by J. L. Weil
And like obedient dogs, the pair bowed their mighty heads to the ground, one leg extended, before exiting the chamber through the single entrance into the cave. Their nails clattered over the stone floor, echoing until they were no longer in earshot, leaving me alone with the witch.
Fuck.
I gritted my teeth together, blocking out the pain it took just to stay standing on my own two feet. Tianna’s gaze snapped back to me, and my insides twisted at the way she smiled prettily. “Things had been quite dull around here until you came. I owe you thanks.”
“I don’t want your gratitude,” I spat.
“No, I supposed you don’t,” she agreed. “Come now, dear, how about we make a bargain that will get us both what we want?”
Don’t fall for her traps. A bargain with someone like her was surely a death sentence, no matter how she spun it. I needed to tread carefully. “How is that possible?” What I wanted was to shred her to ribbons.
She raised a thin brow, the same red as her hair. “I want this curse broken too. The game is no longer fun and has taken far too long.”
“Maybe you should have thought about that before you cursed them,” I blurted.
Her finger tapped on the bottom of her parted lips thoughtfully, flashing a row of white teeth. “Yes, well, where is the entertainment in that? Everyone needs a dose of spontaneity in their life, wouldn’t you say?”
I nearly choked on air. “I’ve never been much of a thrill seeker,” I admitted.
Her grin became twisted, to the point it was almost grotesque. I had known she was a perverse soul, but it became clear she was the type of person who enjoyed hurting others. “No time like the present.”
“What is it you want from me?” I demanded, covering the quiver of my voice with sharpness. “I don’t have the stones.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not stupid, and neither are the descendants. I didn’t expect them to let you carry them around in the bosom of your gowns, but you are right. I do want the other stones, and as for the two you’ve already found, that’s where you come in.”
“How so?” I dared to inquire.
“The Star of Tranquility and Poison are nearly useless to me now that they’ve gifted you with their abilities. That changes things a bit, and I’ll admit, it was a twist of fate I didn’t see coming.”
And I bet that burned her ass.
“A minor setback, but nothing I can’t undo.”
Ice coated my veins. Was she implying she could rip the abilities from within me? They were a part of me now—a part of my soul. To remove them sounded painful. To hell with that, I wasn’t letting her take what was mine, not without a fight.
“I’ve grown fond of the dragon's breath. Maybe you would like me to show you how they work.” Faced with an opportunity to fight and flee or stay and become Tianna’s pawn, I made a hasty decision and prayed I didn’t end up dead. No time to strategize an epic plan—or any plan at all, I just acted.
Drawing a deep breath, I gathered one of the powers that resided within me. I was too distraught to distinguish between them. “Maybe you would like me to demonstrate how they work?” It was just the witch and me. My mouth opened, aimed in the direction where she still sat like a queen on her throne.
Before the mist ever left my lungs, her left hand rose, and she snapped her fingers into a fist. It was as if the witch had stuffed a sock in my mouth, blocking the poison from leaving my lungs. She laughed a haunting and throaty sound that filled the entire chamber. “That was a fool’s attempt, little girl, but at least you had the guts to try, and that means something. You’ve got grit, which is good. You’re going to need it.”
Fueled by rage and desperation, I again tried to open my mouth, but this time to spew every vile name I could invent. Nothing came out. Did the bitch just Little Mermaid me? Had she taken my voice?
My fingers grappled frantically at my throat, but the loss of speech wasn’t physical. She had spelled me and taken my ability to expel poison or tranquility. What. The. Actual. Hell.
Tianna cocked a brow. “Were you saying something?”
My eyes radiated at her with spears of hate.
“I think you’ll see after some time that helping me will help you. Now, if you promise to be a good girl, I’ll remove the spell. Do we have a deal?”
Trick question? If I agree, was the deal just for my voice… or something more… something like helping her obtain the stones? I stayed silent.
“A nod will suffice,” she pushed, staring at me with unyielding eyes, no room for negotiation. What choice did I have? That were the games Tianna played, ensuring she always won.
I nodded, my teeth clenched so tight my cheeks ached.
Her closed fingers opened and waved in the air. “There, that’s better. Now, how about we have a civil conversation, girl to girl?”
“Nothing you do or say is going to make me help you,” I seethed, my nostrils flaring.
“Your dragons are weakening.”
That single statement had warning bells chiming in my ears. I went still.
“I can feel it,” she continued, enjoying the pleasure each moment she taunted me brought her. “How long do you think they have left, before they won’t even be able to save themselves? As they dwindle to just men with muscles—that will do very little against my magic—my power flourishes, strengthening with each passing day.”
She was right, and the last thread of fool’s hope I held slipped out of me. The only way I was making it out of alive, and still able to save the descendants, was by working with Tianna. If she wanted my damn abilities, she could have them, but I still didn’t buy her excuse that the stones were useless. If that were true, then why had Jase and Kieran so hastily hid them from her? Why had she stormed the castle at the first sign of their return, demanding we hand them over?
I didn’t trust her. She was up to something. She was keeping secrets.
But so could I.
“I offer you the chance freely to aid me one last time.”
Immediately, I caught her drift. If I refused, she would find other creative and probably detrimental methods to get me to behave. I spit on her. “How’s that for an answer?” For five whole seconds, I felt like a badass, and then reality hit me.
Her face contorted, shifting into the monster that lay beneath the pretty façade. I understood what a terrible mistake I’d made. She was going to make me pay for it and horror coiled in my gut. Similar to a viper, her slender fingers lashed out, twining around my throat. The sharp, fine tips of her long black nails dug into my tender flesh. My eyes hadn’t even seen her rise from her throne, but here she was, towering over me like the devil’s bride, supreme and evil.
“Why don’t I give you the night to think on it, Olivia dear? I wouldn’t want you to make any rash decisions you’ll regret in the morning.” Her fingers squeezed, cutting off my air supply and I gasped, my eyes burning from the lack of oxygen. “This is merely a taste of what will happen each time you disobey me.”
My fingers scratched and clawed, tearing into her hands. All wasted effort that got me nowhere, got me no closer to breathing in the fresh air my lungs, my heart, my life desired. And it was only when the black dots of unconsciousness edged my vision, that she released her vicious grasp.
Chapter Two
My knees buckled. The world drifted away as I fought off the blackness threatening to consume me.
Stay focused! Stay awake!
From within the swirling darkness, I searched for something to tether my mind to, something to keep me from falling into the depths of unconsciousness. I bit the inside of my cheek and the metallic tang of blood coated my tongue. Each breath I took was like swallowing glass, but it was the panting of my breath that saved me. It became my lifeline.
In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.
The quick, short, and uneven wheezes slowly morphed into long, steady breaths. The chamber of the mountain came back to me, along with the damp tang of mold and cool air. I didn’t b
other to get up again, but stayed huddled on the rough ground. Tianna’s voice was muffled in the distance as if she was walking away. Did she plan to just leave me here?
I listened to the sound of locks clicking into place and my eyes snapped open. I could see no doors, no walls, but the throne room was gone. Poof like magic. Not like magic. Just magic. It was the only explanation. Tianna had sealed me into an enchanted cell.
Whore!
Even as I rushed to my feet to test the boundaries of my prison, I knew… there was no escaping. And yet, it didn’t stop me from trying. I reached out with a hand. My fingers grazed a surface I couldn’t quite identify. Smooth. Cold. Invisible. Flattening my palms, I ran both hands over the barrier, desperately searching for a gap, a break, an end to this nightmare. I traced the rectangular room with shaky, cut, bruised, and dirty hands a dozen times before I gave up finally.
My back pressed into one of the concealed walls, as I dropped my arms dejectedly to my sides, and took my first real look at my prison. Perhaps I’d blacked out after all, how else did I explain the invisible bars and change of scenery? Not that it was any better than the large chamber with its flickering candlelight.
The small box itself contained a tattered and grimy cot that street rats wouldn’t sleep on, and an equally dirty, and what I guessed was supposed to be a toilet, but was more like peeing in a pot. I hated camping, and this was way worse than roughing it in the woods.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Beyond the cage lay miles and miles of darkness—so much darkness—like an endless hallway. It was frightening, not knowing what awaited—what lurked in the shadows outside my clear cage—what creatures watched me—what prey stalked me. It could have all been in my head, a trick and part of Tianna’s torture, but to me, it was all too real.
Couldn’t she have bothered to leave me at least one candle?
Perhaps she had in a way. My cell wasn’t flooded in utter darkness, but some unknown source provided a small bit of illumination—less than a nightlight, but it was enough to see. Everything behind the four walls was… nothingness.
I huddled into the corner, tucking my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around myself in a hug. I missed the griffin’s nest—a thought I never imagined I would have. This place took icky to new levels and was worse than living in a twelve-year-old boy’s gym locker.
My stomach rolled.
I was going to vomit.
Nothing but stomach acids would come out, considering I hadn’t eaten anything all day, but the sick feeling would be the same. I reined in my breathing, doing what I could to keep the panic attack, and bile, at bay. What a freaking mess. Hell, I’d been a mess for the better part of a year, and it wasn’t until I came to the Veil that I had started to see a light leading me out of the shadows, a light that gave me purpose, but now the darkness was back. It was all-consuming.
I needed my dragons.
And they needed me.
The last thing I wanted was to fall apart at the seams, to show Tianna weakness and allow her to win, but my lip quivered, and my eyes became blurry. Tianna might have left me alone, but not for a moment did I believe I was truly alone.
The silence was going to kill me. Nothing moved. Nothing stirred. I was encased in a tomb—my tomb.
Grave tears rolled down my cheeks and I let them. They weren’t eloquent, but big, sloppy, ugly tears that shook my body and turned my face red. Not to mention the snot. Exhaustion slammed down on me, until I curled further into the corner of the room, dropping my cheek to the wall, and drifted off numbly.
Hours and minutes meant nothing to me while surrounded by blackness. Time was only measured by the arrival of my measly meals. The fact that Tianna was feeding me meant she needed me alive. My mind went back and forth between my importance and disposability. I clung to the thread of hope that without me, she couldn’t find the stones. Though, I wasn’t entirely sure how accurate the statement was, but it kept me sustained in the gloom.
I tried not to drink the glass of water all at once, but the few sips I allowed myself didn’t easily quench my thirst. The bread I nibbled on was stale and tasteless, yet I forced myself to eat as much of the food as I could stomach, trusting the witch wasn’t poisoning me. I chewed and swallowed, working my jaw to break down the cardboard bread.
A clanking of locks shot like a gun around the space, deafening in the silence. I blinked and scrambled to my feet, only to find myself back in Tianna’s throne room. Legs crossed, the black material of her dress split down on either side of her thighs, cascading over the floor as the witch rested an arm against her throne. With nothing more than a twitch of her fingers, she had removed me from my cell, summoning me to her chamber. I hated the ease of her magic.
“I hope you slept well, Olivia dear,” she purred, the fire of her hair spun in curls down her back. “As promised, I gave you the night to sleep on our agreement.”
Did she honestly think tossing me into a cell of solitude and giving me a few stingy meals to eat was going to change my mind? That it would be enough to scare me into agreeing? Before the descendants, I might have very well given up already and spilled my guts, but after living with them, knowing them, and loving them, to betray the four dragon shifters would be like cutting out my own heart.
“Your hospitality has been most generous,” I spat with sarcasm and venom.
“I take it you’ve come to your senses then?”
I smiled, despite my dire situation. “Not in this life.” I braced myself for the temper I saw quickly flash across her eyes, but Tianna sighed, showing more control than yesterday.
“I’d hoped you would learn your lesson,” she admitted, clucking her tongue. Her eyes shone as she stared at me, angling her head to the side.
Saying nothing, I held my chin tilted up and my lip stiff, keeping my face blank. No emotion to be found.
She flicked a finger in my direction. “Come. Let me show you something.” Unfolding her legs, she eased to her feet gracefully, the silky material flowing onto the floor around her.
Did I really want to go anywhere with her? Hell no. Did I actually have a choice? Hell no.
Tianna moved with elegance, long legs carrying her slender frame as she moved to an opening at the right side of the chamber—opposite from where the griffins had dragged me inside the day before. The exit hadn’t been there moments ago. I was beginning to think this mountain was filled with hidden passageways, secret rooms, and a network of underground tunnels controlled by her magic.
Clop. Clop. Clop. The clatter of my shoes on the uneven ground echoed through the cavern, but it was as if someone else guided my body. “Where are we going?” I asked, even though I told myself not to speak. My fear overruled my disguise at being unaffected by her tactics.
“I have my reasons for picking this specific mountain as my lair. I’m going to show you one of those reasons. This island isn’t just known for its dragons, but because it has many natural elements of magic on its own. There was a time before the war when witches, warlocks, mages, elves, and magical beings of all kind sought to travel to the Veil Isles.”
As we strolled down a path leading us deeper into the mountain, torches lit the way. They appeared a few feet in front of Tianna as she moved, igniting on their own—more magic. I tried my best to mark our path in my head, memorizing any small detail I could find.
“You seem to know a lot about the history of this place,” I commented. I’d been under the impression that during the war the dragon kings had summoned her here, only to have her turn on them in the final hours of their warfare. How much time had she spent in the Veil prior to the war?
“I make it my business to know about the wonders of the world, but there was always something special about the Veil, and the pulse of magic energy here. It called to me.”
Over Tianna’s head, I could make out the arch of a doorway. As we grew closer, I noticed that the stone around the entrance was etched with runes that reminded me of seashells. I walk
ed inside, a gush of cool, refreshing air bathed over my face, smelling of the sea. I swore in the distance my ears picked up the roaring sounds of waves colliding against the cliffs of the mountain.
“The magic calls to you as well, it seems,” she considered, having stopped and turned slightly to watch me.
I said nothing in return. I couldn’t really speak; my eyes too busy drinking in every inch of what lay before me. A pool like I’d never seen, not even in Wakeland. The water was vibrant in color, a swirling mixture of cobalt, turquoise, and midnight. A yearning to touch it rose up inside me so strongly, that I found my fingers outstretched of their own accord. Would it be sleek and silky? Warm? I was positive it would be.
Moonlight danced over the pool of water in the cavern, but how could that be? The chamber inside the mountain had no opening, no crack to allow in the night. Yet, tiny dots twinkled over the surface like a sky of starlight.
“Take a closer look,” Tianna’s silver-tongued voice enticed.
I cocked my head to the side, glaring at her. “Why, so you can push me in?”
She laughed, a haunting sound that had a wave spreading across the waters. “No, silly girl, so you can see.” On light feet, she padded to the edge of the water, where it softly lapped over the stone floor. Crouching down, her hand waved over the water’s surface, and the tang of magic tingled over my skin.
Curiosity got the better of me. I knelt beside the pool and peered in, realizing the pale moon was inside the waters not above. Another trick? Or was it magic, like she had let on during our walk? Was this one of the enchanted places of the Veil, like the Mirrored Shallows in Viperus Kieran had taken me to?
My line of thoughts was cut off, as soon as images began to form through the mist of the shimmery water. I leaned closer. The faces of Jase, Kieran, Zade, and Issik appeared. My heart jerked in my chest. God, how I missed their stupid, gorgeous faces—Jase’s bright eyes, Zade’s glorious skin, Issik’s cool expression, and Kieran’s lopsided grin.
