Page 3 of Duskbound (Esprithean Trilogy #2)

CHAPTER TWO

SIX WEEKS LATER

There had been no more attempts to visit me, no more interactions. Only the occasional slip of food under the door, the sound of keys turning in locks, and the oppressive quiet that settled in and never left. Six weeks of being locked in this cramped room with nothing but stale air, occasional meals that tasted like sand, and the constant faded light trickling in from the window.

It had become clear that I’d never have another chance at escape while Aether was around. And he was. Always and insufferably. Around. That golden mind pulsed through the air like an invisible weight, and I couldn’t escape it—couldn’t escape the man who loomed like my own personal sentinel, onyx hair catching the light, falling into that unnervingly perfect face—sharp angles and full lips that rested in a brutal kind of neutrality. Looking at him felt like stepping too close to the sun.

There was only time—too much time to think about things that were so painful they threatened to tear me into pieces. People and places that were so far out of reach, I had begun to question whether they had ever been real in the first place: Laryk’s piercing emerald eyes, Ma’s hibiscus-stained hands, Osta’s innate optimism that I had always taken for granted.

I’d had dreams—in the beginning. Flickers of things, scenes set in the place I used to call home. Flashes of faces, sudden glimmers of the people I’d left behind. People who probably thought I was dead. It was hard to know, hard to discern whether those were anything more than my own consciousness tormenting me with past glances, sights I had once witnessed myself, or if they were more than that—tangible things happening in real time, glances in mirrors, maybe even memories from strangers. My focus pulled them to me with desperation, injecting them into my mind. I’d given up trying to figure them out. It hurt too much. And as my hope for escape, for rescue, dwindled, so did the dreams. My mind had gone as gray as the landscape surrounding this tower.

Three roaring knocks shot through the room then, icing my veins in an instant. I hadn’t seen another soul in so long. When the Umbra brought food or new clothing to my room, it was always pushed under the door, or set inside while I was sleeping.

No one ever knocked.

I pushed myself closer to the wall, leaving the light of the window and pressing my back against the cool stone surface, heart slamming through my chest, forcing a gasp into my lungs. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been aware of its beating at all.

A woman stepped through first, her stride measured but unhurried. Aether followed, lingering at the threshold, his golden eyes flicking toward me for only a moment before he turned his attention to the hallway beyond.

The woman stopped, scanning the room briefly before her gaze landed on me. She tilted her head, a lock of jet-black hair shifting against her jawline. Leather armor hugged her frame, her silhouette studded with steel. A dozen daggers glinted against her torso, the blades reflecting the dim light. The handles were carved with unfamiliar symbols. Some looked worn, others ornate, and one appeared to be made of bone, its pale sheen sending a chill down my spine.

“I’m Vexa,” she said simply, her tone light but steady. She stepped farther into the room, her boots barely making a sound against the floor. “And you are?”

I opened my mouth and then closed it, so shocked by the sudden intrusion that I didn’t know how to respond. Unsure of whether I should even respond at all. Guilt tugged at my spine at the thought.

“Does she speak?” Vexa asked, throwing a glance over her shoulder at Aether. He didn’t turn.

“Look, I know you probably don’t particularly love being locked in this tower, but I think you’re smart enough to understand we won’t be making any changes to this situation—” She motioned around the room with wide eyes. “Without some kind of conversation. You don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to, but for the love of?—”

“Give her more time.” Aether sighed with frustration, cutting Vexa off. “She’ll crack, eventually.”

“Aether. No one asked for your input,” she hissed back, sarcasm drenching her words as her attention returned to me. “What can we call you?”

For some unfathomable reason, I gave in. I gave in to the small sliver of distraction she was offering. I gave in to the desperation gnawing at my tongue.

“Fia,” I said, the word tasting unfamiliar.

Her violet eyes, swirling with dark tendrils not unlike my own, sparked with surprise.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on why, exactly, I wasn’t rushing at her, begging for answers of my own. Perhaps it was because I wouldn’t believe her either way. Or perhaps it was because I had once again made peace with an old friend: avoidance. I didn’t let myself think too hard about it. I didn’t let myself think too hard about anything now.

“Fia. What an odd name,” she murmured, turning onto her side, a victorious smirk etched into her lips. “You hear that, Aether? I win. Now we do this my way.” She let out an amused chuckle as a vein in Aether’s arm pulsed, his muscular frame still taking up the entirety of the doorway.

“He’s a sore loser.” She shrugged. “I guess he was just going to leave you up in this tower until you fell apart. Which was clearly going well.”

My eyes shot to Aether as a spark of anger licked through me, nearly making me stumble from my place at the window. The last six weeks had been a monotonous string of numbness, where nearly all of my emotions had dwindled into nothingness. As I glared at him, I let that anger take its hold. It felt warm. I wanted to latch onto it and never let go.

Vexa followed my expression. “But perhaps you should wait outside. I don’t believe she likes you very much,” she said, eyes darting between us.

“Do you want him to leave?” she asked me, some kind of amused curiosity lacing her words.

I simply nodded.

“Alright Aether, wait outside. Your presence isn't exactly helping the situation.”

“You remember what happened with Effie?” Aether said calmly, but the bitterness in his tone was not hidden very well.

“Well that insinuation is insulting.” Vexa breathed. “If she decides to hijack my mind, I’m sure you’ll catch her again,” she stated, clearly losing patience with the back and forth. “Now go.”

He hesitated before turning. “As you wish.” And I heard the metal door screech closed, the rusty lock sliding right back into place.

“Esprithe he’s suffocating.” She rolled her eyes, sitting up on the bed. “Better?”

I simply stared at her.

“Don’t go all quiet on me. I have something to offer you.” She smirked, chin falling into her hand. “I’m sure you’re dying to get out of this room.”

I felt my heart flutter involuntarily at the thought. I had started to believe it might never happen. That they’d just keep me trapped up here with my thoughts and the everlasting twilight.

“I can leave?” I asked.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” She raised an eyebrow. “We’ll still be on the property... but I could take you for a walk. If you’re interested.”

Another pang of the heart. Outside? My skin longed to feel the wind, to feel something other than the stale air of this tower.

“Yes.” It was the only thing I could muster.

“I can arrange it. But first, I have to ask you a few questions. Do we have a deal?”

I opened my mouth, nearly answering without thinking about the weight of my response. Another jolt ran through me. These were probably questions I didn’t want to answer. She must have noticed my internal battle because she was quick to interrupt it.

“Why don’t we just talk, and then you can decide.”

“I’m not going to tell you anything without an answer in return.” The words tumbled out, tinged with a fire I hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Now we’re talking.” She grinned, something mischievous pooling in her eyes. “I’ll go first. You wield shadows. Quite well, I might add. But you have no void burns. How do you do it?” She tilted her head, as if appraising me.

I hesitated, consumed by the ache that came when I remembered the last time I was interrogated about my powers. Who the interrogator was.

“I found out about the shadows the same moment you did. I know nothing about it. I know nothing of these void burns.”

Vexa’s brow peaked. “I’m sure that was quite the revelation.” She let out a laugh and shook her head. “A Duskbound living across the rip. I would have never imagined it possible.”

“A Duskbound?” I asked, pulling my hands into my lap and sliding my right palm over my Riftborne branding. I wasn’t sure why I wanted to hide it, but something about Aether’s previous reaction to the mark had me cautious.

“Yes, a Duskbound. A true shadow wielder,” she said simply.

“So all of you wield shadows?” I asked, eyes hesitantly fixated on the door.

“Not exactly.”

I paused, waiting for her to continue, but she simply shrugged. I guessed that was a topic she didn’t want to discuss yet. Perhaps she wasn’t allowed to. What had Effie called herself?

“Are you a… vessel?”

Vexa’s eyes shot to the back of her head as she leaned back and sighed in exasperation. “Effie. I adore the girl, but Esprithe she’s going to be the death of me.” She reached up, sliding her gloved hand over her inky hair. “I don’t know what all she told you. But as you can imagine, there are certain topics… we don’t quite feel comfortable discussing with you yet. I also don’t want to overwhelm you.”

“Overwhelm me? You’ve captured me and locked me in a tower!” I couldn’t control the rage that now drenched my words. This was ridiculous. They were clearly not concerned about my comfort, no need to pretend otherwise.

“Look, I can’t tell you what I can’t tell you. It’s as simple as that. I’m open to answering other questions you may have, but there will always be a line—a too far . At least for now. Until we know what your intentions are,” she said coolly.

I leaned back against the wall, our eyes locked in a stalemate.

“How much do you know about what is happening between this realm and the one you came from?” she asked.

“I know you’ve killed friends of mine—killed hundreds of my fellow soldiers.”

Vexa’s eyes went sharp with recognition as we continued to stare at each other, and I immediately regretted the admission—confirming that I had been a part of the Guard at all. She didn’t speak for a long while, and neither did I.

“How exactly are we supposed to react to the lifeforce being sucked from our lands? Ask nicely for them to stop? To stop killing us?” she seethed.

“How do you know that’s even actually happening?” I shot back.

She glared at me, dumbfounded.

“What exactly do you think those towers of arcanite are for? You think they just grew up out of the ground like that? In those locations? Do any of you even know where it came from?—”

“Vexa.” The growl came from the hallway, just beyond the door. Both our eyes shot in the direction, sending a slice through the tension that had begun building in the room.

Both of us froze, the word hanging between us like a blade. My eyes snapped toward her again. Vexa's lips twitched, a flash of annoyance passing across her face as she turned away.

“That’s enough questions for today, I think.”

I watched, rooted in place, as she stood, stretched her arms above her head in a lazy motion, like she had nowhere urgent to be. But I felt the space between us contract, the distance of this room closing in on me all over again.

She’s leaving.

Something in my chest clenched tight. I’d grown accustomed to the silence, to the stillness of the tower. But with Vexa about to walk out, it felt more like abandonment. Like she was taking the last shred of interaction with her.

I swallowed, the lump in my throat growing as I tried to push away the cold emptiness that suddenly seemed so much more suffocating.

Alone. Again.

Just as she reached the door, she turned around and rested against it, crossing her arms and studying me before slipping a dagger from the sheath across her chest.

I froze.

But her body remained still, relaxed as she balanced the blade across a single finger, testing the weight and eyeing the construction. After a few seconds, she leaned her head back and sighed.

“Rest up. I’ll take you to the stables tomorrow.”