ততততত

𝐓 𝐎 𝐁 𝐈 𝐍

𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐑

I hear their whispers.

My parents' voices echo through the household, yet the sound of them is an inaudible hum that I struggle to decipher. I crack my eyes open, only to have the moonlight fall over the blankets. It's the middle of the night, and the last I remember is...

The whipping.

I attempt to sit up, but fall captive to my mattress. Gods, it's like a thousand spears pierce right into my flesh. When I try to move, my muscles strain for me to relax, to ease.

"For fuck's sakes—"

"Momma told you not to say that word."

A tiny hand grasps onto my own, and a pair of golden eyes meet the dark brown of mine. Aspen. Her chestnut hair is always a bit of a mess, considering she's this tiny little hurricane that creates chaos wherever she goes. I guess being a pain in the ass is in the Parias blood, according to my father. She's always climbing something, always running off into the unknown. She's only six years old, and we can't even contain her.

According to my mother, she sounds like she's turning into me.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" I grumble as I manage to sit up against the back of the cot.

"I can't sleep," she squeezes my hand. "Momma and daddy are talking too loud about you."

Of course they'd talk about me. In the clouds of mist and drizzle, Leighton punished me for disobeying his orders. I refused to shed innocent blood, and in return, it was mine that had to be shed to the earth. The memories of the event are left in fragments in my mind, but gods, there was blood. So much fucking blood. Every lash against my skin brought me one step closer to meeting the devil himself to bring me to the underworld.

Until my father carried me back home with a new vengeance. I was alive, but barely. Now here I am—a reminder of what was lost and what's at stake.

Aspen's hand squeezes mine. "Can I sleep here?"

How can I say no to my little bundle of chaos? I help her into my bed as she snuggles in against my bare chest. Bandages wrap around my entire torso, and Aspen's tiny fingers fiddle with the fraying edges of the cloth. This punishment will leave me with ugly scars that no one will want to see. They'll be deep into my flesh, healing in such a deformed pattern.

I was soft, and these wounds? They'll turn me back to stone.

Aspen's eyes remain closed as she curls up against me, but through the blistering stiff pain of my back, I know I'm not falling asleep anytime soon. Instead, I stare at the wooden panels of the ceiling.

"You can't leave, Berin," my mother's voice raises just slightly enough so I can hear them outside the bedroom. "Our son almost died today, and you want to run off to Lagulon? You need to be here, with him. You're just damn lucky they let you stay at his side while he recovers."

"Tobin is stable," my father soothes. He has this voice that always seems to calm everyone around him. "But I can't afford to let this happen again. Seeing Tobin suffer like that... it's something I will never be able to unsee."

"This is dangerous. You have children, for god's sake! Planning to overthrow Leighton's entire reign—"

My father hushes her and drops his voice. "Keep your voice down, Aelesia. You never know when the walls have ears."

"Why would King Orion even consider aiding you? Leighton has cut ties with all the other kingdoms: Lagulon, Thivalon, Oponem... He'll kill you on the spot for being Adoridian on Lagulonian grounds."

"Orion and I have a friendship deeper than politics," my father tells her. "He will spare me."

I stare at the ceiling in furrow my brows, tucking a soundly sleeping Aspen closer against me. King Orion Mironescu is the King of Lagulon. Although Adorid's monarchy has shaken these past few years, Lagulon's existence has remained this idyllic world. It's surrounded by turquoise oceans and lush with forests. The people there don't know what it means to feel pain, when all they know is bliss. It's a shame Adorid plans to drag them to hell too.

"Leighton has no heirs, not even an estranged uncle," my mother's voice breathes. "If you... eliminate him, who would take the crown?"

"You know it is in the Parias blood to serve the throne," my father mutters. "But I've served a shadow of a man for so long."

"That doesn't answer my question, Berin."

"It will be me," he says, his voice firm yet almost ashamed that he holds the title. "I will be the next king, and if I perish, the title will carry to Tobin. It's written in the ancient scrolls that if it is not of Federline descent, it will be of Parias. Even they cannot deny that."

There's a lull in their conversation, but with every beat of silence, a weight of worry builds in the pit of my stomach. I don't want that title. I've trained all my life to be ready to take over my father's position, to serve by the king's side. But I'm no king. No one would ever serve a boy covered in hideous scars. They tell tales of my weakness, my vulnerability.

My breath hitches as seizing pain curses through my back. They'll see a fool, not a king.

I'm not a king. I'm not a warrior—if I can't even kill.

"It's only a few days, Aelesia," I've never heard my father's voice so tender, so soft. "If you're scared, you always have Tobin and Aspen around."

"Do you think this is the best option? For both of them?"

"Tobin has become one of the mightiest warriors in the militia—undefeated in so many areas. And Aspen?" he chuckles. "The possibilities for her are endless."

"But if you kill Leighton... do you think it will be better for them?"

"It has to be. You know the reputation Leighton has. Once Aspen is old enough, I fear she might end up in his grasp. Tobin has already felt the brutality of his resentment. If Leighton's reign continues, I doubt that will be the last time he faces the whip or worse. He might not come back alive."

It hits me like a brick to the face. My father's promise to me when he carried my bloodied body was that he'd kill Leighton. He's going to assassinate the King of Adorid, and then he'll take the throne in order for the kingdom to return to the way it was prior. He wants to lift the storm we've been living in for years, to end the river of blood flowing in the castle's horrid walls.

Maybe I missed a line in the conversation, because my bedroom door creaks open. The silhouette of my father fills the doorway, with my mother's anxious green eyes hovering over his tall shoulder. My father was always a well fit man due to his position, a true hero when courage dwells inside him.

They see me wide awake, soothing a now heavily-sleeping Aspen.

"Tobin," my father's voice croaks as he enters into the confined space. Our home isn't big—just a brick townhome within an elite neighborhood of Evertania. When he notices Aspen, he hushes his voice. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit."

He chuckles, "I'm not sure what kind of answer I was expecting."

"Are you really going to do it?" I question.

No use dancing around the subject on tiptoes. My father wants to do the unthinkable. Who the hell in the right mind would want to kill the king? Leighton will be merciless to anyone who disobeys him. I'm just one example. If he discovers my father, his right hand, schemes of his demise—then our entire bloodline will reach our downfall.

"Tobin," he leans down and kisses my forehead. "He won't ever harm you, or anyone in this family, again."

The promise settles the anxious vines weaving their way inside of me. "And Aspen?"

"Leighton has to go through her big brother first," he winks at me, then scoops Aspen's petite sleeping body into his burly arms. "Time to put this little storm back to bed."

"Dad—"

"You need to rest, son," at once, my father's eyes have a slight urgency in them. "I'll need you in full health when I return soon enough."

I nod. With Aspen in his arms, he wanders back over to the doorway. My mother combs back a mess of chestnut curls from Aspen's forehead before leaning down and giving her a tender kiss, then a kiss to my father's lips. The four of us are a family, a bond that cannot be snapped or broken. My father isn't overthrowing Leighton's reign for the throne, but because he wants his children to flourish. Even if my father disappears, even if my mother vanishes, I'll carry my father's silent promise.

No matter what happens, that little girl in my father's arms will blossom into the fiercest storm the kingdoms have ever seen.

My little bundle of chaos, my Aspen—Adorid will one day be yours.

But for now, we need to rest, for the biggest trial of our lives is coming.

── •✧• ──

I was debating on whether to keep Tobin's backstory hidden and exploring it later on, but I think knowing these bits of his past actually emphasize Imogen's current and future experiences in Adorid. Also, after writing that previously lengthy chapter for Imogen, I wanted a small break from her POV to write about Tobin.

Thanks for reading Only After Nightfall. Make sure to vote, comment, & share! I love knowing if my readers are reading and loving the book, so don't be afraid to make yourself known!