The Silver Debt
904 Words
Aria’s POV
The world didn't come back all at once. It returned in small, jagged pieces. I could smell medicinal herbs, a distant storm, and a throbbing ache in my temple that felt like a pulse. My eyes were heavy, glued shut by a fever that had dried the very breath from my lungs.
When I finally managed to crack them open, the room was covered in the dim, amber glow of a single lamp. I blinked, trying to clear the fog. My body felt heavy, like it was made of lead, and my skin still prickled with a lingering, burning heat.
That was when I realized I wasn't alone.
A woman was sitting in a chair pulled close to my bedside. She leaned forward, her hands busy with a bowl of water and a cloth. In the shadows, I thought it was one of the maids, maybe Bella, but as she moved into the light, my heart skipped a beat.
She was beautiful, but it was a cold, sharp kind of beauty. Her hair was a pale, shimmering blonde, and her eyes held a depth of experience that didn't match the youthful curve of her face. There was an air of authority about her, a quiet power that no maid in this estate possessed. And most importantly, she smelled of… Vanilla.
"You're awake," she said. Her voice was smooth, like silk over a blade. "Drink this. Your internal temperature nearly burnt your organs."
She held a glass to my lips. I pulled back instinctively, my throat dry and scratching. "Who... who are you?"
My voice was a parched rasp. I looked toward the door, expecting to see Noah or even a drunken Cassian, but the room was silent and empty except for the two of us.
The woman set the glass down on the nightstand. She didn't look offended by my question; instead, she looked at me with a worried, almost pitying curiosity. She reached out and placed a hand on my forehead. Her touch was startlingly cold, the exact opposite of the fire that had been consuming me.
"Well, I am the reason your heart is still beating, Aria," she said calmly. "The Void inside you tried to claim its vessel too early. If I hadn't been here to help your soul, you would be nothing but ash on those silk sheets right now."
I stared at her, a chill running down my spine that had nothing to do with the fever. "How do you know my name? How did you... help me?"
She stood up, smoothing the front of her expensive gown. She looked down at me, and for a second, I saw a flash of something in her eyes, not quite hatred, but a territorial warning.
"I spent my youth learning the old ways of healing," she explained, her tone turning distant. "It’s a rare skill, even among our kind. But I suppose I should introduce myself properly, since we are going to be seeing a lot of each other."
She leaned in closer, the scent of vanilla and something metallic filling my senses.
"I'm Elena," she said, a small, sharp smile playing on her lips. "Cassian’s fiancée. And the mother of the next Vaelor heir."
The air left my lungs. I looked at her hand, the hand that had supposedly saved my life, and all I could think about was the note I had dropped on the table. Could she have been the one who dropped the note? And did she really say Cassian’s fiancée? How was that even possible?
I was trapped in a bed, indebted to a woman who looked like she could strangle me at any second.
"Well, I guess I should be grateful to you for saving my life… uhm, Elena."
She turned toward the table, but she didn't head for the note. Her hand moved past it and straight for a bowl filled with what looked like a herbal mixture, likely the scent I’d perceived when I first opened my eyes.
“Well, Aria, you should be grateful. You really should.”
I smiled, but it didn't reach my eyes. Why did I have the feeling that she meant more than just saving my life?
“Do you know what's wrong with me?" I asked on impulse. I wasn't exactly expecting an answer, but I hoped for one.
Just as she opened her mouth to speak, a knock at the door interrupted her, and slowly, Noah came into view.
“You are awake." He looked relieved when he saw me. I was relieved to see him, too… almost. Until I remembered that I was only in this mess because of him and his drunk brother.
“How's Cassian?" I asked, trying to ignore him and shift the attention away from myself. I couldn't help but notice something shift on his face, was that jealousy?
Even Elena looked a bit offended. What the hell was going on in this house?
“He is sobering up," Noah said plainly as he turned to leave. Then he stopped in his tracks and spoke to me over his shoulder. “If you are feeling up to it, you can as well get up and get dressed. We have guests.”
- Writer
