Rylan immediately lowered his sword and stepped back. I was barely able to check myself in time before slicing into his sword arm.
Rafe pointed to a spot behind me, and Rylan obediently resheathed his sword, the blank look in his eyes giving me chills as he walked away.
“As for you, Alexa, don’t move or I’ll have them shoot you.”
I turned to see three men standing behind Rafe, with arrows aimed at my heart.
My mind whirled, still unable to comprehend Rylan’s betrayal — or what was going on here.
“Don’t think I won’t have them shoot you. I need you alive, but I don’t necessarily care how alive you are.”
I made a show of sliding my sword into my scabbard and lifting my hands. But as soon as he smiled — a smug little smirk that made me want to embed a dagger into his eyes like he’d threatened to do to Jax — I threw myself to the ground, rolling into a somersault and simultaneously grabbing my own bow from across my back. As I came forward again onto my feet, I heard the whistle of arrows flying near me but missing in the rush of my movement. I grabbed an arrow, with a speed that Marcel had once claimed was blinding, nocked it, and let it fly with barely a glance at my targets. The first man fell before he could even lift his hand to reach for another arrow. In the blink of an eye, I grabbed another arrow and shot it and then another, and suddenly all three archers were on the ground, before any of them could get another shot off, and Rafe stood alone unprotected.
But he was still smiling. My stomach dropped.
“You might wish to turn around.”
Dread coiled in my belly as I slowly backed up so I could turn without losing sight of Rafe. With him still in my peripheral vision, I turned halfway to see Rylan ten feet away from me, a knife being held to his throat, four men surrounding him with more swords pointed at parts of his body. Why? Why were they threatening him if he was on their side?
And then I realized I couldn’t see Jax anywhere. Frantic now, terrified that the worst had already happened, I spun farther, losing sight of Rafe but not caring, because if I lost Jax after everything —
And then I saw him. He stood a few feet away, in the shadow of a tent, trembling all over, clutching Rafe’s dagger in front of him. He stared at me, a strange combination of despair twisting his mouth and emptiness in his eyes. Damian’s eyes.
“No!” I screamed. “I haven’t killed him, Jax! He’s not even hurt — throw the knife away!” I lunged for him, ready to force him to stop, when I was tackled from behind and knocked to the ground. Rafe’s hot breath in my ear turned my stomach.
“Watch,” he said, his voice low in my ear. He pressed a knee into my spine, into my stitches, and yanked me up by my hair. I could have thrown him off, but I didn’t dare move for fear of what that would make Jax do. “Watch as he dies because of your stupid little stunt.”
Jax’s arm shook as he began to lift the dagger.
“I didn’t kill you!” I cried out, desperate. “Make him stop! I won’t kill you — I’m turning myself in. I surrender. I surrender,” I repeated, my voice breaking on a barely suppressed sob. I’d failed. I’d failed them all. Jax was still lifting the dagger. Rylan was captured, under Rafe’s power. My promise to Damian was broken. I wouldn’t be coming back to him after all. He would be alone, once again, and I hadn’t even warned him about the madman in his dungeon.
“Jax, you can stop,” Rafe said, amused, climbing off me but keeping a hold of my hair, yanking me up to stand in front of him. Suddenly, cold metal touched my throat. When I glanced to the side, I recognized the hilt he gripped. He held my own sword against my neck. “As she said, I’m still alive. And my sister?”
“The king is engaged,” I whispered. Technically, it was the truth, and I could only hope Rafe didn’t have some special way to find out if she were alive or not. We’d made sure no one could escape to warn him. But now that Rylan was under his control …
Rafe laughed again, a triumphant sound. “You see? No one has any hope of stopping us.”
I stared at my friend, swallowing past the sudden lump in my throat. How had I not realized he was under Rafe’s control — how had he hidden it? What had Rafe said to him that had enabled him to continue to act so normally until now?
“Let them go,” I said, standing stiffly beneath my own blade.
“I don’t think I want to. Your friend over there — he is called Rylan, right? He makes a wonderful soldier in my ever-increasing army, don’t you think? So obedient.” Rafe laughed again, his breath hot on my skin. “But that doesn’t mean that I’m not willing to have him killed. So you can forget any of the ideas that are running through that mind of yours right now, if you want him to live.”
Everything in me screamed to fight back, to kill Rafe. But Jax still held the dagger, and Rylan had five men with swords on him as well. I couldn’t save them both in time. Even if I did kill Rafe quickly enough to break the control on Jax, Rylan would die. Tears burned my eyes as I stared at them, first one, then the other.
“At least let Jax go.”
“I’m not sure I want to.” Rafe pressed the sword harder against my neck, almost hard enough to break the skin, but not quite. If I so much as swallowed, it would cut me.
“You made me a deal,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper, trying not to move. “I gave myself up to you. Now tell Jax your previous order is rescinded and let him go.”
“You aren’t really in a position to be making demands,” Rafe said, his lips brushing my ear, making my stomach heave. “And you didn’t exactly come here on the terms we agreed to — you did try to kill me. You just didn’t succeed.”
“I could still kill you, if I wanted to. If you’re going to keep Jax and continue to torture him, I would rather kill you and let him die quickly to spare him the suffering.” My blood surged through my veins. I was walking a very fine line. “Don’t doubt me. I’ll do it. I could kill you right now, even with you holding my sword against me.”
Rafe was silent for a long moment. “Then here’s my offer. You look into my eyes, and I will give you one command. That’s it. Just one little thing. In return for that, I will free Jax from my control and let him return to the palace.”
I stared at Jax, at the flush on his olive cheekbones and the bright sheen of fever in his eyes, and my heart lurched. Then I glanced at Rylan. The blankness was gone; he looked like himself again. He shook his head, his expression horrified.
“Don’t do it, Alexa,” Rylan said. “Don’t worry about me. Kill him and save yourself. Forget about my li —”
The man holding the sword to Rylan’s throat pressed it hard enough to draw blood, and his voice dropped off. A thin ribbon of scarlet trailed down Rylan’s neck to his collarbone, and he clenched his jaw against the pain.
Helplessness tore at my heart. This was my only option to keep everyone I cared about alive.
“I’m sorry.” I blinked back the burn of tears in my eyes. “Tell Damian I’m so sorry.”
“No! Alexa —”
“All right,” I said, cutting off Rylan’s protest before they could hurt him anymore.
“You agree?” Rafe crowed in my ear.
I nodded, a short jerk of my head, unable to speak again.
“Turn around,” he ordered, “and look into my eyes.” He moved the sword away and stepped back.
I turned slowly, swallowing hard to keep the rising acid from burning my throat. Rafe’s eyes were the same odd green as Vera’s had been. I held my breath as I fought every instinct in my body that screamed at me to look away, to grab my sword and plunge it into his heart. I clenched my hands into fists at my sides to keep myself from doing exactly that and killing not only Rafe but Jax and Rylan as well.
Rafe’s lips curled into a horrible mockery of a smile as he stared back at me, directly into my eyes. “Alexa, you will never again attempt to hurt me in any way. Instead, you will now protect me from any and all threats that ever arise. You will be my personal guardian to keep me fro
m harm.”
His command seared into me, through his voice, through his eyes. Everything burned for a bright, horrible moment — my body, my ears, my mind. And then, all at once, my anger drained away. I unclenched my hands. Why had I been thinking about stabbing him? I stepped back, horrified at myself. I didn’t want to hurt him — I was supposed to protect him.
But why did I want to protect him when I hated him so much?
Rafe began to laugh, and I looked away in confusion. “Jax, come here.”
When I saw Jax walk forward, my stomach tightened again. That was why I didn’t want to hurt Rafe — it was to protect Jax. The boy stared at me with wide eyes — Damian’s beautiful eyes that I loved so much — and something inside me crumbled. I would never see Damian again, I realized. I remembered him kissing me this morning, telling me he loved me, making me promise to come back to him, and I had to squeeze my eyes shut against the sudden, blinding pain.
“You are free from my previous command. Go home. Don’t stop until you reach the palace, and tell your brother that I have what I wanted.”
My eyes flew open to see Jax nod and immediately turn and head into the jungle.
“Rylan, help him!” I cried out as Jax looked back at me with wide, blank eyes, a hint of terror on his face, even as he continued to walk away. “He can’t stop now until he reaches the palace.”
“No, I don’t think I want your friend helping the boy.” Rafe made a gesture, and the men guarding Rylan tightened around him, keeping him from moving.
“That wasn’t the deal!” I shouted. “He’ll die out there! He’s sick, and he has no idea how to get back to the palace — especially in the dark.”
“That’s not my concern.” Rafe shrugged.
Fury rose in me, hot and uncontained. I grabbed my sword out of his hand and swung it up in the air, but even as I lifted it, my anger left me. My mind felt strangely blank, and I looked at Rafe in confusion. What was I doing?
He smiled placidly at me as I slowly lowered my sword again.
Once my arm hung motionless at my side, I remembered Jax again, and the anger rose once more. And then I realized what had happened. I’d gone to strike Rafe — and couldn’t. His order. I could never try to kill him again. The moment I did, my mind went blank, until I wasn’t attempting to hurt him anymore. Was that how it worked — why some people’s eyes looked empty only some of the time? The specificity or broadness of the command. That had to be the reason. And the one he’d given me was very specific.
I could never hurt him again. Instead, I was now forced to protect him.
“Was there anything else? No?” Rafe answered himself before I had a chance. “As I think about it, I would really rather make sure that your king gets my message. You” — he pointed at a man standing a few feet away — “follow the boy and make sure he arrives safely at the palace. Give Vera my regards, and tell her the plan is moving forward as hoped.”
The man nodded, bowing to Rafe, then turned and hurried into the jungle after Jax.
“Happy now?” Rafe smirked at me. “See how I keep my promises? He won’t die. What a relief.”
I swallowed hard, trying to control my rage. It was useless. I’d made a bargain with the devil, and now I couldn’t hurt him, no matter how much he deserved it. At least Jax will return to Damian. At least he’ll have his brother back.
“Everyone not on duty, go get some sleep and prepare to depart at dawn.” Rafe lifted his voice to a shout, making my ears hurt. When no one moved, he sighed and repeated himself in Dansiian, then turned back to me. “There’s someone who wants to meet you, and since you were so kind as to show up a bit early, we should make better time than I was hoping.”
“Where are we going?”
The men guarding Rylan shoved him forward, so that he stood next to Rafe.
“Why, to Dansii, of course. King Armando has a keen interest in the girl who killed one of his most valuable sorcerers.”
“What exactly is your plan — what are you trying to do?” I couldn’t meet Rylan’s eyes; I couldn’t bear to see either the horrible emptiness or the helpless fury that I was sure was also etched onto my own face. “Is this all an attempt to take Damian’s throne? You won’t succeed. I won’t let you hurt him.”
“Oh no, Alexa. I’m not going to hurt your beloved king. You are.”
I stared at him in horror and then remembered to look away before he could give me any other awful commands. “I’d never hurt him,” I whispered.
“Yes, you will.” He walked right up to me, so that he could lean over and whisper in my ear. “The next time you see King Damian, you will be the one to kill him.”
“Never!” I shouted. Terror pumped through my body, pulsing in my blood, white hot and excruciating. “You can’t make me do that. I won’t let you!”
“My dear girl, I can make anyone do anything I want. It’s marvelous.” Rafe grinned, lifting his arms in front of me, making a show of his empty hands. “Does that make you mad? Do you feel that anger boiling in your blood? Go ahead, try to do something about it.”
I yanked up my sword, wanting to impale him on it, but the moment I swung my arm forward, my anger drained away again, my mind going blank just long enough for me to lower my sword to my side. Once he was out of danger, my fury returned, but it was too late. My anger was useless. I screamed in frustration and tossed the sword to the ground, my entire body shaking.
Rafe’s laughter echoed through the camp as he turned away from me. “Try to get some rest — at first light, we leave. And my men will attest to the fact that I don’t tolerate anyone slowing me down.” He paused and glanced back at me. “Oh, and don’t even think about trying to escape. Your friend will be under guard the entire time. If you try to leave, I’ll have him killed before you get ten feet away.”
My stomach dropped, but Rafe wasn’t done.
“And, Rylan, if for any reason she tries to escape and you aren’t killed in the process, you will stop her. You may not leave this camp, and neither can she. Understood?”
Rylan nodded, absorbing his command.
“Excellent.” With one last smirk at me, Rafe turned to walk away.
“You won’t succeed!” I shouted, unwilling to let him have the last word.
He paused and glanced back. “I already have.”
“Antion is stronger than you think — Damian is stronger than you think,” I insisted, helpless rage burning hot beneath my ribs, driving through my muscles and bones. He didn’t know Damian had fought through Vera’s control and won — but I did. “We will fight you and we will win.”
“Are you sure we’re talking about the same people? Damian — your king who is now under my sister’s control? And the people of Antion — uneducated villagers who are terrified at the very thought of sorcery? They are going to stop us? The most powerful kingdom in all the world.” Rafe burst out laughing, a harsh, cruel sound.
“Our people aren’t afraid of sorcery anymore,” I said, even though I knew it was a lie. “And Dansii isn’t as powerful as you think.”
“Your people will fear sorcerers until the day they die, crushed like the useless pests they are. Hector made sure of it. Fear and ignorance are the strongest weapons any ruler can wield. Your kingdom has been built on both. And they are right to fear power — to fear Dansii. No one will be able to stop us.”
“Blevon will. They don’t fear you.”
Rather than vanishing after my declaration, Rafe’s diabolical smile only grew wider. “Ah, but they will. They think they’ve kept their secrets safe from everyone, hoarding their knowledge and power. But they’re sadly mistaken. When my king is finished, both of your kingdoms will grovel at our feet, begging to be allowed just to serve us. We are the future,” he shouted, making me flinch. “We have the power. And now that we have you, nothing will ever stand in our way again.”
With that, he spun on his heel and stormed off.
I stared after him, my fingernails leaving crescent-moon marks
in the palms of my hands, my heart slamming against my ribs. His words drove a cold, terrible panic deep into my chest. Dansii knew Blevon’s secrets? I had to get back to Eljin and tell him — I had to make him share his knowledge with us so we could find some way to stop King Armando before it was too late. Rafe seemed to think taking me to Dansii was a key to their success, and that only made me even more determined to figure out a way to escape.
“Alexa, what is he going to make you do?” Rylan’s familiar voice startled me; I turned and he stood beside me, the blood on his throat dried into scarlet lines. A few of Rafe’s men flanked him, a constant reminder of his threats. Rylan’s eyes were his own — for now. But for how long? We were both under his control now. The thought made me sick. As did Rafe’s threats. “Alexa, tell me what he said to you.”
I couldn’t say it out loud. If I said it out loud, it made it real. It made it possible.
Somehow, I had to find a way to break this man’s control over Rylan and me. Damian had been able to break Vera’s control, although he’d never answered my question about how he’d done it. Was it the love we shared? Or was it something more — was it because he was a sorcerer?
No matter what the reason, I had to be able to do it, too — I had to be as strong as him. I refused to let this be the end for us. Not now. Not like this.
Somehow, I had to figure out how to escape with Rylan and get back to Damian. I had to warn him about what Rafe had said.
I stared after Rafe’s retreating back and finally answered Rylan. “It doesn’t matter what he said. I’m never going to follow another order from him again.”
No matter what happened, I would never, ever let him make me kill Damian. I’d rather die first. Rafe might have thought he’d won for now, but I wasn’t so easily beat. He’d soon find out. And I refused to let him and his king succeed in whatever horrible plot they had put into action.
I’d made a promise to Damian, and I was going to keep it.
Somehow, I would come back to him.
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