Chapter 58: Chapter 58

“What is this queen story?”

“Why don’t we talk about it later,” Carmichael dodged, stretching on the bed.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I prepared everything for your return, but I refused to hope for it until I saw you strolling in the courtyard garden with your clothes in tatters.”

“Is that why they all bowed down to me?”

There was a knock on the door and Carmichael shouted to come in without telling me. I punched him on his chest and pulled the sheet up over my shoulders. He remained naked in front of the beautiful young woman who burst into the room.

“Pardon the inconvenience, My Master, but Salomon asks to see you on an important matter.”

I raised my head and observed the beautiful stranger whose crystalline voice with an American accent still echoed in my ears. She wore expensive pumps and had firm slender legs, her flared flesh-coloured dress highlighting her auburn hair cascading over her bare shoulders. She squirmed in embarrassment at the length of my inspection and dropped a pen that she didn’t bother to pick up because it presented itself in front of her. A telekinetic!

“Thank you, Marion,” said Carmichael, “tell him to meet us here in an hour.”

She left and I stood up impatiently.

“You don’t really mind showing yourself naked in front of another woman!”

I had said these words with a delivery far too fast which left Carmichael plenty of time to smile at this excess of jealousy.

“I thought you understood that the castes were far from modest.”

Indeed, I had already had occasion to notice it, but Carmichael’s nonchalant attitude horrified me.

“Who is she?” I asked, pulling on the jeans I’d picked up off the bedroom carpet.

“This is Marion, my new assistant. Naomi wasn’t doing her job anymore anyway.”

“And where does she come from?”

“From Las Vegas. She came with her sister Carly. Connor let them go two weeks ago to let Carly heal Eric. He woke up last night.”

“What?! And you were planning to tell me when?!”

“I’m telling you right now!”

I put on a T-shirt and sped off barefoot towards the Pomona room. Along the way, I met Thomas, who was coming back from one of the passages leading to the room.

“Have you seen Eric?”

“Yes,” he replied.

Then, after a long silence during which Thomas eyed me cautiously, I left in the direction of the chamber. He wanted to hold my arm but stopped immediately, instantly realizing his mistake.

“He doesn’t want to see you,” he managed to say, shaking his head.

He left in a gust of wind, leaving me in front of the entrance to the chamber. Eric didn’t want to see me, of course, but he owed me a meeting. I died by his hand, after all.

“It is better you don’t,” said the voice of the woman who appeared in front of me coming out of the chamber.

“Carly?”

“Indeed, Carly Stanton.”

She must have been in her forties and bore a striking resemblance to her sister. Her long auburn hair was gathered in a well-worked ponytail, she wore a black trouser suit and a beige bustier. Her advantageous breasts and her curves emphasized the beauty of her features. Her penetrating blue eyes were on the brink of throwing me off balance when, without comment, I walked past her to the cell where Eric was.

“You’re not the type to listen,” she said. “I should have known.”

“Sorry? I’m not sure I understand.”

“I didn’t know you were so touchy,” she said before withdrawing, a smile on her lips.

I wanted to make her eat her smile, but I pulled myself together and skirted the walls and ended up in the cell in which Eric was locked up. Seeing me, he reared up and gave me a pleading look. My heart broke in two upon realizing his condition. He had lost weight, and his hair and beard had grown. He hadn’t lost any of his attractiveness, but his eyes were dark circles and his face was gaunt. I broke the hinges of the door, ejected it from his cell and went inside.

“No, Eve!” he shouted.

He took refuge behind the headboard and stretched out his arms so that I stood at a distance.

“I don’t want to hurt you!”

I took his hands in mine and let him slowly become aware of my presence. His jaw closed and his face regained colour.

“I killed you,” he whispered.

“Yes, but I’m here now.”

He continued to stare at me as if my gaze was the only thing that separated him from the madness.

“You remember it?” I asked.

“Nothing, I don’t remember anything.”

He fidgeted, so I clenched my fingers in his and moved a little closer.

“The last thing I remember is looking for you after the escape from the Canary Wharf Tower in London.”

That was a long time ago. I then realized that Eric had been absent from my life all this time. I tried to think about what that entailed, but I was too upset. I unfolded my arms and hugged him.

“Eve, go away,” he said in a whisper.

“Nope.”

We stood close to each other for a moment and little by little I felt life reappear in his limbs. I let the wisp of warmth sink into him and released my gift to bring him back to life, as Carmichael had done with me. He welcomed the sensation and breathed harder as he pushed me away with both arms.

“Eve,” he just said.

“Okay, but you’re getting out of here and it’s not negotiable.”

“The others will refuse.”

“Let them try!”

Eric had reached his room in the south wing not without difficulty and refused my help. I had purposely crossed the garden courtyard and the common room with him so that everyone knew my decision about him. Once he had returned to his quarters, I left him lying on the bed and joined Carmichael and Salomon in the living room of the Master Hand’s chambers.

Sitting on the divan, Salomon got up abruptly and threw himself into my arms.

“Eve! What a pleasure to see you back in shape, my beauty!”

“Me too! How are you? Looks like you got all your legs back!” I turned to Carmichael. “And I just freed Eric.”

“But he can still be dangerous,” said Salomon, who was side by side with my furious lover.

“He’s not, and even if he was, what could he do to me that I can’t get up from? Nothing!”

Carmichael was even more furious. He clenched his jaw and glared at me with a look that would make you green with fear. Salomon cleared his throat.

“I guess you’re right. Eric is one of our best soldiers, it would be a shame to not have him with what will happen.”

“What will happen?” I asked.

“The Six! They won’t take long before gathering the troops necessary to attack.”

“What do you know about them?”

“That they are in Greece, on an island, their island, according to them. But word spreads. The legend of their existence has reached every continent and it is said that hundreds of castes are joining Althea the usurper.”

“The usurper?”

“Yes, the usurper. Because you are our queen, Eve.”

“You’re speaking nonsense!”

“The Hanlons have seen it!”

“I don’t care about their vision, I’m not going to become queen!”

“We spoke about it to the Council,” said Salomon in the direction of Carmichael, who remained immured in his cold silence. “Eve’s resurrection, the prophecy, not to mention the nine castes who got pregnant the night of the ball, all the signs show that the advent is possible. Can’t you see that?! Many castes will stick with Carmichael, but many will definitely be persuaded because you order them. We must go back to the old traditions and crown you both!”

“Out of the question!” I said.

“Carmichael, you know it, my brother,” said Salomon, lowering his head. “And you know it’s urgent.”

“If Eve doesn’t want it, I can only comply with her decision.”

“Please, Eve, think!” Salomon persisted. “The return to the caste monarchy will ensure the future of our people. The Six come from another era and will stop at nothing, it will be chaos if nothing is done.”

“But, how do you want me to become a queen?! It can’t be improvised!”

“We don’t need to improvise, Magnus has proclaimed himself Master Hand! And long before him, the castes had sovereigns at their head. We’ll bring out certain texts that Magnus stashed away in London and which we have fortunately found.”

“But me, a queen?!”

“And my wife,” Carmichael said in surprise.

The exchange of looks between Carmichael and me lasted a long time. Salomon slipped away, giving us an appointment at eight o’clock for dinner in the common room.

“You’re not serious?” I said to Carmichael without leaving my seat.

“I don’t know.”

“Oh yes, you know it, because you had almost two months to think about it.”

“The decision isn’t up to me.”

He sat back in his chair without taking his eyes off me.

“Do you really want it to come to this?”

“What I want is to go back to our cabin and find the woman I left there.”

“But I’m still me!” I said, walking towards him.

“Then why are you hesitating?! Or maybe it’s Eric’s return that’s making you pull back!”

He said his words with anger and I could clearly feel his fury in the concentration on his face. I couldn’t help thinking how sublime he was when he got angry and how indecent it was to find so much beauty in one man. If the notion of marriage posed no problem to him, it wasn’t my case and I felt I had to make my voice heard.

“I have just learned that I’m incapable of dying and you ask me to chain myself to you until the end of time.”

“Chain yourself!”

I knew my words were harsh, but I had no other way to express my objections to this diabolical machination of marriage.

“You should get out,” he said after a long silence.

He was right, but I was hurt, deeply hurt. Turning on my heels, I left in the direction of the Eleonore, where I found the comfort of my apartments. Nothing had moved and the radiators were warming the large room. The air was getting chilly and the onset of fall was making itself felt. I ran a bath and, in the hot water, I refused to give way to emotion. I felt my heavy heart all too well. I slipped on black skinny pants and a fitted blue top over them. I put on camel-coloured boots and made up my eyelashes with a swipe of mascara. I headed for the common room, and I must have been a little late because the tables were already full. Faced with the growing world that Mortain received regularly, several tables had been added and caste descendants without powers were recruited for the service. When I entered the room, silence settled and some guests greeted me by getting up. Carmichael hadn’t moved an eyelash. The mood was chilling, like the look Carmichael was giving me at that moment. Estelle handed me my plate and I took a seat at the table. The Master Hand was facing me at the very end. Marion, his assistant, was on his left while Carly sat on his right. Salomon sat between Carly and Caleb. Thomas faced them, Alysson stood next to him, her eyes still puffy. I thought she must have been in a lot of pain lately after what Eric had done to me, what she had felt for him, his coma and then learning that he didn’t remember their relationship at all. Her red eyes told me that the reunion hadn’t lived up to her expectations.

“Alysson, you’re not well,” I told her.

“Actually, I…”

“You can have dinner in your room if you want.”

“Carmichael asked that everyone be here,” whispered Johnny, seated next to me.

“I’m sure Carmichael will understand,” I said in the direction of Alysson. “Go and rest.”

Carmichael wore a black turtleneck sweater and had his hair down over his broad shoulders. He wasn’t eating anymore and watched Alysson walk away. Carly must have said something funny because he burst out laughing the next second. The woman had tied her hair in a long braid that she let hang over her right breast. Dressed in a form-fitting white T-shirt that clearly showed off her attractive curves, she rested her chin on the back of her hand and spoke to Carmichael with disarming naturalness. The more I watched them, the more I realized that their gestures denoted a certain intimacy. They had known each other for a long time, these two! Seeing his longing eyes, it didn’t take me long to realize that something must have happened between them. Abigail and her brother, seated to my right, tore me from my thoughts, rejoicing at my return, and I was happy to see that their behaviour remained the same as before my death. They told me that Prisca and her retinue had reached Asia soon after I woke up and began to tell me their vision of my coronation. Fortunately, Carmichael rose and gave a toast to the whole assembly in honour of my return. Some applauded at the end of the toast and nodded at me. I didn’t know how to take this attention, their reverent gestures were starting to make me uncomfortable. I responded with a nod and a friendly smile. How stupid I looked, I thought. And it was at this precise moment that he entered.

“Ethan!” I shouted as I stood up.

He stood there for a moment, watching me as if he had encountered a ghost. We can’t blame him. Short hair and stunned eyes, he wore a dark sweater over dark jeans. I looked at my brother with the thought that he was magnificent. I loved him. He ran towards me and I finally hugged him. He kissed my cheeks dozens of times before letting go of my face.

“My sister,” he said simply.

Tears welled up in my eyes and I hugged him a little tighter. He went to greet Carmichael, who held him back for a moment before asking him to sit in Alysson’s place. For others, Ethan’s return didn’t inspire the least bit of celebration, but for me, it filled one of the voids in my heart.

It was only after a few minutes that I noticed that the expression on his face was changing little by little. I realized that something was upsetting him. Wanting to avoid embarrassing him by asking him the question aloud and grilling him on his absence, I decided to communicate using our exclusive telepathy.

“Ethan?”

Silence.

“Ethan?!” I mentally shouted, as if that would make a difference.

“It’s not Ethan.”

The air caught in my throat when I recognized that unmistakable voice. Serious and silky, it whispered in my head and sent me back to unforgettable memories. Carmichael!

I jumped up realizing that my telepathic link had transferred to him. Carmichael made the same gesture of surprise, eyes widening. The guests fell into an incomprehensible silence while Ethan stared at me, his gaze lost. He understood. I looked up at Carmichael.

“I’ve changed.”

“You’ve changed.”

His penetrating gaze took my breath away. I left the common room crying and went to my suite. How much had my death affected me? How connected was I to this man? These are the questions that inhabited me as I arrived in my room. Like a child, I closed the lock and threw myself on my bed, crying hot tears. Transfixed by emotion, I dreaded not being able to bear any more.

“Good evening Everliegh.”

“Blake!” I said, looking up at the sound of his voice.