his room is walled off for a reason, the ancient attic only accessible from a hidden staircase behind the enormous bookshelf in her own bedroom. when she discovered the panel open, panic flooded her, and as she stands behind him now, it’s worse than she ever could have imagined. guilt, shame, sadness, anger — all of these things swirl around in her stomach.
viviana can’t look at zach’s face, so instead her eyes remained locked on the painting, old and wrinkled and discoloured, but still persevered with magicks. ‘ he’s dead, ’ she says simply, steeling herself. as she looks up at him, she swallows hard, but tries to keep her expression stern. truth be told, she’s been thinking about how to tell zach about alexander since she was reunited with her son, but — ‘ i did not feel we have yet become close enough to expose allthe dark secrets of my soul to you, and clearly i was right, considering you’re snooping around in my things instead of coming to me directly. ’
she slips past him, towards the portrait. her fingers brush over the old paper. viviana turns back towards her son, raising a slender brow, ‘ care to tell me what you’ve been searching so diligently for? ’ if he were anyone else, she would be paranoid with the idea of being betrayed. but this was zach, and if he were to only ask she would hand him over her kingdom, her own life, even, if that was something he truly wanted.
THE KING of thieves stands caught, his heart rapidly beating in his chest as his own mother calls him out. fingers curl into fists and blue eyes scan the room, catching the picture as her blunt response punches his gut. he can feel the disappointment seeping out of her at his distrust. but to be fair she’s been keeping secrets from him for hundreds of years. still, his head hangs as vivana rips at the thread of their relationship, the snarl of her voice sharp in his ears.
HE SWALLOWS. his heart skips a beat and he’s ashamed for even being curious. his voice breaks the steady silence and it feels like shattering glass, “i want to know you,” a pause, “i want to be close. but you don’t share. you hide.” he spits the last word at her feet, “you cower.”