33. Chapter 33
A portal shimmered gently before me, captivating my attention. It had been several hours since the Lich King and his military leaders left. They’d dragged me here to witness their victory, the grand glory of the Second Necromancer’s War. As golems secured me to the wall, locking my wrists into the same iron manacles they’d used on me before, Cahyon promised to return victorious, with Talena’s head in one fist and Annika’s chain in another.
My surroundings were strangely calming. We were in a beautiful room with a glass ceiling supported by exquisitely carved columns. As I waited, the sky darkened, stars shining down and flooding the space with muted, cold light. Candles and torches were lit to brighten the room while human and Moroi servants prepared a feast, and next to me, on an ornate chair, sat a woman as beautiful as only a fae could be—a queen waiting for her king.
Only, she was far from calm, and I couldn’t stop laughing.
The portal’s surface flickered, distorting as it spit out an unidentified form onto the floor. The chancellor and several Moroi generals followed before the Lich King emerged, and only Cahyon remained standing as the black surface collapsed behind him. The blast of his power swept through the room, sending everyone to the ground and scattering the tables and food that had been prepared for his celebration.
My unrestrained laughter caught Cahyon’s attention, a rage that promised suffering burning in his eyes. But the longer he stared at me, the calmer he became—as if having a witness to his failure was offensive enough without him showing how it affected him.
After a moment, he grunted some orders, and his court scattered to fulfil them.
‘Care to explain yourself?’ he snapped at Rowena. ‘You said she was incapacitated. That you controlled her power. Or was it another conduit mage that just decimated my army? Oh, and care to explain how the fuck she used necromancy?’
My laughter grew louder when he grabbed a filigree cup from a nearby table and hurled it in Rowena’s direction. My sister ducked, the missile smashing against the wall.
‘I don’t know. There was something ...’ she stuttered. ‘She was protected. She burned me, and I had to withdraw—’
‘You stupid bitch! And you wanted to rule by my side? You? A little pain and you tucked your tail and ran like a rat.’
Cahyon was seething, and even knowing it would hurt, I just couldn’t help myself.
‘You thought you had a chance against my domina? The woman who made a bargain with a goddess. How does it feel to taste defeat, to see your precious army scattered by her spells?’
Rowena hissed, rushing towards me and backhanding me so hard my head smacked the wall painfully.
‘Silence!’ she snapped as I glared at her, spitting blood onto her boots. ‘No one asked your opinion.’
Cahyon’s gaze bore into me, wearing my father’s face like a grotesque mask. I despised the sight of it. Yet despite the loathing that burned in my chest, I could read his expressions clearly—anger and disdain, emotions I knew well. But beneath them lingered something foreign: fear. I knew Ani had used necromancy; I felt it in the gentle tug on our Anchor bond as I willingly opened my mind and soul to her. It seemed my domina had used it well.
The Lich King approached, calculation replacing the uncertainty before the corner of his mouth lifted into a smile. I cursed silently. We both knew I was the only thing that could force Annika’s compliance. Escape was impossible, so I had to force him to kill me before he could use me as a bargaining chip.
‘You’ve experienced a taste of her power now. Are you ready to face Annika face-to-face? As long as I live, her necromancy will outstrip yours. I will sacrifice every ounce of strength, of power, to see her rip that army from your control and destroy you with it,’ I sneered, my manic grin expressing the truth in my words. ‘When she’ll come Katrass, you will kneel at her feet like the beaten cur you are.’
‘You think I’ve lost, foolish boy? I still have you, don’t I? I wanted a thriving kingdom, and I will have it. She won’t stop me.’
‘How na?ve of you to believe you still have a chance’ I said. ‘She whipped your arse, didn’t she?’
He raised his fist, struggling to control himself, and I wondered if he was going to end me now, but I wasn’t so lucky.
‘Collar him and drop him in the oubliette,’ Cahyon commanded before he grasped my chin, forcing me to look at him. ‘She won the battle, but I will win the war. She levelled the mountain, mourning some woman; for you, she will offer me her magic and Dagome on a silver platter.’
‘What did you do?’ I hissed, shocked by the revelation. I gaped at him, not reacting when his golems grabbed me from behind and snapped a cold metal collar around my neck. It burned, extinguishing my magic, and I clawed at my throat as the constructs dragged me to the dungeons.
When they pushed me through a small hatch in the floor, I fell, landing on a pile of bones that scraped my skin. It reminded me so much of the Dark Mother’s Grotto of Dreamers that I was almost grateful that the collar throttled my magic, preventing me from drowning in the whispers of the forgotten dead.
I stared at the ceiling, studying the hatch far beyond my reach, the glow at its edges my only light in the overwhelming darkness.
I needed a plan. Sooner or later, Cahyon’s golems would come for me, and if I was still here when Reynard’s forces reached Katrass, I needed a way to die to stop the bastard from using me against Annika.
‘Hrae, what did they do that hurt you so, love?’ I murmured.
Ani was a caring woman, but she hadn’t made many friends at Varta. There was her maid, Agnes, who had made a strong impression in a short time. Bryna, who, despite her gruff and coarse nature, loved fiercely. And Katja, the herbalist whose quiet strength kept those around her calm even when the world went to shit.
‘He said Ani levelled a mountain. If he hurt one of her family, they’re lucky she didn’t burn the world to ash,’ I said into the darkness.
I knew Cahyon had wanted to win the war in one fell sweep, one grand battle that would break his enemies. My sister had explained it in great detail as we waited. What I didn’t know was what he planned to do now.
I whispered a quick prayer to the Dark Mother. All I needed was a little luck, a hint of a miracle, a crack in my collar, an unexpected guest ... just something I could twist in my favour.
I lost track of time, but it felt like days had passed. As weariness burned my eyes, something caught my attention: a noise, a quiet but unmistakable shuffling of feet, before a light blinded me and something fell onto my stomach, winding me.
‘Eat, fae. I will return, but you must build up your strength. Your domina will be here soon.’ I wasn’t sure, but it sounded like the reluctant healer who’d saved me after my capture.
‘Wait! Tell me what’s going on,’ I shouted, but she was already walking away. I scratched around for the package, trying to grasp it before the light disappeared completely.
It smelled of dry meat and bread, and despite the grim situation, I chuckled after ripping it open. It was a sandwich and a canteen of water. My miracle had come in the form of a healer and a sandwich, and although the bread was stale and the meat tasteless, I devoured it with gusto, washing the mush down with fortified water.
In this pit of hell, I had an ally who’d hated Cahyon enough to help me, and that was more than I’d ever hoped for.
The healer’s intervention also provided something else: information. Annika was close, likely with Ormond and Reynard leading the army.
I had to leave. I inspected the walls, running my fingers across their surface. I had done it before but had given up after finding nothing but rough stone. This time, I would continue until I found a way out.
I moved along the wall, poking and prodding every nook and cranny for some way to climb out. Finally, I found a crevice wide enough to force my fingers into. It wasn’t much, but I had to try.
I fell countless times, the many skeletons in the pit crumbling from the impact, but each time, I discovered something new—a crack or an uneven stone that allowed me to climb higher. I was exhausted. The small amount of energy I’d gathered from that dry meal didn’t last long, but I was determined to continue until I was free or dead.
After several hours, I was panting hard, my clothes in tatters from all the falls, my body covered with a thick sheen of sweat.
I finally grabbed hold of the trapdoor that barred me from freedom. But as I hung there, trying to catch my breath, I heard the heavy stomp of two golems marching in my direction.
‘Hrae,’ I muttered, shifting until I was near the edge of the hatch, trying to position my body to the side.
I knew there was no point in trying to negotiate, but with their strength and lack of awareness, I could likely just hang onto the hatch as they lifted it. This was my chance.
I controlled my breathing, my muscles tensing when the constructs grasped the trapdoor. As the first golem lifted it, pulling me upwards, the second twisted around when it saw me. I jerked to the side, propelling myself between them. It was a clumsy and painful move, but it got me where I wanted, and I sprawled on my back just under their feet.
They turned in unison, hands outstretched, and reached for me, crashing into each other and allowing me to scramble away.
My luck ran out as I discovered the corridor I ran down was a dead end and I was stuck with nowhere to go.
I attempted the same tactic, hoping they weren’t clever enough to learn from past mistakes, but as I flew past, a massive clay hand caught my collar. I coughed, clawing at the iron band and the golem’s hand. When it didn’t work, I reached up to gouge out its eyes, the only thing I knew that could incapacitate it other than crushing it to dust.
I missed.
Instead, my hand smashed into the golem’s forehead, and thin lines appeared on the smooth surface. The creature froze, the cracks spreading. In the desperate attempt to free myself, I must have struck the sigil written in the clay that powered the golem.
‘What are you doing?’ The healer’s voice hissed down the corridor as I punched the same spot again. This time, it didn’t merely crack a little—the whole form crumbled into a pile of dust.
‘Starting a pottery class?’ I snapped, rushing at the remaining golem, who seemed determined to smear me all over the walls for destroying its brethren.
‘Then do it faster ,’ she said, keeping her distance. ‘The chancellor wants you on display to welcome your invading army. Your position has improved from prisoner in a shithole to caged bird over the city gates.’
I wasn’t paying attention, entirely focused on the clay moloch that reached for me. Its massive fist whistled past my face as I jumped back. I prayed to the Dark Mother for Cahyon to have been too arrogant to place his spell elsewhere as I leapt between its arms and hammered my fist into its forehead.
Time stood still as I watched the cracks appear again, and the golem’s movements turned sluggish until they stopped altogether. I exhaled in relief, punching its chest, and the clay broke, falling apart like an old flowerpot.
‘Are you done now?’ the healer asked, just as I recalled her name. Lara.
‘Yes, come, Lara,’ I said, reaching for her hand. ‘We need to get out of this city.’ I didn’t know her, except for a few unpleasant encounters, but she had helped me, and I would not leave her to that bastard’s punishment.
‘I can’t, but here. I brought you this,’ she said, passing me a key.
I looked at her, dumbstruck. The unassuming healer had somehow retrieved the key to my collar.
‘Thank you. Now, please come with me,’ I insisted, unlocking the device that crippled my magic.
‘I can’t, there’s ... just go. The gardens are swarming with the undead, but the kitchens are almost empty, and the drains lead to a working canal that connects to the port. No one works there now, and as long as you reach the sea, you’ll be safe.’
The collar clicked and fell, and I took a deep, relieved breath, feeling the aether inside me. Lara was suddenly by my side, her hands cupping my face. I frowned before I realised what she was doing.
‘Thank you, my lady,’ I said, letting her magic finish its job. The goddess knew I needed her healing touch.
‘I couldn’t help my family, but you ...’ she trailed off before gathering her courage. ‘If your people defeat that bastard, please speak up for us. Tell them the Moroi didn’t stand a chance and ask your king to show mercy for my remaining brethren. I can cure the blood fever, and there are still a few of us left ... Please. That’s all I ask for.’
‘You have my word, and if my domina were here, she would give you hers, too. Annika is ... she would understand. Look after yourself, gentle healer,’ I said as I darted towards the exit. Lara might not have heard it yet, but there were footsteps approaching, and I didn’t want to fight another monster.
I was a safe distance away when I heard her scream, ‘My lord, the prisoner, he escaped!’ I couldn’t help but smile. Wise woman . I hoped we would meet again.
I was soon lost in the winding corridors, but sneaking through castles was all too familiar to me, and I drew on my old skills to remain undetected. Glimpsing through the windows, I knew Lara hadn’t exaggerated the dangers outside. The gardens were overflowing with monsters, and I wondered if Cahyon expected me to head for the portal if I escaped.
Lara was right, the port was the safest option. I smirked when I finally reached the kitchens and found the waste chute that led straight to a narrow canal.
There were several boats there—or rather their remains, most rotten and broken, but I found a small one stored on the pathway that must have been used to transport messengers. It was still sturdy enough to use, and I prayed to Jurata, goddess of the sea, to grant me safe passage.
I was returning to my domina, and there was nothing that could stop me now.