Betrayed (The Secret World Of Atlantis 3)

Chapter 11 - A Year Older, A Year Wiser?

A couple of nights later, I find myself in a strange dream. It’s like I’m back in the North, I the place where everything changed. I am standing on the edge of the hidden platform by the volcano, staring off into the distance.

I have this strange feeling, like something’s off. Like I shouldn’t be alone here. I start to turn around, desperately trying to make the movement quicker, but it’s like wading through water. My body feels like it’s weighing at least a ton. I hate it when this happens in dreams.

As soon as I turn around, I find myself somewhere else. The place looks quite familiar, and it takes me a moment to realize, that I’m staring into the stream, where I almost got killed. We dragged the vampire’s body in here, Eros and I. What am I doing here?

I begin turning around again, trying to move a little quicker, but my body once again doesn’t want to obey. In that moment, the scenery changes again and I find myself breathing heavily, as I stare into the body on the ground. I’m inside that cave again. The one where we spent two days during the full moon. What is that body doing there? And more importantly, whose is it?

I slowly approach it, a big lump forming inside my throat. I don’t need to get much closer to realize, who is lying there. It should be obvious the moment I figured out, where I am. I fall to my knees, staring at Eros’s numb body. It’s been so long since I’ve last seen him, that my heart starts beating faster, even if I know it’s only a dream.

In the next moment, I get startled as he suddenly rises up, his blood red eyes staring right into mine. I freeze in horror, trying to move, but I find myself glued to the spot. As his lips curl up into a wicked smile, I wake up, sweat running down my forehead.

I sit up in bed, the night gown sticking to my back, as I try to pull myself together. I wish I hadn’t dreamt about him. It is only going to make me feel even worse today.

As I lie back down, I find myself wide awake. There’s not even the slightest chance, that I’m going to fall back asleep now. Not after having his face imprinted into my mind. And especially not after seeing those terrifying red eyes.

Just like in a dream, I slowly get up, only this time I’m fully aware of my body and my surroundings. I head outside, the warm night air caressing my skin softly. Another hot day is coming. It’s a good thing I’ll be spending it in the library again.

The sky is already blue, with a slightly lilac shade. It means the sun is going to start rising soon. I might as well wait it out. It’s not like I’ll be able to fall back asleep now.

I position myself in a chair, staring right into the spot, where the sky begins changing colours. I try not to think about anything, as I watch the sunrise, letting my mind relax. I don’t want to think about what today is, because I don’t feel like acknowledging it without Eros’s presence.

But the moment I show myself outside my chambers, I get attacked. My grandparents are the first to hug me, while squealing excitedly at me: “Happy birthday!”

“Please don’t remind me,” I mumble into my grandmother’s shoulder, making her frown as she hears the words leave my mouth.

“Now there, don’t tell me you’re afraid of aging up. You’re still a minor, what are you so worried about?” she asks, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. “If anyone should be worrying about their age, it’s me!” she then adds with a little extra sharpness in her voice.

“Oh, no. It’s not my age that’s bothering me,” I respond before closing my mouth. I refuse to share my inner troubles with many other people. No matter how hard they might be to carry.

My grandmother sends me a sympathetic gaze, as she realizes what I’m talking about. She pats my shoulder, offering me a small smile. “Be patient. You’ll get what you’re waiting for.”

I wish I could say her words made me feel any better, but I can’t. Because somehow, I feel even more grim, as we join everyone for breakfast. Father is up on his feet immediately, pulling me into a tight hug. “Happy birthday, sweetheart. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for the past sixteen ones, but I promise I’ll be there for the rest of them, until my last breath,” he murmurs into my ear.

There’s a lump in my throat, as I try to answer him, but all I’m able to do is let out a soft sigh and bury my face into his shoulder. “Thank you,” I mumble into his shoulder, unable to get any other words out of my mouth. He simply offers me a sympathetic smile, knowing very well how welled up with emotions I am.

“I heard you’re quite sensitive about your age, so I’ll just wish you a happy birthday from afar,” uncle Kaspar calls out to me, making my lips curl up slightly. I thank him and repeat the same for the rest of my family, who wishes me a happy birthday.

“So … Seventeen, huh?” Elena nudges me excitedly, as I sit down next to her. I force a smile on my face, not wanting to talk about my birthday anymore. She celebrated hers in July, when I was away, and I still feel a bit bad about missing it. I already asked her not to get me anything in advance, because I also didn’t buy a gift for her.

“Arya, darling, how would you like to celebrate this special day?” father suddenly asks, shaking me out of my thoughts. I look at him with a surprised expression.

“What is there to celebrate? I’m a year older, that’s it,” I reply nonchalantly, while trying to keep my tone as friendly as possible. The whole table seems to be taken aback by my statement. Right. Traditions. I take a deep breath, before opening my mouth again. “I’m sorry, but I don’t feel like celebrating in the light of the recent events. And I apologize if my words came out harsh. That wasn’t my intention at all.”

Father’s blank expression suddenly relaxes, as he pulls his mouth into an understanding smile. When he speaks up again, his voice is gentle. “I get why you don’t want to celebrate, but …” He glances around the rest of the table, his eyes especially seeming to stop on my grandparents for a moment. “Are you sure you don’t want a party? It would help take your mind off things. You could unwind a little,” he continues.

I let out a soft sigh, deciding to pick what to eat, before replying to his offer. I am more than a hundred percent sure, that I don’t want to celebrate my birthday, but I don’t want to be so impolite to turn him down immediately. I just don’t have the heart, since he’s trying so hard.

The atmosphere suddenly grows tense, and as oblivious as I am, I keep putting food on my plate. At least until Elena nudges me, making me look up with a questioning gaze. I am more than stunned, as my eyes land on none other, but Zara.

She is standing there, her posture broken, her hands clenched into fists and her eyes narrowed. Her whole body looks like it’s trembling and I’m not sure whether it’s from rage or a panic attack, now that she’s decided to come dine with us. That’s when I realize that it must be the first thing. She probably overheard our father talking about throwing a party for my birthday … Which is something really inappropriate after the Queen’s rather public trial and execution.

And not to mention, that we didn’t even hold a funeral because of her betrayal. We let the Courthouse bury her with the rest of the criminals. Zara wasn’t pleased with that, as you might imagine. No one in her shoes would be.

We all stare at her like she’s a ticking bomb, holding our breaths as we’re waiting for her to say anything. In the end, father is the one who opens his mouth. But Zara’s reaction soon makes us wish, that he wouldn’t. “Good morning. I am more than overjoyed, that you’ve decided to join us.”

Zara’s eyes flicker towards him with such a sharp movement, that it seems like they’re going to fall out of her sockets. Before I’m even able to think, that this doesn’t mean anything good, Zara already begins screaming. “How dare you dishonour my mother like that?! She was just killed and you’re thinking about throwing a birthday party?! A PARTY?!”

The whole table flinches at her volume, while I wish the earth would open up beneath me and swallow me whole. I knew nothing good is going to come out of this party suggestion.

Father tries to calm my sister down with a soothing tone, but all he seems to do is add salt to the wound. “Zara, please. It’s your sister’s birthday. And I wasn’t talking about a proper party, I only meant to invite the Ganymedes, so we could celebrate a little.”

“A party is party! How dare you lie to my face?! HOW DARE YOU?! HOW DARE YOU CELEBRATE, WHEN I JUST LOST EVERYTHING?!” she keeps shouting, making me feel even more embarrassed. Here I am, trying to mend the relationship I have with my sister and now this one thing may ruin everything. That’s why I don’t like my birthday. It’s like I’m cursed. No birthday in my life has ever brought anything good to me. And it seems like the tradition is continuing.

Father already begins to open his mouth in his last attempt to calm Zara down, but she lets out another shriek, before storming back inside the Palace. Father already means to go after her, but I stop him by grabbing his shirt and pulling him back down. As he looks at me, I shake my head with determination. “She needs time,” I inform him, making him let out a heavy sigh.

“I know she does, but it’s been days now! What else am I supposed to do to make her speak to me again?” he wonders, leaning his elbows onto the table in disappointment.

I stare at the empty doorway for a moment, before glancing back at my father. He is already looking at me with expectation, probably thinking that I have another folk wisdom up my sleeve. But I definitely don’t. “I’m sorry father, but all you can do now, is give her a bit more time to grieve. She did lose her mother after all.” I shrug, not sure what else to add. This is all I was able to come up with.

He shakes his head in frustration, burying his face into his hands for a moment. As he looks at me again, his face seems determined. “Alright. There will be no party today. You were right, it truly is inappropriate.”

With that, our conversation about my birthday is luckily done. I’m not sure I would be able to participate in it any longer. If things were different, I would gladly celebrate, Queen’s death or not. But with the one person, that I would want by my side, being lost somewhere in the North, I can’t bring myself to be happy. It’s an impossible task. But even if he was here, I wouldn’t want a big celebration. Out of respect for Zara. It wouldn’t seem proper to me.

With the silence, that falls onto the table, I find myself thinking again. And my thoughts aren’t pleasant at all. Even with my father’s help, we still weren’t able to find anything useful to find Eros. But I’m not going to give up looking. Because I don’t want that dream of mine to come true. As I think of those blood red eyes, shivers begin running down my spine. No matter what he’s going through, I can’t let him turn into a Dark one. Never in a million years.