I remained silent as the maids primped and prepped me for the ceremony. Their hands deftly worked their way through my hair, untangling the knotted mess it had become, and creating a delicately, intricate style that appeared to look like rope along my spine. At one point, one of them shoved a small cup of warm liquid in my hands, hurrying my to drink it. “What is it?” I croaked, sniffing at the drink. It didn’t smell appetising at all. The maids exchanged a look, and the oldest one rose her brow at me. “It is to flush your body of seed,” she said tersely. “So tou do not become with child.” Horror must have filled my face because she gave me an apologetic look before pushing the cup in my direction again. “Best drink it fast, it doesn’t taste the best.” I downed the liquid quickly, my throat gagging on the taste and swallowed as much as I could. It tasted like a mixture of dirt and grass, but I was glad for it. I didn’t want to become pregnant with Kainen’s child. He hadn’t exactl
When I woke, I found myself back in same room as before the ceremony. I was sprawled on the bed, my dress gone and replaced with a pair of slacks and a crisp white shirt. I moved to press my hand to my thumping head and a large, white bandage caught my eyes, making me jump. Someone had bandaged the cut on my palm. A sound caught my attention. I lifted my head slowly and finally noticed Deakin sitting silently next to me, his head buried in his hands. “Deakin?” I whispered, my voice so soft I didn’t think he would hear me. His head jerked up at the sound of my voice, his face tense and strained. He was instantly by my side, his eyes concerned. “Tynan requests your presence immediately for council,” Deakin uttered softly as if he were completely lifeless, his voice distant and cold. I groaned inwardly knowing that I could no longer refuse him – I was bound to him, forever. As the words crossed my mind the enormity of the situation sunk in, and I suddenly felt like I was drowning.
The cloaked figure ran swiftly along the city’s darkened cobbled streets, the shadows passing over his dark clothing as if they could not see him in the black night. He stumbled over the crumbling path and cursed quietly under his breath. He hated being back here. The memories, the way everything seemed as familiar as if it were a part of him. It was never in his plan to come back, but he forced himself on, his resolve growing stronger.There was only one thing on his mind- the mission. It had to be completed no matter what the cost. He would be rewarded extravagantly for his efforts if he were to succeed…No! He thought, When, I succeed. He knew only too well where failure would lead, and it wouldn’t be pleasant.His mind faltered a moment at the thought, sending a shiver down along his spine. The horror that would follow failure was far too much for him to even bear the thought of.He stopped when he heard the soft tap of approaching footsteps. Quickly, he stepped into the shadows th
The world swirled around me as I ran, all the colours blurring into one mud brown. The cobbled stone slapped against my bare feet, stinging a little.I cursed loudly when I tripped on a lifted edge and almost hurtled into a small stand that had been set up on the side of the street. The stones ripped at my body, pulling away several layers of my skin along with my clothes. Great, more scars.I cringed away from the stall, my skin crawling with the desire to run away. I had no idea why, until I saw them. Dark magic flowed through the orbs that were placed out very specifically on the table. The crooked merchant looked at me and smiled, baring his crusty, old teeth.My arms wrapped around my body instinctively, covering the holes in my ripped, and tattered clothes, which exposed parts of my skin, as he watched me appreciatively. His wrinkled eyes widened just as much as his smile did.I shivered unconsciously and backed away from him as fast as I could, then ran down a smaller, darker al
I awoke to the smell of something potent. It was strong and burnt my nose in a good and weird kind of way. I sniffed a little more, keeping my eyes closed in case I was in the cells again. I didn’t need more reminders of that painful time.Suddenly all the memories rushed back to me, and my eyes popped open. I sat up so quickly that my head spun, and with a small sound my mouth was stifled.The scream that built in my chest was now choked off by the large hand smothering my lips.My breathing was rapid through my nose, but I calmed down quickly when I looked around and saw that it was the man I had kicked. Even without the shadows covering his face, I could tell it was him. He had the same air around him and even as I thought this, I trembled with confusion. It was the best way I could explain how I knew it was him, but even to my own mind, it sounded crazy.I had no idea where I was, but it was definitely not the cells. The room was large and open, wide windows letting sunlight come s
“Be sensible Gareth,” I heard a smooth, velvety voice say angrily. “There is no way that she… that she…” “Yes Alana?” asked another, deeper voice – a man. The first voice, a woman, huffed angrily. “She is only a child,” she countered as though this would change the man’s mind. “And a thief at that, how can we trust her?” I squeezed my eyes closed tighter, hoping that it would stop my head from hurting. The scream still echoed in my mind and every now and then would flare up, sending shooting pain through my head. It was like a constant toothache. If you bit into the wrong thing, it would hurt, a lot. An annoying, painful headache, that’s what I had. And where did it come from? It had come on so suddenly, so strangely. I put it down to the magic that the Fourth Magician had used – the fire. Maybe it had lasting effects on my body. “I believe you said the same thing about me didn’t you Alana?” a third voice asked, his voice smug. I recog
“Darius, my old friend,” Gareth greeted with a wide smile, and got up to welcome the new man with a warm hug and a shake of his hand. Even with his smile in place, I knew it was all too wrong. I could sense the subtle anger flowing from Gareth.Darius kept his eyes on me but returned the warm hug to Gareth and said a quick hello to Blake, his analysing gaze finally leaving me.“Ha… You have grown up my dear boy,” Darius said with a wide smile, his blue eyes sparkling happily at Blake. “And out,” he continued, indicating Blake’s muscled arms and shoulders. He clapped his hands on the side of Blake’s arms, giving Blake a grin.Blake’s face had changed entirely and instead of the smooth, hard features, his face was softer and gentler as he smiled, taking away many years from his face. Too bad his smile couldn’t change the cold nature of his personality, I thought to myself.After the cheerful
Bloody useless magicians.I waited patiently for more, for a less confusing and enraging answer. A knock sounded on the door, capturing their attention.“That’s it? That's all you are going to say?” I was beyond frustrated and wanted to leap out of the bed and yell and scream at them, but from what I had overheard about Magicians, there was no point to it.Darius laughed and opened the door.Alana waltzed in followed by a young girl no older than myself.She was tall and slim, with long, dark hair that circled her petite face, her eyes a golden brown, warm in colour. I sensed no tenors of emotion floating around her so I simply assumed that she was not a magician. After all, I had never felt emotions before meeting the magicians.Our eyes met and in that moment I knew – even though I did not sense her emotions – the girl hated me. Her eyes were narrowed in revulsion, a look of disgust lingering on her f