Page 6

CHAPTER 6

T wo days after the dinner, I woke up particularly early in the hopes that Taylin would be in the gardens waiting for me considering I hadn’t been able to see her since the ball. As I stepped outside the doors, I found her sitting on the stone bench we always met at. She stood as soon as she saw me.

My new guard who’d replaced my previous one yesterday was now a tall, lean redhead that seemed somewhat new to the job. He stayed posted by the doors, keeping a bored eye on our surroundings as I took a seat on the bench.

“Where have you been?” Taylin asked, worry evident in her voice as she lowered herself to the stone once more. Her pin-straight blonde hair flowed over her shoulders, the sun reflecting off the gold strands. The freckles on her nose were evidence of her time spent in the sun, the little spattering of dots a complement to her deep blue eyes. Her ivory dress hugged her figure beautifully. Though townspeople were encouraged to wear Amosite’s colors, they were afforded some freedom to choose their attire. Aside from my jealousy of that, I always wished I had Taylin’s curves and nearly flawless hair. Mine was wavy on a good day, but frizzy most.

I shook my head, easing her surely racing thoughts. “I had extra duties and couldn’t make it down.” She knew about my stepmother’s punishments, and that sometimes, I’d be in too much pain for our visits. “I’m leaving.”

Taylin’s eyes widened to the point I thought they might burst from her head and fall to the grass at our feet.

“For three weeks,” I explained. “With Lander.”

Somehow, her eyes grew even wider.

I explained the reason my father was sending us away, and how Lander’s brother would be accompanying us. I didn’t forget to mention that Lander didn’t seem too involved in this marriage either, which made it a bit easier for me to accept.

“So he doesn’t want to marry you?” she asked once I was finished.

“I’m not sure. He seems okay with the engagement, but not so enamored with the political side of it that it’s bothering him. I want to say that we have the same feelings about all of this, but that would be exaggerating, as I haven’t had much time to talk with him.”

She rolled her lips together like she was thinking on something. “And his brother, Paxon, he’s really going with?”

I nodded.

“Do you think he might be up to something?” Taylin wondered out loud.

I tilted my head in question. “What makes you say that?”

She sat forward on the bench. “Why would Paxon take such an interest in his brother’s fiancée? I mean, from what you told me, he seemed kind of creepy at the dinner. And accompanying your group on this journey? It’s no business to him. This is for the two of you, not him.”

“If we’re being technical, it’s mostly for the kingdom.” I understood why she might be skeptical, but that was how political moves seemed to happen in these places. It was never only between the two individuals involved, but their entire parties, and their families, too. “It affects him in some way. He’s a part of their family, you know.”

She sat back on the bench, her eyes full of concern. “Are you scared?”

I shrugged. “Somehow, not really. I’m excited to see what it looks like out there.” My gaze moved in the direction of the city, though I couldn’t see it past the foliage in the garden.

Taylin had never been outside the chasm, but she knew what all of Amosite looked like. She’d tell me stories about Silicate, the garbage in the streets, the people bustling about. It didn’t always sound pleasant, but it didn’t have to be. It sounded real . Sometimes I caught myself thinking of what it’d be like to be down there, a part of it all, to overhear gossip, take part in conversations with strangers just for the hell of it, and smell freshly prepared food. That was never to be my destiny, but now I’d get a glimpse at it.

The door to the castle opened and another guard slipped out, mumbling something to my appointed guard. After a few exchanges, the guard went back inside, and the redhead started for me.

“I suppose our visit is being cut short,” I said, disappointment evident in my tone.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“I’ll do my best.” I’d miss Taylin for the days I was gone, but I’d see her as soon as I returned.

“My Lady,” the guard started.

I stood, waving him off, then pulled Taylin in for a quick hug. Out of the corner of my eye, the guard tensed, but he made no attempt to split us apart.

“Love you, Tay,” I said quietly.

“Love you lots, Auria. This will be good for you,” she replied with a smile as I let her go.

Leaving Taylin in the gardens, I followed my guard back inside the castle. The doors closed behind us, taking the sunlight with them. The long hallway was dim as we walked toward the stairs that led down to the cellar.

The silence enunciated our footsteps on the stone as we descended the stairs. Once we reached the large, wooden door, the guard gave me a short nod before I twisted the handle and slipped inside.

I let loose a sigh when I glimpsed the list on the parchment stuck to the wall. After a quick read-through of the specific magics I was meant to duplicate, I eyed the vials, finding the first one on my list—healing magic.

He wanted me to fill half a dozen crates with the healing vials alone, then continue on to fire magic for the lanterns and hearths, and lastly, strength vials. I could only assume he needed an abundance of those for the guards that would be on the trip with us. He never listed what they were to be used for, but I always tried to guess, sort of like a game to make light of the work. If it was water vials I was to fill, I assumed the wells weren’t producing as much as he liked; if it was fertile magic, I guessed he’d be sending them to Sulphur to encourage faster, healthier crop growth.

Today, though, it was simply the three types—healing, fire, and strength—but in great quantities.

I’d be tired, but it wouldn’t be the worst I’d endured.

Using a ribbon on the shelf, I tied my hair back and got to work.

* * *

A bead of sweat dripped down my brow as a dim pink light glowed from my palms around the vials in each hand. To duplicate magic, I had to hold the existing magic, let it flow through me like blood in my veins from one hand to the other, and as a result, it would fill the empty glass.

I assumed what drained me was the magic passing through my body. Some magics were more extreme than others in the toll they took on my body, but healing salves, in comparison, were the easiest for me to deal with, as some part of it healed me as it flowed.

Almost like the healing magic cared for my body, not wishing to steal my energy as it heeded to my power.

I’d already fulfilled the fire and strength crates, along with half the healing ones, each labeled so I wouldn’t get the numbers wrong. I’d purposefully left the other half of the healing vials for last, hoping they’d refill at least some of my energy so I didn’t walk out of here completely drained.

The door to the cellar opened, and I jumped, the vial in my hand dropping to the ground with a crash. Tiny pieces of glass littered the floor, glowing magic oozing out onto the stone. I quickly willed the light to disappear from my palms. With the shards mixed into the green substance, the magic was useless. I silently cursed myself, hating that I’d wasted a perfectly good resource due to my clumsiness.

Remembering the door opening behind me and that I wasn’t alone, I spun around to find my father entering the stuffy room.

His focus drifted to the mess at my feet. “You need to be more careful.”

“Why are you down here?” I asked, slight panic lacing my words, despite now knowing it was only him. No one was allowed in here aside from me and my father, and even then, he rarely entered, so the sound of the door hinge creaking had sent alarm bells blaring through my mind.

He gave me a blank stare, but I didn’t miss the judgment in my mess up hidden there. “It is my castle. I may go wherever I please.”

“But you never come down here.”

He closed the door behind him, taking a step further into the room as he surveyed the crates.

“You surprised me,” I said, the silence all too loud, knowing he was disappointed in me breaking a vial.

“Clean it up,” he instructed, not glancing my way.

I hurriedly grabbed two rags and a dustpan from the shelf. “I’m sorry.”

He ignored my apology as I cleaned the glass and flickering liquid off the ground. It still held some of its shimmer, but it was dying out. Magic needed to be handled with care, and it knew more than any that it wouldn’t be of use in this state, littered with shards of glass. My heart pulled at the knowledge it was letting itself wilt away, knowing its purpose was no more.

I stood, dumping the contents in the barrel by the door. I refrained from looking in to see the salve flickering out in the bottom. It’d lose its color, turning a murky gray as the life faded from it.

“Is it done?” he asked, his hands folded behind his back as he watched me move.

I set the pan on the shelf and the dirty rags in a cloth bag, making a mental note to bring it to the laundry when I got the chance. I gestured to the ground where there was now no trace of the mess. “It’s clean, is it not?”

“The crates, Auria.” He sounded irritated, and I inwardly cringed.

I shouldn’t make his job harder than it already was.

I lowered my head the slightest. “I just need to fill one last vial, and the list will be finished.” If I hadn’t dropped the one, my father would have walked in with perfect timing.

He gave a curt nod, then turned for the door. “I’ll send guards to bring the crates up. Leave them outside with the lids on.”

Then he was gone, the door shutting behind him. I was once again alone.

With a sigh, I grabbed another full vial, along with an empty one, and repeated the process I’d been doing for hours. The familiar tingle flowed up my arm the moment my power lit my palms with that pinkish light. It traveled through my body, the burn paired with a cool aftertaste as it moved. In seconds, the empty vial was filled with the glowing green liquid, the color shining bright through the thin glass. It swirled around, almost happy to be there.

Once the duplication was complete, I let my power dissipate, the light leaving my skin, then set the original vial back on the shelf. I carefully placed the new vial in the crate, set the lid on top, then brushed my hands on my dress.

Satisfied with the now-filled crates, I turned for the door, opening it to find my guard where I’d left him.

“Done,” I told him.

He nodded, moving a few feet up the stairs so that I could move the crates out of the room. Their lids covered the contents so the guards could move them without knowing what all was inside. It was the process my father made sure I followed down to the most minute detail to make sure they couldn’t see inside the cellar, and that all the boxes going in and out were covered. They were not to know what was in them, only that my job was done once the correct amount of boxes were moved out of the cellar for them to bring wherever my father instructed.

After all the boxes were in the small area below the stairs, I slowly climbed the steps to meet my guard. The additional guards my father sent to retrieve the boxes headed our way. As they passed, one of them said to the redhead, “Care to help?”

My guard eyed the one who spoke, then glanced back at me in question. He was assigned to stay with me, but I was eager to be alone.

“I’m sure I can find my way to my room. You can help them,” I said.

He contemplated staying with me, the indecision spiraling in his eyes. He then gave a tight nod, watching me a second longer to be sure I was okay with it and this wasn’t a test. I offered a smile, which seemed to be enough as he turned to join the group of them, disappearing down the stairs.

I knew this castle like the back of my hand, so it wasn’t like I could get lost. And with the heavy security around the perimeter of these walls, nothing would happen to me in the few minutes I was away from my guard. Plus, even if I wanted to get lost in the castle, I was too tired from overusing my power to try.

A warm bath and my bed were the only two things I could think of right now as I forced my heavy eyelids to remain open.

After heading down one of the halls, I rounded a corner, only to have my face immediately met with a hard wall. I staggered back, my palm coming up to my forehead as a hand wrapped around my upper arm to steady me. So it wasn’t a wall I’d hit, then.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, rubbing my head before looking at who it was I’d run into.

Even without the mask, recognition hit me in the gut like a punch. The man from the balcony stood before me, wearing the same leather jacket.

“Not very aware of your surroundings, are you?” he questioned, dropping my arm. His voice was smoother than honey, though a slight rasp hid deep within, and it tugged at me.

“The halls are typically empty,” I defended, doing my best to put a bite behind my words, despite the exhaustion pulling at me. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with this on the way to my room. I was tired, and he was a thorn in my slipper.

“Balconies, too? Or is it your guards that always check those for you?”

I lowered my hand to my side, narrowing my eyes at him. “I’m perfectly capable of being aware on my own.”

He raised his eyebrows with a nod, not an ounce of him believing the words coming out of my mouth. Though, with the fatigue tugging at me, I feared he might be right in that I couldn’t do it on my own. As if he could see it in my expression, that spot between his brows creased the slightest bit as he studied me.

I didn’t have the energy for this.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I said, moving to walk around him. He stayed in place a moment before continuing the next few feet to turn into the meeting room.

Glancing around to be sure no one was in the hall, I pivoted, heading back to the door he disappeared into. Pressing an ear to the wood, I listened as muffled voices filtered through. Who did he think he was to waltz into that room like he was important enough to be a part of whatever discussion my father was having?

“Bowen.” My father’s voice carried through the door. He sounded surprised, which was strange, as he typically knew everything. “We were not expecting you.”

Somehow, the name fit the stranger.

“It’s rude not to invite all of us, isn’t it?” Bowen asked, cockiness evident in his tone. The rasp had left, his words flowing together almost flawlessly.

I silently mouthed his name, testing the feel of it on my lips.

“Yes, of course. My invitation must have gotten lost on the wind,” my father supplied.

“Those stubborn messenger hawks, always losing their parchments,” another voice added, somewhere farther into the room. I couldn’t make out who it was.

“Yes,” Bowen drawled, boredom clinging to the word. “Those hawks. Maybe it was the same one I found downed in the desert. Though, that one was very clearly on its way to Feldspar, if the letter was any indication. Without its injury, I reckon I would’ve never known this meeting was taking place.”

I could practically hear my father attempt to swallow his nerves.

A smile crept up on my face at the knowledge that this Bowen guy made him uncomfortable.

What about him made him so uneasy? Why did he not want him here?

Did my father know Bowen was in attendance at the masquerade ball the other night?

The fact that my father wasn’t pleased with his appearance intrigued me when it shouldn’t.

“What are you doing?” a deep, feminine voice asked, clearer than the ones in the room.

I spun to find Heidi flanked by three guards standing mere feet from me. “I’m heading to my room.” It wasn’t entirely a lie.

“And made a quick stop to press your ear to a door you have no business being near?” she questioned. I didn’t miss the satisfaction shining bright on her face at catching me.

“I—” But I had no excuse, no explanation.

“Guards,” she snapped, then immediately turned, heading in the opposite direction in which she came. One followed on her heels while the other two grabbed my arms.

“Wait, no. Please. I wasn’t listening,” I begged, but their hold was firm, their fingers digging in hard enough to bruise, as they forced me to trail Heidi. I was well aware of what was to come, my back already flinching with the phantom pain.

With my spent energy, it was useless to struggle against their grips. After a series of turns and a set of stairs that led below ground, we approached the room I knew too well. If there was one place I could erase from my mind, it’d be this one.

As the guard opened the double doors for my stepmother, the trapped screams echoed through my mind as memories all too real took hold. They were ingrained in me, etched into my brain. For being the protected daughter of King Tenere, pain was an all too familiar friend of mine thanks to this chamber.

“In the chair,” Heidi instructed, waving a casual hand over her shoulder as she grabbed a vial of fire magic off the small wooden table in the corner. There were no windows in here, and the doors sealed seamlessly, keeping any sounds contained within the walls.

There was no use in begging anymore. It’d only drive the pleasure she got from doing this. Queen Tenere was a bored woman, and I was her toy. She had no ties to me other than marrying my father, and even so, he would never banish her for how she treated me. Anyone who knew kept her secret, turning a blind eye, and if I spoke a word of it, she’d surely burn off my tongue. By all means, she was protected in harming me, but in the end, I thanked the gods that it was me who endured her affliction and not some other innocent person.

Heidi never went as far as to render me useless with my wounds. My father needed me, and while she wasn’t privy as to why, she was well aware that he’d lose his mind if something serious happened to me. While King Tenere was the shiny prize she somehow won in marriage, I was the golden egg he’d protect with his life, even if he didn’t always treat me well in return. The power I held was too great a loss for him to risk, and it was no secret that elicited rage-inducing jealousy in her.

The guards shoved me into the chair, the top of the back slamming into my shoulder blades. They’d bruise, but it’d be nothing compared to what was to come. I welcomed the bite, as it only prepared my body to numb itself. To shut down from feeling, as it had become so well-versed in doing. From a young age, she’d been doing this, and eventually, my mind learned to find peace in a setting that offered none.

The back of the rickety chair was left purposefully open, no slats of wood or fancy intricate design. It provided perfect access to my back, and I always wondered if she designed it specifically for this. For me.

The sentiment was bittersweet.

Like usual, my wrists were tied to the armrests with leather straps that bit into my skin.

“When will you learn?” Heidi asked, uncorking the vial. The amber liquid bubbled at the top, begging for use. Purpose. That I might have been the one to fill that vial was…unfortunate.

I provided no response. My retorts were what she wanted, and I wouldn’t give her the fuel.

“Quiet today, are we? Keeping those ears open?” She tsked as the guards tied my ankles to the legs of the chair. She reached a hand up to brush my hair behind my ear. “Perhaps today I won’t go for the back.”

She wouldn’t follow through. She only said it to elicit fear, to get a reaction. She couldn’t risk people seeing an injury on me without raising questions. While my father and the guards turned a blind eye, others might not.

After tying the knots tight, the two guards stepped to the side, joining the third by the door. It was a large room, despite being underground.

“Eavesdropping is a crime punishable by death,” she went on, stepping behind the chair and out of my sight. My hands flexed under the bindings, but I didn’t fight against them.

“It’s too bad I can’t die,” I said through gritted teeth. My already-singed skin tingled in anticipation of the burn. The last ones had barely had time to heal, doing so on their own, as I hadn’t been able to sneak a healing vial lately without getting behind in my work.

She laughed, then my head was yanked back by my hair. My back arched uncomfortably as the clammy air hit my exposed neck. “Don’t be so sure of that, little wench. Anything is possible.”

My breathing picked up, and I hated the show it put on for the guards. My body was in acceptance of its fate, but my mind was not. Thoughts swirled around frantically like fish caught in a net, desperate for a way out. Every time, I wished the magic wouldn’t hurt me. Hoped and pleaded that it would grant me mercy. But one of the downsides of the magic that filled these vials—it gave its holder too much power.

“He’d leave you if you killed me,” I seethed. Her title as Queen of Amosite was more important to her than anything else. Her ego reeked of it.

“He’d get over it.” She let go of my hair, and I swung my head forward, wishing I could curl in on myself. Wishing all of this could just…go away.

The sound of fabric ripping filled the room seconds before a line of flames licked down my back like a river of agony. My teeth almost broke against the strain as it burned a path down my skin. The all too familiar smell of burnt skin wafted around me, and I wanted to vomit. I did all I could to hold back the bile. To calm the rolling of my stomach as pain erupted on every nerve ending.

I could beat this.

I could be strong.