Chapter 20
A Name for A Name
“Sapphire’s eyes do not burn crimson by nature. It is nothing but a stain of taken blood. The color wanes, but their thirst is unending.”
— Henvri Joye, High Healer
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
I couldn’t call for help. Any nearby Drakers would just as soon kill me themselves. Instead, I pulled the stone club out of the holster, holding it tight with both hands.
The Sapphire on the right scoffed. “Are you going to whack me with a bejeweled hammer?” His hair matched the shining moon.
“If you come close enough, I might,” I said, white knuckled and knees bent.
The two men charged forward. I hesitated a second too long before snarling and swinging the club, my Nature rippling through me.
Drawing on my Nature, the club released a wave of power towards the white-haired Sapphire. He roared in pain as the poison grazed his arm, tearing through his cloak and eating through his skin.
Mother of Moons. I hadn’t meant to use my Nature.
The Sapphire growled in pain. “I should beat you with that twig of a wand.”
He didn’t know its proper name, but I finally did. Singer. Because she played by her own tune.
The other man, dark-haired and hefty, seethed as he set his sights on me.
My traitorous stomach whined—a warning. I was going to vomit.
For the love of Fate.
Beck wasn’t here to save me this time, and Riven had no idea where I was. If the club took matters into its own hands again, I would be hurling long before they feasted on my blood.
As the dark-haired Sapphire lunged, I swung Singer with both hands, landing a blow to the top of his head. It didn’t land as hard as I would have liked, but it staggered him long enough for me to bolt.
Back into the woods, my orb flashed on, guiding me as I leapt over fallen trees and crunched through snow as fast as my legs could carry me.
Riven was going to be pissed. He might not even help me get to Castivian anymore. We couldn’t make it a single day without trouble. How were we supposed to get to a kingdom across the sea?
I slipped, my knees slamming into the wet ground. Snow soaked through my pants.
My new pants.
The orb flickered rapidly. Maybe it was mirroring my emotions because my heart was also pounding.
Black stains painted the snow as I pushed myself up, staggering frantically over another log.
I wasn’t fast enough.
A thick rope wrapped around my body, yanking me backwards over the log. I fell, hitting the back of my head on a rock.
I tried to sit back up, wincing as pain flooded my senses, a shitty reminder of the midwinter celebration. This was somehow worse.
The burly one crouched next to me. “Doesn’t feel good getting hit in the head, does it?” he gritted through his teeth.
My nostrils flared. “Ask yourself, dumbass.”
With Singer in my right hand and the man at my left, I shifted and swung, this time letting the weapon take what it wanted from me.
The violet gem glowed as it made contact with his face, a burst of Nature going through him like an arrow. It was a clean blow, the club sliding through his face like warm cheese. He fell over, lifeless. Poison pooled out of a palm-sized hole in his cheek.
The white-haired asshole caught up, but I was far too weak to even attempt to stand. His boots crunched closer, his cloak swaying.
I tilted my head skyward as he towered over me. His cloak was scorched where my Nature had taken a toll on his arm.
“You’re dangerous, Blackheart.”
He looked at me like I was the first person he’d seen in a long time.
He must have been Fate’s favorite to craft. His hair as white as the snow, brows dark as night, and skin smooth as silk. He probably hadn’t spent a day of his life unnoticed.
“You look like your mother fucked a troll,” I mumbled, my nausea demanding release. Just before the darkness pulled me away, I spewed all over his snow-covered boots.
Lightning zapped my hip, jolting me awake. My eyes drifted open. The orb zapped me again.
“Stop that,” I hissed.
Now I was talking to an orb.
The surface beneath me was harder than the ground had been. Facing the dark sky, I rolled over and nearly pissed myself.
I was suspended in the air on a wooden platform, held up in a tree by a net.
Just like an animal, I was in yet another cage.
I crawled to the edge of the platform and poked my fingers through the holes of the net.
Below me was an entire camp of busy Sapphires. It had snowed a lot more, but other than that, we could have been anywhere.
I sat up, sucking in a breath and reaching for my pockets. My gold was gone, and so was Singer. My heart sank. I’d lost her.
A glimmer caught my eye. Hanging from the next tree over, on its own platform, was Singer.
These bastards had put my club in its own net. I smiled. Singer must have really startled them.
Idling below, the white-haired Sapphire looked up at me. Someone had wrapped his injured arm, and he now wore a dark navy tunic instead of a blue cloak. The flames reflected in his red-rimmed eyes.
“Can I cut you down, or are you going to misbehave?” he asked, nudging a log further into the fire with his boot. His hair was tied away from his face in a knot, revealing the true grey of his eyes.
“You must be thirsty if you want to release me.” I would throw myself into the flames before I let him use my blood against my own kind.
He considered this. “Not yet. What’s your name, Blackheart?”
I ignored him. If I could keep one thing for myself, it would be my name. He didn’t get that part of me.
He held a vial in his hand, swishing around the crimson contents.
“I’ll make a deal with you. One I think you’ll be interested in.” He didn’t bother looking up at me anymore. The rest of the camp attended to their own business, talking amongst themselves and cleaning weapons.
“I’m done making deals.”
“Ah, but you’ve yet to hear mine.”
I scoffed. “You’ve already taken from me. Any deal would be unfair, as you owe me.”
“You killed one of my men, and I spared your life. I’d say that makes us even.” He kicked another log into the fire.
“I don’t care what you say. Have you considered that, Sapphire?”
That got his attention. He chewed his bottom lip in contemplation until finally grinning. “A name for a name then?”
I ignored him. I would already have a terrible time forgetting his face.
“Mine is Payn,” he said. “Your turn.”
I laughed. “Pain? Your mother must have truly bedded a troll. Were you named after the horrid experience?”
His menacing red eyes narrowed. He was angry.
Good.
“Dangerous and a sharp tongue. I’m impressed. Though your manners are lacking. If you're set on keeping your name, fine. I’m only seeking one Blackheart, and any information from you would be valuable.”
I would not waste even my dying breath on helping a Sapphire. “I have no need for manners, and I have no loyalty to you.”
He paced, taking contemplative steps. “Loyalty is a tricky thing, you know, because you have to choose. Who should you be loyal to? My advice would be, the person who can set you free.”
“I don’t know where anyone is. I don’t know where I am. Even if I did know, I would die before telling you,” I spat, crossing my arms.
If there was one thing Blackhearts had in common with the Sapphires, it was being hated by everyone. I knew that, but evidently Payn did not.
Uncapping the vial, he drank its contents. After finishing, he tossed the empty container and walked off.
Artwork by Ashley Griggs
I sat on the platform all night, watching the Sapphires interact with one another. I was suspended too close to the fire. Even if I found a way to cut myself down, I would fall right into it. If I used my Nature, I could maybe kill two of them before the rest swarmed me.
Riven had probably already accepted that I’d run away or was dead. How long would it be before he would be on the ship to Castivian, sailing away to deliver the deed himself? I thanked the Mother that at least he had the deed. There was still a chance for the Dark Natured.
It was disappointing to die having never met Xavian.
My twin’s name was spoken just as he crossed my mind.
Sapphires below gossiped around the fire. “I hear the bastard is making his own alliances. Xavian Steele knows war is coming for him if he insists on being an inkweed lover.”
Another one grunted. “Ole’ Clarke will die soon enough. Drakington will be easy to take once he does. The bastard is young yet. I’m sure Saffron could strike a deal with him for his lands. I’d like to go home to my wife at some point, so the easier this is, the better.”
Saffron was mad if he thought he would be given two more kingdoms and the Dark Natured to feed off of without a fight.
“Castivian doesn’t have the resources to supply a war,” another one added.
“If I were Xavian Steele, I wouldn’t bother fighting it. I’d keep my position, pay my taxes, and send the Dark Natured on their way. Better yet, I’d fuck Delaina too. She liked his brother enough.”
I gagged.
They changed the subject to their own kingdom and politicians, which was dreadfully dull. I counted the stars to fall asleep, net swaying in the breeze.
The next day was the same. For hours, I was left hanging. No food. No water. Nowhere to relieve myself.
I held it as long as I could, until I finally pulled my pants down to piss off the corner. I prayed it landed on someone walking by.
As the thundering sky darkened, not even the stars accompanied me. The wind whipped, and lightning struck in the distance. Judging by the thick clouds rolling in and the wavering temperature, it was going to hail.
I was fucked.
Ice storms this time of year were lethal, and I had nothing to cover my head or any other part of my body. Down below, the fire fought against gusts of wind, slowly dying with no Sapphires bothering to tend to it.
Cutting myself down was the only option, though I’d likely die from the fall. Death by impact couldn’t be much worse than being stoned by ice.
Thunder boomed once more in warning. The storm had arrived.
I stood on the wobbly platform, gaining my balance.