by Skye Horn
Two centaurs beat him unconscious while Thea screamed herself nearly hoarse trying to get them to stop. The man shielded his face from their hooves and cried out curses at the king and Amara while his blood pooled into the cobblestone street. He met Thea’s eyes with a look that told her he believed in her, but how could he while she just stood there, tears streaming down her cheeks? Unable to control her need to save the poor man, Thea set the vines around her wrists on fire and ran toward him, but the centaurs pushed her out of the way so that she could not get close. Thankfully, Amara was too distracted to see what Thea had done to get loose. She didn’t like being showed up at her own game, though; that much was clear. She turned her wrath on Thea, who received a hoof to her ribcage and was knocked over, gasping for breath into the dirt. Thea heard a distinct crack and knew at least one of her ribs had broken from the impact. It made it difficult to breathe as she clutched at her side. The centaurs laughed, and those who’d remained to watch her take a beating fled the streets for fear of being the next victims of Amara’s rage.
Thea was re-bound and taken directly to the castle after that. She knew she’d weakened herself by trying to help the man, but there was no way she could have just let them kill him in front of her, which she was sure they would have done if she hadn’t diverted their anger to herself.
“Don’t be stupid,” Amara had told her with a roll of her eyes, but Thea felt anything but stupid. She felt angry, and that anger would be her driving force.
As they crossed through the gates, she heard the whispers around her begin. Servants, clearly human, were standing against the walls, awaiting orders. There were also a few more centaurs, and to Thea’s horror, she saw a slimy green creature swimming in the river around the castle walls, staring up at her with glowing silver eyes that had black slits for pupils.
“The merrow are nasty creatures that feed on disobedient humans,” Amara teased, glancing at Thea’s paling face. Thea noticed then the white pieces of bone scattered along the banks. Bile rose in her throat, and she could not control it. She threw up all over the ogre next to her. He jumped back with an angry roar, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her into the air. She kicked hard, trying to strike him, but he’d caught her by surprise and her vision blurred.
She thought of the human bones that lined the river and the creatures that existed within. It made her want to kill Amara. It made her want to succumb to the darkness that boiled beneath her skin, but she tried to think of Kieran bringing her away from that darkness. If she used it, she could never save the rest of those villagers.
“Put. Her. Down. You, big, stupid beast!” Amara grabbed a sword from the centaur that always stood by her side, and held it against the ogre who dangled a choking Thea five feet in the air by her throat. He dropped Thea immediately, but she didn’t have time to fall correctly and ended up rolling her ankle on the stone ground. Everyone but the surrounding humans began laughing as she limped into a standing position, rubbing her aching neck. If she’d had any chance before, it was becoming less and less possible with each new injury.
A throat cleared loudly and silence fell across the bridge. Amara stood a little taller, and even the ogre who had just been holding Thea into the air shrunk down, trying to fade back into the crowd. Thea couldn’t see where the noise had come from, but she dreaded she already knew the answer. A pathway parted, and Amara stood just slightly in front of Thea, as if wanting to make sure whoever was coming knew that Thea was her property.
“You’ve done well, daughter,” said a gruff voice as a tall man walked toward them. He wore a black velvet cloak over his leather warrior garb. Thea was sure he was over six feet tall, and even at a distance, she could see the sword secured to his hip. His eyes were a darker red than Amara’s, and gray hair tinted his black beard. Most importantly, though, he wore a jeweled crown upon his head and had a wicked smile that never touched his eyes. He strode toward them as only a king would, with a confidence that did not falter. Amara bowed low when he drew close and looked at Thea with eyes that told her she should do the same.
Thea only stood taller, and the king let out a booming laugh.
“You look like your mother, and you are right not to bow to me. You are royalty and will bow to no one.” He walked right past Amara and cupped Thea’s face in his hands, turning it side to side for examination. “So much like your mother.”
Thea wanted to cry out for him not to touch her, but she did not. She wanted to spit in his face and tell him he was a murderous bastard who killed her mother, but she did not. She wanted a lot of different things in that moment, but reminded herself that she was a queen and would show all of these creatures and people exactly what that meant.
“What happened to her?” the king asked Amara, noticing the bruising on Thea’s neck.
“She put up a bit of a fight and—”
“I told you to bring her to me unharmed.” A similar sound to the one Thea had heard when Amara slapped her echoed through the hall, but this time no one laughed. Everyone looked around uneasily and Amara lifted a hand to her cheek where blood spilled from a gash left from the contact with one of the king’s rings. Thea saw the anger behind her sister’s eyes for only a split second before she lowered her head, apologizing to their father. Thea could tell this was not the first time the king had hurt Amara, but she said nothing as he focused his attention back on her.
“The servants will draw you a bath, and then we will speak.”
“No.” It was the first word Thea had said, but she kept her voice steady. Looking at her father, she saw the similarities between his face and her own. She saw his lips move in the same way that her own did when she spoke. She noticed the slight crookedness of his nose that she often saw in her own reflection, and she even saw her own jawline mirrored on his face. It made her feel sick. She wanted to see nothing of herself in him, but there it was. He seemed surprised by her refusal, and for a moment, she thought he might hit her too. In fact, she noticed Amara’s surprise when he didn’t, but she said nothing else.
“You don’t wish to have a bath?” he asked, looking at Thea’s grimy attire.
“Tell me about the ritual,” Thea said, happy her voice was not quivering. Amara shrunk down a little smaller as the king glared at her.
“I see someone couldn’t keep her mouth shut.”
“Father, I—”
“Silence.”
Silence followed, and Thea did not move as she waited for King Malachi to decide. He seemed contemplate, but finally, he spoke again.
“If you don’t wish to bathe, that is your choice. However, the servants will take you to your bedroom until I am ready for you.”
Your bedroom, Thea thought with a jolt of surprise. After all these years, her father had kept her a bedroom in their home? She knew the surprise showed on her face by the smile that touched his lips.
“I’m not the monster they make me out to be,” he said in what was almost a soft tone. “You will see that.”
Thea doubted it.
She wanted to say more, but he turned, grabbing Amara by the arm, and headed out of sight. Immediately two humans appeared to usher Thea into the castle. As the castle gate locked shut behind them, Thea tried to make a note of how she could get out of there if she managed to escape her bedroom. She made a mental note of each corridor they turned down and each staircase they climbed up, but it felt like she was being led in circles through the endless halls. Unlike Grimwalde, Ivandor’s castle was dim and dreary. Spiders scurried up the walls as their footsteps echoed endlessly, and Thea actually screamed at one point when they turned a corner to find an ogre beating a bloodied human body that was already crumpled and lifeless on the floor. The ogre’s malicious laugh boomed against the stone walls as he saw them and Thea felt her two human escorts stiffen. They did not meet the ogre’s eyes as they pulled Thea past and toward another staircase.
Thea had known that her father hated humans, but somehow, actually seeing that hatred manifested was far
worse than anything she’d imagined. The ogre’s smile haunted her as her escorts dragged her toward a final door—one Thea prayed was her bedroom. She had absolutely no hope of finding her way out of this castle, but she could at least take a moment to recover there. Her father needed her for something, something that, according to Mirielle, was supposed to happen during the solstice. Maybe she could stop whatever his plan was and then regroup with Kieran and the others if she could just come up with a solid, non-suicidal plan.
Her escorts were an older lady, probably in her sixties, and an adolescent girl no older than Ethel. Neither of them said a word until they reached the door to what she assumed was her bedroom. Then it was the older woman who spoke while the younger one stared at her own feet.
“Don’t go doing anything stupid, girl,” she said, causing Thea to look up at her in surprise. “If you disappear, who do you think they will punish?” She looked at the other servant. Although the older woman’s hair was graying, Thea saw the resemblance clearly between their faces.
“I’m here to help, not hurt you.” Thea looked between the women and frowned. “What are your names?”
They ushered Thea into the bedroom so quickly that she almost tripped over her own feet. She ached from the beatings she’d taken outside, and despite what she’d told her father, she actually did desperately need to bathe. The room they entered had light blue walls and a large four-poster bed with a dark blue comforter. A black velvet curtain hung around all four sides of it. Unlike what she’d seen of the kingdom so far, this room was warm and welcoming. A few stuffed animals sat on the bed. One was a lion, another was a rabbit. There was also an enormous wardrobe and an empty porcelain tub. The windows, to Thea’s dismay, had been barred over.
“My name is Elizabeth, and this is my granddaughter, Millie.” The younger girl drew a bath but said nothing. Thea frowned and told her that she didn’t need her to do that, but Elizabeth shook her head. “She doesn’t know what else to do. She grew up in this castle as a servant.”
“That doesn’t mean she has to be one. She’s a human being.” Thea heard the anger in her voice and saw Elizabeth smile slightly.
“Yes, she is a human being, and therefore, a servant.”
Thea walked to the window and stared out at the decaying kingdom. She wanted to bring life back to these lands, but how could she if she was locked away?
She asked herself what Kieran or Iris might do in this situation, but they probably would have never allowed themselves to be captured to begin with. She’d left their protection and decided to do this on her own, so now she would have to.
“I knew your mother,” Elizabeth said, drawing Thea’s attention back into the room. “You are brave, like her, to want to free us. Just know that when the time comes, we’ll be at your side. Even those of us who don’t remember what freedom tastes like.” She looked toward her granddaughter and the steaming tub.
Thea walked to stand by Elizabeth and took her hand. She wanted nothing more than to live up to the expectations that others had of her, but she needed to figure out how she would survive this. She watched as Millie motioned for her to come to the bath and allowed Elizabeth to help her undress by unlacing her black waistcoat. The last thing she wanted was for them to see weakness, but she winced as they stripped the clothing from her bruised body. She had been sore from her training with Kieran, but the beatings the ogres had given her on her way in had left her sides black and blue. She heard Millie gasp, seeing her injuries. Her hand flew up to her mouth and tears welled in her eyes.
“No, no, don’t cry,” Thea blurted, feeling embarrassed as she stood naked in front of them. “I’m fine, really.”
Millie seemed to take her words as a command and quickly turned away to hide her tears. Thea sighed in response and winced as her broken rib shifted.
Elizabeth tossed Thea’s filthy clothes into a sack and left them by the door. She said she would wash them for her, and Thea gave a grateful nod. Dried blood coated her lip and legs where scrapes and cuts had semi-healed. She walked toward the tub and rested her hand on Millie’s shoulder.
“Thank you for the bath, Millie. I think it will help me heal.”
Elizabeth had disappeared out of the room for a moment as Thea lowered herself painfully into the tub, but she returned quickly with a small drawstring bag of salts that she poured into the steaming water.
“This will help with your injuries. It will not heal them, but it will strengthen you.” Elizabeth looked at Thea’s bracelet and frowned. “Don’t you want to take that off?”
Thea shook her head and lowered her arm into the water, as if hiding the bracelet from her. She hadn’t used its magic yet, but she didn’t want to be separated from it. She imagined she would need the extra strength soon and didn’t want to be left without it. Sinking deeper into the water, Thea let herself relax for a moment. She didn’t feel frightened of these servants. After all, they were some of the people she was here to help. She worried that Amara or the king might return to take her away, though.
“He’ll give you time to think,” said Millie. Thea’s eyes had closed, but she immediately opened them to look at the young girl. “I overheard him talking about the ritual—”
“Hush!” Elizabeth scolded, smacking Millie’s hand. “You know better than to be snooping in the king’s business.”
“But, Grandmother—”
“No.”
“I need to know,” Thea interrupted, reminding them that she was there. They both turned to her, Elizabeth looking angry. “I can’t help you if I don’t know what I’m getting myself into.”
“As stubborn as your mother, I swear!” Elizabeth crossed her arms, staring at both of them as if they were disobedient children. Thea lifted her chin a little higher, wishing she looked more like a queen and less like a beat-up child.
“I can’t help if I don’t know what I’m trying to stop.”
“He’s figured out a way to free her,” Millie said quickly, ignoring the glare from her grandmother.
“Whom?” Thea asked. She gripped the sides of the tub and pulled herself into a sitting position. Whatever Elizabeth had put into the tub, it was helping. She already felt less achy.
“Morrigan.”
The name was a whisper on Millie’s lips, but Thea heard it loud and clear. She knew that, according to legend, her sister, Ainé, had imprisoned Morrigan to protect the land of Faerie from her wrath. Ainé loved the humans and wanted to protect them from her sister’s jealousy. However, this meant that both Goddesses had been imprisoned in another realm. If Ainé had been the one who had sealed the doorway to that realm, then how did Thea’s father plan to open it?
“He can’t free her… Ainé is the only one who can open the door.” Thea said the words as if they were the truth, but was there not always a loophole in stories like this? Hadn’t Kieran called her that loophole?
“Through you,” Elizabeth said as she rubbed her arms.
“What do I have to do with some ancient prison, though?”
“He believes you are a direct descendent of Ainé.” Millie finally met Thea’s eyes as she spoke. Her own gaze was full of hope, a deep longing for whatever Thea could offer them. Thea, on the other hand, felt bewildered.
How could she be a direct descendent of a Goddess? That made no sense at all.
And yet, had they not all been wondering why the Goddess could speak to her directly without her being a seer? And had she not asked herself a million times why Ainé gifted her with control over all four elements? She frowned as it began to make more sense, but she didn’t know how that helped anything the king wanted to do.
“If the rumors are true, then it seems he has a plan to use your blood in a ritual during Yule, the winter solstice.”
“My blood? Why not just kill me now then?”
“I don’t know.” Elizabeth frowned and then grabbed a towel for Thea, holding it up. Thea climbed out of the tub carefully and wrapped herself in the fabric’s warmth, trying
to take in all the recent information they had given her. Kieran’s mother had known Malachi wanted to free Morrigan using her, and that information had caused Thea’s mother to send her away. Was this the reason they had not allowed her stay in Ivandor? Because somehow she was a direct descendent of a goddess?
Thea panicked, realizing Kieran and Iris knew nothing of the king’s plan to free Morrigan. If Thea hadn’t come here, they would have been in the dark. However, if Thea hadn’t come here, they also wouldn’t be at risk of the Goddess of all Evil being released in the first place. She tried to steady her shallow breathing. Her lungs felt as if they were on fire, but if she was going to survive this, she needed to fight through the pain.
“He must need something from me that he can’t take by force,” she said quietly, looking around the room. For a moment, she had allowed herself to think that some part of her father still cared about her. However, now she saw the truth. This bedroom was a ruse. He wanted her to believe this was her home because he needed something from her. He wanted her comfortable and unguarded so that he could take what was necessary. She didn’t know why it hurt her to realize this, but it did. She supposed the thought of a biological father caring about her was too good to be true. Thea thought of Kieran and Iris; Ethel, Mirielle and Mica; and she thought of the challenge she faced. She couldn’t allow Morrigan to be released, but first she needed to determine exactly what her father needed from her and how far he was willing to go to get it.
“There’s clothing in the wardrobe for you. It should be about your size, I hope,” Elizabeth said. She motioned for Millie to leave the room, but she met Thea’s eyes before she left. “Remember what I said. We’ll be at your side when the time comes, my queen.”
