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35 AELIA

My head throbbed, and my mouth tasted like dirt. A pair of cold-pressed iron manacles weighed heavy on my wrists, blocking my magic. I sucked in a breath and tried to push the searing pain of the stab wound out of my mind. My skin crawled. Getting out of these chains was my only hope of escape.

Shame and anger fought like rabid dogs in my chest. I should not have trusted my sister, and it weighed heavy on me. My sister was a traitor. My sister hated me. My family was destroyed.

A bare room met my foggy gaze. Wallpaper hung in tatters from the walls. The smell of burning wood wafted through the air. I tried to orient myself, but I was utterly lost with no window to see the sky. A chill sank into my bones.

Using the wall as a brace, I pushed myself to my feet. My knees cracked and stars blurred my vision, but I managed to stumble to the door. I pressed my ear to it, hoping to hear voices on the other side. Had Baylis been planning this the whole time? Bile burned in my gut, working its way up my throat and out of my mouth. How could I have been so foolish? I’d given her all the information she needed to destroy me and empower Gideon.

My brain burned for the calming smoke of a cigarette—or better, a pinch of dust, but I wasn’t that person anymore. I was stronger than that.

Voices echoed from the room beyond—a man’s, deep and brooding, alongside Baylis’s.

“Did you use the amulet to call Erissa?” Baylis asked.

“Yes,” the man answered, his voice thick with annoyance.

“Well, we can’t stay here long. They will come looking for her.”

“That’s the point. She’s the carrot on the end of the stick.”

“And what of your rival? You don’t think she could have gotten one of them?”

“Kita is clever and cunning. I have no doubt she’s been stalking the Lord of Lightning. Only time will tell if she gets to him before he discovers Aelia is missing.”

My blood turned to ice in my veins. I was bait for Tharan and Caiden, but how would they know where to look? The heavy weight of dread settled on me. I looked down at my hands. All my fingers were still intact. They hadn’t sent a ransom note yet. Reaching up to my ear, I felt the hole where the whisper stone had been. My stomach turned. They didn’t need to send a finger. They could use my voice to lure Tharan out. Would Erissa be that foolish? We didn’t have the exact locations of the Trinity Wells. Did she?

The sound of heavy footsteps scraped across the floor. I placed myself in the same position I had been in and closed my eyes.

The smell of salt stung my nose before the man entered the room.

“Alright, Mind Breaker. Time to wake up.” The slap of his palm stung against my cheek, and I groaned.

“Who are you? What do you want with me?” I asked, playing dumb. If I could get him to identify me as a person and not a mark, perhaps I could work my way into his good graces.

“Name’s Alwin and that’s all you need to know, Mind Breaker.”

I bit my lip. If Alwin was like any of the other barbarians I’d encountered before, he would underestimate me.

“What are you going to do with me?” I put on my best puppy-dog eyes.

He set a pitcher of water and a bucket down.

“Just sit tight.”

This wasn’t working, and with the iron searing into my skin and boiling my mind, I couldn’t waste any more time.

“Where’s my sister?”

His amber eyes flitted to the door.

“She’s too much of a coward to face me? I can’t break any minds with these iron shackles around my wrists.” I shook the manacles behind my back, and the ball of power bound in my chest twitched. It’s never done that before.

Alwin chuckled.

“I have nothing to say to you,” Baylis’s voice echoed from behind Alwin.

“Just tell me why?” My voice cracked with desperation.

“I told you why. You destroyed our kingdom. Our life. All for what? For the love of sylph, who you can never marry?” She chuckled, and I did not recognize her voice.

My heart sank. My sister was truly gone.

“And now you’ve shacked up with another one.” She clicked her tongue. Alwin moved, and her slender frame came into view.

Gone were her gowns. Now, she wore the red armor of the Highlands. Her blonde hair was braided in a crown on top of her head—an iron widow made from the remnants of my sister. Gideon had torn her down and rebuilt her from the ground up, just like he had me. Only this time, he succeeded. I was his test subject. She was his success. Or should I say, Erissa’s success?

“Gideon tricked me. Manipulated me. Just like he’s doing to you now.”

Malice flared in her gray eyes.

“Manipulated? He set me free. All my life I have been cleaning up your messes. Being the good little sister while you got to trollop around the continent playing dignitary.”

An invisible dagger seared through my heart. This was not my sister.

Was I really that horrible to be around? I bit the inside of my cheek. Maybe I was.

I shook my head.

“What? No. It was never like that. We each had our duties. We knew what we had to do to keep our kingdom running.”

“Yes, and you conveniently got the job where you got to leave. Do you know what it was like for me? To watch Father slip away day after day and never be able to escape?”

I didn’t know what to say. Had Gideon wiped her mind entirely and rewritten the very fabric of who she was, or had she always harbored this resentment, and Gideon just found a way to release it?

“I… I’m sorry, Baylis.”

“Save your fucking apology for someone who cares.” She scoffed and left.

“I’m not getting paid enough for this shit,” Alwin muttered under his breath, shutting the door behind him.

I sat in silence for a long time. My heart was heavy with a thousand emotions. Anger and guilt fighting a war inside my mind. I should have protected her, but what could I have done? I was fighting my own demons for years while Gideon was shaping her into the acolyte he always wanted. My breath turned to vapor in the cold air. With no window to the outside, I couldn’t tell what time it was. They left me water but didn’t realize I couldn’t drink it with my hands tied behind my back. Was this intentional cruelty or just sheer stupidity?

I had to get out of here, but first, I had to remove these manacles. Twisting my wrists in the shackles, I tried to slip my thin wrists out, but they were tight. I gazed around the barren room. There was nothing here to help me. I would have to get out another way.

I pushed myself up against the wall again. The iron still burned my wrists. I listened at the door for their voices but could hear nothing. They could have put up a sound shield, though Baylis didn’t have that kind of magic, and I didn’t suspect Alwin did either.

I tried the knob, but it was locked. Shit . Okay, it’s time for plan B. I kicked the door as hard as I could.

“Hello! I need to relieve myself!” I called to no one. “Hello! Did you hear me?”

Silence answered my call.

Examining the door, I noticed its age. The hinges surely hadn’t been tightened in years. Could I risk making that much noise? No. Best to try and find another way out. A poker leaned against a fireplace on the side wall. If I could angle it just right, I could break the taut chain binding my hands. That’s if I could get the poker to stand straight.

I blew out a breath, annoyed at my lack of options and even more annoyed I let myself get into this situation.

Using the fire poker as leverage, I hooked the ring of my manacles over the top then pulled as hard as possible against the metal spike, praying the base held. For a moment, I thought it would work. The metal bent against the strength of the poker, but it did not break.

Gritting my teeth, I pulled harder. “C’mon.” They did not break. Exhausted and still sore from the wound in my back I slunk to the floor. I’d have to find another way out. I looked at the door once more. It was risky, but I could probably break it down.

I weighed my options: I could stay here and wait for them to call Gideon or Erissa or whoever, or I could try to make a break for it.

Fuck it.

Hurling myself at the door, I lowered my shoulder to take the brunt of the impact. The wood creaked and groaned as I slammed my body into it, but it did not break. Pain throbbed through my shoulder. I checked the hinges again. They were looser. Dare I try again?

I held my ear to the door. If anyone were on the other side, they would surely have heard me. I braced myself for Alwin to come bursting through, trying to think of an excuse. My blood pressure rose, and I winced.

Nothing.

No one.

Huh.

I backed up one more time and hurled myself at the door again. The wood cracked. The door fell open, and I along with it. Dust billowed in the air and clogged my lungs. I coughed, trying to clear it. My head buzzed.

I tempered the lightness in my chest. A small success, but Alwin and Baylis could be lurking around any corner.

Slowly, I got to my feet, using the wall for support. I looked around for a way out. Two low-burning candles lit a decrepit hallway. Just like in my room, wallpaper peeled from the wall, revealing exposed boards and old brick. The smell of dust and cobwebs filled the space. Moonlight trickled in through the boarded-up window. Were we still in Ruska or someplace else?

I tip-toed down the hall toward what I thought was a staircase, using the dim moonlight as my guide, listening for any sign of Baylis or Alwin. The ancient floorboards creaked beneath my delicate steps. My heartbeat pounded in my ears. I wanted to cut and run, but I needed to be smart. Being flighty would not help me now.

I held my breath as I worked my way down the stairs. Each step brought me closer to freedom. A fire roared in the hearth. I could make out Alwin’s silhouette slouched in a chair. His massive hand was still wrapped around a bottle of amber liquor. The sound of his snoring drowned out the crackling fire. Did he have the key to my shackles? Even as I thought it, I knew he didn’t. Baylis wouldn’t risk it. She was a hardened warrior now. A master of her domain, she wouldn’t trust just anyone with the keys to my freedom.

My eyes flicked from the parlor to the door. Adrenaline coursed through my veins. Turning my back to the knob, I slowly turned the brass handle. Its engravings made dents in my skin. My hands fumbled to turn the knob. I scanned the stairwell, the parlor, and the blackened hallway for any sign of Baylis.

A winter wind whipped violently at the door.

Click. The door opened, and a chill swept through the foyer. My joy soured in my mouth.

Shit.

I didn’t have time to think. Pushing the door open, I ran into the snowy night. Thin air filled my lungs. A forest of pines surrounded the cabin. The moon loomed overhead. Two horses dug in the snow. If only my hands were free, I could ride away from here.

I scanned the dense forest. Baylis was out here. I could feel it in my bones. But where? My breath turned to mist in the cold night air. I couldn’t stay out here in the open for long. I needed to run. But where? Judging by the sky, we were east of Ruska. Likely Eryndor or Leighton. A human kingdom was better than an elven one, and Leighton was known to have dense forests.

I headed east into a thicket of pines. The snow hadn’t melted here yet. Baylis would be able to track me easily. I just had to hope she was far away from wherever this was.

An arrow whizzed by my head, lodging itself in a tree. Shit .

I sunk into the snow, resting my back against a tree trunk.

“Don’t worry, sister, I can’t kill you,” Baylis’s high-pitched voice echoed through the forest, surrounding me. She was everywhere and nowhere at once. I needed to move.

I listened for the sound of her feet crunching through the snow, but I could not hear them over the crows cawing in the canopy.

The snow burned my skin. I had to run. My vapored breath would give me away if she came close. I scanned the trees. We were on a steep hill. This wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t have another choice. I had to move forward.

My knees cracked as I braced myself against the tree. Do it, Aelia, just run. My pulse quickened, and my mouth dried. It was now or never. I started down the hill. Arrows whizzed by. She was trying to scare me. If she wanted to hit me, she would have.

“Don’t make me hurt you!”

Birds took flight. The sounds of their flapping wings echoed through the silent forest. I could feel her behind me. I was a mouse running from a cat in a maze of her making. She’d let me run myself out. Let me think I was going to escape. Then she’d strike.

But I wouldn’t give up that easily. If she wanted me so badly… I’d make her work for it.

Zigzagging my way down the hill took everything in me to keep upright. With my hands tied behind my back and my feet slipping in the snow, a fall was imminent—arrows whizzed by me.

“Stop, Aelia. There is nowhere for you to go.”

I didn’t answer. I wasn’t trying to go anywhere, just trying to escape her.

“Aelia! This is your last chance.”

She trained her bow on me.

I closed my eyes and threw myself down the hill. Sticks and rocks bruised my skin, and blood filled my mouth. Whether it was from my tongue or my nose, I couldn’t tell. As I tumbled down the hill my foot caught on a root, twisting until I heard an audible crack . A hot scream ripped through my lungs, but still I kept rolling. Rocks battered my body. Pain radiated through me as I finally came to a halt at the bottom of the hill. Pushing myself up, blood poured from my face, staining the pristine snow below. I dragged my leg, trying to keep moving.

The cold tip of sharp steel ripped through my back, and my breath turned to a wheeze. I cried in pain.

The birds silenced.

I pulled in a ragged breath. My lungs filled with blood and the gash in my back ripped anew. Sinking to my knees, I prayed Ammena would take me, but I knew I wouldn’t be that lucky.

My vision tunneled. The sweet, earthy scent of the river wafted in the air.

“I told you not to run,” Baylis chided me.

Another heavier pair of footsteps approached.

“Pick her up. Erissa is not going to be happy,” Baylis snapped.

“I’m still going to get my coin, right?” Alwin asked, scooping me up. My broken body lay limp in his massive arms.

I gasped for air.

“What happens if she dies?”

“She’s not going to.” Baylis released my manacles and magic rushed through my veins, healing my wounds. Tears trickled down my cheeks. I stared up at the sky, watching the birds flee the forest. I pictured Tharan’s face. The smell of pine on his glowing skin. The taste of his mouth on mine. The way his eyes brightened when he laughed.

The tears came harder, mixing with the blood already on my face.

I shut my eyes.