Chapter 10 #2
“Her status is that of a prisoner, son. If she does this for me, she shall have whatever she wishes. For now, she stays in the cells where we can keep an eye on her.” The king snaps, irritation lining his voice as he speaks to his son.
I want to probe into that frustration, but my mind is too numb to fully recognise it, so I file the information away for later.
Voices sound around me as the king and his son continue their conversation, yet it is all a blur to me.
Vaguely I think I hear the mention of some furniture.
It could be for me, it could be for anyone, all I know is that I am going back to the cells.
“Thank you, father.” The prince speaks again, much louder now, and I realise that is because he is standing right beside me. “I shall return her now.”
The walk back to my cell passes in a blur as the realisation of what happened hits me.
The king never answered my question. Vaguely I’m aware of the prince glancing across at me, but he says nothing, probably sensing that I am completely lost in my thoughts.
My body takes each step as directed, but my mind is elsewhere.
The closer we get to my cell, the more dejected I feel.
I may not be killed today, but the king is not going to let me go now that he thinks I can use magic.
I feel numb knowing that I made a deal with a demon, a creature of evil, to be free and return to my sister.
Now I discover that it was all for nothing.
The king is never going to free me, despite his promise.
Stepping into my cell without a fight, I wait for the door to slam shut behind me, but the sound never comes. Frowning, confusion tares through the fog in my mind and I turn. The prince is standing in the doorway, watching me with an expression I can’t quite place.
“I’m sorry that he didn’t free you.” Amir glances away as he speaks, and I get the impression that he finds this topic of conversation difficult. “My father does not like to let things go once he has them.”
Is that bitterness I hear? The marketplace is always awash with gossip, the prince being one of the prime subjects, but everything you hear should be taken with a pinch of salt.
The way his jaw tenses as he speaks of his father though…
it reminds me of a rumour I heard about the King and his son disagreeing on a recent marriage proposal.
According to the word on the street, Amir proposed to someone from another land that his father did not approve of, taking him away from Rune.
Could it be that the prince is classifying himself as one of the things the king hordes?
Glancing over his shoulder to check the position of the guards, he steps further into the cell. “I shouldn’t be telling you this,” he begins, lowering his voice, “but the kingdom is struggling in a way that the people could never understand. The magic you can bring us… Kiara, it could save us all.”
No pressure there then.
How do they think that I could possibly manage that?
Even if I did have magic, all you need to do is look at me.
I’m too thin, my hair is a mess and I look as though I’ve been rolling in dirt, not to mention the black band bound to my arm.
I am sullied, no one wants me around and I am certainly not the type of person who could save anyone.
I scoff at his explanation about the kingdom while silently tucking that piece of information away for later.
Why is the prince being so open with me?
He seems at such odds with his father, more patient and kind, whereas the king is hard and doesn’t give second chances.
Standing before me is the heir to the throne, yet he has no weapons, trusting that I won’t hurt him.
With some males this would be because of their arrogance, believing there is no way a small female like myself could possibly injure him.
No, I think Prince Amir genuinely trusts me not to attack him.
A slight weight lifts from my shoulders.
Since I was taken in the marketplace, I have been looked at in disgust and fear, or like I am something to be used for another’s benefit.
Prince Amir doesn’t treat me this way. He is still composed around me, ever the diplomatic prince, but acts as though what I have to say actually matters.
Why does it matter to me how he views me?
There are so many other things I need to be worried about.
I still have so many questions about what just happened in the king’s office, that is what I should be focusing on.
Something occurred when the gems were revealed, many of the watching lords having a visible reaction to them, the king included.
How is that possible? I have never met anyone who reacted to my gems before, and now there was a whole room of them.
Is that because the gems I used to sell weren’t infused with demon magic?
That would make the most sense, the demon’s magic was so powerful after all, yet my gut is telling me this is more to do with the people surrounding me.
Does that mean they can use magic, and if they can, then why do the need me?
“I don’t understand. How are you even able to feel the magic?
I thought that all magic was gone?” I’m talking mostly to myself as I’m not expecting the prince to humour me and answer my questions.
He’s the prince, why would he spend time explaining what has clearly been hidden from the public all this time.
He nods slowly, his expression thoughtful and leans against the doorway, crossing his arms over his chest. “Magic has been gone for centuries,” he begins, and I’m so startled that he’s giving me answers, that I am unable to hide my shocked expression.
This doesn’t bother him though and he continues.
“Only traces of natural magic remain, such as in your gemstones. Once, there were humans who were able to use magic, and almost all of us were able to sense and channel the power.” Pausing, he sighs and the light in his eyes dims slightly.
“Everything is different now. There are still some of us who are able to feel magic, mostly in the upper classes, but there has not been someone who could use their own innate magic for decades. We thought they were all dead.”
Magic is evil, that’s what we were always told in the Gutter, punishable by death.
So many people have been hung and killed because of charges of attempting to use magic.
Yet, in the palace they are using stored magic actively searching for people who can harness it.
Anger burns through me. The injustice of it is enough to bring me to my knees.
How is this happening? People are dying over a lie the palace is telling.
Do the nobles in the Hills know about this too, or are they kept in the dark as well?
My eyes fall on his golden band and narrow with consideration.
They have kept this a secret for centuries, so they won’t have told many, only those who are graced with the golden band.
I want to shout and scream at the unfairness of it all, anger turning to wrath, ears ringing as my ire tries to take over.
Something builds within me, growing and shifting until I feel as though it’s going to burst from my skin.
My mind is in chaos, and I find myself at a crossroads.
I could let this rage take over me and become a monster, or I need to get a hold of myself.
While the growing force within me is urging I take the first option, it makes me pause.
They deserve it, for everything they have done and the lives they have taken.
However, I won’t let them turn me into that type of person.
Even after they branded me sullied, I never let myself fully descend into the darkness that threatened to consume me.
No, I will not let this rule me. Besides, the prince could be my ally, and if I make an enemy of him now, it might hurt me later down the line.
Amir won’t be the one behind this. This decision would have been made long ago, before our current king was even born.
The royals are just continuing what their forefathers started, and Amir is simply following the orders of his father like a puppet.
Taking a deep breath, I push back my turbulent emotions, shoving them down, something I have become very good at over the years. Focus on what you need to know, Kiara, be angry later.
“You said you could channel power. What do you mean?” I ask quietly, aware that we could be interrupted at any moment. “If you know crystals have their own power, why can’t you use that?”
I must be sure that I do not give away that I can’t use magic like they think, wording my questions carefully.
However, something is going on here and I need all the information I can get to make sure I don’t make a mistake.
His mention of Channelling has my interest piqued.
Is that actually what I have been doing all along?
Sensing the magic in the gems and directing that power into the temperament of the crystal?
I know that amethysts are useful for their calming energy, so by placing my will on them, have I invertedly been focusing the magic within, almost as though I had activated their power?
Unaware of my internal monologue, the prince nods slowly, as though these questions are not unexpected. “The magic in the natural gems is minimal and most of us cannot reach it, we are not strong enough.”
There goes my theory then. The gemstones aren’t powerful enough for someone to simply channel the energy. What does that make me then, as I certainly cannot use magic despite what they think.
“However,” he continues, “the crystals are capable of storing magic. Those of us who can feel it are able to direct that extra power. What you can do is different. You are putting your own magic into the gems, you power them up.”
The implication of what he’s saying hits me slowly, but as the realisation begins to swell, I know that it’s going to be devastating.
They want my magic, and the only way they can use it is through the gemstones acting as a conduit.
It’s clear that the crystals can hold the energy without becoming unstable, so if I poured power into those gems, they could store them and use it whenever they wanted.
What would they do with that much magic?
Now not only do I need to question how I am going to do this, but whether I should.
The royalty have already kept so many secrets that it’s left me morally confused.
Amir is watching me closely, taking in my reactions as he explained everything. Thankfully, I am good at hiding my emotions so he has not been able to see my swirling thoughts. Is he waiting for me to say something? What am I supposed to say to something like that?
Shaking his head, he smiles slightly but I can see a sadness there despite the fact he’s trying to hide it. “Do you know how long we’ve been searching for someone like you?” Chuckling quietly, he pushes away from the doorway and turns, beginning to leave. “You may have answered our prayers.”
I grit my teeth and gesture to the cell around me. “I still have to pass your father’s test.” The bitterness in my voice is obvious, yet it doesn’t make the prince faulter. If anything, it only makes his smile wider.
“You will.”
With those last words, he steps from the cell and the door is quickly shut behind him. The heavy clunk of the metal lock thuds into place, once again leaving me along and totally without a clue on how to survive this.