Page 15 of Duskbound (Esprithean Trilogy #2)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The metallic tang of blood filled my mouth as my cheek slammed against the cold training mat. The impact rattled through my skull, vision blurring at the edges. The vast stone room spun for a moment before settling back into focus.

Aether had thrown me. Again.

I sucked in a sharp breath and pushed up onto my hands; the ache spreading through my arms as I glared at him. Last night’s revelations churned in my gut. This wasn’t about choosing sides anymore. This was about stopping something far worse than anything I’d imagined. If Valkan gained enough power, if his army of Damphyre grew strong enough to take control... both realms would suffer. The thought of those milky eyes turning towards Sídhe, towards civilians who didn’t even know a war was coming, made my blood run cold.

And I was undoubtedly out of shape.

Aether stood above me, infuriatingly calm, with barely a drop of sweat on his brow. The dulled light filtering through the high windows caught on his piercings, making them gleam like tiny daggers .

“You’re slow,” he said, his voice low and even, like he wasn’t just taunting me but delivering a fact. His shadow stretched across the mat between us.

I growled under my breath, shoving myself upright. “I’m not done.”

“Good,” he replied, his golden eyes sharp and assessing. He kept his hands folded behind his back, motioning for me to come at him with a nod. “Try again.”

I didn’t waste time. Lunging forward, I aimed a punch straight for his ribs, putting all my weight behind it. But Aether shifted, just slightly, and my fist grazed air. The momentum carried me forward, leaving me exposed. Before I could recover, he caught my wrist, twisting it sharply enough to send a jolt of pain up my arm. His foot hooked around my ankle, and suddenly, I was on the mat again, my back slamming into the ground this time.

I gasped, the breath knocked from my lungs. Fury burned in my chest as I rolled away, narrowly avoiding the follow-up strike he could have delivered but didn’t. The smell of sweat and leather filled my nose, mingling with the metallic taste that still lingered in my mouth.

That had been my favorite move. The one Laryk had taught me, back when I thought I knew who the real monsters were. Now I wasn’t so sure. The Umbra might be ruthless, but at least they didn’t feed on their own people. At least they were trying to protect something beyond themselves.

“Sloppy,” he muttered. Each word felt like another weight pressing down on me, reminding me how weak I’d become through the weeks of solitude.

I shot to my feet, ignoring the ache in my ribs. “Say that again,” I spat, my fists tightening.

He tilted his head, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Sloppy,” he repeated, slow and deliberate.

This time, I didn’t think. I lunged, feinting a punch before pivoting into a low kick. My shin connected with his calf, and he staggered—just for a moment—but it was enough to reignite my confidence.

I pressed the advantage, surging forward and locking his arm in a grapple. For half a second, I thought I had him. But then Aether shifted, his strength surging against mine.

In one fluid motion, he flipped me again. The mat rushed up to meet me, my shoulder hitting first this time. Pain flared, and I bit back a curse as he pinned me, one knee pressed firmly into my side and his forearm lightly braced against my throat.

“Better,” he said, his voice calm, almost bored. “But not good enough.”

I glared up at him, my chest heaving with frustration and exhaustion. “Get off me,” I growled.

He arched a brow, the faintest glint of amusement in his eyes. “Not until you learn.”

“I had months of training. It’s not about learning, it’s about regaining my strength.”

His look dripped with skepticism.

I twisted under him, trying to break his hold, but he didn’t budge. My muscles burned, and the sting of failure gnawed at me. The weight of him, the heat radiating from his body, made it hard to think clearly. The morning light caught his eyes, turning them to liquid gold, and for a moment, I forgot to struggle.

“Again,” I demanded, my voice hoarse.

Aether leaned back, releasing me without protest. He stood and offered a hand, his expression unreadable in the shifting light from above.

I slapped it away, climbing to my feet on my own. My body screamed in protest, but I ignored it, resetting my stance. The silence of the training room pressed in around us, broken only by our breathing.

“Where was the Queen last night?” I asked, the question that had been nagging at me finally breaking free. “Shouldn’t she have been at the conference?”

Aether’s expression hardened, but he didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he motioned for me to attack again. The shadows beneath his eyes seemed to deepen.

I stayed where I was. “The way everyone talked around her absence... is she ill?” The Council’s careful avoidance of mentioning their ruler hadn’t escaped my notice.

“The Queen’s condition,” Aether said, his voice low enough that I almost missed it. “It’s... complicated. And if Valkan knew the full extent of it...” He trailed off, but his meaning was clear.

“What is her condition?”

Aether’s eyes raked over me with irritation.

“I said I want to know everything,” I reminded him with an arched brow.

“Her mind fragments more each day,” he said, voice tight with something like grief. “She can’t bear to be near others anymore—their energy, it overwhelms her. She becomes... unstable. The Council knows she’s unwell, but they don’t understand how far gone she truly is. And they can’t. Not until?—”

“Until you have a new Duskbound?”

The look in his eyes told me everything I needed to know.

“Come on,” I said, shaking the thought from my mind. If I was going to be of any use to anyone—Duskbound or not—I had to get my performance back.

His lips quirked, not quite a smile, but close enough to make my blood boil. “Whenever you’re ready.”

My fists were up before Aether even finished his sentence, and I charged, determination burning through the exhaustion weighing down my limbs. I lunged for a left jab, then swung a right hook aimed squarely at his jaw.

He didn’t flinch.

Aether ducked effortlessly, stepping into my space like it belonged to him. His hand shot out, gripping my shoulder like a steel vice, and before I could react, he twisted. My feet left the mat, and in an instant, I was on my back, the impact jolting through my spine.

I gasped for air, my chest heaving as I rolled to the side, scrambling to my knees.

“I thought you said you were good at sparring?” Aether said, his tone as unbothered as ever.

I glared up at him, brushing hair from my sweat-soaked face. “I just need more time.”

“You don’t have time,” he said, motioning for me to get back on my feet. The words hit differently now. Time. It’s what Valkan had weaponized at the conference, using the realm’s suffering to push his agenda. How long before desperation tipped the scales? How many more would choose his hospitality over starvation? Rage burned through me. Time. And we had wasted so much of it.

“You want to talk about time? If you hadn’t kept me locked away for six weeks trying to break me maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation,” I huffed, forcing myself upright. My arms felt like lead, and every muscle in my body screamed in protest.

“Well it worked didn’t it?” Aether replied bluntly, crossing his arms. His golden eyes locked on mine, calm but unyielding. “You didn’t have to let your body become so weak.”

Something snapped inside me.

Fuck this.

I launched myself at him, throwing my entire body weight into his chest, my arms curling around his neck like a vice. The impact knocked him backwards, surprise flashing across his face as we crashed to the floor. The wooden boards creaked beneath us as we rolled, my elbow catching his ribs as he tried to gain control. A chair toppled over as we tumbled off the mat, my knee nearly connecting with his jaw before he managed to grab my leg.

In a single move, he flipped us over, using his full weight to slam me onto my back. His thighs straddled my hips as he caught both my wrists in one hand, pinning them above my head. His other hand gripped my waist, fingers digging into my flesh as he held me down. Every inch of him pressed against me, hard muscle and slick leather.

“Now that’s more like it,” he said, a dangerous smile playing at his lips.

“Get. Off. Me.” I snarled, trying to buck my hips against his, but the movement only made him press down harder.

“Not until you stop acting like a child.” His face was inches from mine, jaw tight with irritation. I could feel every breath he took, mocking how helpless I was beneath him.

“I’d rather act like a child than an arrogant, piece of shi?—”

“Careful, princess.” His grip tightened on my wrists. “You’re in no position to be throwing insults around.”

Heat flooded my face—from rage, I told myself, absolute fucking rage. But my skin blazed everywhere he touched me. The proximity was infuriating. I wanted to scream, to keep fighting, but my body had turned traitor, limp and breathless and entirely too warm.

A beat passed between the two of us, locked in this maddening position.

“Are you quite finished?” I lifted an eyebrow, refusing to show how affected I was.

Something in his eyes shifted as they dropped to my lips. “No,” he said softly, “We still need to work on your tether observation.”

Then he released me, rolling to the side and climbing to his feet in one fluid motion. He extended his hand to help me up, but I scoffed, scrambling up on my own, trying to ignore how my legs trembled slightly. My heart was still racing, though whether from the fight or something else, I refused to analyze.

“You haven’t used it in a while,” he said, running a hand through his tousled hair. “You need to practice. ”

I looked around, gesturing obviously towards the empty training room. “On what exactly? The architecture?”

“On me.”

The word hit me like a slap to the face. “It doesn’t work on you.”

“No,” he said, “I don’t let it work on me. There’s a difference.”

My stomach dropped. He’d let me believe I was powerless against him.

“You’re telling me all those times you blocked me out...”

“Were a choice, yes.” The satisfaction in his voice made me want to throw something at him. Or at his mind. Both seemed equally appealing right now.

“Anything else you’ve been allowing me to believe?”

“Many things.” His expression remained neutral, but something flickered in those golden eyes that made my pulse quicken.

He moved toward the seating area beyond the mats. I watched him walk, trying to reconcile this version of him—the one willing to let me into his mind—with the man who’d kept me locked in that tower, with the one who’d just slammed me to the ground. “What exactly is the range of your ability?” he asked.

The question stirred something I’d been avoiding, so I decided to ask one of my own. “You said you could see it. My web.”

He paused, raising an eyebrow. “I see energy flow out of you, white and pearlescent. Like wisps and tendrils snaking through the air.” His eyes tracked something invisible near my shoulder, and I suppressed a shiver. The idea that he’d been watching my power all this time, seeing it exactly as I did, felt strangely intimate. “At first, I thought everyone could see it.”

“So, any other hidden talents you’re not sharing?” I crossed my arms, using sarcasm to mask how unsettled I felt by his admission. “Or do I have to serve another round of isolation for those revelations too? ”

“You’ll need to get over that soon.” His eyes studied me with an unnerving focus. “Anger doesn’t exactly suit you.”

“I’m not angry.” The lie tasted bitter. “I just find it interesting how selective you are with information.”

“Says the woman clearly holding something back right now.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but his raised eyebrow stopped me. The dreams pressed against my mind—memories of seeing through others’ eyes, of watching Laryk through Mercer’s. The thought of telling Aether made my stomach twist. He already had too much power over me. And something that could spy on either side of this war... I couldn’t risk it falling into the wrong hands.

“Well,” I said instead, “My abilities first manifested as something far more chaotic, and admittedly, horrifying. My friends back home call me mind-shredder.”

His brow peaked at that. “Should I be concerned?”

“Probably.” I smiled sweetly, enjoying the rare moment of having him off-balance. “It was described to me as grappling a mind so hard that it breaks.”

“Charming.” But I caught the ghost of amusement in his eyes. “Perhaps we save that demonstration for another day.”

“Afraid?”

“Cautious.” He leaned back, and I tried not to notice how the shadows played across his face. “Taking a mind is one thing. Breaking one...” He studied me with a new interest that made my skin prickle. “How does it work?”

I shifted under his gaze. “To take it? Simple really. My web latches onto the right area, like a key turning in a lock. Then I can send commands down the bond.”

The shadows in the room deepened, and I couldn’t tell if it was him or my imagination. “Show me.”

“You’re sure?” My heart thundered against my ribs. “No blocking me this time? ”

“Unless you give me reason to.” That dangerous edge crept back into his voice.

I took a deep breath, summoning the web. It braided up my spine with that familiar spark, spilling out from my skull into the air around us. His eyes definitely tracked its movement now, and the air between us grew electric as the tendrils moved towards him. But he didn’t look afraid, he looked as he always did. That unreadable calm etched into his features.

I surrounded his mind gently, not making contact yet. The memory of his previous rejections made me wince—each one had felt like taking a hammer to the skull. But there was no resistance this time as I latched onto that golden orb. His mind felt different from any I’d encountered—brighter, more intense, like stepping into direct sunlight.

His eyes remained locked on mine, fully aware, chest rising and falling deeply. I tried to ignore how intimate this felt, having him let me in like this.

But I didn’t hesitate.

Aether’s palm cracked across his own face.

He blinked, then blinked again as I released him. A laugh bubbled up my throat before I could stop it. The sight of Aether slapping himself was something I’d treasure forever.

“Feeling better?” He rubbed his jaw, but I caught that slight curl of his lips. My chest felt lighter than it had in weeks.

“Much.” I couldn’t help my grin. “Though I’m sure you allowed that too.”

“Don’t get cocky. It’s still the only hit you’ll ever land.”

“We’ll see about that.” The words slipped out with more challenge than I’d intended.

His expression sobered, but something sparked in his eyes. “When you do that, do you enter the mind fully, or access it from the outside? ”

The question doused my momentary triumph. “Are you asking if I can read thoughts?”

“Obviously.”

“Not that I know of.” I shifted, Laryk’s dream flashing through my mind again. In that one, I did seem to have access to his thoughts, but none of it was intentional.

“Have you tried?”

“That would be quite an invasion of privacy,” I murmured.

“Says the woman who just made me slap myself.”

“Different kind of invasion.” I cocked my head to the side, meeting his stare. “Why, offering to be my test subject?”

He shrugged. “Why not?”

I let out a deep breath, trying to ignore how the air seemed to crackle between us. With mind control, it was just a simple bond that could be manipulated—commanded. But this... this would mean actually entering his thoughts. My stomach flipped as I realized what I’d agreed to. I was about to attempt reading the mind of the most dangerous man I’d ever met—and he was going to let me.

“What number am I thinking about?”

Seconds later, the tendrils were fluttering back out of me, caressing his mind in pearlescent wisps. I searched for the access point, and when I found it, I hesitated. Instead of sending a command down the bond, I lingered there, letting the feeling settle in around me. I used the tendrils to search, oddly aware of their movements. It felt like there might be something in there, this space at the border of Aether’s mind, but—and then I felt it. Another point, leading deeper into the golden abyss. The tendrils reached out, closing in on the lock, and in an instant, my vision went black.

A woman—one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen—with jet black hair and golden eyes, running towards me with anguish streaked across her face. The desperation in her movements made me want to reach out, but the pain was too great, too much. I was moving away from her—floating, or flying? She screamed something, but I couldn’t hear her, as if my eardrums had gone numb. And then it was black again.

I snapped back to the training room, realizing I had nearly lost my balance in the chair. Aether’s arm was gripping my shoulder, keeping me straight up. His eyes were narrowed on me, but his forehead seemed to be creased in concern.

“What happened?” he said in a low tone.

“You didn’t see her? Who was that?” I asked, pulling out of his grip and blinking in the surroundings. It felt like I had been holding my breath.

“What do you mean? What her?” He stood, pacing towards the other side of the gym, hand dragging down his mouth and chin. I’d never seen him so... rattled.

“The woman, the one with black hair and golden eyes.”

Aether went chillingly still as he turned back to look at me, something dark pulsing in his glare.

He stared at me for a long time as if trying to figure something out.

But then, he broke his gaze, and walked out of the room without another word.

The silence he left behind felt heavy, charged with questions I wasn’t sure I wanted answered. The image of the woman’s anguished face lingered in my mind, along with the echo of a scream I couldn’t quite hear. Something told me I’d stumbled onto a memory Aether had buried deep—something he’d never intended to share.