by Todd Herzman
They could go back to Billings, kick that damn cook Eldridge and his family out of their house. Ruben would be a smith again. Ella would work on her jewellery with their mother. Or maybe they would go somewhere else—back to the monastery to help the monks replenish the ground.
They wouldn’t have had to go back to the Empire of Kharleon at all—they could have gone east. Across the sea, to where they taught magic in schools, just as Peiter had told him about.
The God King’s thralls awaited them outside the forest. Thousands of people standing in the night, their torches and lanterns playing with their shadows, making their still forms flicker in the dark. They parted as the God King walked through them, Ruben in his arms, his daughter and other grandchildren floating behind him as he stepped onto the path toward the castle gate. Renial carried his grandson through the gates, down the halls, up the stairs, and all the way to the throne room, where he lay him on a bed the thralls must have brought in as he’d walked. He looked down at his eldest grandson. Marius might have thought him sad, if he thought the man had feelings at all.
The God King faced the four of them. He looked to Taya first. ‘I promised Ruben that nothing would happen to you.’ He snapped his fingers. Taya fell from where she floated, her feet slapped the ground and she almost fell, but regained her balance as two guards grabbed her arms. ‘I keep my bargains.’ Taya didn’t make a peep as she was led out of the hall.
Renial smiled cruelly. ‘I really do want you all to trust me.’ He walked among their frozen forms, stepping close enough to touch. ‘And I know you all will, soon.’ The God King stood somewhere behind Marius. The sound of his Starblade being drawn met the silence of the hall. The metal sliding from its hardwood sheath. It might have made Marius shiver if he could move. The God King came to stand in front of them. He spread his arms wide. ‘These walls are protected, embedded with powerful crystals—the kind the seekers wear.’ He looked at Marius. ‘So you would be familiar with them. They prevent the flow of mana in the castle. As long as you reside here, you cannot restore your reserve—naturally or otherwise—unless I allow it.’
He raised the blade, his face smug. Ella floated toward it at Renial’s behest. He touched the blade to her cheek, as he’d done to their mother.
Marius tried to scream. Tried to pull on his reserve on instinct. His sister’s face turned paler each second the blade touched her skin. Marius knew his struggle was futile—even if he managed to pull from his reserve, with the sword drawn, it would be drained from him in moments, like in the clearing with Lilah. But he felt so useless. The same way he’d felt when he’d stumbled into Billings the morning after the raid. When he’d found out Ruben had been taken. When Ella had left to go after him. When Eldridge’s family had taken over his house. When Peiter had died trying to protect him.
And here he was again, unable to change a thing. Unable to move. Unable to scream.
Ella, drained of her mana, floated back to where she’d been. Marius felt the world move past him as he glided to the God King. The blade drew his eye again. Its metal didn’t act like normal metal. The dark surface didn’t reflect candlelight—rather sucked it in. Marius knew what came next, he’d felt it before. Renial raised the blade to his cheek.
‘One day you’ll thank me.’
The blade was ice. Colder than ice. Its touch bit Marius’s skin. Mana drifted—was sucked—out of him, like breath forced from lungs when punched in the stomach. His skin prickled. His body weakened. The world dimmed—the candle flames brought no more light.
The darkness of the sword consumed him.
Chapter 70
Ruben
Ruben felt someone’s hand on his head. His eyes snapped open, expecting to see his mother’s face.
The God King sat beside him. ‘You’re awake.’
Ruben blinked. The last thing he remembered was being in the forest, running from his mother, brother, and sister… Jesriel’s hand reaching out to grab him.
Then nothing.
He wasn’t in his rooms in the castle. He was in the throne room.
‘W—where are the others? What happened?’
‘You didn’t really think they could escape me, did you?’
Ruben’s face fell. He caught them all…
The God King frowned. ‘I thought you would be grateful. I brought our family together.’
‘Of course I am grateful, Grandfather. Just… surprised.’ Ruben sat up in the bed, feeling awkward lying down in the great hall that was the God King’s throne room. He felt different, he realised. Before Jesriel had touched him, there had been an immense pressure on his head—one he hadn’t noticed was there until it disappeared. He swallowed. The craving for blood seemed… lesser.
The God King stood, folding his hands behind his back. ‘You were loyal to me. You had a chance to escape—thought you had a chance to escape, and you refused to take it. You tried to come back to me. For that, I am grateful.’ His eyes moved, looking behind Ruben. Footsteps echoed in the hall, and a woman came into view.
It was the girl from the market. The one Ruben had taken to the alley. She stood beside Renial, her head bowed, her hands clasped in front of her.
‘I know you wanted to feed from her, and I know how hard it was to contain your cravings when we looked for your brother.’ He smiled broadly. ‘So, this is me, showing my appreciation.’ He gripped the girl’s head, turned it back exposing her neck. ‘You will never go hungry here, my dear grandson.’
The God King sunk his teeth into the girl’s neck. She closed her eyes, her lips parted but she stayed silent. Renial’s grip tightened on the girl. His mouth glistened with blood. It slid down his face, wetted his collar. When he let go, he gasped for breath. His eyes flashed bright red. The girl stood, wavering, looking as if she were about to fall. She opened her eyes a sliver.
She faltered. Ruben jumped from the bed and caught her.
He held her tight, helping her regain her balance. Earlier that day, he’d taken her to the alley and almost drunk. He stared at the red covering her bare neck. The bloodlust had lessened, but it was there. It pulsed within him, his heart quickening, his mouth salivating.
One more taste, he remembered thinking before his mother had caught him.
His grandfather produced a handkerchief from somewhere in his cloak and dabbed at his mouth, cleaning off the blood. ‘I don’t need to drink for the power.’ He took a deep breath, red mist flowed from one of his guards into him. ‘The bloodlock makes the process a lot more… efficient. I am sure you remember what it was like, being thrall to Malarin.’ Renial sauntered to his throne and sunk into it. ‘But it takes away some of the thrill.’ He waved a hand at Ruben and the girl in his arms. ‘Feed. Feel the thrill and the power that belong to our family.’
Ruben looked down at the girl. She felt so weak in his arms. She didn’t even fight this—she was in the God King’s control. She couldn’t fight if she wanted to. Even as his bloodlust grew the longer he held her, it felt… wrong. He’d begun to accept it, when he’d felt Alyssa’s blood run through his veins, when he’d felt the power it brought him.
That power was to be used for good, wasn’t it?
The girl’s lips were parted, her breathing shallow. How was this good?
Renial stared at him, his face blank. Was his grandfather growing impatient with him? Ruben contemplated what would happen if he refused to feed, and instantly saw the consequences.
‘Where are the others?’ he asked. ‘My brother, sister, mother…’
‘Drink.’
Ruben let out a breath. All he needed to do was give in. Drink. Everything would be all right if he drank. He’d feel that power again. He’d be sure of his path once more. He looked down at her exposed neck and shut his eyes. He wanted this—right or not. He wanted it.
But would he fight his bloodlust, if he could?
I tried to escape this place.
His entire family was trapped in this cas
tle. They had come here because of him. They had wanted to take him from here, and now they were stuck here too.
He opened his eyes, looked at the vein in the girl neck. The blood dripping down to her collar bone. He didn’t have a choice. Just as she had no choice.
All he could do was drink.
Blood entered his mouth, poured down his throat. His tastebuds enhanced. Oh, how sweet it tasted. His hearing grew sharp. He heard her heart, the shudder in her breath. His touch… he could feel every shudder, every shiver, in the girl’s body. Felt the blood pumping through her. Felt her grow weaker in his arms.
She grew limp, and he forced himself to stop drinking. He picked her up. She felt like a ragdoll, like Marius when he was small. He placed her on the bed.
Ruben looked to Renial. ‘Thank you, Grandfather.’
The God King smiled. ‘You can see the others now. Perhaps you will have luck convincing them of their folly.’ One of the dark-armoured guards—the one the God King had taken blood mist from—stepped forward to escort Ruben from the room. Renial waved a hand. ‘Get yourself cleaned up first.’
~
In his room, Ruben stripped off his clothes. Blood stained the collar of his black suit. Servants brought a bath and buckets filled with hot water. He dismissed them and was grateful when they listened. He sunk into the bath before it cooled. His skin felt the heat of it tenfold. He winced at the pain, but the power let him take it. Slowly, he washed dried blood from his face, his lips, his neck.
Clean and dry, he dressed himself anew. The clothes almost identical to the last ones he’d worn. He stared into the mirror. Touched his lips. The blood was gone—but he still felt it there.
The dark-armoured guard waited outside his door. The guard stayed ever silent. Ruben wondered if the thrall had any thoughts of his own left. Was his mind completely gone? Had he just become a shell to hold Renial’s will?
Ruben was led through the castle hallway. He thought he would be taken to another room close by. But he was taken to a stairwell instead, one that spiralled down deep into the castle. He lost count of the number of steps by the time they reached the dungeons.
The guard took a lantern from the wall and walked forward. Was Renial really keeping his family down here?
The cells were dark. Ruben peered into them. There were people inside he didn’t recognise. A man in tattered robes, shielding his eyes from the light. A woman with white eyes—blind, but still somehow looking directly at him.
‘Why does the God King need to keep prisoners?’ The words slipped out before he’d thought better of asking them. The guard didn’t so much as glance back at Ruben, let alone answer.
They passed ten more cells—five to each side—until they came across the one that held his mother. The guard hung his lantern on the wall, then walked back down the hall until the darkness swallowed him.
Ruben’s mother sat, cross-legged, facing away from the bars.
‘Mother?’ he whispered.
‘This is not the first time I have been in one of my father’s cells.’ She stood smoothly and turned to face her son. ‘He used to keep me here as a child when I disagreed with him or misbehaved. He vowed never to bloodlock his progeny…’ She shook her head. ‘But he still tries to control us.’ She stepped to the bars, gripped one in each hand. ‘Do you know what it is like, when you have complete control of everyone you speak to, to have someone disagree with you? To have someone out of your control? He cannot stand it. So he locks us up, feeds us blood until we crave it. Until we do whatever he says. Until we believe him. Until we trust him.’ She breathed deeply through her nose. ‘I can smell it on you. You have fed recently, have you not?’
I had no choice, he thought but didn’t say. He swallowed. The taste of the blood lingered. It was such a weak excuse—Ruben had wanted to drink. He’d had a choice, just choosing the other way would have put him in this cell, so he chose the easiest path.
His mother’s head dropped. ‘This is my fault.’ She pushed off the bars and walked into the shadows of her cell. ‘I should never have left—I should have brought you all with me. I—’
‘You thought you were doing the right thing. You were wrong, but your heart was in the right place.’ He shifted his weight from foot to foot. ‘I understand that, Mother.’ Ruben grabbed the bars. With his newfound strength, he could bend them apart. He wouldn’t even have to melt them first.
Ruben looked over his shoulder, down the dark hallway. The guard would see or hear. Then the God King would know. They had already tried to escape this place. Ruben, by himself, the others together… they hadn’t gotten far.
‘You are having second thoughts,’ his mother whispered.
He turned back to look at her. She had crept right up to the bars. Jesriel took his hand. He felt the emptiness of her reserve. The God King had stripped her power. Even if she was right, even if he did want to help them escape… how could he? His brother and sister weren’t down in these cells. Even if he could help his mother without alerting the guard, how would they get the others?
He grabbed her hands in his. His mother’s hands were smaller than he remembered. It had been so long since he’d held them. He’d been so young when she’d died. When she’d left.
Illusions, false memories… those were his mother’s specialty.
Ruben closed his eyes, gripped her hands tighter. He pulled from his deep reserve, let the energy flow through him and into her. He moved her hand to his forehead, hoping she had a similar power to her father—the ability to enter someone’s mind and know their thoughts.
Ruben thought the same thought, over and over. He felt her touch on his mind, so much gentler than the God King’s. Their thoughts met and mingled.
When she let go, he reached for the lock, and broke it.
Chapter 71
Ella
Ella woke frightened. She shot up, finding herself in an unfamiliar bed. She glanced around. A fire crackled to the left of her. The room was plush, richer even than the blood lord’s quarters back on the ship.
She stood, bare feet touching cold stone, grateful she could move her own body again. There was a mirror across from her bed. She flinched as she looked into it, for a moment not thinking the person she saw was her. Ella wore different clothes. Black clothes, like those she’d seen on Ruben and the blood lord—except styled to fit a woman. Someone had stripped and changed her as she slept. She shivered at the thought.
Ella walked around the room. There was a bookcase full of leather spines she couldn’t read. A large wardrobe sat against the wall. Opening it, she found more unfamiliar clothing. She brushed a finger against them, almost expecting the touch of them to hurt.
The smell of food brought her attention to the table in the room. She stepped over to it. A plate of bacon, bread, and cheese. The bacon still steamed. Her stomach growled. She slumped into the chair, grabbed the fork and stabbed at a sliver of bacon, pausing as she brought it to her lips.
Poison? she thought and dismissed. If Renial wanted her dead, she’d be dead.
Once the plate was clean, she sunk back into the chair and closed her eyes. Since she’d woken, she’d been afraid to check what she knew to be true. Gazing within herself, she sighed.
Her reserve was empty. Completely and utterly.
Ella stared at the door. She didn’t need to check it to know it was locked, she didn’t need to use her other senses to know there would be a guard or two on the other side, either. This all felt deathly familiar, like she was back in the hold of the blood lord’s ship.
It must be the next day by now. They would have missed the midnight deadline, the ship long sailed away. She hoped Reena and Aralia had completed their mission—she didn’t want this whole venture to have been for nothing.
Worse than nothing. She’d delivered herself straight into the God King’s arms.
She pushed off from the table, chair dragging on the stone floor, and made her way to the centre of
the room. She sat, crossed one leg over the other, and closed her eyes. Her grandfather knew about her true sight—knew how to hide from it. But did he know its true potential? Did he know she didn’t need mana to use it? That she’d broken a blood lord’s mind with it?
Ella breathed deeply through her nose, out through her mouth.
Two guards stood outside her door. She probed their presences—their auras, as her mother had called them. Though she couldn’t see them, she’d wager they were the dark-armoured guards. She felt the God King’s presence in them—not just a thin string of control, but tightly knotted ropes binding them to him. He had a permanent hold on them.
She pushed out farther, searching for any sign of her family. The castle was more populated than it had been when she’d escaped with Taya, auras dotting the halls and rooms. She wondered if Renial had let her escape. Had he wanted them all together when he took them down? Had he wanted to show them just how powerful he was?
She shrugged away the thought—it wasn’t important right now.
She found her brother—Marius—in a room not far from her own. She couldn’t sense any mana within him, either. But he seemed safe. He seemed unhurt.
Ella braced her mind and searched for the God King. She was getting a sense for the castle. She couldn’t feel the walls, couldn’t see them in her mind’s eye. But she’d been through them before with her true sight. The castle was becoming more familiar. And the more she used her powers, the more they evolved. Her senses, her true sight, was expanding.
Her mind went to where she thought the throne room would be. Though she wondered why she bothered. She hadn’t been able to sense the God King’s presence when it had mattered. He’d used that damn sword to shield himself. What was finding him now going to do?