Hunted: Alba's Story (Destined Book 5)

by Kaylin Lee

  “Oh, darling.” She laughed again. “Lady Althea Galanos doesn’t fail.” Her laughing tone died. “To think you had the audacity to stand in my villa with your cheap, mage-craft dress, right beside my own son! Did you honestly think I’d let you get away with that?”

  “You’re breaking Asylian law.” My pulse raced. Terror made my voice shake. “You can’t hand me over to be killed just because your son said I was beautiful.”

  “The Masters have been planning this for a long time, dear. Foiling your scheme to snag my son just made the moment that much sweeter.”

  “What have the Masters been planning?”

  “Your family’s demise.”

  I’d guessed as much already, but her bald statement still weakened my legs. “Why would you help them? What’s wrong with you?”

  “I’ve seen the future,” she said darkly. “And you’re not in it. I’ll never apologize for doing what’s necessary for the survival of my family.”

  “The future?” My chest was so tight, I could barely get the words out. “How can you possibly know that?”

  “Alchemy is the future, you imbecile. You think that weak, useless magic coursing through your Kireth veins is worth anything? You ungrateful mages lived like Procus families for generations, and the first chance you got, you rebelled against the ones who’d cared for you as their own. Hoarding your precious magic, unwilling to share it with those who needed it. Unless we pay for it. Pay! At a market, like unwashed commoners!”

  “Slavery is wrong, Lady Althea. Even the slavery of mages.” It was difficult to hear my own voice over the thrumming of my pulse in my ears. “It seems everyone in Asylia understands that now, except for you, apparently. But that has nothing to do with alchemy.”

  “The Masters’ magic is a thousand times more powerful than any biological magic, and anyone can use it. Anyone, regardless of blood.” She sniffed. “It’s the future. The West had technology, but it couldn’t protect them from the plague that destroyed their civilization. Technology is dead. Biological magic will soon be wiped out. Alchemy is the future, and I won’t be on the losing side.”

  Wiped out? “You’re crazy if you think they’ll share their magic with you.” I wanted to shut out her voice, to run for the other cave, but my legs were frozen to the spot. “The Masters hate the Fenra just as much as they hate everyone else.”

  “Crazy, hmm?” There was a smile in her voice. “How do you think I found you? Now darling, we’re both Asylians—civilized, reasonable, educated women. I would like for us to come to an agreement without any further chaos. Simply come to me in the Hollow, and no one else need be harmed.”

  I clenched my jaw as terror and doubt coursed through me. Should I give myself up for Si and his brothers?

  Can’t have both of us. Bri had thrown herself off a cliff rather than be captured when she thought the Masters had me. Whatever the Masters wanted with my mother, if they held both me and my sister hostage, our mother would surrender, just as she had with the Crimson Blight. Their powerful alchemy would overpower her in an instant. She wouldn’t stand a chance. “N-n-no.” The word sounded weak, barely audible between my rapid breaths. “No,” I repeated. “I’m not coming to the Hollow.”

  “So be it, you selfish, foolish girl. Know this—what happens next will be on your shoulders.”

  Something hissed, and the echo of her voice disappeared. I lifted the lantern over the rock pool by the river. Lady Althea was gone.

  Chapter 30

  “Alba?”

  I huddled beside the canteen of water at the table, watching my hands shake as I toyed with the cap.

  She doesn’t know that we’re leaving tonight.

  I glanced at the main entrance tunnel then checked the tunnel to the river cave for the hundredth time in the past hour.

  She doesn’t know where to find the tunnel entrance.

  The river cave’s tunnel gaped back at me, an empty, hungry maw.

  We’re leaving tonight, and she won’t find us.

  “Alba, what are you doing?”

  “Hmm?”

  Entrance tunnel. Silent. River tunnel. Silent. Cap. My shaky fingers were red and dirty, covered with hangnails and small cuts. How long had it been since I last healed myself? Two days? Three? Five? I curled my fingers around the cap. No use in wasting magic on myself now. If I didn’t need to blast Althea in the head, I’d probably need my magic to heal the next person she hurt.

  “Alba!” Drew’s wide-eyed, worried face came between me and the canteen’s cap. “Are you well? You’re not under a curse like I was, are you?”

  I stared at Drew for a moment, slowly realizing that he must have woken at last from his deep, healing sleep. “No, no. I’m fine. Don’t worry.” My voice was raspy and uneven. I checked the tunnels again, then I cleared my throat. “And you? Are you well? Any burns or discomforts remaining?”

  He shook his head. “I feel good. Just hungry.”

  “Me too.” I gave him the canteen of water. “We should probably save the victus for the journey, though.”

  “I know.” He sipped the water then set it on the table. “Why do you look so weird?”

  “I’m just ready to leave. That’s all.”

  Drew shivered and tucked his knees up on his chair. “Me too.”

  The boys couldn’t come home soon enough.

  ~

  When the brothers came home, we decided to eat one, final meal in the cave before sneaking out of the valley that night. The victus sat in my bowl, a little, gray lump with an ugly peak in the center. I was starving after a whole day of nothing but sips of water, but Lady Althea’s mad threats had stolen my appetite.

  “Why aren’t you eating?” Si’s bark startled me. All the boys stared straight at me, motionless, their expressions oddly intent.

  I picked up my spoon and raised an eyebrow at Si’s gruff question. “I was just getting to it.”

  He grunted but didn’t look away. “Get to it, then,” he said, watching me closely.

  For a moment, his overprotective concern warmed me. Then I noticed the coldness in his eyes, and the way his fist was clenched around his spoon, turning his knuckles white.

  The new sourness in my stomach had nothing to do with hunger. “Why do you care if I eat it?”

  “Oh, don’t mind Si,” Damian said jovially, his body tense, at odds with his warm tone. “He just worries about you. Don’t you, brother?” Damian peered at me over his glasses. “Go ahead and eat, Alba. You’ll need your strength for the journey.”

  I set my spoon down slowly. “I feel sick,” I managed, unable to hide the tremor in my voice. “I think I’ll save my victus for later tonight, after we’ve gotten underway.” I scooted my chair back, but Stefan’s hand clamped down on my shoulder. The thin, sickly boy’s grip was surprisingly strong.

  “You need your strength, Alba.” He smiled, but it was more like his lips were curling. “Eat it now. Just a bite.”

  “Yes, Alba.” Drew squinted at me from across the table. “Just a bite.” He nodded encouragingly. “That’s all you need.”

  I tried to remove Stefan’s hand from my shoulder, but his fingers dug in.

  I had to be dreaming. Drew last night, and now … now…

  Anders, Basil, and Anton watched me carefully, their expressions hungry and tense.

  Now all of them were cursed? Lady Althea must have learned I was staying with the brothers and cursed the victus rations the boys had brought home from the mine, guessing that we would all share the victus together.

  Terror gave me a sudden surge of strength. I yanked Stefan’s hand from my shoulder and shoved him back. Then I dove for the nearest tunnel before he could recover his balance. I was halfway into the tunnel when I realized I’d picked the wrong one—the tunnel to the river cave. It was a dead end. I’d be trapped.

  Hands gripped my feet, but I kicked out hard, making contact and loosening their grip. I threw myself forward through the tunnel, propelled by fear.

/>   I’d been absorbing and hoarding magic all day in preparation to defend the brothers against Althea. It hadn’t occurred to me that I might need to use my magic against Si and his brothers instead.

  I tumbled out of the tunnel and rolled across the rocky floor of the river cave.

  “Alba!” Si shouted through the tunnel. “Come back in here. We don’t want to hurt you. We’re just trying to help you. You need to eat your victus and go see Lady Althea in the Hollow.”

  “That’s right,” Damian added. “And once you go to her, she’ll leave us alone. Don’t you want us to be safe?”

  A rustling noise came from the tunnel. I grabbed the lantern and flung it into the river, killing the light in the cave.

  “Alba.” Si’s voice was closer. “Don’t be stubborn. Just eat the victus, and everything will work out fine. I promise.”

  Will you promise me? My breath came in gasps as my mother’s final instructions echoed in my mind. Seven crystals. Don’t ever take it off.

  This wasn’t over yet. If I could get to each of the boys, and if the crystals she’d given me were strong enough to break these new, terrifyingly strong curses, I might yet survive. We all might. And I hadn’t told any of them about the crystals, had I? They wouldn’t be expecting me to fight back.

  I ripped open the front of the dress and grabbed the hem of the altered tunic my mom had insisted I wear. The seven crystals were still there, their hard, compact shapes digging into my palms. I lifted the shirt and used my teeth to rip the seam she’d sewed, yanking the first crystal out of the torn hem just as Si stumbled out of the tunnel into the black cave.

  “Alba, come here. Don’t make me look for you. It’s dark as night in here, and the river will make quick work of us.” His familiar, deep voice was gentle and persuasive now. Perhaps the curse was afraid to lose me in the freezing river. “It’s just like Damian said. I worry about you. So come to me now, before you get hurt.”

  “I’m here. I can’t find the tunnel entrance. You have to come get me.” I held my breath as he moved toward me, drawn by the sound of my voice.

  I sensed the heat of his body just before his arms came around me, a rough mockery of the last time he’d embraced me. I wrapped my arms around him in response, going limp in the hope that he’d read defeat and acceptance in my body. Then I jabbed the crystal hard against his neck.

  The immediate sizzling sound made me cringe. His howl of pain was even worse. He tried to push me away, but I wrapped my arms tighter around his neck and held on. The sizzling continued. How long had it taken to break Drew’s curse? Si’s crystal had been far larger than this one, and it had barely managed to break that curse. But my mother’s crystals were brand new models released just weeks earlier, the most powerful curse-breaking crystals Asylia’s mages had ever developed. Surely—

  Si slammed me against the cave wall. Pain shot through my shoulder blades and the back of my head, making me see stars. I felt my grip loosen and was too stunned to tighten it. He pried at my arms, but I tangled my fingers in the loose fabric of my shirt and held on.

  The crystal’s sizzling grew louder. Then it hissed and broke apart in my hand. A moment later, he went limp. The cave wall behind my back held us upright.

  It had worked, but my heart was pounding too hard for me to rest in the victory. One down, six to go.

  “Alba …” It was too dark to see Si’s face, but his whisper sounded tortured. “I can’t believe—”

  “Shh!” I dropped the crystal shards on the ground, then I wrapped my arms around him again, this time shooting magic into his body to soothe his nerves and heal his burnt skin. “The boys are still cursed,” I whispered back. “I have six more crystals, but we’ll need to break the curses without giving the others cause for alarm. Otherwise, the curse might drive them to new extremes.”

  I felt Si nod against the top of my head. “I’ll call them in one by one and hold them while you use the crystal.”

  The rumble of his chest as he spoke warmed me. “Go ahead.” I stepped back and squeezed the next crystal from the torn edge of my hem, hating the absence of his warmth already. “I’m ready.”

  “Damian!” Si’s shout was urgent, like he was mid-struggle. “Need some help in here.”

  “Coming.” His brother’s voice came from closer than before. He must have already entered the tunnel.

  Goosebumps ran down my arms. What would he have done if he had taken us by surprise?

  “Where are you?” The faint light coming from the other cave illuminated Damian’s body as he clambered out of the tunnel beside us. I held my breath.

  “Right here,” said Si.

  Damian moved toward us, and Si lunged for him.

  “Hey—” Damian’s shout was cut off. Si must have covered his mouth.

  “Now, Alba,” Si hissed. “Hurry. He’s fighting hard.”

  I followed his voice with my hands out until I’d found their struggling bodies. Damian grunted and tried to grab me, but Si’s grip on his arms was too strong. I found the exposed skin of his neck and pressed the crystal there. His skin sizzled, radiating heat. He writhed, groaning in pain, and the crystal slipped. “No! Hold him!” Si shoved him back toward me, and I put the crystal in place again, struggling to keep my footing as we all slid on the slippery rocks. How much farther before the three of us ended up in the river?

  The crystal shot out one last blast of sparkles, lighting up the cave, then it shuddered and cracked in my hand. Damian went limp in Si’s arms.

  “Damian?” I pressed my bare hand to the burnt skin of his neck and healed it. “Damian, are you there?”

  He stirred. “I’m here,” he mumbled. “What was that?”

  “You were cursed,” Si whispered. “Like the rest of us. Pull it together. I need your help to break the other five curses.”

  Damian straightened, and I stepped back. “What’s the plan?”

  “What’s going on in there?” Anton’s shout through the tunnel sounded suspicious. “You need a weapon?”

  “No!” Damian answered too quickly. We all stilled as a shuffling noise came from the other cave.

  “We’re coming out with her,” Si called back, after the rustling quieted. “Stay back. She’s fighting us. We just need to get a bite of victus in her, and she’ll cooperate.”

  “We have it ready,” came Basil’s solemn reply.

  I couldn’t help shuddering. The previous evening he’d embraced me as a sister, and now …

  “C’mon, Alba.” Si’s order was brusque. I knew he was acting, but it still sickened me. “Get in there.”

  Damian climbed in first, then Si helped me into the tunnel, his touch gentle compared to his words. I didn’t have to fake my whimper of fear. “Please don’t do this,” I said when we were nearly to the other cave. “Please don’t make me eat it. The Masters will kill me.”

  Bright light from the cave made me flinch as Damian climbed out of the tunnel and pulled me after him with a rough movement. I stumbled on the dirt floor. Anton lifted his crossbow and aimed it at my chest. “We’re not supposed to kill you,” he said matter-of-factly. “But if we mortally wound you, I’m sure the Masters can heal you before you die and use you as they plan. So eat the victus, Alba. Right now.”

  I took a shaky breath and adjusted my grip on the crystals hidden in each of my fists. Was it even possible to heal the wound from a bolt to the chest shot from such a close distance? And if he shot me, how could I break their curses?

  Si climbed out of the tunnel and stood beside me, gripping my other elbow, like Damian. “Who has the victus?”

  Stefan approached, holding my bowl and spoon. “Here it is.” He stopped in front of me and lifted the spoon in front of my face. “Open wide.”

  I pressed my lips together and shook my head.

  Anton edged closer, his arrow a mere arm’s length from my chest. “Do it.”

  Si must have been waiting for him to close the distance. He shot forward and knocked the crossbow o
ut of Anton’s hands, then he took him into a headlock. He pressed the crystal I’d given him to Anton’s neck as I’d done to him and Damian.

  Damian went after Stefan at the same time, knocking the bowl of cursed victus to the floor.

  “C’mon, Drew!” Anders and Basil grabbed their youngest brother’s arm and pulled him toward the main tunnel. “We have to go!”

  I raced them to the tunnel and arrived just in time to yank Anders’s pant leg, stopping him from continuing down the tunnel. I pressed a crystal to the skin of his ankle. Drew struck me with his small fists. “Stop that! You’re hurting him! You’re a terrible healer!”

  Basil yanked my arm and tried to pull me away, but Damian appeared with another of my crystals. Stefan’s curse must have been broken quickly. He hauled Basil back with a grip around his torso and pressed the crystal to his cheek. Basil screamed like his twin in the tunnel, but a moment later both went limp, the crystals black, smoking, and shattered on the ground.

  Damian and I released the twins and turned to Drew, who screamed. “No, no, no, no, no!” He shot toward the tunnel, but Damian was too quick. He held Drew forcefully around the middle as I pressed my last crystal to his neck. Drew writhed as his skin sizzled, but at last, the final piece of the curse broke.

  I healed his burn immediately then healed the other boys one by one.

  “I should have known.” Si’s expression was haunted as I finished healing Anton’s burnt skin. He wouldn’t look at me. “Someone at the trading post must have spread the word you were with me, and Althea figured out she could reach you through my brothers.” He ran a hand over his face. “We have to leave. Now.”

  Chapter 31

  The forest was black, windy, and cold. Sleet whipped my face as we trudged away from the cave. Clouds obscured the moon, making it hard to see Si as he walked in front of me. I stuck close to his large, shadowy form, aware that if I lost him, I would not know how to meet up with the rest of the group. I drew comfort from his steady, self-assured steps.