9. Esther
ESTHER
Regent dumps clothes and boots in front of me, leering down, the moonlight casting shadows against his irritated expression.
I hold up the boots. “Not only did you leave them to their own fate, but you stole from them?”
He leans in, his face so close to mine I’m tempted to slap it.
“Make amends with these next few weeks, little greer. We’re not heroes who save the day.
We are nothing but shadows, observing and taking what we need to survive.
And you are in no place to lecture me when that situation never would’ve been brought upon them unless you existed. They came here for you.”
The force in his words has me staggering back, guilt sinking into the pit of my stomach.
My nails curl into my palms, the debilitating sense of being useless gnawing at me.
All I could manage back there was a little explosion.
I dabbled in training with fire before, but nothing close to mastering it.
But I hoped at the very least it was enough of a distraction for the townsfolk to get their weapons and defend themselves.
Regent folds forward, and I refrain from kneeing him in the face when he pulls out a key. “A reminder that you cannot outrun me,” he says as he unlocks the shackles. They fall heavily between us.
With lightning speed, I knee him in the face and curse as pain explodes through my leg and I stumble back, falling onto my ass. Hard. Part of his face breaks away, crumbling from the clay-like magic he uses to distort it.
“You didn’t really think I would fall for that, did you? There’s a water pool behind you, bathe and change.” He turns his back and walks toward his mare, who absolutely despises me. If anything, she’s been more daring than most with the proximity she keeps, but that’s out of loyalty to Regent.
My invisible chains extend out to monitor his whereabouts, as if a small part of me is truly too scared to be alone.
I can barely see as the canopies hide the moonlight, but after some time, my eyes adjust. I pick up the boots and clothes, and when I turn, I freeze as a five-eyed bird screeches on the highest branch. It stares at me, one eye blinking after the other.
That is creepy as fuck. And he really wants me to walk into the water alone?
I look back down at the clothes and am comforted when the heat scorches my throat, and Grimace materializes. I suppose the one good thing is that I don’t have to keep him in hiding.
He scampers onto my shoulder as I walk toward the pool. It’s shallow, and the outskirts are noticeably several degrees cooler compared to the jungle.
The water looks almost black as I approach, and I let my invisible chains slip into the water, checking for movement or danger.
One closely follows Regent, so I’m aware of his whereabouts.
My knee aches as I consider making a run for it, looking back into the trees, certain that eyes watch me from every corner.
A creature screeches from somewhere behind us like it’s fighting for its life.
How long would I last in this jungle without magic?
“Link.” I bind with Regent’s magic, having a feel for it as my legs immediately feel like they’re sinking into quicksand.
I look at a log across the water pool and raise my hand up toward it, trying to concentrate on the gibberish words that flood my mind.
I grasp onto the foreign language, hoping to connect with it instinctually, but instead of the magic making purchase to move the log, the mud beside it twists and hardens.
Fuck. I wrangle my hands in the air, frustrated.
I fell unconscious again today. And although I don’t think we’re close to Lake Mahoori anymore, I can still hear its whispers in the back of my mind as if part of it is still with me. I don’t recall any bargain or what happened the night Regent took me there.
My heart feels heavy as I begin to strip away my clothes. What was it all for? For Master Kain to soon announce me as his legitimate daughter, then his death, and me being sent away? Surely by now Dahlia has taken control of the kingdom. I can only hope that my friends are okay in the aftermath.
What does that mean for me? I reflect as my toes touch the surprisingly icy water. I step in, welcoming its torturous embrace until the water hovers beneath my nose.
Grimace floats on his back. I hold out my finger so he can grasp it, and I drag him back and forth. What happens to us now?
Whatever Lake Mahoori did, it stopped my unbinding from consuming me. No, stop isn’t the right word. It held it back. Deep down, I can still feel its dark chaotic nature, but it’s only a dull ache.
And then there’s my home. My kingdom. I want to return. I want to defend Master Kain and his glory and take away what Dahlia stole. Not because I want it for myself, but because it was his. The father I had in place of the one who was taken from me.
First, I have to focus on the problem at hand, which is Regent. I could make a run for it, but how far would I get? I know nothing of this land, and it’s never become more apparent to me that my sheltered life behind walls hinders me.
Ironic that I once sought out adventure, yet now faced with it, I so desperately want to return home. That anger burns in my stomach, fueling me with much more than simply being homesick. I need to reclaim the kingdom in Master Kain’s honor.
I think back to the moment we both realized he’d been betrayed. And instead of prioritizing himself, he chose to protect me. I curl into myself, my jaw grinding and teeth chattering from the cold.
I lower myself farther into the water, letting it wash over me as I attempt to run my fingers through my knotted hair, keeping only one finger above the water to let Grimace continue holding on.
“You will be hunted for your power. You will be coerced to fight as a weapon or be forced to become one as a randor blade. People despise what they do not understand,” Master Kain once said.
“And what am I, really?” I asked him at eight years old.
He offered a sad smile as we shared a meal after training. “I still don’t entirely know. But the Fates guided you to me. So, you, Esther, are important. You are omni in name, but only you will uncover what that truly entails.”
I resurface, taking a breath and letting it wash over the memories.
The cold touch sinks into my bones as another creature in the distance screams, and when I look up, I’m startled by a shadowy figure.
“Don’t move,” Regent says from somewhere behind me.
The cloaked creature has no eyes, but it uses its nose to sniff the air, its torn and tattered robe seeming to hover an inch from the floor.
My body tenses as I fold my fingers over Grimace, ready at any moment to run with him.
He looks up at me as if he’s been caught doing something wrong, and I give him a reprimanding glare not to move.
He gently places one hand on his stomach as if casual about the exchange.
A flame erupts behind me, and the thing is quick to sweep back through the trees, vanishing.
“What was that?” I ask over my shoulder. I’m startled by the fact that not even my magic picked up on its presence.
“It’s not of this origin,” Regent says behind me as he spikes the wooden stick with burning flame on top. “It’s drawn to darkness. I’ve only encountered it a few times, but it’s never been daring enough to engage. Others, however, have not been so lucky.”
I circle in the water to face him, disarmed by his natural beauty when the mask is removed.
My body flushes, despite the cold touch of the water.
His coppery eyes flicker under the flame as he watches me.
It’s jarring to have a captor this delightfully attractive.
“What kind of greer draws such creatures silently into the night?”
“You said this jungle breathes madness,” I remind him.
“And yet you seem perfectly sane among its miasma.”
Miasma?
He turns again, the silhouette of his shoulders disappearing into the darkness.
“Wait,” I say as I grab Grimace and march out of the freezing cold water.
I’m quick to put the shirt and pants on, the pants two sizes too big, and throw the coat back over my now-freezing bones.
I scoop up the stick with flame and follow him, almost tripping over my own feet as I carry the boots while the loose pants hang low on my waist.
A fire crackles, and what appears to be a sizable rodent cooks over the flame. His mare lies beneath a nearby tree, and he takes a seat beside her. The moment she sees me, she goes to stand, but I hold out my hand. “Wait.” My teeth chatter, and I realize how stupid I sound. “I don’t speak horse.”
“Shocking,” Regent says dryly.
“But is there a way she will become more comfortable around me?” I ask, and it’s not because I particularly care for his horse. But all my life, I’ve been so accustomed to them being unsettled around me that a small part of me wants to befriend at least one, even if out of necessity.
Regent crosses his arms over his chest. I’ll take this as a stalemate, since his horse remains. Progress, I suppose.
I pull up my pants once again and take a seat closer to the fire. Regent stands and walks over to inspect the meat as Grimace sits beside me, his legs stretched out, his little belly hanging over as he pats it comfortably.
“Stand,” Regent commands as he comes to a stop in front of me.
I really don’t like this guy. I glare at him defiantly.
I might have made my decision to play along with this little prisoner escapade until I uncover his motive and find an opportunity to escape, but the Boey Jungle is not that place.
If I want to survive, I have to learn the lay of the land.
I need to be clever and learn his weaknesses while hiding my own. So, I do as he says.