by J. L. Weil
I took in the star-strewn sky. Were they out there, flying about the same stars? Searching for me? I’m right here! I wanted to scream. Find me. Find me. Save me!
Her eyes flickered with distaste. “They’ll look for you, but they won’t find you. Not as long as these two shadow us.” She indicated with a tip of her dark red head to the goblins.
So something in their powers hid us from view? Damn. She was really taking the fun out of trying to escape. “You’ve thought of everything,” I gritted between my clenched teeth.
“How else do you think I’ve survived for so long? It isn’t because of my pretty looks.”
“How ancient are you exactly?” I picked my words purposely, letting her know I thought of her as very old. She was vain enough to scowl a little deeper and I knew I hit my mark. A gleam of satisfaction glowed inside me.
“You never ask a witch her age.”
I snorted. “If you’re not immortal, how is it you don’t age? Another spell?”
“Such a curious little thing you are.”
If I kept her talking, it gave me time to ponder another escape plan, including how fast goblins could run with their little short, stocky legs. It was their mysterious magic I didn’t understand and would get me into trouble.
I should have known better than to try and strategize while holding a conversation. My foot slipped on a patch of slick grass and I teetered to stay on my feet. A set of little hands grappled for my arms just as a thunderous roar burst over the volcano, nearly deafening me. The goblins fingers stiffened on my forearms.
That had definitely been the cry of a dragon.
My heart quickened, beating so fast I thought I might vomit. So close. My skin radiated with prickles. I inched away from the goblins whose attention had turned skyward along with Tianna’s. This is it. This is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for, a voice bellowed inside my head.
Every instinct, every fiber of my being was screaming at me to run. Go! Run! Now! My eyes darted across the land toward the sound, toward the castle, judging the distance. Only a fool would try. Tianna would hunt me down and catch me, torture me with a spell, and god knew what else. This land was open, with little places to seek cover and hide. I would get but a mere few feet if I were lucky.
And then, I wouldn’t be lucky at all.
I’d be punished in ways I didn’t want to contemplate. I’d lose my privileges to the Pool of Mirrors, and I was anxiously looking forward to seeing the descendants again, even if only in a vision.
My eyes drew upward, searching for a large shadow in the dotted star sky, praying for the sight of those impressive wings. One of them was close, so very close, and I might never get this chance again. I had to get far enough away from my shadow goblins so I was no longer cloaked by their magic. If I could do that, I might stand a chance at being saved.
Again.
On the count of one… two…
Tianna’s eyes pinned me as if she knew my body was primed to bolt. “It appears our search has come to an close for the night. Elon and Gor take us home.” Her hand was on my shoulder before I could move a muscle, and just like that, it was over—my window closed shut with a snap.
I opened my mouth to scream, to hurl my voice across the night’s sky, but darkness descended as my body was being transported.
Day one was a fail. On all accounts.
I wanted to cry, to rage, to kill. Not because I hadn’t found the star, but because I was still confined. A fire like I’d never felt before rose up swift and deadly within me, scorching my blood to molten levels. Was this how Zade felt? Burning? Blistering? Pulse racing? The fire raged on. I could think of no way to extinguish the flames, except for a cold kiss from the Ice Prince. I nearly sighed out loud from the thought, only his cool breath could squelch the fever.
The moment we had willowphased from Crimson, back to inside the mountain, Tianna immediately locked me inside her box of darkness. I had begged her to take me to the Pool of Mirrors, but she slammed the door shut in front of me, clicking the locks one by one, and told me she was tired of looking at my dull face.
I took no offense to her slight, anger carpeting my senses.
It was impossible for me to eat that night. The sight of food aroused another bout of anger that made me want to toss the plate into Tianna’s face. I didn’t want her stinking stale, hard bread, her smoked meats, or nearly rotten fruit. I would rather starve than help her another day.
Sitting against the invisible wall across from the dingy cot, I let the coolness on my back soothe the burning of my skin. The plate remained untouched near the door. I should sleep. My eyelids were heavy, begging me to close them. They fluttered once… and again…
Something moved in the shadows outside my clear walls. The darkness seemed to ripple, and as I squinted, I told myself it was exhaustion playing tricks on me. Nothing was out there. No monsters waiting to shred me to ribbons. No dragons to rescue me. Only pure blackness.
The thoughts did nothing to rid the fear coiling in my stomach.
Are those eyes I see glowing?
Flecks of yellow danced in the shadows, far enough away that I couldn’t make out what kind of face they belonged to. Friend or foe?
“Hello? I called.
The twin dots of yellow only stared.
I scampered across the floor to the other side of the wall, pressing my palms against the glass. “Help me,” I pleaded.
The figure did not respond, nor acknowledge they heard me, but left me sitting in my cell. To be fair, I didn’t even know if they would be able to free me. They would need magic to do so. Perhaps they knew they’d be unable to release me, so they had chosen not to reveal themselves. Tianna could have spies everywhere. They might be here to watch me, not help me at all, and yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling as I stared into those yellow orbs, that they weren’t here to harm me.
A crash of disappointment and severe loneliness, washed over me when the eyes disappeared deep into the shadows, no longer visible. I was once again alone.
My stomach tightened into a painful ball, growling at the discarded plate in the corner. I frowned at it and went to sit on the mattress. Dust of dirt and grim pooled out at my weight, but I didn’t care.
Rain plummeted from the onyx and purple sky, thick and merciless drops soaking my face. My eyelashes stuck together and I blinked to see through the curtain of rain. In the corner of my left eye, I caught a shadow lurking, watching me. My skin crawled at the invasion. I didn’t want to turn around, to face the prowler, but I had to know, had to see.
Wet tendrils of my hair flew out, whipping into my face as I spun. Brushing the heavy strands out of the way, I stared into the bleak grey. My fingers reached for the dagger strapped to my thigh, and shook as I gripped the handle, taking small comfort in the jeweled hilt. Where had I gotten the dagger?
In the distance, I made out the dragon form, but the rain was too dense for me to decipher which of my dragons was in danger.
I thought about shouting a warning to draw attention away from my dragon, yet the outline of his massive wings spread wide, soaring closer gave me pause. Seconds ticked by, but they drew out, feeling like hours. Blood splattered to a puddle under the dragon, turning the water scarlet, and my eyes darted up again. The dragon was no longer a beast, but a man, his gold chest painted with streaks of blood, whiskey eyes wide with shock.
“Zade?” My voice was smaller than I intended.
My head shook. No! No! No!
Rain sliced across my face, but I felt nothing. Not the cold. Not the wetness. I ran as fast as I could push myself. It wasn’t enough. The last flicker of his fire left his eyes, extinguishing from his body and he fell.
I screamed.
I woke up crying, my voice hoarse and throat raw, sounding nothing like my own. My hand flew to my mouth as my crying finally ceased. Sweat beaded over my brow and in between my breasts. Sitting up, I braced my back against the wall and focused on my rapid breathing. The tang of blood h
ad followed me from the dream, burning my nose. Zade’s blood.
A nightmare. It was only a nightmare. Not the truth. Not a vision. Just a very, very bad dream. I repeated the words until they rang with truth, although it took longer than I wanted to admit.
How much time would it take of being locked up, being tortured before it changed me? Scarred me?
Chapter Four
When I awoke the following morning, my plate had been removed and placed with a fresh hot meal. No longer able to resist the temptation of food, or the deep rumbling in my stomach, I gobbled it all. What good would I be to the descendants, or myself, if I withered away? The truth was without me they would die.
I refused to let that happen.
My despicable host arrived shortly after I finished eating, looking as enchanting as always. Her beautiful dress, the shine to her hair, the apricot scent of her skin all made me feel inferior, as if I was less than human.
I rubbed at my face. “Any chance there is a place to bathe in this mountain? Or do you like the stench of muck?”
Tianna snapped her fingers and the dirt vanished from my tattered dress, which was also mended, the grease disappeared from my hair, leaving it shiny and clean, smelling faintly of orange and honey. “Better?” she asked with a cocked slim brow.
Not precisely. She had spoiled my grand scheme to get to a body of water. It was in the depths of rivers, the lakes, and ponds that the women in white most often appeared. I needed their help once again. Stuck in my cell for hours, I had plenty of ways to plot and ponder my escape, but it hadn’t work.
“Are we going out again?” I kept the hopefulness from my tone, refusing to let her see how much I wanted to get out of this box.
“No.” She tapped a finger against her lips. “It became clear you don’t know the first thing about magic, or how to use what you already have to find the other stars.”
“And let me guess, you’re going to teach me how to embrace it?”
“I plan to take it from you, Olivia dear.”
I blundered a step backward. “I assume the abstracting of the star’s power is a painful process.”
Tianna sauntered closer, the ends of her black dress dragging on the ground. “The girl has a brain after all.”
I bared my teeth. “Go. To. Hell.”
Those light eyes had gone cold. She raised her hand as if she intended to hit me and I flinched, but the blow never came. “Hell couldn’t keep me,” she said it with pride.
Evil bitch. She was evil incarnate.
She perfected the expression of boredom as she fiddled with her ring. “If you want to keep me from plucking the wings off of your dragons, you will give me what I want.” Her voice was flat.
“How can I give you the stones if I’m not allowed out of the mountain to search for them?”
“There may be another way,” she dangled enticingly.
Did I dare ask? Was it a trap? “I don’t understand.”
Tianna caressed the ring on her finger. The stone was bright scarlet, matching the color of her bold lips. “A vile of your blood.”
“My blood?” I echoed.
“Hmm…” She pursed her lips, mulling around the idea like fine wine, letting it marinate in her mouth. The prospect seemed to spark something of excitement inside her and those silver eyes brightened. “Yes, not much.”
“That is all. Just one single vile?” I repeated to clarify there was no trickery to her offer. Once before I had offered up my blood. That day in the tomb of the kings had seemed a lifetime ago, but allowing the descendants to drink my blood had crafted an emotional connection between them and me.
She nodded, letting a slip of eagerness show in her expression, before she hid it once again behind her wickedness. It was enough to make me reconsider.
I bit my lip. “What will you use it for?” No way was I going to give the witch access to my emotions or something worse. I did not want a link between us, but if I were being honest with myself, I would have endured an eternity of being bonded to the witch if it saved my dragons.
She winked. “That’s the real question, isn’t it?”
Okay, so she had no intention of divulging her nefarious means with my blood. I gnawed on my lip harder, weighing my options. Everything in my body was screaming at me not to give her what she wanted. The descendants had believed blood was the key to the undoing of Tianna’s curse. She had cast it with the blood of the kings, the descendant’s fathers. I didn’t grasp how my blood could be the key.
Was it wise to hand it over, no questions asked?
“Will you let me go if I agree to give you my blood?” Something inside me went cold and still at the thought of her having an essence of me at her disposal. Could she use it to curse me?
She shrugged a graceful gesture. “Perhaps. Perhaps not. It depends on your value. Not to mention, telling you would ruin my fun.”
I didn’t deign to make a response. My mind was whirling in a million directions, calculating all the risks.
“Last chance.” She sounded so smug as if she knew she had her prey caught in her web.
How much was I willing to gamble for my freedom? I actually didn’t delude myself into thinking she would let me go.
“I grow impatience of the waiting game. Time is up. I had hoped we could do this the easy way, but…” She stalked toward me, a smirk ghosting over her lips.
Pressing as far back into the corner as I could, my stomach tightened. For the descendants, I would sell my soul to the witch. I would give up my life for them to be free. “Wait.” My voice was barely a horsed whisper.
Tianna lifted a brow, pausing a foot in front of me. “Yes?” she drawled out, tracing a sharp nail down the vein pulsing along with my neck. The slightest pressure and she’d get what she desired and I’d lose more blood than necessary.
I stared up into her silver eyes, realizing she was going to take my blood with or without my consent. If I were smart, I would bargain. If she was determined to have my blood, I wanted something in return, something worth my while. “Show me the descendants and I’ll give you my blood.” I kept my chin raised, defiant.
She smiled. “You have a deal, Olivia dear.”
Exhaling, my shoulders slumped. Why did it feel as if I’d just made a deal with the devil?
I tried not to think about the consequences of what I’d done. Tianna was good on her word, bringing me immediately to the Pool of Mirrors. The enchanted cavern was silent when we arrived.
Seeming regal in her fine dress, adorned with gold jewels, Tianna strolled straight to the water’s edge. “You’re lucky I’m feeling generous tonight.”
I gave her a flat stare, while her eyes glittered like stars.
“You’ve got five minutes, make the most of it,” she snapped, her fingers gliding over the small pool.
My gaze turned to the waters. Anticipation, excitement, and fear danced in my blood—the blood she wanted. The turquoise water was tinged with gold, as if the sun was sliding into the horizon. No stars tonight, but streaks of summer, bringing with it warmth and the chatter of birds.
I was already on my knees as the water transformed into my mirror of the world outside this mountain. A heavy sigh escaped when I saw Kieran’s face. His usually bouncing green eyes were slivers of poison, reptilian. Zade was perched on the edge of a long table, his legs, taut and muscular, stretched out before him.
Orange-red rays beamed through the window, to form a band of color against the polished ebony floors as Jase and Issik leaned against a wall of marble. Jase’s jet-black hair was disheveled from the forking of his fingers through the strands, while Issik’s jaw was locked. My heart bloomed with hope at seeing their faces.
They’re alive.
“She was close,” Zade growled, wrath twisting his features. “She was here. I sensed it deep in my bones.”
“The witch probably cloaked her.” Nastiness laced Jase’s words.
Tianna chuckled huskily at my back, but I ignored her, focusi
ng wholly on the picture in front of me.
“The important thing is we know she is alive. We’ve all felt her emotions,” Issik said.
It gave them hope, I realized, that tether they had to my feelings was helping them.
Issik’s glare suddenly hardened, like Icebergs, and his body bristled. The others noticed, becoming alarmed.
“What is it? What do you feel?” Jase prompted.
“S-she’s sad,” Issik murmured, eyes staring at nothing as he lost himself to the part of me that lived inside him. He rubbed his chest as if it ached.
Zade’s lips were pale and tight. “We’ve searched every fucking inch of this isle, and not a speck of Tianna. We’re no closer to finding Olivia than we were when she was taken.”
Sadness flickered in Jase’s stormy eyes and I swore I felt his agony deep inside me. I longed to wrap my arms around him, to comfort him, and absolve him of the guilt I knew he carried.
I leaned forward another inch.
Seeing Zade’s sun-kissed face, the nightmare came rushing back. The rain. The fear. The blood, and panic beat against my chest.
“We promised we’d keep her safe,” Kieran’s voice broke, and my gut wrenched.
You did keep me safe! I yelled silently, willing them to hear me. I had only lived this long because of them.
Cold, glittering calm shifted over Issik’s expression—his mask of frostiness. “We’re not giving up.”
“Issik’s right,” Jase mused. “Failing is not an option. This is bigger than Tianna ruling over the Veil forever, greater than her having more power than any single being should possess.”
“We won’t be so easily tricked again,” Zade snarled.
“Time isn’t on our side. There are only two stones left, and we know Tianna will use Olivia to hunt for the other stars,” Jase admitted.
Their world rested on my shoulders.
A cold smile radiated from Issik’s eyes. “We have a few tricks up our sleeves.”