16. Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
Kya
I t had been another two days, and no one had come down the corridor outside my cell. No one brought me anything to eat or drink. And if I wasn’t going to starve to death, I was surely going to die of pure boredom—I had nothing to do but think to the point of insanity. But I did everything I could think of to keep myself occupied, hoping to distract myself from my thoughts and the burning bond inside me.
The constant ache of my unused magic was slowly driving me crazy. I wanted to tear myself free of my own skin at the unnatural feeling buzzing inside me. I wondered if this was what it was like on the Drift Islands, if this was what my family had been going through for over twenty years.
I started exercising in the small space, doing various stretches and activities—I wasn’t going to let myself get any weaker. To keep my mind busy, I hoisted myself up to the window to observe the landscape as far as I could see outside of the prison. This proved to be beneficial in more ways than one—not only was I able to keep my thoughts focused elsewhere, but I was also making mental notes for when I could escape. I would need to know where the best places were to hide, such as behind other structures, or in the trees. I learned that the mountain was barren and while it was a good vantage point for higher ground, it provided no cover, and I would need to steer clear of it. I replayed the fantastical stories of books I had read, trying to recall all I knew about other magics or realms and wondering if those were all actually real or myth as I had believed before.
But most of my time was spent lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and replaying my memories—namely the ones of Daegel. I needed to learn about him the most. However, from the few interactions I’d had with the dark wielder, I knew very little besides that my Waalu had a negative effect on him, and he was remarkably fast and powerful.
Over and over in my head, I thought of what Vicria had said.
She had served under him after they struck a deal together. She helped him find where to attack with the Glaev based on his reserves. And reserves meant he had limits. He was searching for the dark book, but from everything I had learned from the translations, I couldn’t think of what was in there that he needed so badly.
Not that I could remember everything it said. I didn’t consider myself stupid but I sure-as-shit wasn’t that smart. And did he even need it?
He had been looking for me, the diamond . I closed my eyes to recall Vicria’s exact words.
“A diamond, found within the darkness of fate—a female, one of the last daughters. A Worthy with no Nation.”
Yep. That was me.
But that didn’t give me any indication as to why he had been looking for me. I knew he wanted me to submit to his will, but for what?
“What do you want with me, Daegel?” I whispered into the empty room.
Then there was Leysa. She and I were both taken from Taeralia, and we both wanted to return to our mates. My lips stretched into a smile.
We can work together.
She had been here for fifty years. She knew this place, at least better than I did. She had to have some kind of information that would prove to be useful. If not against Daegel, then at the very least on how to get back home.
Leysa clearly wasn’t a prisoner like I was. She wasn’t confined to a cell—at least not in here. And she didn’t have a collar. Perhaps she had gained Daegel’s trust. That could be used to our advantage.
I heard footsteps approaching my door. I sat up and waited with my legs crossed beneath me. It was nerve-wracking, wondering who would come through that door next. I just hoped it was someone with food and water.
And thank the Gods it was.
The lock clicked, and Leysa entered, holding a tray of the same food as last time with a large jug of water. I couldn’t restrain myself as I leapt off the bed and met her halfway, taking the items from her hands. I didn’t even sit down or greet her before I began shoving the food in my mouth and chugging the water.
Leysa didn’t say a word as she sat down next to me and watched while I ate. When I was finished, having eaten everything and drunk over half of the water, I finally looked up at her.
She was freshly bathed, with clean clothes, and the top half of her hair was twisted into two braids behind her head. What I would have done for a bath, clean clothes, and a brush to get the tangles out of my hair. Except for compliance.
“Thanks for that,” I said, nodding my head toward the empty tray and water jug.
“Don’t thank me just yet. I’m not here for a social visit.” She offered a tight-lipped smile. “Daegel wants you to begin.”
My eyebrows creased. “Begin what?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “But I doubt it’s anything good.”
“And it’s happening…here?” I asked skeptically.
“No, he’s taking us somewhere else. And before you ask, I don’t know where. He didn’t tell me.”
I glanced down at my clothes and eyed the fact I still didn’t have shoes. “In this?” I gestured to myself.
Leysa nodded. “You’re suffering enough already. Take my advice and the lessons I’ve had to learn the hard way. Do what he asks. It’s not a fight you can win.”
A few minutes later, I was stepping through the door to my cell. I entered a long, seemingly endless corridor lined with doors that looked identical to mine. I assumed they each held a prisoner. Leysa stood with another male I hadn’t seen before. He had a tightly trimmed beard that matched his long, light blond hair pulled half up to reveal his rounded ears, and eyes so dark they almost looked black. He was tall, slightly taller than Daegel but not quite as tall as Ryker. His broad, muscular frame was clothed in a short-sleeved, leather shirt lined with fur, and I noted strange tattoos with designs I had never seen before peeking out from beneath the sleeves.
“Diamond,” the male greeted in an accent with a stone-cold expression.
“My name is Kya,” I snapped.
I hated the name Daegel gave me, and I didn’t care if that’s what Kya meant. I was also caught off guard that he spoke my language.
He held my stare. “A name is nothing more than a word to differentiate you from every other ant in this world. A title is what sets you apart and establishes your power here. Titles are what define you.”
Not where I come from.
I narrowed my eyes. “And what is your title ? Daegel’s bitch?” I sneered.
The male huffed a humorless laugh and glanced at Leysa. “She’s got quite a mouth on her.”
Leysa didn’t say anything, and her face remained expressionless.
He looked back at me. “It’s Talum. And I’d keep that mouth shut if you know what’s good for you.” He began to walk away.
Leysa gently nudged me to follow, and I only did at her urging. I fell into step next to her, and we walked behind Talum down the corridor until we came to a set of stairs leading up to a metal door. He pushed the door open, and I squinted against the sunlight as we stepped through.
Leysa shut the door behind us, and I turned to face her. My lips parted when I saw the building I had been held prisoner in. I thought it would have been an intimidating sight but it was shockingly underwhelming. The roof was just below my eyeline, mostly buried underground, and it was no bigger than an average home with a flat roof littered with guards.
“ That’s the prison? How is it so small?” It seemed so large from the inside.
Leysa shrugged. “Magic? One of the many mysteries I haven’t figured out yet.”
“Their magic is very different,” I mumbled quietly as my eyes roamed the surrounding landscape.
“Indeed,” Talum said.
I turned back around to look at him, and he led us toward the patch of trees I saw from the window in my cell. Everyone remained quiet as we walked. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Leysa looked unbothered. Perhaps she was just used to being here, but I was on edge, keeping my eyes trained everywhere, looking for any dangers and learning all I could. I hated that I couldn’t feel anything with my terbis—its absence made me feel blind.
“It’ll be okay,” Leysa said, offering me a sad, understanding smile. “Remember what I said. If you do what he asks, it won’t be as bad.”
We breached the treeline, and I felt something inside of me settle. The familiar scent of the damp forest floor and the bark of the trees was welcoming to my senses and my eyelids fluttered closed for a moment as I inhaled deeply.
When I opened my eyes again, Talum was looking at me with his head cocked to the side. I glared back at him.
“What?” I snapped.
He exhaled. “Look, I get that I seem like an enemy, but I promise I’m not.”
I rolled my eyes. “Right. We’re just the best of friends.”
Leysa cleared her throat, her eyes asking a silent question to Talum, and he nodded his head.
“Kya, he’s not so bad.” Her voice was soft, but her eyes bored into me with a warning, a plea. I understood her message: Behave.
We walked in silence for the rest of the journey through the forest. The vegetation was becoming more and more dense the deeper we went. I wondered where we were going, but I wasn’t about to ask. Following a narrow path, we emerged into a small clearing. There was nothing significant about it aside from a perfectly circular stone set into the ground.
We approached it, and it was then I noticed the stone was engraved with symbols.
“Wait…” I whispered under my breath. I pushed up my sleeve to reveal my Trial mark.
The symbols marked upon my skin by the Gods were the same symbols on the stone. My lips parted in awe, and I whipped my head around to Leysa.
“What is this?” I asked.
“It is Horgor,” Talum offered, saying the strange term in a thick accent.
I looked at him with a quirked eyebrow, not understanding what that was supposed to mean. I glanced at Leysa, but she just shrugged, clearly not knowing what it was either.
He sighed, “It’s a… How do I explain in your words? It is a sacred stone of…foot.”
“A stepstone?” Leysa asked.
“Sure.” Talum shrugged. “It’s a sacred stepstone of God.”
Both of my eyebrows raised. “God? As in singular?”
“Yes,” Talum said flatly.
Leysa cleared her throat. “There is only one God in this realm.”
My mouth fell open as I stared at them.
Only one? Is that even possible? Can the Gods have their own realms? Do they all have different realms or is this the only one?
My mind reeled with question after question.
“Well…which one is it?” I asked Leysa.
She shook her head and opened her mouth to speak but stopped when the symbols on the stone glowed with a soft white light.
Daegel materialized out of thin air upon the stone—his eyes already locked on mine. He held out his hand to me with a hard look in his eyes.
“Come, Diamond. It’s time to see if you’re truly worthy.”