Chapter 8
As I round the last corner before my room, three guards wait outside. “Welcome back, Princess. Congratulations on the announcement,” one bows. “Your friend is waiting for you in your bedroom. She didn’t give us a chance to turn her away. I hope you don’t mind.”
They halt before my door and part for me to enter.
I slam the door behind me, knowing who awaits. Maines sits by the lit fireplace, her feet propped up and her face like stone. “I thought I was going to have to kick those guards’ asses to let me in your room.”
I plop in the chair beside her, exhaustion weighing heavily on my shoulders.
“That was a shock I didn’t see coming. You aren’t going to go through with this, are you?”
I hesitate to tell her what just happened in my father’s study. “Your brother is competing—did you know?”
The sudden change on her face is answer enough. “Gods, no! I had no idea about any of this. I’d never let you marry my brother. He's a monster.”
It seems like all the men around us in this castle are monsters.
“We need a plan to get you out of this, Briar,” Maines chimes in again.
“Come on, Maines. There is no way out of this, I’m afraid.”
She stares at me for a second. Her piercing blue eyes show no fear, no hesitation, unlike mine. “Let’s run away then! I can make us money being a healer and you can start a farm or something. We’ll change our names and move far away.”
It’s impossible not to grin at her even though my stomach twists from the news. She’s a fool. “I’m not starting a farm and I’m not running. My father will make me comply—there’s no way around this without him killing me or worse.”
We sit in silence for a while before she tries again. “I’m sorry, Briar. I know this is horrible. Your mother would have never let this happen. She would have fought for you. Now, you must fight for yourself but not alone—I’m with you!”
The words ring in my ear: you must fight for yourself. I stand, the chair flipping backward.
“Whoa!” Maines yelps.
“You are an absolute genius, my friend.”
“Well, I know I am most days, but are you going to tell me why?”
I smirk. “No, but you will know soon enough.”
The day I decided never to use my magic again, Maines was there for me, understanding and never judging.
The only thing she asked was that she teach me how to fight to protect myself.
We found the area on the roof together and she made sure I knew how to fight from that day on—just as Thatcher had taught her.
When Barlowe left, most of her days were spent in the eastern part of town at the House of Hedro.
The House was founded by my mother and named after her maiden name, Hedro.
Though Maines’s focus was on healing others, I think she was also working to heal herself as well.
Anyone lucky enough to train at the House of Havengart in Eddris typically went on to make a name for themselves.
My mother started her journey there before returning to Daramveer to open the House of Hedro.
I felt a pang of jealousy when Maines announced she would be leaving for a year to train at the House of Havengart.
To walk through the halls where my mother trained and to feel closer to her is something I’ll never experience.
Maines was a skilled healer and was quickly becoming one of the top healers in Daramveer.
“Are you going to make me beg?” Maines raises her brows.
I smirk, “Maines Madden begging? If that happens, I’ve seen it all.”
“Fine. I’ll trust you on this one, but once you’ve completed this ‘plan,’” she quotes the air, “you’d better come to find me.” Maines demands.
“I’ll see you later," I say as I push off from where I’ve been pacing. “I need to go see my brother. I think he’s been planning something all along, and now I have a plan too." As I leave Maines by the fire, I rush toward the door when the memory of the armed guards outside halts me in my tracks.
“Shit,” I curse, pausing in front of my bedroom door.
Maines watches me from across the room, a grin already forming on her face.
“I can’t leave that through my door; they will tell my father or follow me. Or both.”
She nods and walks toward the open window, the night sky being our perfect camouflage. “We could shift,” she looks at me wildly. “I know where he was heading. He asked me to meet him. I’m late anyways.”
My nose crinkles at the thought of Maines and my brother. I weigh my options at this moment. “Fine,” I snap.
“Hold on,” she squeals as we become mist.
I can’t get a good breath as we move through the shadows. Figures and shapes fly past us, but the fast movement makes us invisible. Even the most talented shifters can’t travel more than a few miles at a time without feeling drained and hollow.
We land, stumbling outside of the castle in a small back courtyard. It’s out of sight to anyone walking around the grounds and, I guess, could be considered romantic under starlight. The dark columns loom over our bodies but create a decent shield from any unwanted sights.
My legs wobble beneath me as I try to regain my composure from the shift, my insides feeling as if I’m still moving.
“Gods!” Maines yelps as she grabs my arm, pulling me further into the darkness and shielding us behind a tall pillar.
I snap my attention to her because of her odd behavior, but as I do, my eyes catch sight of not one figure but two. Thatcher and Barlowe stand before us, not quite in the open, but not entirely concealed by the shadows.
I move closer, making sure to stay in the shadows that cloaks us. Barlowe remains unmoving, his back to us as Thatcher’s teeth grind, anger pouring off his body like a swarm of darkness.
“What the hell would he be doing out here?” I whisper to Maines.
The conversation grows louder as their voices become audible.
“I knew you would try to stop this, Barlowe. You are weak. This kingdom will fall because of you and your sister,” Thatcher thunders in the dark.
“Caring about your family doesn’t make you weak.
It would be best if you tried it sometime.
I’ve spent the past year working to stop you monsters and your foolish plans.
This won’t work,” Barlowe steps closer, challenging Thatcher with words.
“No wonder your mother left you and your father before she died. I’d be miserable, too, if I had to spend my life bound to someone like you.
It’s just a shame that Maines was left to be raised by you two assholes.
This will get you all killed. I just hope I’m around to see that happen,” Barlowe retorts.
“It’s unfortunate you feel that way. We could have accomplished great things together, but you had to run off and become a traitor to this kingdom, your own family.
You knew the plans we had for this realm—the power we could have wielded together—but you chose her, your sister who abandoned her magic and this kingdom many years ago,” Thatcher tips his head back and laughs.
“You chose to attempt to ruin our plan and didn’t think we would find out.
I’m not sorry for this. Consider this a welcome home gift from your father.
You deserve it.” Thatcher strides forward with a force that would knock any grown man to the ground, the movement happening quicker than my eyes can follow.
My brother stands unwavering in Thatcher’s overpowering presence, a gurgling sound coming from one of them. Thatcher spits in my brother’s direction and glares at him. A branch under my foot snaps, causing Thatcher’s gaze to shoot in our direction before he shifts out of sight.
Something’s wrong.
My gut twists, and the hair on my neck raises. The out-of-control feeling I experience in my nightmares starts to creep over my body.
“Barlowe.” Maines moves cautiously around the pillar toward him. He remains unusually still, not reacting to her voice. She cuts her eyes to mine as we bound across the yard toward my brother.
“Barlowe,” I call, “I know what we can do. I think I figured out your plan.”
A familiar coppery smell hits my nose, panic setting in as Maines twists his body around and screams. His large body slumps to the ground, his hand pressed against the hilt of a dagger that protrudes out of the base of his neck.
Placing his head in her lap, Maines starts to work on the area, her intensity growing by the second.
I can’t wrap my mind around what’s happening. Thatcher stabbed him.
Maines trembles as she inspects the wood. “We have to stop the bleeding,” she demands. “I need you to apply pressure where his hand was.”
Barlowe lies motionless. His stare is fixated on Maines as blood now soaks her clothes, her body seemingly so small next to his.
“Briar!” she screams again as I kneel next to my brother in a daze, doing as she instructs. His eyes slowly move to my face as a tear falls from his eye. This can’t be happening.
“I think the dagger was laced with something—poison maybe—but I can’t tell. The blood is leaking too fast to get a good look.” She places her hands over his neck, replacing mine. A dark shadow flows outward straight into his open wound.
He flinches, a groan leaving his throat as the magic enters his body like a snake. “Nothing is happening—why is nothing happening, Maines?” I shout, bile rising in my throat.
Maines’s eyes dart back and forth as her calm composure slowly disappears.
“I… I need to go to the castle to grab some supplies. There is no time for ritualistic healing; we need to stop the bleeding and fast. It’s not clotting like it needs to.
Something else is making the wound leak faster than normal.
Keep the pressure on his neck as hard as you can, Briar, and do not let up.
Put your entire weight on him.” She shifts into the shadows.
I’m alone with my brother, standing over his fallen body, soaked in blood.
This can’t be real.
Barlowe speaks, his voice barely a whisper through the blood filling his mouth. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t you dare close your eyes, Barlowe! Keep them open and on me!” I cry, “Please don’t waste energy trying to speak.”
“I need to tell you something. I wasn’t there for you after our mother died.
It broke me when she passed, and I ran away from the hurt, from you.
” He coughs, blood peppering my face. “I was a coward, but I’ve been fighting since that day to make things right.
” His unsteady hand grabs my face. “I love you and need you to fight for yourself. You are strong—stronger than I ever have been.”
Tears stream down my face, as I listen to my brother’s strong voice start to fade. “Tell Maines she wouldn’t have been able to save me or stop this from happening. I wish I had more time with her, but I will wait for her in another life.”
“Stop this madness. Right now. You are going to make it. You can’t leave me again!” His grip starts to slacken, and his rough hands fall to the ground. “Focus on my face. Don’t shut your eyes. Don’t you dare close them, Barlowe! Don’t leave me!”
The ground vibrates from my scream. “I need you.”
Maines shifts into view—breaking my attention from him for only a second—carrying a few vials of potions. Seeing my state, she gasps, “My bag!” Sprinting in our direction she continues, “Someone moved or took it. I couldn’t find any of my things where I left them.”
She crashes to the ground next to us, assessing his fragile state, “Oh, Gods.”
“Barlowe, I need you to fight. Open your eyes!” I scream, inches from his pale face.
Maines frantically moves her hands over him, black shadows slamming into his unconscious body. His back arches off the ground from the force of the magic entering his body.
“Fuck!” She pounds her fists into his strong chest. “Briar, I can’t do anything for him. Not without help.”
I begin to sob as I watch the color drain from his strong face, his hands growing colder by the second. “I can go get someone, Maines. We have time.”
Tears fill my eyes, my vision blurring through the sobs.
“No, don’t go,” she cries, pressing her head against his chest, clutching his blood-stained shirt. My eyes widen as she lifts her face, ghostly pale against her dark hair. Her lips tremble as her body starts to shake, still holding Barlowe’s hand. “I just felt his heart stop, Briar. He’s gone.”
I stare at my brother’s lifeless body, refusing to accept what Maines has said. Just like in my nightmares, Barlowe lies before me with a wound on his neck.
An unholy scream leaves my lips as I crumble to the ground beside him.
Darkness bubbles in my body as the anger hits me with a force so strong I’m left breathless.
Maines pulls my arm, standing before me.
“We must get up, Briar! If anyone comes out here and sees us, your father will have us killed.”
She stumbles backward as our gaze meets, and I know what she sees—I feel the shift.
My hazel eyes are gone and replaced with an unnatural black.
I walk a few paces away, letting the darkness build in my chest for the first time in years.
I can feel the wind shift around us as a black flame encases me like a tight hug from an old friend.
The overwhelming feeling of my repressed magic flowing through my veins leaves my body tingling as I look at my hands, shadows dancing in my blood-soaked palms.
I stare back at Maines, her mouth agape, and I know two things with absolute certainty: the old Briar Blackbyrne is gone, and my brother lies before me.
Dead.