Unchained Hearts

by Ash Night

  It wasn’t fair. Everyone was judging Cam without even getting to know him. I saw how bad it had bothered him in the village. What had happened with Liam must’ve felt like a slap in the face.

  My dad had spoken so highly of Kalden. Why was he so quick to judge Cam? Cam hadn’t done anything wrong.

  “Honey, we’re only trying to protect you. Please, can I come in and talk to you?” Mom asked from the other side of the door.

  “I need to be alone,” I replied stubbornly.

  “Okay, we love you.”

  After I heard my mom go back downstairs, I piled up as many blankets and pillows as I could find in my closet, grabbed a few books off my shelf without really looking at the titles, and settled in to read. I needed an escape that only books could provide.

  Picking up the first book in the stack, I opened it to the first page and began to read. It didn’t take long to get lost in the story. A knight was struggling with the decision to obey his king or protect his kingdom. I sided with the decision to protect the kingdom. The king wasn’t a very good ruler.

  He was letting the infected citizens die in a hidden quarantine zone while pretending to have the best doctors treating them. The knight was trying his best to help those infected while doing everything the king expected of him, but the extra effort was taking its toll and he was slowly growing sick himself.

  He knew it but continued to help anyway. In the end, a cure was found but not before the king got sick and passed away. Fearing it was his fault, the brave and loyal knight chose to die alongside his king instead of taking the cure. The ending brought tears to my eyes.

  The next book was about two knights on opposite sides having to band together to protect the one castle left standing after a war breaks out between their two kingdoms and another kingdom. The battle scenes and the relationship between the two knights, from enemies to brothers-in-arms, sent chills down my spine. My eyelids became heavier and it was getting harder to keep them open, despite wanting to know how it all ended. Yawning, I let myself drift off.

  “Hey, you call that a parry? This is how you parry an attack!”

  I turned in the direction of Liam’s voice. He and Cam were in shining white armor, side by side, as they fought other knights on the steps of a huge castle. I gasped. What were they doing here? Whose castle were they defending?

  “Oh yeah, Mr. Hotshot? At least I can control my magic! You’ve had yours for how long and you can’t even do a simple frost spell!” Cam argued as he pushed an attacker back.

  “Well, at least I have never harmed the princess!” Liam said as he swung his sword, only to make contact with a shield.

  “Cam! Liam! What are you doing? Where are we?” I shouted from my place on a grassy hill. The wind carried my voice, but neither of them could hear me despite me being able to hear them loud and clear. I was worried for their safety as they cut through the advancing forces.

  While somehow still managing to argue with each other, they ended up making a small space where I could clearly see them fight. Liam’s hazel eyes were full of excitement. He had always loved to fight, something I could never understand. Cam’s blue eyes held a similar, yet darker look. He reminded me of a feverish, bloodthirsty animal. I also noticed the change in his armor.

  Liam’s had remained a pristine white. The more Cam fought, however, the darker his armor became until it was an unsettling onyx black.

  Chapter Four

  When I woke up, my heart was pounding. Why had Cam’s armor turned black? And his expression. It didn’t scare me in the sense he would hurt me, but more in the ‘Don’t you care if you hurt innocent bystanders?’ kind of way.

  Come to think of it, he didn’t even apologize to me yesterday. Not that he needed to. It was my fault anyway. I had touched the activated Shadowsilver.

  I glanced down at the burn on my hand. It was a white line now instead of the harsh red it had been. The memory of the pain sent a cold chill down my spine. If it hurt me that much just by merely grazing my hand, what did it feel like to have it touching Cam’s skin without any relief? Was that what he meant?

  It doesn’t burn as badly as before… It’s been about a week. I’m used to it.

  Cam’s words echoed in my mind. My heart went out to him. He put on such a brave face. I couldn’t imagine what it felt like wearing those cuffs. I had to talk to him again. I wanted to know more about him and his plan.

  I groaned as the conversation last night with my parents came flooding back to me. What would I say? Getting up and folding up the blankets, I put them and the pillows in their proper place. As I got dressed, I still hadn’t thought of anything. I decided I should just go see Liam and apologize. I hated the way we’d left things. Even though he had been a jerk, I shouldn’t have left him out in the forest alone.

  “Ah, Serena. How are you, my dear?” Master Cisco asked as he opened the door. Master Cisco was a kind old druid who lived alone before he had taken Liam in. He had two horses who were his everything. Because he was the oldest creature among us, he was the unofficial leader of the village and everyone came to him for advice. He considered everyone in the village his family.

  “I’m good, Master. And you?” I turned as one the horses, Lilly, whinnied. She stomped her hoof as she looked at me.

  “Oh, Lil, stop it. It’s Serena. You know her. Don’t be so grumpy.” He went over to the fence and Lilly trotted over happily. He nickered softly and patted her muzzle. “That’s a good girl. I’m very good, Serena.”

  Hearing his voice, Daisy galloped out of the small lean-to in the paddock and over toward him. Her tail swished as she looked at me. She seemed annoyed.

  Lilly and Daisy, two white and brown quarter horses, had been abused by their previous owners and didn’t care for anyone but Master Cisco so I didn’t take it personally. Even Liam kept his distance around these two. Master Cisco had a penchant for bringing in abused, stray animals.

  “Is Liam home?”

  Master Cisco turned to me. “He went down to the river. When he came home, he seemed awfully upset about something and he seemed tired. Went straight to his room, didn’t even look at dinner. Were you two out practicing magic again?” His brow furrowed, his tone rising with concern. “Did he hurt you? He would never hurt you on purpose, but that boy… Always pushing limits.”

  I shook my head quickly. “No, Master, Liam didn’t hurt me but we did get into an argument.”

  He sighed. “Was it over that Crossfire boy?”

  My heart raced. “How did you know about him?”

  Master Cisco smiled. “Mrs. Albeth came over in quite a tizzy yesterday afternoon. She looked like she had seen a ghost as she tried to tell me Kalden Crossfire had come back from the dead. I knew that couldn’t be true, no matter how strong of a man he was, so I concluded his child must have survived. Boy knows how to keep a low profile, I must say. He looked to be almost twenty years and not a peep he had lived.”

  “His name is Cam and he’s really nice. Liam just…doesn’t see it that way.”

  “I’m sure he’ll come around in good time. He just has to get used to sharing you, I’m sure.”

  I giggled. “I never thought of it that way. I guess he will, won’t he? I’ll go talk to him now and see if he’s cooled down at all. See you around, Master.”

  “Might want to better hide that burn mark.” He smiled knowingly. I blushed and pulled down the sleeve of my black sweatshirt once again so it covered the white line between my thumb and index finger. It wasn’t the best cover, but it was less conspicuous than a bandage. Sometimes I wished Master Cisco was a little less perceptive.

  Liam was sitting with his feet in the gently-moving current of Paradox’s River. Birds chirped in the trees on the opposite side of the shore. I stood a few feet away, watching the light breeze play with his jet-black hair.

  “What did you want, Serena?”

  The rough edge to his voice made me flinch. He didn’t turn to face me, but I knew he was waiting for an answer.
I sighed, looking at my feet. “About yesterday, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you in the forest by yourself.”

  The sound of him getting out of the water made me look up. Liam swept me up into a hug, lifting me off my feet for a moment. Tears pricked at my eyes as he crushed me against his chest. “Idiot. You think I’m mad at you for leaving me alone? I’m mad because you didn’t let me walk you home. It was late.”

  “W-what?” I asked, confused, when he set me down. “Did you hit your head or something when you used magic yesterday?”

  He laughed. “No. I’m serious. I was worried sick all night. Must’ve scared the hell out of Pops. I didn’t even eat dinner.”

  I burst into a fit of nervous laughter. It felt good to laugh after being so worried about Liam being mad at me. He chuckled and, soon enough, we were both laughing with tears in our eyes. “I-I’m sorry. The next time we have a fight, I’ll schedule it earlier!” I gasped. Wiping a tear from my eye, I hugged him, nearly knocking him off his feet. “Of course, there won’t be a next time.”

  “Damn straight.”

  I batted my eyelashes at him. “Now that that’s out of the way, would you mind doing me a tiny favor?”

  Liam smirked. “Yes? I know that look. Even if I said no, you’d bug me until I said yes anyway.”

  Looking down at the ground, I took a deep breath. “I need you to cover for me while I talk to Cam. My parents got mad and won’t let me see him, but if they think I’m with you, they won’t have to know. Pleeeeease?”

  He crossed his arms, his mouth set in a straight line. “You want me to lie?”

  “Not really…we’ll hang out. Just not at the time they think we are,” I replied with a weak smile. “I promise I’ll make it up to you. I’ll make you my famous chocolate layer cake.”

  His cold eyes were like ice. “He’ll hurt you again. No.”

  All the air left my lungs as I struggled to think of a retort. I absentmindedly rubbed the burn mark with my thumb from inside the safety of my sleeve. I was tempted to show Liam the white line just to prove to him that it wasn’t anything to worry about, but part of me was afraid it would just make him angrier.

  What had happened yesterday was an accident and mostly my fault. I’d touched his cuff. The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could second-guess anything.

  “It wasn’t his fault, Liam, I swear. I’d accidentally touched one of the cuffs when I reached out to steady myself. It was entirely my fault. You can’t blame him, okay? He didn’t do anything, I promise. He won’t do anything.”

  Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “Even if it wasn’t his fault, which I still don’t entirely believe, why would I let you see him? He could still be dangerous. Good Fae don’t just end up with activated Shadowsilver on their wrists for minor offenses. You know that.”

  “Because he can teach us to use our magic! He’s fighting to get it back! He’s following his father’s ideals! It’s a good thing! He’s on our side!”

  “Serena,” he looked pointedly at me again, “it’s not a good idea.”

  It took everything in me not to shake him. “Cam is a good guy.”

  “How do you know that?” Liam asked. The exasperation in his voice was clear. He ran a hand through his hair. “We don’t know anything about him! All we know is that he got in trouble for something, something big since he’s wearing activated Shadowsilver, and now he’s basically a nomad!”

  “You were Exiled,” I said quietly. “I was right about you, wasn’t I?”

  I didn’t miss the flash of hurt in Liam’s eyes. “I never hurt you,”

  “The point is, I gave you a chance. You owe Cam the same courtesy.”

  Wrapping his arms around me, I felt his magic curl around me like a protective shield. “You have to promise you’ll tell me if he hurts you, if he even looks at you funny.”

  “I will,” I said quickly, too quickly.

  His hug became tighter, borderline uncomfortable. “Promise me.” He stepped back to look into my eyes.

  “All right, all right, I promise. If he does or says anything the least bit threatening, which I’m telling you he won’t, you’ll be the first to know. I promise. Happy now? I’ll even pinky swear, if it’ll make you feel better. But I just know he’s good, Liam.”

  Holding up his pinky, he smiled. “I hope for your sake you’re right. Because if he hurts you, I’ll kill him.”

  Lacing my pinky with his, we shook on it. “I love you, Liam Grey.”

  “You owe me a cake, Roseheart.”

  I laughed. “You think I’d forget? I’ll hand-deliver it personally in a few days.” I hugged him as tight as I could. “Thank you so much.”

  Everyone else saw Cam as a problem. I was determined to show them he was the solution we were looking for all along.

  Chapter Five

  Since it had been where I’d seen him twice, the first place I looked for Cam was the meadow. My assumption was correct. He was there and he turned to face me the moment I approached. It was as if he had sensed I was coming because, instead of looking hostile, or even surprised, he simply smiled.

  “Serena, I’m really happy to see you again. I was hoping what happened yesterday hadn’t scared you off.” His voice made my heart speed up. I thought I’d been prepared to hear it again, but I was wrong.

  I smiled back. “I’m sorry about Liam. He doesn’t understand. I’m sure once he gets to know you, he’ll come around.”

  “And you?” he asked. “You know me?”

  “I would like to…if that’s okay.”

  Sitting down in the tall grass amid the yellow and purple wild flowers, he looked about ten years old and the grin on his face made him seem so normal.

  He couldn’t be anything but good. A bad Fae didn’t smile like that. Only a good Fae could be that pure. Liam was wrong. Everyone was wrong. Cam was good. I knew it from the bottom of my heart.

  “I have my father’s hair, you know. At least that’s what Glinda told me. ‘Blessed with your mother’s eyes,’ she’d say. ‘Cursed with fiery hair and his spirit to match but blessed with your mother’s beautiful eyes.’ Glinda never was a big fan of my father. Said he was a reckless brute, but she loved him because he made my mother happy. She said he grew on her as time passed. He had a good heart but was too pig-headed to know how to handle things without violence.”

  “Really?” I asked, eager for him to go on. I sat beside him, expecting to feel the warmth of his magic, but I felt nothing.

  That made me sad. Didn’t he trust me enough to not hide it from me? He’d used it in front of me and that hadn’t bothered him. He’d even offered to teach me. Was he having second thoughts?

  He placed a hand on top of mine. “I do trust you, Serena. I trust you beyond a shadow of a doubt. I consider myself to be an excellent judge of character. Apparently, I get that from my father too.”

  “Then why can’t I feel your magic?” I blurted out.

  His smile fell a little. “Oh, that? The cuffs, they dull my magic. Raising it to light a stove or something small like that isn’t much of a problem, but I’m afraid I can’t do much more than that without difficulty. It’s what I imagine a Seal feels like. I absolutely hate it and it makes me want to fight for magic even more.”

  I nodded, understanding completely. Being wrapped in cotton was no life at all, and I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like to have had it and then have it taken away. The thought made me angry for him.

  His eyes blazed, but he looked apologetic a second later. “I guess I shouldn’t be complaining about these damn things. You can’t even use your magic. Your Seal is much worse than my own situation.”

  “No, no,” I replied quickly. “Complain all you want. I’ve never had magic. I don’t know what it feels like. In a way, I guess I should be grateful. You can’t miss what you never felt, right?” I laughed to try to ease the worried look on his face. He truly thought he’d offended me.
>
  “Never ever?” he asked, truly confused. “Would you like to?”

  “Hm?” I asked. “How?”

  Standing up, he held out his hand, careful to make sure I only grabbed his palm and didn’t touch his cuffs. “I’d be happy to show you…if you trust me. It’s the least I could do for yesterday.”

  I nodded. “I would love to know what it feels like to have magic.” I paused for a moment. “Um, it won’t break my Seal, will it?”

  “Not at all,” he replied. “I wouldn’t put you in jeopardy like that. I’ve seen what they do to Sealbreakers.” My stomach twisted at the sad look in his eyes. Something told me I didn’t want to know what exactly The Seven did to Sealbreakers. My heart froze as I thought of Liam.

  He held out his other hand and I took it. My sleeve had slid up and I didn’t fail to notice him glance at the white line where the burn had been. “I’ll never forgive myself for that…”

  “It’s fine. It didn’t hurt that bad.”

  A smirk danced on his lips. “Dammit, I forgot. Nymphs get to lie.”

  I blushed. “Yes...we do,” I admitted. You’re full Fae, then?”

  “Three-fourths. But that must be enough, because I’ve never been able to lie. Just bend the truth. Well, more like twist it.”

  Curiosity got the best of me. “What’s the other fourth?”

  “Demon, from my father’s side.” Cam didn’t seem at all ashamed. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he almost looked smug. “It really only comes out when I fight.”

  I tried to keep the fear from my voice and keep my tone casual as the image of the onyx armor flashed in my mind. “Oh? Do you fight often?”

  “When I get the chance. Only people who want to, though. Or bad people. I once saw an elf mugging an old lady. Needless to say, he’ll think twice before ever doing that again.”

  The fear settled once I heard that. I was right about Cam. He was a good person. His hands were warm against mine. Holding them felt nice.