Chapter 1
one
. . .
Ever
The light in his eyes fades. I see it happen, even in the gloom of my cell, and it sends a wave of dread through me. Poisoning my stomach, paralysing my heart.
He’s dead. Murdered.
And the murderer is still standing over us.
“If it’s any consolation, he did like you, but he chose to betray you long before he met you. Although, I doubted he’d have the guts to go through with it.” The stranger paces with a confidence that is as terrifying as what I just witnessed.
“Why did you murder him? He didn’t deserve that,” I cry.
“Maybe. But he betrayed you for his own reasons, as you heard. Seems like the grudge he held was pretty solid. And I couldn’t risk him going rogue. He knows too much.”
I take in the words, trying to piece them together to form some semblance of order or logic, but I can’t. My mind thrashes against everything that’s come out of his mouth, including the revelation that he’s my brother.
I don’t have a brother or any siblings. All I have is Lyle.
Lyle, who isn’t my mother and never told me about any of the magic I have.
My so-called brother continues his leisurely strut, back and forth, guarding the gate and my possible freedom.
Holding my tears back, I brush my hand over Micah’s eyes, closing them for the final time and send a small prayer, to Aslendrix maybe, to watch over him. He might have betrayed me, but he gave me the lifeline to survive in Kirrasia. He gave me Kyra.
Kyra.
My heart thuds in my chest just thinking about her and what this will do to her, regardless of anything that Micah said before he died.
All my instincts want to pull on that well of power that I was so reluctant to acknowledge, so unsure of how to wield and use.
I want to fight.
My weight shifts, and I push up, racing towards the cell door. That’s my aim. It doesn’t matter if I’ve got to go through the person standing in front of me to do that.
He adjusts, blocking me, and my right arm pulls back, ready to deliver a punch across his face as I surge past him. My knuckles connect, sending a bolt of heat up my arm with the impact.
He sniggers before rounding on me, and wrapping his arm around my waist, halting my direction of travel and sending me careering back into the wall. He’s taller than me and stronger. And has the same colour eyes as I do.
“That wasn’t very nice.”
“You murdered my friend!” I scream at him, not ready to give up. This time, I engage my brain. My foot kicks out at his knee as I elbow him in the ribs, ducking away and seeing the doorway clear.
But just as I’m about to breach the threshold, I stop.
No. I don’t stop. I’m frozen. My limbs stop moving, locked up. Immobile.
I can’t move.
What in the stars? I think the words because I can’t move my lips to speak. Panic creeps over me as I strain against the invisible force. I’m off balance, my legs in the middle of a running stride, my weight should have tipped me over by now, but I’m suspended. And I can’t feel anything.
“Well, at least you have a little fight in you. I was starting to think we’d got this all wrong. Shall I let go, or pull just a little bit more…”
My heartbeat, a moment ago so strong and fierce against everything that was happening, now feels sluggish in my chest, as if it, like the rest of me, is frozen. Or drained.
No. No, no, no.
And then, the feeling is gone. And my knees and body meet the cold stone of the cell floor.
Hard.
“Now. Will you come quietly? Or do I need to fight you all the way?”
He didn’t come here to kill me. He won’t hurt me. He just proved that. He just wants me to comply. Well, fuck him!
I jump up and sprint for the door. Again.
A whistle pierces through the air, and as I get out of the gates, two men emerge from the shadows, Kyra fighting and struggling between them.
“No!” I stop, every ounce of fight fleeing at the sight of my friend in danger. I back up, blocking the door to the cell. Because not only is she in danger, but I don’t want her to see her brother.
The sickening feeling in my stomach morphs into nerves, climbing through every fibre of my body.
“Do I have your attention, Ever?” The other men and Kyra stop in front of me.
Her eyes, wild and afraid, look at me, and I beg her not to look any further. To keep her eyes on me. But she trails her gaze into the cell, looking for the source of the voice.
I turn to him, too, as another tear escapes to fall on my cheek.
“Let her go. I promise I’ll do what you say. But she must stay unharmed.” I don’t look him in the eye.
“Do I have your word?” He’s still leaning casually against the wall, like he didn’t just kill someone and threaten to kill me a moment ago.
“I promise. Just let her go.” I push as much conviction into my voice as I can.
“Ever, what’s happening? Who is he? What’s… arghh!”
Her scream blankets the cell as Kyra breaks free of her captors and barrels past me, straight for her brother.
She skids to the ground by him. “No. Micah!” Her sobs ring out and break my heart all over again.
“Ever?” She looks up at me. “Ever, who did this?”
“Take her. Leave the girl,” my brother commands, and the two guards who held Kyra now claw at my arms, before dragging me free of my old confinement, straight into another one.
“No, Ever. Stop. What… what’s happening?”
“I’m so sorry, Kyra. I’m so, so sorry.”
“Touching as this is, shall we get on with it?” My brother follows us out of the cell, but slams the gate shut on Kyra, locking her in with Micah.
“No, you can’t do that. You promised—”
“I promised nothing and only agreed that she’d be unharmed. She is unharmed.”
“You snake.”
He steps closer to me, ignoring the two still gripping my arms. “You have no idea.”
He nods, and I’m hauled away along the corridor as Kyra’s shouts echo after us.
“Ever!”
We make it to the anti-room, following the path that Ten led me through after the first attack on me in this place, and, as promised, I go freely. Or rather, I don’t struggle.
There are no Kirrian Guards or Officers posted. We just walk out.
I can’t believe that is going to work once we make it out of the cells and into the Tower and The Court, but as we emerge from the staircase, my dread only increases because there are people around.
Warriors, others, who just let us pass with a little nod before turning a blind eye to what’s happening.
This wasn’t just Micah. He might have been the one to get close to me, but to feed me whatever information they wanted, they needed more people than him. Micah didn’t just betray me—he’s betrayed everyone.
My brother comes up from the side to replace his fellow kidnapper’s hand on my arm. “Now, remember, play nice, or I’ll have to rethink how lenient I’ve been up until now.”
“Lenient?” I snap at him. But my words die on my tongue, as, in a split second, everything in me freezes, locks up, just like in the cell.
Outside in the light, I can see the auburn undertones in his short hair, the slight unruly curl to the longer strands, the pale complexion, and eyes just as pale and green as mine.
“If I release you, I don’t want to hear another word until we’re clear of The Court.
” He pauses, but I’m paralysed, trapped.
Unable to even nod or agree to his terms. “Oh, I guess you’ll be wanting this back.
” I take a gulp of air as the muscles in my body become my own again.
I keep my mouth shut. My eyes betray my anger, but they are useless against him. “Very good. Come on.”
He marches me through the streets, taking one of the small alleyways I’ve not explored, not surprising as I’ve barely ventured out in The Court.
We weave in and around small buildings and homes, through a shop, to the back, and out of a door, and then back down onto another even skinnier alleyway.
The two men with us jump down from a wall onto a lower street, and my brother nudges me to follow.
I keep my words safely behind my teeth, but my eyes shoot daggers. I just wish they weren’t so blunt and ineffective. I land and shrug off the clamouring hands waiting to keep hold of me again.
Until he grabs my chin and levels his eyes at me.
At that moment, I know I hate him for doing this. But lurking behind my anger towards him are, perhaps, answers. But I clench my jaw in his face and hold my nerve, pulling out of his grasp.
As we make our way, I try to remember our path, taking note of anything that might be able to help identify who else might be on their side. The route is unobstructed by questions or people, and I wonder if this is the same way my fleeing attacker got away last time.
With every step forward, I focus my mind and energy on my power, hoping, praying, that there’s a flicker of life or warmth. Enough to enable me to fight back, or try to reach Ten or anyone who might be able to help. But there’s nothing.
That blissful realisation of being powerless under a new moon I was so excited about last month, is now my biggest weakness.
Finally, we reach wherever my brother deems his destination.
A narrow path, cut away from buildings. He smiles, but it drips with arrogance and knowing, as if the very act is daring me to open my mouth and give him half a reason to shut it for me.
But I refuse to give him any more power than he already has.
I’ve played this part before, and it’s taught me well.
We’re staring up at a wall of rock and mud, like the inside of the outer wall of The Court. I remember the first time I saw it on the ride in, that tall, shimmery castle in the distance, protected from everything.
His two accomplices carefully move a few boulders, creating a narrow gap in the wall, tight to squeeze through, but fine if small spaces don’t scare you. My brother’s companions go first, turning sideways to shuffle through.
I look back at him. “Go on,” he encourages.
I step forward, plastering my back to the edge of the stone and creep through.
Light vanishes within a few steps as the crevice seems to bend and twist, and I have an awful thought of what might happen if this shifts before we’re on the other side.
My first thought is that the wall was built from the ground itself, and it might just take offence and swallow me back down.
As my heart rate chases me to find the exit quicker, I all but tumble free out into the wild. Free of The Court, the river sounds close, but out of sight.
My brother is a few steps behind, and then the gap we emerge from is concealed. The two do the same trick of covering the entrance to our secret escape, and I wonder if they are Naturals or Warriors, and when they decided to betray Kirrasia.
“That’s better.” My brother shrugs as if shaking off the confinement of the wall.
“Will you tell me where you’re taking me now?” I ask.
He cocks his head at me, all signs of the jovial character now hidden away. “I thought I told you not to speak.”
“You told me not to until we were clear of The Court.” I hold my arms out and look around. “It looks like we’re clear to me.”
He pauses, as if waiting to decide how to respond, and I wonder if he expected to continue to be able to intimidate me. He bursts into a loud laugh, “Oh, Ever. We’re going to have some fun.”
I take a breath at his insinuation. From where I’m standing, there will be no fun. The only thing I want from him is answers.
“You have power.” A statement.
“Oh, well done. Well done, Ever.”
My teeth clench at his mocking. “Why do you have power when it’s the new moon?” I ask, wrestling my temper.
“Right to it, then. No pleasantries?”
“You forwent those when you murdered my friend.”
“Ah, loyal, I see. Even after you’ve learned of what he’s done.
You know, Ever, I normally have an uncanny ability to read people.
Call it a gift.” He flourishes his hands and takes a mock bow as if collecting his applause.
It makes me wonder just how big his ego is, beneath his normalcy.
He’s not wearing any finery. Just a simple shirt, rolled to the elbows, creased and worn.
A leather waistcoat over the shirt, with plain trousers and sturdy boots.
He said the army Micah mentioned was his.
Did that make him a commander? Someone important?
“How do you still have power?” I ask again, fighting the urge to be drawn into his small talk.
“Fine.” He stiffens, standing taller. “The moon doesn’t bind my power.”
“Aslendrix,” I correct him. I might have my own issues with the Goddess, but I could do with all the help I can right now.
“Yes. Aslendrix. She does not control my power. It does not wane or rise with her.”
“How?” It bursts from my lips before I can stop myself. But he doesn’t answer this time.
“Come on. Time to go. We’re on a schedule.”
“Where are we going?” How will Ten or anyone find me if they don’t know where we’re going? The sense of panic from earlier starts to surge, and my fingers dig into my palms to quell it.
I follow as the two men lead the way, hugging close to the edge of the wall and navigating to the west side. As we move, I can see the watch towers in the distance. So close but rendered useless today, apparently.
“Stop!”
A voice. I recognise that voice.
I want to run ahead, but my brother jumps ahead and blocks my path, and his two accomplices turn to box me in.
“This wasn’t in the schedule,” he mutters.
Calix, Crimson and two other Warriors, the weapons and the black dress giving them away, approach from the direction we were travelling. What are they doing here? I look for Ten, but he’s not with them.
Calix takes point, and I watch as he looks over me before assessing the three men surrounding me. “You good, Ever?”
“Calix, he still has magic. Be careful. He killed Micah, and he—” One of the men smothers a hand over my mouth, stopping me from giving any further warnings.
“Oh, I think the odds look fairly even.” Calix shrugs, ignoring my warning. But I know what it felt like to have everything seize and stop. Even Calix won’t last two minutes.
“I was expecting the other one. But you’ll do.”