Chapter 15
fifteen
. . .
Ever
“Ten!” I say his name inside my head, and I force it to reach him.
His head snaps up and looks towards my direction despite the blindfold. “You’re here?” The words are strangled and full of the longing I’ve felt. But they are distant, like he’s speaking to me from a long way away, like when he was in Estereah.
He’s here. And the connection between us is still intact, too. As though my body and my magic realise this at the same time, a rush of power surges through me, catching my breath.
Ten stands, but he staggers with his hands tied and the blindfold obstructing his vision. And he walks right towards Fenix.
“Don’t touch him,” I warn Fenix, keeping my eyes on what my brother might do. He clearly knows who Ten is and that puts him at risk. A huge fucking risk.
Flashes of what he did to Calix scream back to me, and I’m filled with bone-chilling terror.
“What’s wrong?” Ten’s voice is muffled again.
“I’m fine. Oh, thank the stars. Just, you can’t let on that we can do this. Or that you’re worried about me.” My mind starts to spiral at what Fenix could do to Ten. And what is Crimson doing here?
“Not gonna happen, Ever. I’ve crossed the fucking ocean to make sure you’re safe. Now I’ve found you, I’m not letting you go.”
My eyes are glued to Ten, but Kalan stands and puts himself between him and Fenix.
“Fenix. Long time. Mind if we let these guys free? They don’t need the blindfold or the binds.”
“Sure. Let them go.” Fenix waves his hand towards Ten and Crimson.
I rush towards them, as does Kalan.
“Ever—”
Kalan tries to speak to me, but I snap back at him.
“Not now. I don’t want to speak to you yet,” I spit.
The anger burns my throat as I say the words, the open wound of my hurt still raw from the conversation with Fenix earlier.
I haven’t worked out what I want to say to Kalan, but he’s not my priority right now.
Ten is. And apparently, we need to make sure Crimson is, too.
I uncover Ten’s blindfold first, and my heart soars as he blinks a few times before those deep browns settle on me.
It takes everything I have to hold back from smothering him with my hug.
“Don’t worry, Little Siren. I know you want to. And if I knew that it would be safe, you’d have to fight me from letting you go.”
“You came for me?”
“There isn’t a place in this land I wouldn’t travel to get back to you.”
My blood races, and my eyes pool with tears as I feel his words through every beat of my heart.
As I move to his tied wrists, my hands start to shake as I avoid any contact, not wanting my racing emotions to cause him any harm.
I unknot and free his hands, and I feel his gaze on me for every second it takes me.
As I finally let the rope drop to the ground, I lift my eyes to his, and his calm sweeps over me.
It pulses from him, soothing me with his own emotion.
His eyes drink me in, as if he’s memorising every detail of my face.
At that moment, it’s like he’s forgotten the world around us and has no time for anyone other than me.
“I’ve got you.” He hums the words through our connection, and I’m not sure if they were meant for him or me.
And then, in a blink, this version of Ten is gone, and he marches past me, right for my brother.
“I want my fucking knife back.”
Ten squares up to Fenix, and all the calm from a moment ago evaporates as my heart thunders in my chest. I want to pull him back, hide him, anything that will keep him out of Fenix’s reach, but he doesn’t need to touch Ten in order to do him harm. He only needs to will it.
Fenix nods to someone at our peripheral, and the man I recognise from the ship, who came to steal the books from The Court, pulls the Ciro knife and hands it over to Fenix.
He holds it, weighing it as he clasps the hilt.
No one speaks, but all eyes lie on him as he assesses the weapon.
“I think we’ll give this to Ever for safekeeping. For the time being.” He turns and hands it to me, and I’m glad to take it back for Ten. My fingers eagerly wrap around the hilt, and I check that Crimson is free as I turn away from Fenix.
“Now. We have shown you this in an act of good faith. Your friends are fine. We’ve welcomed them into our camp.” Fenix stands with his arms outstretched as he pivots around.
I scan what he’s showing me, and see we’ve drawn a crowd, similar to when the Usher spoke; people seem to be drawn to the show.
“I want to ask you something again, Sister. Will you train with the Usher?” Fenix levels his gaze on me, his eyes now crystal clear, shining with all the cunning I know he has, because he has the ultimate bargaining chip now.
That’s what he meant earlier. He knew they were coming.
My eyes narrow on Kalan, trying to work out if he’s part of this plan or if it’s just a coincidence that Ten and Crimson are here with him.
Can I trust you? The words chime in my head. We’ve only uttered a handful of words over the years, but he was always kind. Why else would he be in my life if it wasn’t to help?
No doubt his true colours will show, and right now, I have my brother to deal with.
“No. I won’t.” My words are resolute and shield the nerves that are conspiring against my every breath.
Fenix smiles and then laughs at my response.
“How about now?” He turns towards Ten and Crimson.
They both freeze, their bodies going motionless, but I can hear the strangled sound of their airways being choked.
A fervour of rage erupts from within, and I charge at Fenix. I only need to grab hold—to make contact—to disrupt him.
My arm reaches, but he counters, slapping my arm away and twisting back on himself.
He’s just as fast. Just as competent, and it’s like a spark to a flame.
The flow of energy from the well inside my chest is now boiling with anger, and as I swing my arm, an arc of dense black mist descends on Fenix.
It engulfs us both, just like the time when Ravi tried to stop me and Ten. But he’s not here. And I’m not touching Ten. So…
As my anger shifts to concern, the mist dissipates, falling away, and I see Fenix has turned his attention away from my friends and levelled it all on me.
“Interesting.”
He lunges again, but this time I draw the blade he left in my care. I drive forward, arcing it back and forth, just like I did with Crimson.
Crimson.
I think of her, and her power, and channel it into every fibre of my muscles as I dance the blade towards Fenix. And it works. In my mind, I picture Crimson’s speed, and I pull that drop of power from the well, and it bolsters my own. My attack grows swift, harder for Fenix to defend.
Until… nothing.
My breath is cut off, my arm halts mid strike, and I just stop.
Paralysing.
Terrifying.
The panic inside doesn’t freeze with everything else, and the fear that he won’t let me breathe, that he’ll cut off my air and let me suffocate, forms its own noose around my neck.
His focus levels right at me, narrowing to keeping me exactly where he wants me. I’m at his mercy, and he’s relishing reminding me of just that.
Even with the life draining from my lungs, I want to fight. I need to fight. But I can’t do it in an outward assault. This is proof.
The pull to look for Ten is almost as unbearable as the fear that I’m going to pass out, but just at the moment that my head starts to pound at the temples and the light-headed sensation closes in, I’m released.
Heaving in a lungful of air, I gulp down several breaths through coughs and splutters. But he doesn’t release me from his trap, and I’m still unable to move freely.
“How about now?” Fenix questions. He knows he’s got me, and the look on his face tells me everything I already know. There is no choice here. I am out-matched and have no bargain to strike.
“Fine. I’ll train. I’ll train. Just don’t hurt them.”
“Done.” He turns to them, and I watch as they both regain their own movement and control over their body. Every instinct makes me want to fly towards Ten and shield him from any other threat my brother has, but he’s just demonstrated how feeble we are against his power.
So, I root my feet to the ground and wait for whatever he has to say next.
Keeping a check on where Kalan is, I see he’s positioned himself at Crimson’s flank.
“What now?” Ten asks Fenix as he closes the distance between us.
“Now, I speak with my sister. Take them away.”
“We’re not going anywhere.” This time, it’s Crimson, who’s sped right in front of him, a spiteful punch connecting with his jaw before any of us can catch up. “That’s for my brother.”
His head tilts to the side with the force, but he just turns his focus back to her and smiles. “Shame.” He rotates his right hand, and I watch as Crimson’s right wrist twists, and she cries out in pain as she drops to her knees, cradling her wrist.
“I said, don’t hurt them!” I yell.
“And she attacked me. Unprovoked,” he snaps back.
“Crims—”
“No. Take them away. And understand this, Sister.” He stalks the final feet between us and narrows his gaze at me. “You are under my control here. You do as you’re told. You train. You learn to be the weapon I need, and they might make it out of here alive. But I offer no guarantees.”
My lips are sealed, unable to answer, and I’m getting really fucking tired of that little trick.
Ten is at Crimson’s side, kneeling with her as she keeps her arm braced.
“Go. Do as he says. I can’t stop him. And I can’t have you both end up like Calix.”
The realisation that there is no way out of this looms like a giant abyss, ready to swallow me whole.
“We will find a weakness, Ever. We’ve come this far. I’m not giving up.” Ten looks up at me as men surround him and Crimson. They don’t hold either of them, but rather offer them no other option, corralling them out of the camp.
“I know where they’re taking you both. It’s a cave. It’s dark. But I won’t let them hurt either of you again.” I shout the words, hating that they are separating us so soon.
Fenix watches on, but doesn’t go with them, apparently confident that his men will keep them secure.
“Now what?” I turn to him, my frustration shortening my words.
“Now, we wait for the Usher, have supper, and I’m sure the two of you might want to catch up.” He nods to the side, and I turn to see Kalan a few steps behind me. They didn’t take him away with the others.
“I have nothing to say to him.”
“Oh, harsh. You’ve decided his fate without hearing a word of what he has to say? I do hope that you’ll be more open-minded when it comes to our training. Although I think that might be hard for you.”
I reign in my emotions and think of Kyra and her technique and the patience she showed me, but as soon as Kalan steps into my field of vision, it all explodes inside of me.
I’m that little girl again, clasping the brooch in her hand and feeling like the luckiest girl in the world. The same girl who spoke to the Jarkoreth, as understanding dawned. That this was given to me for a purpose. Not just a silly object that I thought was special for sentimental reasons.
“How could you? How could you let me believe that my life was a lie?” I scream the words, and they rip and tear at the shredded wounds that Lyle had already inflicted in my soft heart.
I march off, trailing in the direction they took Ten and Crimson.
“You’ll need to let me explain, Ever. There’s a lot to tell you.”