‘I don’t know. He was inside when she used the Anchor bond, and I couldn’t see, but when I was here before, he stepped forward, claiming to be her Anchor, and you saw yourself that he called her his Domina during the meal.’
The conversation was interrupted by the fortress guard questioning the coach driver. I breathed slightly, bracing myself to scream when I heard the heavy steps approaching, likely for an inspection.
‘No, my dear, keep that pretty little mouth shut. If you try to alert them, those men will be dead before you finish speaking. No one can save you—not even your dragon,’ Ihrain warned me, covering my face with his hand while the king’s advisor stuck his head out through the window.
‘Haven’t you heard, good man? About the fire? It is not safe for us anymore, and the commander is too busy dealing with this tragedy to sign our paperwork. I need to report what happened to the king immediately.’
I silently cursed. The man knew how to play people. His tone sounded so sincere and convincing, and his reasoning was persuasive. I couldn’t blame the guard for letting him pass. Assoon as we left the fortress gates behind, the driver cracked the whip, and the horses shot forward, rocking the carriage.
‘They will come for me, and not even the gods themselves will save you when my dragon finds you,’ I croaked past my tight throat.
‘By the time they realise you’re gone, we’ll be close enough to the capital that they won’t be able to catch us. I have to admit—the necromancer surprised us by running into the fire, but that only worked in our favour.’
‘Who is your master? And don’t try insulting my intelligence by saying this has anything to do with the king.’ As soon as I said the words, the chancellor threw his head back and laughed.
‘Yes, you are right. The king is old, and his mind is filled with desperation to prolong his life. Still, we are taking you to him so he can give you to our true master, the one your ilk calls the Lich King.’
‘You serve him? How did he contact you?’ I was so baffled by the discovery that I sat up, looking at the envoy with disbelief.
‘Oh Annika, you are so easy to read. Only the tainted cannot breach the Barrier. You all forgot that, and it will be the downfall of the Lowland Kingdoms.’ He reached down and stroked my cheek with his thumb, looking at me with a knowing smirk.
‘We are not touched by foul magic. The Barren Lands is a place where humans still live and often thrive. None of the dragon patrols enter deep enough to encounter the humans or Moroi who escaped the initial purge when our lord took his rightful place. I know what the riders see when they come to patrol. A desolate land full of undead, a useful distraction for them to see before the spectrae chase them away.’
‘What?’ I asked, shocked. Here were two people that not only were from the Barren Lands, but whoservedthe Lich King and held influential positions in the country. ‘And the living serve him? Why?’
‘Why are you so surprised? What is the difference between serving a king who controls his country with necromancy and one who uses bloody torture to obtain a mage’s geas? At least with our lord, you know what to expect. Those who serve him well are always rewarded. Those who fail serve him in another way.’
‘So when you tried to Anchor me all those years ago …’ I asked, looking at Ihrain.
‘Yes, Annika. That was the reason. Mages like me can easily pass through the Barrier.’ He glanced at the chancellor, and the older man smiled.
‘We knew the Barrier would eventually fall. It started fading a hundred years ago. At first, it was a slow process, but as time passed, the cracks in the crystal unravelled the magic holding it together. Not to mention a certain powerful mage accidentally drawing energy from the keystone to defeat a wlok. That was the moment we knew the Barrier’s deterioration had reached the point of no return.,’ he said before gesturing to Ihrain to pull me onto the seat.
As he dragged me up, the high mage’s apprentice couldn’t help joining in the explanation. ‘Our liege is not infallible. He has learned a lot since taking over Ozar. Ruling over the undead is not as satisfying as he thought. He wants the Lowland Kingdoms and their people as his subjects, not as walking corpses. That’s why he has spared the remaining humans and Moroi, letting us thrive unbound by fear. Now, we have infiltrated every court in the Lowland Kingdoms. You are the final prize our lord desires before the Barrier falls, and your king will deliver you, along with your geas.’
Then Ihrain smiled at me with such superiority, as if he were explaining it all to a toddler, and I had to turn away to stop myself from spitting in his face. ‘This is your fate, Annika. There is no sense in resisting. Soon, you will be bound to the mostpowerful mage on our continent, giving him the power to rule all. As long as you serve him with your skills, nothing bad will happen to you. If you resist … well … many have tried, but in the end, he broke them all.’
Ishouldhave spat on the little toad, but the only thing on my mind was how Alaric’s curse had broken him, and I believed every word Ihrain said. I wondered how long the poison would last because, at the first tingle of my magic returning, I knew I needed to free myself and run away to somewhere the Lich King couldn’t find me.
I refused to become his weapon. I couldn’t let him use those I loved to break me. ‘I will never submit to him. I’d sooner kill myself than become a weapon in that madman’s hands,’ I threatened with vehemence. Both men looked at each other, snorting with laughter.
‘Don’t wish for death … The dead don’t rest in peace around him; they serve him even better than the living. You, too,willserve him, one way or another. Because our lord has already decided that in life or even death, you are his and only his, so ask yourself which you would prefer. To be his as a living mage … or a walking corpse,’ Ihrain answered, murmuring an incantation. I recognised the words, but I was helpless to stop it. Sheer panic choked me as I fought the mind-numbing spell, but in the end, I lost …
And everything went black.
