Hunted: Alba's Story (Destined Book 5)

by Kaylin Lee

  My face burned. I cleared my throat. “How fascinating. But I’ve never heard of such an odd side effect. I’ll be sure to consult some books when I—”

  “Pretty sure it’s not from the magic,” Si said, his lips relaxing into a full, laughing smile. His green eyes crinkled at the edges. “It’s probably just from the normal things.”

  “The normal things?” Why was my voice suddenly so dry?

  Now it was his turn to reach for my cheek. He brushed his callused fingers along my cheekbone, pushing a loose strand of hair away from my face. My heart pounded in my throat. What was he doing? Now I understood why he’d looked like a trapped animal when I’d advanced on him a moment earlier.

  “You know. Beautiful, kind girl. Appreciative man. Those things.” He was still grinning.

  “Oh. Appreciative.” He was grateful for my healing? I supposed that made sense.

  “Yes.” Humor danced in his eyes. “I definitely appreciate you, Alba Mattas. In many, many ways.”

  “Um, you’re welcome.” I chewed on my lip. “I think.”

  His hand dropped away from my hair, but the movement was oddly reluctant. “So, it sounds like my brothers aren’t going to leave the mine anytime soon.” The humor faded from his expression. “But I don’t want you to worry. I’ll take you back to Asylia myself, while they stay here and work off their debts like high-minded idiots. I’ve snuck past the Hollow’s guards a hundred times. I can get you out of here safely.”

  I smiled but shook my head. The seed of a plan had been growing steadily all day. As I considered Si’s offer, the path was clear. “Actually, I’m not going home.” I wrapped my fist around the locket’s heart.

  “What are you talking about? Of course you’re going home.”

  I’m a healer. My safe, comfortable life in Asylia had been whisked away like old pastry crumbs, but I still had a mission—I had to find and rescue my sister, like she’d done for me a hundred times before.

  “My twin sister is under a powerful curse.” It was the first time I’d spoken the bleak statement aloud. The words left an acid taste in my mouth. “The Masters are holding her captive. If I go back to Asylia, I know the Sentinels will send a rescue team for her. The problem is, I think that’s exactly what the Masters want. It will be a trap. The rescue team won’t be able to break the curse, and they won’t be able to save her. They’ll be risking their lives for nothing and playing right into the Masters’ hands.”

  Si wrinkled his brow. “But don’t the Sentinels have tools for breaking curses?”

  I ran my hands over the hard crystals that rested under my dress, where I still wore my mother’s tunic. “They do. But I don’t think they’re strong enough. Bri has been acting strange for years now. Our house is full of those obscillo crystals, and as a Sentinel, she’s been exposed to them countless times. If the crystals could have broken the curse and saved her, they would have by now. She needs something more powerful.”

  “More powerful, huh?” Si looked bemused, like he thought I might be joking. “And what might that be?”

  I didn’t return his smile. “True love’s kiss.”

  “What’s that going to—”

  “I’m not going home until I find my sister’s true love. I’m going to find him. I’ll help him break her curse, and then I’ll bring her home with me.” I squeezed the locket. Bri’s true love would save her when no one else could. I just needed to find someone worthy of the mission. “I’m going to take care of her, Si. My sister is counting on me.”

  Chapter 21

  The cave was warm and smelled of mouthwatering, roasted meat. I sat at the table between Stefan and Anders, who were both laughing at the loud gurgles coming from Anton’s stomach.

  “I can hear you rumbling from all the way across the table!” Anders clapped. “Nice trick. You have to teach me how to do that.”

  Anton tossed a fork at his younger brother, narrowly missing his face. The fork bounced off Anders and landed in my lap, jabbing me in the thigh, but neither boy noticed. “Keep joking, kid,” he retorted with mock severity. “I’ll be finishing your portion of rabbit while you laugh the night away.”

  “Not a chance. I’m gonna finish a whole rabbit by myself.” Anders released a frightening, animalistic growl. “Bones and all!”

  “Whoa, there,” Si rumbled from the other side of the cave, where he was pulling a pan of roasted meat out of the oven. “Slow down, you little beasts. Everybody gets a fair portion. No hogging.” He glanced at me, a hint of apology on his face. “They used to have manners, I think. A long time ago.”

  “It’s fine.” I offered him a smile over Stefan’s head. “I’m excited to eat too.”

  He smiled back, and it was a moment before he turned back to the cinderslick oven. Beautiful, kind girl. Appreciative man. Was it wrong that I suddenly found myself wishing his brothers were still at the mine? I looked away, then I flushed when I realized Damian was watching my silent exchange with Si.

  “How are you doing, Alba?” Damian’s voice held a distinct note of laughter.

  “Fine, fine.” I cleared my throat and toyed with the locket around my neck. I’d found Bri’s borrowed glove in the pocket of my Sentinels jacket. It had taken but a moment to cut a piece off and close it in the locket while the boys were preparing dinner. Everything was ready. Now it was time to get to work. “So, Damian, I was telling you about my sister, wasn’t I? How’d you like to hear a few more stories?”

  ~

  The next morning, I slept through the boys departure for the mine again. I woke to the sound of Drew’s spoon clanking in his bowl of victus, his youthful voice piping up to answer Si’s questions about the mine debt.

  When I dragged myself out of the bunk, Drew stopped talking and grinned, showing crooked teeth coated in gray, victus paste. “You’re awake!”

  Si glanced up from the table. “You sure do sleep a lot, Princess Alba.”

  “She’s a mage.” Drew sounded exasperated with his oldest brother. “I told you they sleep a lot.”

  “You’re the expert, kid.” Si answered Drew but kept his gaze on me, seemingly fascinated as I stood, stretched, and rebraided my hair.

  “Sleep helps us absorb more magic,” I explained as I joined them at the table. “When I expend a lot of magic in one day, I need to sleep more to replenish my store.” I shot Si a meaningful glance, and his cheeks reddened. “That’s all.”

  Drew nodded sagely. “Told you.”

  Si ruffled Drew’s tangled hair. “You say all kinds of things, Drew. Sometimes I don’t know which ones are real.”

  The little boy cocked his head thoughtfully. “I suppose that’s a good point.”

  “You know, it’s not only that I’m a mage.” I leaned closer to Drew and Si and offered a conspiratorial wink. “I’m also just a little bit lazy.”

  Si let out a bark of laughter. “And she admits it! I knew it all along.”

  Drew’s brow wrinkled like an old man’s. “I think she’s just trying to make you feel better for being wrong, Si.” He shrugged and gestured to me like a showman. “See, she’s not just beautiful. She’s very kind too. You should fall in love with her.”

  “I—” Si choked on a bite of victus. “Ah …”

  I couldn’t help it. As Si chased down his victus with a gulp of water from his canteen, a giggle slipped out. “There you have it.” The sight of such a brusque, confident man reduced to awkward silence was too humorous to ignore. Another giggle escaped, this one louder than the last. I nudged him, but he dodged away from my elbow, looking distinctly uncomfortable. I tried to smother the next giggle, but it just turned into a snort. “Your youngest brother knows what he’s about, Si,” I managed between a series of unladylike noises. “You should listen to him more often.”

  Drew shot me a confused look before returning to his bowl of victus. Si cleared his throat and scowled into his canteen.

  When I finally quieted my giggles, I gripped the locket and poked Si’s shoulder
. “Speaking of love …”

  Si looked up from the knife, his expression slightly panicked. “Yes?”

  “I tried to tell Damian about Bri last night, but it didn’t work.”

  “What do you mean, it didn’t work?”

  I released the locket and held it away from my chest. “This locket is a test of true love. I put something of Bri’s inside. It’s supposed to get burning hot when her true love is nearby, but no matter how I tried to persuade Damian of her admirable qualities, it never warmed more than a few degrees.”

  Si spun his canteen on the table. “That locket really works?”

  “I tested it in Asylia.” I released the locket and let it fall back inside my neckline. “Well, I didn’t.” My cheeks heated. “But I saw two others test it. Trust me, it works.”

  “Wow.” Drew swallowed a large gulp of victus. “A magical necklace. That’s amazing!”

  “We’ll see,” Si said, a bit of edge to his voice. “Depends on how she plans to use it.”

  “What do you mean? It’s just a necklace.”

  “You’re not going to force Damian to fall in love with your sister, are you? A man should be free to love.” He rubbed the back of his neck, then he picked up his sheathed knife and fiddled with it. “I mean, if he wants to. Love should be a choice.” He spun the knife on the table, not meeting my eyes. “Not the work of magic.”

  “Of course not!” I let out a huff of breath. “I would never force someone to fall in love, even if I could. That’d be a curse, anyway, not real magic.”

  “A curse?” Si’s hand paused. “What are you talking about?”

  “Ancient alchemy—curses, like the Masters use—is fueled by will and controls the will. It’s evil, Si. I’d never control someone’s will. But real magic—physical magic, like mine—doesn’t have anything to do with the will. It’s simply strength—the ability to add or remove magic to something else. Like a unique muscle, only magical.”

  The tension in his broad shoulders eased slightly. “Good to know.” He finally met my eyes, his lips tilting up. “So just what are your plans for my brother, then, Princess Alba?”

  “I just …” I rubbed my temples, suddenly frustrated. I’d told Damian stories about Bri until the younger boys and Si were all snoring last night, but according to the locket, it had been to no avail. Damian’s interest in my sister, if he had any at all, was of the mild, lukewarm variety. Not the kind of passion that would ever break her curse. “He won’t fall in love with her. I suppose that’s my answer. I need to try someone else.”

  I looked at Si’s large, callused hands, where they rested on the wooden table not far from my own. His skin was tan and lined despite his age, which I guessed to be no more than a few years older than my own. His fingers were wide and thick. Compared to my pale, smooth hands, his may as well have belonged to a different species.

  Perhaps he was a different species—brave where I was cowardly, strong where I was weak. A true survivor. Tough enough to do what he felt he had to do, not caring what anyone thought of him, not even his own family. Strong, brave, and independent. Just like Bri, a quiet voice whispered in the back of my mind.

  I glanced up to see him watching me with a questioning look on his face. I slid a hand over the locket and swallowed hard. Now that I knew what I had to do, the words didn’t want to come.

  There was a beat of awkward silence.

  “I suppose I should have told you more about Bri last night,” I finally managed. “Can I tell you now?”

  “Why do you want to do that?”

  “Well, it looks like Damian isn’t her true love, but …” Why was my pulse suddenly racing? I didn’t like this feeling. “But you might be.” There. I’d said it.

  “No.” The denial shot out from his lips so quickly, I almost missed it.

  “What?”

  “I said, no, I’m not,” he repeated, his eyes tight. “Better go. Got a long walk ahead of me if we want to eat anything decent tonight.” With that, he stood, grabbed his canteen, and exited the cave.

  I was left sitting beside Drew, staring into the small, watery bowl of victus he’d handed me and wondering why it felt like I’d just insulted his oldest brother.

  That couldn’t have been it.

  What could possibly be offensive about true love?

  ~

  Rushing water echoed in the noisy, wet cave connected to the main dwelling. I bit my lip as I loosened the bolt that held the luminous lantern to the tunnel entrance. The sharp edges hurt my fingers, but it would be easy enough to heal the angry marks before Drew saw them. I just had to— “Yes! Got it.” My triumphant whisper was barely audible over the deafening noise of the river.

  I slid the lantern off its platform and lifted it high in the center of the cave. Most of the cave floor was taken up by the underground river. I was glad I hadn’t been able to see so well the first night, or I never would have braved the cave at all. The black, angry current was far too rapid for my liking. Still, along the nearest bank clustered large groupings of rocks. Just what I needed—I hoped.

  I ventured closer, my bare feet cold on the wet, rocky ground. When I reached the nearest cluster of rocks, I peered over them, lantern high. “Perfect,” I whispered. With the light of the luminous, the still water of the pool showed my reflection quite well. Si’s brusque rejection of my sister had left me unsteady all morning. After that awkward, abrupt encounter, I needed to check my appearance like I needed to breathe.

  After some precarious maneuvering to get closer to the pool, I set the lantern on the flattest rock and leaned over the water. I released the tie that held my braid and combed my fingers through my hair, letting it fall around my face in gentle waves. I bit my lips, pinched my cheeks, and smoothed the wild, wispy hairs around my crown, splashing a bit of water from the pool on them to make them behave.

  How could Si have shut my quest down so abruptly? Did he look down on my family? On me? Perhaps he figured that if my twin sister was anything like me, they would never suit.

  I felt my face go hot at the memory of his sharp refusal. I had to force myself to keep from grabbing the locket the way I had as I walked through the Mage Market back in Asylia. Cool, then warm, then cool again too quickly.

  What would the locket have felt like at that moment in Alaric’s family compound, when he tossed me aside like an embarrassing mistake?

  Perhaps his lack of lasting interest would have made the locket cool the entire time.

  I shivered at the dour thought, then I adjusted my dress, tugging the neckline higher to cover the locket. There was nothing offensive about true love. My only problem was its absence.

  My reflection shifted, like a wind rippling the water. But the cave’s air was still. My face narrowed, my eyes widened. My coal-black hair was no longer down but twisted into an elegant coiffure, exactly setting off bronze skin and finely-sculpted, Procus features.

  “Perfect.” The low hiss echoed in the cave as the lips in my reflection moved.

  I raised a hand to my mouth and pressed my fingers against my unmoving lips.

  The woman in the pool didn’t move her hand as I had. She only smiled smugly, the spitting image of Lady Althea Galanos.

  Chapter 22

  I yanked the lantern from the rock, plunging the pool into darkness. Her image disappeared, but was she still there, watching? My bare feet stumbled over the slick rocks as I scrabbled backwards to the tunnel. When I reached the tunnel entrance, I spun and rushed through the tunnel on my hands and knees, barely aware of the lantern clunking in my right hand and lighting the tunnel as I went.

  The sound of the rushing river faded as I exited the tunnel, but my heart still pounded in my ears.

  The main cave was quiet. Drew, the optimist, had ventured out hours earlier to check his old spots for root vegetables again. It could be hours before anyone came home. I pictured Althea’s smug, satisfied expression. She hadn’t just found my image in the mirror. She’d found me, hadn’t she?


  “Alba? Alba!” I froze. The female voice came from outside the cave. “Where are you, dear? I’m so glad I found you. You don’t know how worried we’ve all been since you disappeared!”

  Leaves rustled outside the tunnel entrance. I huddled in the middle of the cave, unsure how to flee. If I hid in the river cave, she’d just come in after me. But if I tried to escape now, she’d see me the moment I left the tunnel’s hidden entrance.

  I bit my lip and listened for movement in the tunnel. Perhaps it would be better to face her in the open. I had the magic blast I’d practiced to protect me, while Lady Althea had no mage powers and all the natural, physical strength of my little finger. Surely, I could take her in a direct confrontation. But how many guards had she brought with her into the forest?

  And how many curses?

  I pooled magic in my hands. My chest tightened. I was trapped, and no one was coming to rescue me this time. How could I—

  “Oh, Alba! Darling! There’s no need to hide, really! I just want to talk.” Her voice was muffled by the rocks and dirt between us, but each word was discernable. “I feel terrible about how we left things with sweet Alaric. He’s such a sweet boy, you know. Dotes on his mama. Of course, you know you should have kept to your place like a good mage girl.”

  I strained my ears, but her voice wasn’t coming from the cave’s hidden entrance. It sounded like she’d passed it, like she was moving overhead. I’d assumed she’d descend on the cave with an army of guards the moment she knew my location, but from the lack of rustling or voices outside, it sounded like she was alone. How … strange.

  “Alba? I’m tiring of this game, silly mage!” The sweetness in Lady Althea’s tone faded with each word. “Come out, darling! You’re being quite foolish, you know.”

  She didn’t really know where I was, did she? However the mirror-like magic worked, it hadn’t shown her I was inside a cave. And even if she knew it was a cave, the entrance was too well-hidden.

  I hoped.