Chapter 5 #2
“You think the darkcasters would start a war in the dead of summer, Kenric? Use some common sense if you have any,” I spat back. “Or have you not had to use a single brain cell to earn that tattoo of yours?”
He leapt to his feet and quickly closed the distance between us. I scrambled back, getting to my feet and holding my hands out protectively in front of me. He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, pulling me toward him with a wild expression on his face.
I lifted my head, refusing to back down. “Is it so hard to hear the truth that you have to lash out?” I seethed.
“My ancestors lost a lot because of your kind,” he growled. “The darkcasters tried to steal our land.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “You believe that story?”
Kenric’s chest heaved with rage as he took in my words. “Fabricated lies to keep my kind behind lock and key is what motivates your hatred?” I asked, not caring about masking my disdain.
When he remained silent, I lifted my shirt to reveal the skin burnt and bruised from the hands of multiple lightcasters. “There are good and bad people on both sides. See?” His gaze found the mark he’d inflicted during our first encounter.
A satisfied smile spread on his lips. “Is that supposed to make me feel guilty? Or bad?” he laughed. “The sight of that only satisfies me.”
I gasped in pain as he ran his thumb over the bruise.
I jerked away and he released me. “You will never understand,” I seethed, my eyes stinging from pain.
“You’ve been coddled and brainwashed since you were born.
You’ve never had to watch helplessly as your family’s cheeks hollowed.
Never laid awake at night wondering if your loved ones would make it through the day because of something out of your control. ”
I paused, taking a deep breath. “Behind those bulging muscles, you’re still just a pathetic baby.”
His jaw clenched tightly. “Careful.”
I knew I was on thin ice, challenging him like that, when he’d decided not to throw me in prison. But a nagging feeling at the back of my mind questioned why he offered to help me in the first place, when he clearly despised everything about me.
“This place of yours…” I asked, my voice trembling. “It’s the prison, isn’t it?”
His daring eyes bore into mine, a wicked glint dancing between the hazel. “Clever girl,” he purred.
My pulse raised as I backed away, finally understanding that this was his plan all along. “You think I’m the bad one when you do something like this?” I croaked.
He gave me a sickening smirk that made my stomach churn. “I’m just punishing the wicked.”
He fished out the cuffs from his pocket. Clearly, he’d been waiting for the perfect moment to break the news to me. I kicked myself for not seeing his cruel intentions right away. This man wasn’t just power-hungry and hateful. He was deranged, reveling happily in other people’s misery.
He lunged, grabbing my wrist and pinning me against the tree in a painful armlock. “Besides, I don’t have time for your tantrums and escape plans.”
“You bastard!” I screamed, writhing to break free, pain shooting through my arm. The rough bark ripped my skin, drawing bloody lines down my cheek as he crushed me against it.
With a snarl he punched the tree, his fist barely missing my face. I flinched away, my breath hitching in my throat. The tree crackled, filling my nostrils with the smell of burnt wood.
“Do you know what the heat limits of the human body are?” he asked softly, fingers trailing down my arm like a flame. I froze, the threat of his touch unmistakable.
“I won’t cause trouble,” I breathed.
Defying him again would likely result in my death. Or at the very least unbearable torture. My skin still sizzled where his fingers had run over me.
“I know you won’t,” he whispered, caging me between his arms as he forced my wrists together in front of me. “Consider this a reminder of what will happen if you change your mind.” He tightened the cuffs around my wrists, then pulled away.
Grabbing the long metal chain from the saddlebag, he fastened it securely to the cuffs around my wrists, then wrapped it around his hand.
“Time for bed.”
I was wide awake, gazing at the starry night sky. The intricate patterns gleamed down at me. It calmed me to find the symbols hiding in the distance.
I could hear Kenric’s steady breathing a few feet away, constantly reminding me of his presence.
I had passed out a few hours after my encounter with him.
His earlier actions had taken me aback, even if I’d never admit to trusting him.
I’d believed him, if only for a few days.
Disregarded his continuous taunts and hateful comments as old habits.
My mind swirled with hatred, disgusted by my own stupidity and ignorance.
I glanced to the side out of the corner of my eye, watching his hand clutching so tightly around the chain connected to my restraints that his veins bulged.
It was overdoing it, I thought, as I glanced up at the glowing orb around us.
He’d gotten the idea from me, locking us inside a sunny circle that would burn my skin clean off my bones if I tried to escape.
I hadn’t been able to perform light magic since that first time. Even my dark magic was useless, courtesy of the metal encasing my wrists.
The stars slowly faded into orange sky as I continued to watch the sun rise, my dread rising along with it.
“Excited for your first day?” a snide voice asked from beside me. Apparently, he’d used his first waking breath to taunt me.
“I’d rather spend an eternity in prison than one more week with you,” I said, not sparing a glance at the face I knew was currently smirking at me.
“Splendid,” he answered brightly. “Let’s go then.”
We had barely traveled for a few hours when a giant square building rose from the bottom of a hill.
My back straightened as I took in the sight.
The prison was at least 150 feet tall, built of golden bricks that reflected the sunlight brightly enough that the building was almost impossible to see clearly until you were right in front of it.
My fists clenched as I stared down at my cuffs. It was the same material, rendering my dark powers useless.
“The prison is made almost purely of solaures metal,” Kenric said, noticing my despaired look. “Good luck wielding the darkness in there.”
“I guess I’ll just wield the sun then,” I retorted, taking a deep breath.
He let out a taunting laugh that made his whole body shake in amusement. “I don’t think so.”
I didn’t bother answering him. My hands felt clammy, and my heart was pounding frantically in my chest. No number of deep breaths could calm the nerves building inside me as we rode closer to the prison.
We were so close to the building, yet the entrance was nowhere to be seen. Two guards stood waiting by a blank stretch of wall.
Kenric stopped the horse and pulled me down with him when he dismounted. He kept his arm firmly around me as he approached the guards, as if afraid I was going to slip away from him at the finish line.
“How are you, gentlemen?” he asked with a delighted tone, swinging his arm across my shoulders instead. “I’m here to drop off a package.”
My cheeks burned. Shaking his arm off me, I tried to ignore the guards’ mocking chuckles as they took me in.
In return, I stared them down with as much hatred as I could muster.
Like the Defenders, they didn’t wear much armor.
Just the thin leather vests to protect their vitals.
Why would they need them, when every caster in the prison had been robbed of their powers?
Kenric handed one of the guards the chain attached to the cuffs fastened around my wrists.
Fleeting relief flooded me before the gut-punching realization hit me.
My last chance of escape had surpassed me, probably long ago.
It would be hard enough to get away from Kenric, but with the added guards, it would be impossible.
Kenric leaned in close, violating my personal space one final time, and whispered into my ear. ”Don’t worry, darksome. I’ll take good care of your sister for you.”
His hot breath on my skin made goosebumps erupt on my arms, though I felt burning hatred rising inside me. I didn’t know how, but right then I vowed to be the one to rid the world of the misery that was Kenric.