Alvina and Quinn have never been further apart, but their connection to the spirits might be what reconnects them again.
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Quinn av Stál is slowly losing his mind. He's sure of that, and the only thing keeping him together is his fiancé Islo Charr...
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"I'm the king," I said and narrowed my eyes at Dreki.
"You're the king on our good graces, Your Highness," he hissed back and slammed his hand down on the document. "Sign the fucking document, Quinn."
"No. Public executions are disgusting, and you know it."
"Do I? I'm bringing back good old Andaheim traditions. You should be happy. This is your culture, right here." He smirked at me from the opposite side of the table.
"Do you want me to bring back Bursaaq culture too? What was it... Oh yeah, kill all the unclean. I guess genocide is genetic for you."
Dreki clenched his hands, red colour splashing over his cheeks. There was hate in his black eyes and I revelled in it.
"How about we make a trade?" he asked with an eerily calm voice.
"You have nothing I want."
"I don't think that's true, Quinn. I know where your mother is. I'll give her to you in exchange for your signatures."
Blood drained from my face and my back dumped against the backrest of my chair. My eyes widened and everything just stilled in my head.
"W-what?"
"You heard me."
"My... Mum?"
"I'm not gonna repeat myself. Do you accept the deal?"
My mother. She was a foreign concept to me. Something I had pushed so far down, I never allowed myself to think of her. Of what she was doing. How she was doing. Was she alright? What would she think of me if she met me now?
I looked down at the paper, it all blurring. I signed it and dropped the pen on the table.
"You should remember to thank you fiancé. He was the one who found her."
I rose to my feet, feeling completely blank. There was nothing in me as I walked out of the room. Islo had found her. He knew they were looking for her. And he didn't tell me. I had told him to not keep secrets but yet, he did. He kept doing it and I couldn't handle another secret.
With each step I took towards our chambers, the more rage fuelled up in me. I tore open the door, almost tearing it off its hinges.
Islo looked up from his book, soft jazz playing in the background.
"Quinn? You alright?"
"You found her?" I asked, my voice trembling.
"What are you talking about?" He put the book down and rose to his feet slowly.
"My mother. You found her? Without telling me?" Tears unhooked themselves from my eyes and trailed down my cheeks.
He looked down at the floor and nodded. "Dreki told me to. And not to tell you."
