Chapter 29
The castle halls are silent as the excitement from the trials fades with many of the fallen competitors.
An honor was held for Cromwell and the twins.
Cromwell’s mother’s sobs echoed through the crowd while Calia blankly watched my father speak, unable to accept her son’s death.
She remained on the grounds long after the ceremony concluded, as if she were stuck to the earth, forever frozen in their memories.
My father stayed by her side for support.
I left no note or any signs of me leaving my room in case Silas returned.
I don’t want him to know what I’m doing and try to stop me.
I lost my family; I can’t lose anyone else I care about, and as much as I don’t want to admit it, I care deeply for Silas.
It’s as if we’ve known each other forever, as if we’ve lived many lives together.
Peering around the corner toward my father’s study, Elrod and Thatcher stand beside the door, waiting for my father to emerge.
The darkness moves around them like a black curtain, shielding them from danger.
The door flies open, and my father floats out with Calia at his side.
Shadows pour off them as if they are one silhouette, connected somehow, that I don’t understand.
Neither speaks as they stalk forward with purpose down the hallway.
I remain hidden in the shadows as their figures fade in the distance.
One corner stands between them disappearing and me making my move.
My foot shifts forward, but then Calia stops in her tracks.
My father and the others continue around the corner.
I freeze against the cold stone wall. Calia slowly turns, blinking through the darkness as if she knows someone is nearby. She’s smart.
She steps in my direction with a heavy foot, and my father shouts from around the corner, “Calia! Now.”
She remains frozen, her gaze locked in my direction as I continue to hold my breath. Whipping around, she disappears around the corner with the others. A heavy exhale escapes my lungs. Something is off about her—but what?
I creep forward, my stomach twisting the closer I get to the study, every creak sending waves of nausea through me.
The door is unlocked, and I open it as I silently pray to the Gods.
The rusty hinges squeal as I carefully push the door open, revealing an empty room.
It looks no different from the last time Oak and I were here, which feels like ages ago.
My feet barely move forward, passing the fireplace, unable to ignore the painting of my mother and father.
Time seems to slow as my eyes meet my mother’s, frozen in time, precisely how I remember her. She is stunning and full of life.
My father’s desk is cluttered with books and papers—the same ones from last time—as if he hasn’t been here in weeks.
I flip through the pages of the books before me, but there’s nothing new; my chest tightens with an overwhelming sense of defeat.
My mother is gone, and I’m no closer to discovering the truth.
Barlowe died knowing something important, and I fear I’m next in line if we don’t hurry.
The study is cold, despite the roaring flames from the fireplace.
As a child, I always wondered what my father did in this room; he would stay cooped up for hours each night studying.
Moving from the desk, I see a drawer slightly ajar. My eyes shoot up, knowing this drawer was locked last time. Carefully, my hands creep to the handle, pulling it open with a loud squeak. It's empty.
Shit.
Refusing to accept failure, I pull the drawer with force, opening it wide enough to reach my arm deep inside.
I lose sight of what I’m doing and rely on my feelings.
My fingers sweep across the back, unlocking a small hinge, and I cautiously grab what’s inside.
A zap travels up my arm, causing me to drop the small pouch and glance down at my hand.
Black veins become visible, my magic reacting to this room or what’s in my hand: a key.
Scanning the room, the only door leads to the hallway. My eyes move toward the painting once more, and my body vibrates in its direction as I tiptoe toward the fire. The radiant gold flames roar before me, and I don’t allow myself to get too close to the heat.
Something whispers in my ear, “Move closer. Touch the flame.”
I spin around, but only my shadows exist here as company.
I grit my teeth and reach my arm toward the flames.
Golden sparks reflect in my eyes, and the fire draws near, its heat stinging my hand.
My fingers brush against the fire, but instead of the burning pain I expect, a warm pressure meets my skin.
Before me, the fire turns black, and shadows whip around, mimicking the illusion of flames as they wrap around my body.
A scream escapes my throat as the fire engulfs me, pulling me into the fireplace behind the blazing world of darkness.
My eyes snap shut as I brace for death to greet me once and for all, but it doesn’t come.
I crack open my eyes to find I’m standing behind a thunderous fire.
I’ve been transported behind the flames, and the office still sits untouched in the red glow.
The fire feels hot against my back as I move down the narrow hallway tucked behind the flames.
Darkness flickers on the stone wall as the light from the fire dims the further I go.
The hallway twists and turns, and it seems like I’ve been walking for hours.
When I reach the end, a heavy door stands before me.
My hand trembles as I grasp the key tucked into my pants.
I press my ear to the door, hoping to gain some insight into what this room holds: silence.
Sliding the key into the slit, I turn it to the right, hearing a successful click. The silence inside is louder than a scream traveling through an empty room. Sweat beads on my forehead as I push the door open, revealing nothing but darkness.
“Hello?” I whisper into the nothingness. “Is anyone in here?”
I steady my hands and shove the door wider in one swift motion, hoping the abruptness will frighten whatever might wait inside.
“Briar?” The faintest whisper travels to my ears, making me jump.
“Hello?” I repeat, moving further into the room.
Rose moves into view, her face almost unrecognizable.
“Oh Gods!” I run toward her, kneeling beside her chained body. “Are you okay? What is going on?” Panic rises in my chest.
“You shouldn’t be here! You don’t have time,” her voice barely manages to get out.
I blink twice, exhaling sharply. Her voice rasps, “Your father did this. He found out about the letters. He has the resurrection crystal. I… I know you know what that means by now because I’ve been leaving you hints over the past few weeks. ”
Shock travels through me. “Wait. What? You told me those letters were from my mother?”
She slowly shakes her head. “Arieste and I planned this years ago. We knew this day would come, and we would be ready to prepare you. We suspected that your father was planning to use the stone, but… I never knew he would try to sacrifice your mother.”
Tears form in my eyes, but I remain quiet, allowing her time to speak. “Your father killed your mother.”
The ground beneath me starts to spin. “No. That’s not possible. He wasn’t even here when she died!”
“She tried to stop him, Briar. Your father changed once he learned of a crystal that could resurrect the dead. Your mother was researching how to destroy the crystal for years. The night she left to tend to one of her patients, yes, he was out of town, so I traveled along with her. The crystal she used was charged with black magic. Magic no wielder has been able to handle in hundreds of years. He used her as a test to see if she was a vessel, someone who could handle the flow of power since she was so strong. She wasn’t. ”
The vision pops into my head of me performing the ritual for Rohhit. The power I felt running through my veins, the darkness—it was easy for me to handle, but my mother wasn’t strong enough. My father tricked her into using that crystal.
“Why would my father need someone to handle that kind of magic?”
“Because Kalix needs a strong vessel. The Great Wiitch can’t live in just any Wielder. The rituals would be useless if a vessel isn’t available to possess.”
The wind leaves my lungs, and I feel like I’ve taken a blow to the stomach.
She grabs my hands, keeping me steady, her chained hands bleeding and weak.
“For years, your father has been angry that our people grew complacent with using minimal magic. He’s desperate to bring that powerful magic back, thinking it will curse us once more with greater wielding abilities so he can rule all.
” She notices my hands, the black veins painting my skin like a faded tattoo. “Briar, what is this?”
I jerk my hands back. “The third trial. I performed a ritual to save Rohhit’s life using a crystal… from my father’s borrowed sword.”
She blinks hard. “Listen to me: If he sees your hands, he will know.” She coughs, blood splattering on the floor.
“He will know what, Rose?”
“These trials were always a distraction, a test to see who amongst us is the strongest for him to use as a vessel during the final ritual. He wants to try to use the crystal again. If he sees your hands, Briar, he will know that you are a vessel for Kalix to walk this realm again.”
I stare at her, unable to process what I’ve learned. I knew all along that something about me was different, and I knew that five years ago, something greater shared my body with me; I just had never realized it until now.
“I think I’ve known that, Rose. I just couldn’t admit it.”
She begins to sob, her eyes fluttering closed.
I move closer, grabbing her face. “Why did you risk your life to write these letters?” She coughs again, blood trickling from her cracked lips. “Rose, please! Why were you with my mother, helping her the night she died?”
She opens her eyes, the whites turning a visible red as they flutter against the dim candlelight. “Because that’s what sisters do.”
She collapses next to me, her eyes tightly shut.
Tears stream down my face, causing my vision to blur in the darkness.
I hold her close, rocking back and forth, a sob escaping my throat.
“You can’t leave me,” I scream. I check her neck, praying for a heartbeat to return.
A faint pulse sends a tremor through my body as I start to delve deeper into my magic than I ever have before.
For so long, I hid my powers, what I was capable of, and how I could wield them. Not anymore.
I shift, only to crash into the ceiling.
Powerful wards protect this room from leaving.
I must leave now, refusing to leave without her.
I scan the room, hoping to find anything to help at this moment.
I look where Rose crawled from blood. A box is drawn on the stone wall with five lines almost completed in the center, out of view for anyone who peeks inside.
“Rose! You were trying to break the wards yourself,” I shriek, knowing she doesn’t hear me.
I immediately notice the blood leaking from her leg. I sprint to the wall, studying the markings—a Wiitch’s Rigil. This should open the wards for only a few seconds, but it will allow us to escape.
“I’m sorry, Rose, but this is going to hurt.”
I dip my finger into the fresh wound on her leg as she groans against the pressure.
I need blood to complete the lines. I hurry back to the wall, finishing the markings as red liquid drips from my finger.
A few more lines and a wide circle conclude the ritual, making the magic clash with the wards surrounding us.
The blood glows with a bright white light before vanishing into the wall itself.
A small quake ripples through the room, and instantly, I feel the ward lift, my magic bubbling in response like an explosion in my mind.
My darkness seems to relish the ward’s opening, allowing me to dig deep, realizing I have only a few moments left to get us out of here and to safety.
I grab her waist when I hear the door rattling from the outside.
“Hold on, Rose. I know where we’re going!
” I whisper. My body turns to mist, nothingness, pure darkness as the wards open.
Adrenaline fuels my magic to shift faster than I ever have.
The quick movement makes me feel like I may spill my stomach as the weight of Rose makes my body scream in pain.
Our bodies leave the prison cell for help, heading toward the House of Hedro.
“What the fuck!” Maines nearly falls to the ground as we crash into her room. “Rose! Briar! What happened?”
Catching my breath, I mumble, “She lost a lot of blood. Please. Please help her!” Without another word, Maines bounds toward Rose’s limp body. She shouts down the hallway for another healer to assist. I’ve seen the woman who enters, but I’ve never met her before.
She bows in my direction. “Princess! It’s nice to meet you.”
Maines sharply cuts in. “Now is not the time to be proper. We have but a few minutes to save this woman’s life.”
The woman curtsies in my direction before quickly assisting Maines—her intensity rippling through the room. Eden, another woman I’ve encountered many times before, rushes in and starts to evaluate me.
“I’m fine!” I bark, trying to keep an eye on Rose, my aunt.
“You need to sit down. You just shifted miles; that’s hard on anyone, even with someone as powerful as you, especially carrying another person.”
My eyes snap back to her gentle face, a Lumor wielder, evident by her pale hair. “What do you mean someone as powerful as me?”
Eden keeps her head down. “Princess, I’ve been around a lot of people during my years as a healer, and I’ve never felt magic radiating off someone the way I feel it from you right now. We sensed something change before you even arrived.”
I ignore her response and let her assess me.
With elegant grace, black shadows flow from her hands as I notice her studying my own, a weary look painted across her face.
“You’ll be fine in an hour or so, Princess.
” Eden stands. “Rest for now. Your friend is going to be okay.” She refuses to make eye contact with me, as if it pains her to look into my eyes.
“Thank you!” I attempt to say, but she rushes from the room.
I turn my head toward Rose, who lies still on the ground, now surrounded by three healers. Maines offers me a small smile, as if to reassure me that Rose will be okay. I sink into the chair, resting my head against the firm leather. I drift off to sleep, the darkness following me wherever I go.