Chapter 8
“Wake up.”
I jolted up in bed, my hand immediately going to the stabbing in my hips.
It took a moment, well, several moments, for me to gather my thoughts and come to terms with where I was. I was still in the cell, I was still injured, and Collum was still here with me.
“I think your fever has broken,” she whispered, and that’s when I realized her hand was pressed to my forehead, in the way it always was whenever I was sick.
“How long was I out?” My throat was sore, and Collum lifted the wooden cup to my lips. Where she had gotten it, I wasn’t sure. I usually had to consume all my food and drinks in the presence of Markus or Syrus, returning the cup the moment the “meal” was over.
“Nearly an entire day.” Collum’s words were barely above a whisper.
I nodded, my anger at her for lying to me for almost twenty years rearing its ugly head. Apparently, my mind wasn’t going to let the thought go until I addressed it, so I did. “If you’re not my cousin,” I hissed, “who the hell are you?”
Collum’s shoulders sunk. “Our parents were in the same coven. We aren’t related by blood, but our parents were best friends, so we were raised as cousins.”
“Oh.” For some reason, I had expected the answer to be far more nefarious. Something more like my parents had stolen her as a child, or that she had been pretending to be our cousin all these years, even lying to our parents. But the truth left me more sad than anything.
“My parents were among the first killed in the Purge. Your parents had always hidden their heritage better, so my parents told me to run to them if something happened. So, when I came home from school to find our walls dripping with blood, that’s what I did.”
I didn’t flinch at her description, though my breathing did shallow. Too many of my classmates had similar stories.
My heart warmed, and I moved to pull my cousin to me as she had done for so many years. Though I wasn’t happy about being deceived, I knew what it was like to lose parents.
“You and Milo were so young, and your parents believed if you didn’t know, you could never be executed or betrayed, so they said I was your cousin.
” The words just kept coming, and I could tell she had been wanting to get this off her chest for a long time.
Something that now made me feel embarrassed because I had never asked.
“You can be my cousin,” I whispered into her ear as we embraced. “I wasn’t in my right mind earlier. I promise I don’t care that much.”
“I know.” She sniffed. “I still should have told you sooner, but . . . it didn’t seem to matter.”
She was right, it didn’t matter. Not with what we were facing now. Something which caused my anger to rise anew. Collum had been the one to press the book into my hand. She was the reason I was beaten.
But as quickly as the anger rose, it melted, though my desire to know the truth didn’t. “Why did you send me with the book? Did you know?”
She released me from our hold, moving away from me. I could feel shame rolling off of her, thanks to the red book.
“I knew Adis craved power.” She closed her eyes, tilting her head back. “And I knew you would never survive the war.” She let out a deep breath before continuing. “I knew he would find it, and I knew he would keep you for himself—I’d heard whispers.”
I arched an eyebrow, realizing there had to be so much more than she was telling me. Collum was never that interested in politics. How did she know—
“Many of us are still alive.” Her voice became impossibly lower, and I could barely hear the next words as she uttered them.
“The viscount killed our parents not because he was afraid of the Seid, but because he was jealous. The children, like myself, who are still old enough to remember, meet sometimes—always in secret.”
And just like that, the betrayal was back. Why had Milo and I never been invited to these meetings?
The hurt must’ve been evident on my face. “You two were already shouldering so much—sharing a life. I couldn’t add this burden.”
She had a point, but my anger still simmered, desperate to rise up again.
“Runa.” She laid her hand on my shoulder, her arm stretched between us. “I was going to tell you, I promise. But everything happened too soon.”
I just shook my head. I couldn’t deal with all of these revelations currently coming to light. Not while I was basically imprisoned, but there was one question I had to ask.
I looked up, my gaze connecting with Collum’s brown eyes. I motioned to my face.
“Did you know?”
“That you could read?” She breathed as my heart crumbled at the title. “I hadn’t known for certain, but your parents were well-versed, so I assumed.”
I changed the subject. “So, Milo?” My chest was constricting, and it wasn’t because of the bind for once.
Her voice was filled with sorrow. “He and Helene are to marry within the next few days. I’m trying to talk them into leaving town but . . . Adis came before we were able to make plans.”
There was no relief at hearing my twin was alive. No relief that he was possibly leaving town. Just pain at the massive lie that had been my entire life, the lie my parents had left us in with no way out.
“That’s what I’m called then . . . a reader?” I thought knowing the title would lessen my confusion, but now it only heightened it. My brows gathered on my forehead. “Are you a reader?”
She nodded. “All who are trained in the Seid language are.” She must have seen the questions in my gaze because she added, “I just lied to Adis to buy you some time to heal, and to slow his takeover.”
Wait. “Takeover?”
Collum sighed. “There is just so much you don’t know. But yes, Adis has been trying to overtake the entirety of Heimland for a long time, and he believes magic is the way to do it. That’s why he continues to fight Malheim.”
“But the Purge—”
“That was his father,” Collum corrected.
“He hated magic. He hated the way it put certain humans above others, even if we have always welcomed anyone willing to learn with open arms. He sought to eliminate it because he didn’t want to take the time to learn himself.
He thought he did. But he forgot that Seid, or reader education, began early. ”
Something else niggled in my mind. “And the king?”
Collum shook her head. “He hasn’t been seen in Ralheim in years. I hear rumor’s he’s still ruling, but he just . . .” She grimaced and I could feel her despair. “He allows Adis to do whatever he wants, and I don’t understand why.”
I chewed on my bottom lip. “So, we are witches then?” I was still so confused by all of this
She shook her head. “That’s just what they call us.
We are physically no different than them.
We just know how to read the language of magic—a skill which appears to only be passed down through family lines, which is what started the rumor.
” She sighed. “But as you have already seen, anyone can have magic, they just have to have the Seid books read to them. And anyone can become a reader, as long as they are taught the language and the proper cadence for reciting the spells.”
“Oh.” For some reason, the information was both surprising yet, unexciting. She had just reaffirmed that I was here, trapped and beaten, because of a skill, not because I was any different from Count Adis. “So . . . there’s just us readers and the rest then?”
She smiled sadly. “Not exactly. Within our coven, yes. But I’ve heard rumors that there is another skill even more valuable, and even more hidden than reading.”
I tilted my head to the side, not sure I was ready for more information, but finding myself hungry for it anyway. “What’s that?”
“Seekers.” She sighed. “Seekers often don’t know how to read the old language, though I am sure they can be taught, but they are physically different.
” She looked over at me, her lips twisting.
“They can sense magic in a way that most people can’t.
There are many theories why this is, but nothing is certain.
Most believe that they are born more sensitive to the magic that runs in veins in the earth.
The magic, which we draw into existence and into the essences of individuals with our words.
But they are the only ones who can find the books when they are hidden.
But . . .” She paused, lifting the wooden cup to her own lips.
“They can also be dangerous, as they can find books that are meant to remain hidden, or slated to be destroyed.”
“Oh.”
“They’re very dangerous.” Collum shifted closer to me, leaning her head against mine as we had sometimes done when we gossiped as kids. “And they hide their identities well.”
“Why?” As soon as the word was out of my mouth, I realized how dumb the question was.
“Because they are even more sought after than we are. And when they are found, they are almost always trapped and used.”
Her words reminded me of where we were and why we were here. “Like me.”
She nodded. “As bad as this seems, this is actually a good thing.”
Shock stole over my features, and my mouth dropped open. How was—“WHAT?”
The word came out too loud, and I immediately slapped my hand over my mouth, barely breathing as I waited for the wooden door to slam open.
Collum stared at me, but where I’m sure my eyes were gaping with surprise, she looked calm and collected. Something which immediately put me on edge.
We sat like that, in the thick silence, for several moments, until we were both sure that no one had heard my shout. Then, finally, she continued.
“We’ve got to steal the books and start reading to the servants. Once we all have the same magic, it won’t be the edge Adis thinks it is.”
She . . . had a point. My mind immediately flickered to the book I had hidden behind my chamber pot in the wall.
The one containing the power of wind. “But the powers . . . so far they aren’t .
. . that intimidating.” It was a struggle to put what I was thinking into words.
“I don’t know what the servants are going to do with the power of wind, or empathy. ”
Collum shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that everything will be equal. If Adis thinks he can knock just anyone over with wind, he will be wrong.”
“But he always keeps the books in his presence,” I insisted. I wasn’t sure why I was arguing this with her, because I knew in my mind she was right. But something in my heart pulled the other direction, telling me that eliminating myself from this equation was the best solution for us all.
“Don’t worry. I will convince him to let us take the books with us next time. Just watch.” A smile stole over her features, but it didn’t light up her eyes. The rock in my stomach sank deeper. “As for the stronger powers, the coven says they have leads. We will find better books.”
I let the silence settle between us again. I didn’t like speaking up against Collum, and there were so many holes in her plan. I didn’t want to point out that if we could find the books, how would we get them in here without Adis knowing?
Not only that, but once everyone had powers . . . what then? Would the war end? Or just become more violent?
And who was this coven she spoke of?