.

“I’m aware of it. I’m here to testify as the witness to the event you’re investigating,” I explain, making his eyes look like they’re going to fall out of his sockets.