Torchlight shook across his face. He looked almost wild. "You chose them!" The words burst from somewhere old.
Raw.
"You led armies against me." His grip trembled. "My men died under your command."
Maria's vision blurred. She fought for air. Still managed a whisper. "Ed…mond…"
But he was pouring out wounds now. Years of them. "You betrayed us."
"You betrayed me."
Each accusation struck harder than the hand at her throat. Her lungs burned. Her eyes watered. Still she looked at him. Not with hatred. But with hurt.
That look shook him. His grip faltered. Only slightly.
Then tightened again as though ashamed of mercy.
Maria forced words through choking breaths. "If I die…"
She coughed. "…you kill your sister."
The words hit.
He froze.
Not fully. But enough. His face shifted.
Cracked.
And for the first time uncertainty entered his eyes. His hand still held her. But no longer with murder. With conflict. His thumb twitched.
As if wanting to release. As if refusing. Brother against oath. Blood against loyalty. Neither winning. Neither yielding.
Maria's voice came broken. Barely sound. "Choose me…"
The room seemed to stop. Even the wind outside. Even the torchfire.
Edmond stared at her. Now breathing hard. His grip was shaking now.
And slowly, almost against his will. his fingers loosened. Just enough for her to drag in one sharp breath.
She coughed violently. But his hand remained at her throat.
Maria staggered as Edmond's fingers tightened around her throat. His grip was iron. Air vanished. Her heels scraped against stone as she clawed at his wrist.
"My loyalty lies in my oath," he growled through clenched teeth. "And my oath has been sworn to Robert. He is the only king I can fight for."
Maria's lips parted in a desperate gasp. Her voice came broken.."You… are killing me." Her words barely escaped.
For a second his face twitched, almost uncertain. Then rage won. He hurled her away.
Her back slammed into the wall. The sound cracked through the chamber. She dropped hard, coughing, one hand pressed against her bruised throat, dragging in air like a drowning woman reaching shore.
Edmond pointed at her as if she were a traitor dragged before judgment. "You are no longer my only blood relative."
His chest rose sharply. "Bianca is pregnant. In nine months I will have my child."
Maria stayed bent over, breathing in ragged bursts. But slowly she lifted her eyes. They were wet. Burning. "Will that child," she said hoarsely, "be proud of a father who allowed his sister to die?"
The words struck. Edmond stiffened. Something dark crossed his face. "Do not play mind games with me." His voice thundered through the chamber. "That is not how the story went."
He drew his sword. Steel hissed. Maria did not move when he placed the blade at her throat. Cold metal kissed her skin. "My sister betrayed me," he spat. "She stood with my enemy."
His grip tightened around the sword hilt. "She killed her own clansmen in battle.".The blade pressed harder. Maria could feel death breathing.
Edmond leaned closer. "It was bold of you to come here." His eyes looked almost unfamiliar. No brother lived in them. "You are no longer my sister." His voice dropped. "And I ought to behead you right now."
Silence fell.
Only breath, and fury was heard.
Maria did not beg. Maybe pride kept her still. Maybe heartbreak.
Then Edmond's chest rose and fell. Something in him wrestled violently.
At last he stepped back. The sword lowered. "But I will spare your life," he said through gritted teeth, "because of your unborn child."
Maria blinked.
For a moment she thought she misheard. The blade dropped fully. Edmond turned away as though even looking at her offended him. "The next time you appear before me again…"
He pointed without facing her. "I will kill you."
Maria tried to speak. No words came. Her throat still burned from his hand. Her brother had threatened her with death. Her brother. She had imagined anger, but not this.
But Edmond was not done. He stood rigid, fists shaking. "I will pretend I never saw you." His voice was colder now. "I will leave. And when I return." He finally looked back. "you should be gone."
His stare cut deeper than the sword.."You have no place here anymore." Then he turned, and left. The doors slammed behind him.
Maria sat motionless on the floor. Breathing, listening, and breaking.
Edmond strode into the royal hall like a man outrunning his own thoughts..The Ice Throne stood ahead. He climbed its steps and dropped into it heavily. The vast hall was empty. But his mind roared. He gripped the armrest.
Hard.
His thoughts came in blows. I know how this war ends. The death of the Dragarians. He shut his eyes and now i have a Dragarian niece, or nephew in the way. His jaw tightened. A sister who has become Dragarian by marriage.
He rose so suddenly the throne groaned. "What am I supposed to do?" His voice echoed back at him. He punched the wall. Stone cracked skin. Blood marked the ice. He did not care. "Loyal to my relatives?" Another fist struck the stone. "Or loyal to my friend and king?"
His breathing turned savage. He paced. Stopped, and turned, then paced again. Like a caged beast.
Maria's face would not leave his mind. Her voice. Will the child be proud of a father who allowed his sister to die?
He cursed under his breath. It followed him. Haunted him. He pressed both palms against the wall and lowered his head.
No path was clean. Every choice was cursed. If he helped Maria, he betrayed Robert. If he stayed with Robert, he might help destroy his sister, and her child. His child's blood.
He laughed bitterly. One broken laugh. "This is madness." But slowly the storm in him narrowed.
Hardened.
He lifted his head. "I am a Woodland." He spoke it like a vow. Then louder. "A Woodland never breaks his oath." The words steadied him. Or maybe only numbed him.
He exhaled: long. And painfully. No part of this divide was convenient. No path was merciful. But choice had been forced upon him.
And he had made it. His oath to king Robert. He would stand by it as demanded by honour. Even if it tore flesh from spirit.
He pushed away from the wall and began walking back to his chambers. Each step was heavier. Each one was final.
When he reached the door, he paused..For one foolish second he wondered if Maria would still be there.
Waiting, crying, and hating him.
He opened the door, but the room was empty, and silent The chamber felt colder than winter. Maria was gone.
Edmond stood in the doorway and stared. The emptiness unsettled him more than her presence had.
She obeyed, She left, and somehow that hurt. His hand tightened on the doorframe. Then loosened.
Slowly he entered the room where she had knelt, where his hand had been around her throat, where blood and memory still hung in the air.
He looked at the place she had fallen. Then turned away. Because if he looked longer, maybe the oath he had chosen would begin to look like betrayal.