Tangled

by J. E. Taylor

  Her hard gaze softened, and she closed her eyes. “Child, there is no way out of this tower. I made certain of that when I locked you up here. Your hair was meant to be the only ladder.” She plucked the remaining fray of rope in disgust. “This is a cruel twist of fate, but it isn’t your doing.”

  She turned from the window, leaving only the empty space gaping back at me. Zach put his arm around my waist and led me away from the tower and away from the woman who was now imprisoned in a nightmare of her own making.

  Chapter 8

  Darkness descended as we stepped into the woods across from the tower. I glanced over my shoulder just before we were out of view. The small light still shined from the tower. I sighed, wondering how many times the enchantress had made this same trek away from my prison, only to look back to make sure that light was still burning.

  My throat tightened. Sorrow for what had been and what could have been bit at my skin, making me tremble. Zach’s arm tightened around me, and his gentle lips found the curve of my neck. Lightning sizzled between us.

  He jerked away, pulling on Midnight’s reins. I turned forward and gasped at the semi-circle of king’s guards wielding weapons.

  “Looks like my time is up, too,” Zach whispered in my ear as his grip on me tightened.

  Hands grabbed us, yanking us both to the ground. Zach scrambled to get up, but a fist drove him back into the ground. When the guard pointed his sword at Zach’s throat, I found my voice.

  “Please don’t,” I said, pulling the guard’s glare from Zach. “He saved me from being imprisoned in a tower for the rest of my life.”

  The guard’s gaze narrowed even more. “What was in it for him?”

  “Nothing,” I answered.

  He looked me up and down. “I’d say you’re a far cry from nothing.”

  “Don’t you dare touch her,” Zach said.

  The guard pressed the tip of the blade into Zach’s throat. “We will do what we damn well please with your little harlot,” he said. “And maybe we will let you watch.”

  Anger radiated from Zach in waves, bristling the hair on my skin.

  When two other guards grabbed me and dragged me away from Zach, panic filled me, creating a dangerous brew. I tried to fight them off, but they just laughed at my struggles and ripped at my clothing. I clawed at one of them, and he backhanded me across my cheek. I stumbled and was yanked back between the two men.

  “I bring the dark.” Zach’s dangerous hiss filled the clearing.

  Everyone halted, turning in his direction. He held the severed head of the guard who had had him at sword point when I was dragged away. Zach’s blade dripped with blood. Midnight whinnied and reared up behind him, creating the perfect backdrop for the lightning whirling around Zach.

  He tossed the head in our direction. “If you don’t want to end up in the same state as your compadre, I suggest you unhand her.”

  His eyes glowed with those silver streaks, and this time the streaks bled into his skin, snaking through it in a frightening, unearthly pattern fueled by his rage.

  Hands released me, and I crumpled to the ground, staring at the man who had not only freed me from my prison, but had just saved my honor.

  The guards backed away.

  Zach advanced, his intent clear in his predatory motion.

  I scrambled to my feet, putting myself between him and his prey. His eyes narrowed.

  “Move, Danae,” he said in a growling rumble that seemed to quake the earth under our feet.

  I tensed. “No.”

  “They hurt you.”

  I brushed my cheek where the pain flared from the guard’s backhand. “But that doesn’t call for a death sentence.”

  “Their intent was to do irreparable harm. To break me, so that I would allow them to bring me home to face the gallows.” His gaze flitted away from mine. “They underestimated the strength of my wrath, just like my brother did.”

  “You murdered the king’s son,” one of the guard’s sneered.

  “I delivered justice,” Zach bellowed.

  The darkness had overtaken him. Lightning singed the lower branches of the trees around us, and the ground trembled.

  Zach’s transformation frightened me, but I stayed put, blocking him from the guards.

  “I bring the light,” I whispered so only Zach could hear.

  His gaze snapped to mine. “I swallow the light,” he said through gritted teeth and stepped closer.

  His hand darted out and grabbed my hair, yanking me forward until his nose nearly touched mine. The madness I saw there made me swallow hard.

  “I bring the light,” I said calmly and forced my palm to his silver-lined cheek. The connection of our skin sent a shockwave through the clearing, bowing over humans and trees alike.

  I stared up at the clear sky. The stars winked back at me as I slowly sat up. Zach lay motionless a few feet away. I scrambled to his side. His eyes were open, focused on the heavens above. No trace of the silver remained in his skin, but those familiar silver veins remained in his green irises.

  Finally, he shifted his gaze to me and blinked. “What happened?”

  I glanced around. Every guard was down, but none moved. I didn’t know if they were alive or not.

  I shrugged. “I guess our powers clashed?”

  He sat up slowly, holding his head like he had the worst headache known to man. He took a breath and surveyed the damage. Midnight whinnied, still standing tall. The horse was the only thing left upright within a hundred-meter radius.

  A low chuckle emitted from Zach’s lips. “That’s an understatement,” he said and climbed to his feet. He retrieved his bloody sword and sheathed it before heading towards Midnight.

  I stood. “What are you doing?” I asked as he mounted Midnight. “We need to make sure they aren’t hurt.”

  He guided Midnight to where I stood and extended his hand. “They were going to defile you in every way known to man. I don’t care whether they are alive or dead. But I do care about you. So please, let us get out of here before something worse happens.”

  I stared at his hand and then back into his sincere eyes.

  “If they are alive and they wake to find us here...” He sighed. “Please, Danae, please don’t make me fall into the darkness again.”

  I reached for his hand, and he pulled me onto Midnight. As we passed one of the guards, he moaned and rolled to his side. Relief swept through me. The blast hadn’t killed them. Before I had a chance to catch my breath, we tore out of the clearing, heading in the same direction as we were when the guards ambushed us.

  “Where are we going?” I asked when I was sure my voice wouldn’t shake.

  “I have been running long enough. It is time this charade of my father’s ends.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at his grim determination. The blaze in his eyes burned with every silver flare of darkness.

  “You killed your brother?” I asked.

  His grip on me tightened. “Yes.”

  The night weighed down on me, and I shivered.

  “I always took the blame for his...” Zach sighed. “His fixations. He was twisted in ways no child should be. It started with animal mutilations that he blamed on me, and my father believed every word that twisted freak said. The fact I carry the darkness inside me didn’t help my cause.” He pulled me closer. “They have no understanding of what the darkness is. My father feared it, thinking it was the cause of the strange deaths in the kingdom.” He shook his head and kissed my shoulder. “The darkness craves justice, not mayhem.”

  The cadence of Midnight’s hoofs lulled my tired mind. I closed my eyes and leaned back into Zach’s chest, relishing the silence that had fallen between us. His broken explanation left too many blanks, and I was too tired to fill them.

  “What happened?” I finally said when it was clear that he wasn’t willing to go on.

  “I fell in love.” He sighed.

  I glanced over my shoulder at him, drawing my eyebrows to
gether.

  “Sorry. You aren’t my first,” he said with a sad smile.

  The words made my head spin away from his past to this moment. My mouth popped open at his admission.

  His tight features softened, and he kissed my cheek. “But I hope you are my last,” he whispered. “I confided in my brother that I was going to the market to find a suitable wedding band. When I arrived back home hours later, I entered my bedchambers as he finished sawing through her spine. He propped her head on my pillow and had the audacity to grin at me like what he had done was a grand gesture. A gift. Pieces of the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with were strewn about the room like discarded, soiled clothing.” His voice cracked, and his forehead dropped to my shoulder. “The darkness demanded justice, and for the first time in my life, I let it override all that had held it at bay. And the darkness delivered. When I was done, I stood at the entrance of my father’s throne room holding my brother’s severed head by the hair. I tossed it down the aisle, glaring at my father before I walked out of the castle, mounted my horse, and rode away from the kingdom.”

  I trembled at the vision he’d painted. Zach wrapped his arms tight around me.

  “I’ve been hunted ever since, and as each year passes, the belief that I was the one maiming animals and torturing and killing peasants becomes a more solid conclusion in the eyes of the kingdom.”

  “And your mother? What does she believe?”

  He was quiet for the longest time. “I never knew my mother. She died giving birth to me.”

  My heart squeezed, and I wrapped my arms around his, holding him as tight as he was holding me.

  “I can’t continue running. Not if I have half a chance at a life with you. But I’m afraid that even your light magic can’t fix what I did in my father’s eyes. He only sees what he wants to see. And my father wants to see my head on a post.”

  Chapter 9

  As we approached the kingdom, a brigade of the king's soldiers surrounded us. Zach held me tight as swords were unsheathed.

  “Let us pass, and I promise no harm will come to you,” Zach said as Midnight halted.

  “What is the bounty on his head now?” the guard with all the medals pinned on his coat said.

  “I think it has raised to a hundred gold coins,” another guard said.

  “I...” I started with the intent to protect Zach.

  “Shh. Not now,” Zach whispered in my ear, stopping me from announcing that I’d brought the light.

  I glanced back at him, and his eyes sent a warning I heeded.

  “Please let us pass,” I said, taking Zach's lead and turning my attention back to the guards. “I am in need of assistance.”

  There were enough men here to figure out a way to help the enchantress.

  Zach gave me a sideways look.

  “This man saved me from a misguided enchantress. However, she is now stuck in the tower she had kept me prisoner in. And while I was not happy to be imprisoned, I do not wish her to waste away in that tower.”

  Swords lowered, heads cocked, and gazes moved from me to Zach and back.

  “What is this garbage?” the lead guard snarled, his glare hard enough to make me swallow and reach inside for my magic.

  A small group of guards came out of the gate that I recognized. My stomach dropped as the lead guard stared at me with narrowed eyes. He was the one I’d convinced that Midnight was mine in the clearing.

  “She is a witch,” he announced, pointing at me.

  All the swords rose, pointing at us.

  Zach tightened his grip on me. “Do you really want me to unleash my darkness?”

  The guards stared back warily.

  “Let us pass.” This time it was delivered as a growling command.

  I didn't dare glance back at him. The silver glow at the corner of my eye told me enough. I had seen what happened to Zach when he allowed the darkness to overtake him. While I knew he wouldn't hurt me, I couldn't guarantee he wouldn't wipe these men out.

  The head of the guard paled and backed his horse out of the way, allowing us to move through the gates of his father's kingdom. People stopped in the streets and just stared at us, scrambling out of the way as we passed. Crowds parted until we came to the palace.

  The king stood on the top step with his sword drawn and his free hand clenched in a fist. The muscles in his jaw jumped. His green eyes glared at his only remaining son. “Take him to the gallows!” he bellowed.

  They dragged Zach from the horse but didn't touch me.

  “I will deal with you after.” He pointed the sword at me and turned, following after the crowd.

  I jumped off Midnight and forced my way through the crowd. By the time I cleared the majority of people, I got a clear view of Zach with his head clamped in the gallows. The blade at the top shined even through the streaks of rust.

  His father climbed the steps and reached for the handle that would release the blade.

  “I should have killed you the moment your mother pushed you out into this world.” His voice bellowed in anger and disgust.

  Zach's gaze scanned the crowd until he found mine. My magic sizzled the moment his father pulled the cord.

  “I bring the light!” My call filled the air along with the streak of magical protection that raced towards Zach. I wasn't sure it would get there in time as gravity pulled the blade fast towards his throat.

  My feet pushed forward in a dead run as panic pulsed through my veins. Heads turned in my direction. Zach’s eyes widened.

  The blade collided with my power and it, along with the entire gallows holding Zach, turned to dust.

  Zach stood, dusting off his clothing before turning to his stunned father. “Light bringers don't save the damned,” he said. “And dark bringers don't murder on a whim.” He turned to me and started in my direction.

  I was almost to the stage when pain pierced through me.

  Zach's face altered, and he charged, screaming words that failed to register. My gaze moved to the other side of the stage where his father had been standing. The king lowered the bow with a satisfied glare. I looked down at the arrow piercing my chest and then up just in time for Zach to catch me.

  “Danae!”

  His bellow jarred me, as did the snap of wood. Zach flung the two pieces of the arrow away and pressed his hands on the wounds in my back and on my chest.

  He leaned close. “You are the light,” he said as tears tumbled from his eyes. “Banish the darkness,” he added and pressed his lips to mine.

  Confusion clouded my mind along with a fading light. My heartbeat slowed, and I had trouble drawing a breath. Zach's tongue swiped mine, creating a dark tingle in my soul. His last words didn't make sense. Then I felt the burn of dark poison filling the hole the arrow had made. I screamed under his lips, arching against the pain. White light filled the air, clearing a path right through me.

  Air filled my lungs and feeling tingled back through me as my body infused with renewed strength. When the light faded, I stood over a pale-looking man with fading green eyes. He smiled up at me, and it took me a moment to recognize Zach. I blinked, and my heart roared in my chest as the world buzzed around me.

  “No, no, no.” I dropped to my knees. Tears blurred my eyes and splashed on his cheeks.

  “I owe you a debt, witch,” his father said from on stage.

  Zach's memories swarmed, showing me exactly what had happened throughout the years. The manipulations of his brother, the damnation from his father.

  I turned, sending every last memory at his father in a blast of angry light. The surge lit up the king, lifting him into the air. His eyes rolled back, and when the last of Zach’s memory faded, I closed my fist, releasing the king. He slammed down on the wood and fell to his knees.

  “You were too blind to see,” I snarled and turned back to Zach.

  Zach's eyes were closed, but his cheeks weren't as pale as they had been. Another one of my tears landed on his forehead. Light flared, sparkling
over his skin. I reached out to cup his cheek, and the moment our skin met, he pulled in a great breath and his eyes shot open.

  That familiar green and silver intertwined in his irises, and he covered my hand with his own.

  People backed away at the spectacle of lightning bursts that surrounded us. Some fell to their knees.

  I stroked his cheek. “I bring the light,” I whispered and smiled through a sheen of tears.

  “I bring the dark,” he said and sat up, capturing my mouth in a kiss that left me breathless. When he pulled away, he stared deep into my eyes. “Together, we rule the land.”

  I cocked an eyebrow at him, and he grinned, shrugging.

  “Or we can just roam from place to place. Whatever you please, Princess.”

  I looked around at the fear carved into the faces around us, and then my gaze landed on the king. He was on the podium with his face in his hands, sobs filtering out between his fingers.

  I turned back to Zach. “I think you need to have a conversation with your father.”

  He glanced up at where his father sat crying. “What did you do to him?”

  “I gave him your memories,” I said.

  His gaze snapped to mine and his mouth popped open.

  “I helped the blind see the truth.” I pressed my lips to Zach’s, and then we stood. My protections still sparked around us because I did not trust the crowd at our backs. Nor did I trust the man sobbing on the stage.

  Zach cleared his throat. “Father?”

  The king startled and looked up from his hands. He blinked and his composure came roaring back, along with a glare. “What did you do to me, witch?”

  “She is a light bringer. The last light bringer. And you almost killed her,” Zach said, his voice going hard. “She is the one I was created to save.”

  “That’s impossible. The last light bringer died in the Courtland castle fire twenty years ago.”

  “Her name is Danae,” Zach said, staring down his father.

  He blinked and brought his gaze to me as if seeing me for the first time. His eyes grew into large saucers. He jumped to his feet and turned towards a cowering squire near the platform. “Get me the last painting of the Antaries royal family!” When the squire didn’t move, he bellowed, “Now!”