11. Aniah
Aniah
We waited a day before we approached the house. Too much was on the line. We couldn’t risk anyone knowing we were in this realm or who we followed.
The iron gate was open. The crunch of gravel beneath my feet the only sound as I walked down the tree-lined drive.
Flowers fell as a breeze blew. I pulled my cloak tighter around me and held out a hand, catching a pink flower with brown spots plaguing the delicate petals.
It took more effort than it should have, but I managed to make the brown spots recede and the color shine brighter, creating a perfect little specimen in my hand. A small smile tugged at my lips.
Elemental magic, the simplest and most natural, was my personal favorite—a light magic, unlike the dark magic with curses that the Coven Council pushed for.
I loved to help things grow and create beauty.
Even if I hadn’t been creating new curses before my magic was taken, I felt that each spell I cast was tainted with a darker presence.
That darker presence felt as if it had tainted me, too.
“Well, well, well. Isn’t this a bit of a surprise?”
My gaze tracked the male as he strode from the door, hands in his pockets.
“Thaddeus.”
He was just as I remembered. Eyes sharp, inviting, relaxed. However, I knew what lay dormant within—the power he held.
“Little Aniah. How long has it been?” He smiled at me, though I could see the calculation in his gaze.
“Too long.” I paused before the stairs.
He nodded. “Yes, last I heard you were dead. Yet here you stand.” He looked me over, eyes narrowing slightly as his mouth tugged up at the corner.
“Why would one of the Sisters be in hiding and running around the Eastern Realm with a very… interesting choice for a travel companion?” he asked bluntly.
I masked my face into a passive expression.
Thaddeus had always been fairly neutral, despite the genocide of his people, but that didn’t make him any less dangerous.
There’s a reason he’s managed to stay alive this long.
He got word to me after the tragedy with Ophelia, saying he was alive and that if I ever needed an ‘ally’, he'd be there.
He looked exactly the same as when I first met him as a child.
He had sat on the panel with the Coven Council at my trial to observe and document.
Elementals could wield all natural elements.
Some had stronger powers and could manipulate time itself—though this was rare.
Witches’ elemental magic came from the Elementals long ago, from a union between the two.
But Witches turned to a darker entity, thus expanding our scope of power.
Elementals only used light magic. But they were gone now. And so was the balance.
Ally or not, I only trusted him so much.
“I have my reasons,” I responded, mouth tight, forcing myself to keep eye contact. His smile turned feline before he let loose a laugh.
“Fine, keep your secrets, love. However, you might as well call the brute inside. I sent my remaining staff away right after breakfast.” He looked at me knowingly, then tossed over his shoulder as he turned to go inside, “And tell him to leave that ridiculous arsenal of weapons on the entry table.”
The sound of my teeth grinding filled my ears as I turned back and waved in Ryker’s direction. I had told him it was a bad idea to get close to this house. Had he listened? Of course not! Ryker has never had to deal with an Elemental. They could be tricky.
Ryker’s head twitched in every direction as he walked toward the door. He truly stood out like a sore thumb. A six-foot-five, ghost-haired, muscular sore thumb. Another reason we couldn’t travel during the day.
“Just try not to say anything more than you have to,” I said under my breath as he neared me.
“Aniah, if we can’t trust him, then why are we here?”
“We can. Just… let me do the talking. Okay?”
He nodded, and we made our way through the open door to Thaddeus’s sitting room, where he sat sprawled out in a giant, black armchair with actual diamond studs all over. It looked wildly uncomfortable if you asked me.
“Ah. So good to officially meet you. I’m Thaddeus, as you know.
And you’re Ryker, I presume? Am I correct in saying I have you to thank for the excitement with the skurs?
I haven’t had a run-in with one of those monstrosities in a while,” Thaddeus chuckled.
He reached for the small table beside him, snatched a crystal decanter filled with amber liquid from the golden tray and poured a glass.
Ryker watched his every move. “Yes.”
I whipped my head toward him. No apology? I tried to communicate with a glare, but his eyes didn’t leave Thaddeus as he filled two more glasses.
“Then I sincerely say, thank you. It was… an awakening to how lazy I’ve become. Sit! You both must be tired.”
We sat stiffly next to each other on a matching black couch across from Thaddeus as he offered us the whiskey. I shifted uncomfortably as one of the diamond studs dug into my backside.
The room was bright with the sun glinting off the otherworldly decor.
Curious statues lined the built-in shelves behind him.
The few that stood out the most were an emerald statue of a bird in flight—a raven perhaps?
Then there was an onyx statue of a tree, and the last, a golden statue of a dragon with rubies scattered across its scales.
Wild masks adorned the wall between them, full of feathers and brightly painted designs.
I turned my attention back to Thaddeus, and when the sun reflected in his eyes, the deep gold in them brightened. An ache built in my chest as it reminded me of—never mind. I couldn’t think about him right now.
“I take it you’re here about my previous guests?” He got right to the point.
Ryker’s glare cut to me, his jaw clenched. I cleared my throat.
“Yes.” One thing about Elementals as a whole: don’t bother lying.
My mother told me stories when I was little that Elementals could see through your lies with those golden eyes.
And if you were caught in a lie, they would change you into a bug.
I realized now that they were just stories my mother told to scare me, because she always threatened to summon an Elemental to our village if she felt I was lying.
Nevertheless, you shouldn’t lie to them.
“I thought so. And how can I be of help with that?” He took a swig from his glass, keeping his attention locked on me. Mine and Ryker’s glasses sat stagnant in our hands.
“You know who she is?”
He contemplated a moment before answering me.
“Yes, I know who and what she is.” Another swig. “I also know why the captain is so eager to… claim her. Does that answer your question?”
I took a steadying breath. And opened my mouth to speak, but Ryker cut in.
“And you didn’t try to help her?” he demanded. “You have power. You could have broken the curse binding her. Got her away from—”
“And why would I do those things? What would I gain from interfering? Hmm?” Thaddeus shifted, crossing an ankle over his knee as what looked to be amusement flashed across his tanned face.
Ryker tensed, and I laid my hand on his. His sharp gaze flicked to me, his mouth set. Don’t, I conveyed with my eyes. He turned his focus back to our host.
“Is she okay?” he asked, the words strained.
Thaddeus let out a low laugh.
“Didn’t you assess her yourself?”
A low, menacing growl rumbled through Ryker’s chest. This time, I squeezed his hand, urging him to stay calm.
“Thaddeus, I’d like to think we can trust you. She isn’t safe. You know what will happen if they take her to Castle Lawryn. We want to get her back, restore her memories, and get her far away from here. And to do that, I need your help. My magic…” I trailed off, trying to find the words.
“I know the majority of your magic is locked away. I could sense it when you walked through the door.” My gaze snapped to his.
“My wards warn me against any other magic wielders that cross my threshold.” He gave a pointed glance at Ryker, who knocked back the drink in his hand, nearly slamming the glass down on the table in front of him with a clank.
“Yes. Well, because of that, I’m having difficulties with larger spells. I need your assistance,” I said, my fingers painfully woven together in my lap.
“And what would you give me in return?” he asked slowly. Tauntingly.
“What is it you desire from us?” Ryker countered. He hadn’t liked this part of the plan. I knew Thaddeus would demand some sort of trade as payment.
“Ah, seeing as it is Aniah needing the favor, it is she who will owe me,” he mused.
“I’ve lost everyone and everything I love.
I have no need nor desire for anything in this wretched world.
” Another pour from the decanter. Ryker sat rigidly, his hand resting where one of his daggers should have been.
“It would seem you hint the only thing left for you is death. Should you wish it, I’m sure I can accommodate you in that regard.
” The warrior in Ryker was out in full display.
His eyes shone bright with that splash of silver, every muscle taut and ready.
It was his voice, though, that had my eyes widening—death incarnate.
“Ryker,” I hissed in warning.
“It is unwise to mock or taunt an Elemental, young Ryker,” Thaddeus said, his voice dropping dangerously low. He knocked back his drink, eyes locked on Ryker.
“I would say it’s equally unwise to provoke me,” Ryker countered, voice edged in steel. Dark clouds rolled in, blotting out the sun. The two males stared one another down, the whole house becoming deathly quiet—primal power thickened in the air, raising the hair on my arms.
I jumped up.
“Enough! Thaddeus, I came here for help, and I’m prepared to make a bargain. Will you or will you not assist me?”
He dragged his gaze from Ryker.
“Because I’m intrigued by how this venture the two of you are on could reshape our future, then yes.
I’ll make a bargain with you.” He set his empty glass down and leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, steepling his fingers.
“I will not only give you aid with the memory spell, but will also guarantee that when you need my help at Castle Lawryn, which you assuredly will, my allies will aid you. In return, once you save your companion, you will accompany me across the seas on a trip I’ve had planned for some time now.
And you’ll stay with me for one year. No questions asked.
Do we have an agreement?” He reached out a long, slender hand.
Ryker shot up from the couch.
“Dammit, Aniah— you can’t seriously be considering this? We can find another way. We can—”
“No, Ryker. We can’t.”
I quickly clasped Thaddeus’ hand, gasping as the sting of magic shot up my arm—an invisible thread snapping into place between the two of us, linking us, until our bargain was complete. If I strayed from it, the repercussion would be death.