Chapter 10
Immediately after I’d agreed to Dion’s deal, my insides churned with regret. Had I blindly run into a trap? Most certainly, but still, I couldn’t say no to his pact.
I’d always been too curious for my own good, and after I’d found out the left dimple had a right cousin, I’d thrown all caution to the wind. Those cursed dimples would be my undoing one day.
“Of course. Your wish is my command.” Dion’s full attention was on me in an unsettling, predatory way, and nerves fluttered inside my stomach. He didn’t move, but stayed still as a statue, which was a real feat on horseback.
“That’s pretty underwhelming so far.”
“I haven’t started yet.”
Only then did I feel a slight tug at my wrists, which soon became more insistent. In an attempt to localize the source of the tug, I turned my head away from Dion and glanced down at my hands.
My eyes widened as I discovered what was happening.
Each of my wrists was encircled by black wisps of something smoky.
It felt slightly cold and almost—alive. The delicate smoke didn’t hurt me—its touch was gentle and tender.
It didn’t even irritate the skin that was raw from the metal restraints, more to the contrary.
With fascination, I observed the smoke, but then I noticed a ribbon of the same material trailing toward Dion and understood that the tugging sensation was originating from him.
Uneasiness settled in my stomach, and I fought against the pull. Dion chuckled behind me, which unsettled me even more.
With each struggle against the sensation, the smoke grew darker, and eventually, the material became too strong for me to resist. My arms moved back of their own accord, my wrists connecting behind my back, and I felt the weird smoke uniting around them.
Its touch was like a soft caress, and a slight pulsing deepened the impression that my bonds were alive.
In my confusion—and rising annoyance—it slipped my mind that I was witnessing the impossible.
The restraints were nothing I’d ever seen before, and there was only one explanation.
Dion had spoken the truth, but I refused to acknowledge this mind-blowing revelation for now.
“What in Kalag’s name, Dion?” I spat out and glowered at him. My balance was precarious, and I would have lost it if the insufferable man behind me hadn’t held me tight.
Dion chuckled, extremely self-satisfied, like a cat that stole all the cream from the pantry. He canted his head, and as if it was his intention to infuriate me, he smirked. “May I remind you that you wanted a demonstration?”
“Very funny, Dion. Stop it! Bloody gods, restraining me was never part of the deal!”
“Oh, but it was. I promised to show you my magic and give you a taste of what I’ll do the next time you act like an unruly child. So keep your voice down. Or would you want me to proceed with my demonstration? There’s so much more I could—show you.”
“I don’t, you insufferable idiot. This has nothing to do with protection and everything to do with boosting your ego through cheap parlor tricks!”
“Oh, but it’s very important for you to understand what methods I have at my disposal should you decide to make my job harder than necessary. Insulting my magic won’t help you, by the way.”
More wisps of his magic smoke gathered around me, wrapping around my head, covering my mouth completely. It tasted like the part of Dion’s scent I couldn’t place—which solved at least this mystery. He smelled like—living shadows and darkness. How fitting.
Almost as a side note, I registered how the smoke vibrated and writhed, and—since I wasn’t able to describe it better—the magic felt weirdly sentient, giving the impression that it liked me.
Yes, I knew how that sounded, but I partly justified it with the near-death experience I’d just lived through.
I turned my head to face Dion once more, staring at him with a mix of disbelief and anger. This was unacceptable, and I started to fight the shadow-restraints in earnest—no matter if they were sentient or not. Gods, was I losing my mind?
Squirming and wriggling, I swore to myself to make Dion pay. Oh, how I would make him pay. Fury coursed through my veins.
“Stop irritating the horse.”
I wanted to hiss at him to stop irritating me, but he’d thoroughly silenced me.
“Quit being so godsdamned difficult. I mean it. Hate my methods as much as you want. Hate me, I don’t care. But I won’t allow you to endanger us or yourself because of your unnecessary sensitivities.”
There was that word again. I wanted to rip his head off, and I glowered at Dion, far too angry to answer.
“Feel free to complain about the deal to Fig, but he’ll support my approach, Jama.
You know nothing about the world out there, and that, combined with your attitude, is a dangerous mix.
But, as our deal stated, I’ll only restrain you if you ignore to follow the commands issued for your own safety.
No one wants to hurt you, as I told you before. ”
Glaring daggers at Dion, I tried to free my wrists again. Of course, I failed once more.
“Believe me, I would rather not have to use my magic like this. Bondage is so much better with a willing body of my choosing.”
The angry sound I made was muffled by the thick smoke gagging me. Despite my anger and thanks to his last remark, blood crept to my cheeks, as I briefly wondered if he’d ever used his shadows in such a context before, and…ugh, why did I even care?
“So sit calmly, and I’ll release you. This demonstration was necessary as per our deal.”
Oh, how I hated him, his cocky attitude, and his godsdamned magic. I shot him another venomous glare, then turned stiffly away from him. The angry shaking I couldn’t control was the only movement I made.
On top of the humiliation, my pain was worse again. So, it was safe to say if Dion’s goal had been to piss me off, he’d succeeded across the board. Not even twenty-four hours had passed since we’d met, and he’d already catapulted himself near the top of my list of people I loathed the most.
Even if he’d rescued me from certain death, Dion was just another man who wanted full control, who wanted to silence me and keep me obedient. And a huge problem was that he’d been given a more extensive arsenal of effective tools than most people.
“See, you can listen. There’s hope for you, Jama,” Dion said, and I wanted to punch him for the sarcastic tone in his voice as well as for the way he preened. The only thing missing was a condescending pat on my head, and I wouldn’t have put it past him to do so.
At least the smoke dissipated after I’d sat still for a minute. As I moved my arms to get my blood flowing again, I realized I hadn’t been afraid during the whole interaction. Not even once had my thoughts strayed back to the last time I’d had my hands bound behind my back.
But as soon as I figured this, a flashback threatened to rise to the surface. I promptly pushed the memories aside and searched for something to divert my attention.
The surrounding scenery wasn’t very diversified; I couldn’t figure out how endless rows of trees would help with my endeavor to keep my countenance. Which left me with only one choice—Dion had to do. “Disgusting control freak.”
“You have no idea, Jama. And yet, you’re wrong.”
Instead of answering, I huffed and created as much distance between myself and his stupidly huge body as it was possible on this horse.
Admittedly, my attempt at picking an argument hadn’t been the most sophisticated, but instead of trying again, I settled on giving him the silent treatment. Dion wasn’t picking up the conversation as well, and slowly, my eyes drifted shut.
Before I fell asleep, something else sank in. No matter how much Dion annoyed me, he’d also proven something unbelievable. Magic was real. I couldn’t deny it.
I must have dozed off, and the first thing I heard when I woke up was Dion talking to someone.
Even though I’d lost much of my physical distance from Dion while napping, I made a conscious effort not to move and to keep my eyes closed.
Hopefully, I was a good enough actor to make him—and whoever was with us—believe I was still sleeping.
“No, we didn’t see anyone, Kalag be blessed. She’s trouble enough herself.” Dion sounded annoyed. As if he wasn’t irritating!
Another male voice I hadn’t heard before clicked his tongue. “Understandable, after the last few days. Honestly, I presumed she would be a weeping wreck.”
“She hasn’t cried once. Thank the gods for small blessings.
She asked me a lot about our reasons for rescuing her, but I told her that someone who isn’t me will inform her once we reach the caves.
It’s annoying enough that she’s remembering me wielding magic.
I was forced to explain some of the basics. It was unavoidable, Antas.”
“That’s fine, Dion. Fig will be more cross with you that you didn’t inform her about the events of the recent days—but I am sure you are aware of it and still don’t care. Be it as it may, Fig has already decreed it would be the safest for her to stay with us.”
I liked Antas’ voice. It sounded calm and soothing, and I imagined him kind-looking. That he didn’t take any of Dion’s crap was a big plus as well. My curiosity flared up, but I continued to feign sleep to eavesdrop some more.
“Yes, Fig would prefer a lot of things.” I could almost hear Dion’s eye-roll, and he mustn’t like being told what to do by his superiors. How ironic. “But in the end, I’m not a mind reader, so I acted as I thought.”
“That’s why I am telling you. He won’t be too happy with you. Especially since—” Antas stopped talking, and Dion tensed behind me.
“Especially since what? Spit it out, Antas!”
“Well, Fig wants you to take care of her. Said you two were already familiarized with each other.”