The door swung open, and a thug poked his head in. Noticing her gone, he turned back to shout, “The princess is gone!”
Blighted Darkness. She could do this. Her hand tightened on the dagger, and multiple footsteps stomped on the stairs, racing toward her. Double blighted darkness.
“You sure?” someone asked just outside the door.
“Pretty sure.”
Liane held her breath. Come inside, just another step. A little closer.
As he took a step past the threshold, she shoved the pile of boxes and crates, sending them cascading onto the thug, pinning him beneath their weight. Perhaps crushing him, she didn’t stop to check.
Fortunately, the door swung outward, or she would have been trapped inside. The second man climbed up over the rubble, losing his footing as he scrambled to check on his friend. And when his back was turned, Liane snuck up behind him and stabbed him in his side, where there were no bones or muscles to slow her jab. Hot blood poured over her hand as he turned, looking at her wide-eyed. Horror at what she’d done sunk like a stone, and she let go of her dagger still in the man’s side, as she stumbled backward into a third man who grasped her by the hair and dragged her out of the room.
“You little bitch!” he snarled, tugging her down the stairs where Niklas was waiting.
Niklas strode toward her, thunder in his gaze.
“How did she get out?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but she stuck Heiner, and he looks like he’s bleeding out…”
“Call a healer. I’ll take care of her,” he said, grabbing hold of her arm. He twisted it behind her back as she cried out in pain.
But it wasn’t the rough grip of his arm that terrified her. It was the bright, hot fire burning through her veins as if she were made of molten fire, turning her vision red as something whooshed in her ears. Then a bright flash burst from her. Enough to startle Niklas into letting her go and obscuring all their visions. Blindly Liane scuttled away, as the men screamed about their burning eyes.
A few feet away, she spotted a pair of double doors; the crack between them exposed the daylight on the other side. If she got out, she could find the City Watch, get help. Taking her chance while her captors were still incapacitated, she ran full tilt for the door and had nearly reached it when it slid shut in front of her, flung closed by invisible hands. Liane skidded to a halt before crashing into it. And then tugged on it, but it was shut tight, and her body was too weak to pull it open.
Behind her, someone laughed, high and sinister, as they grasped a hold of her arm, spinning her around to face them.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Heinrich said, with a leering smile.
Pure adrenaline and hatred fueled her, and she launched herself at him, clawing at his skin like a ferocious animal. But before she could even land a hand on him, he tossed her aside with a flick of his wrist, sending her flying across the room and crashing into a barrel of salted fish. Her head cracked against it, and stars danced in front of her eyes.
Heinrich strode toward her, his eyes glowing unnaturally blue. How had he done that, with what power? It couldn’t be real; it had to be some sort of nightmare. And yet. And yet...Captain Rosen had warned her about the power of stardust, the superhuman strength. Liane never imagined it’d be Heinrich taking it. She tried to rise again, but invisible hands grasped her arms, pinning them at her sides, holding and pushing her down to the ground. She squirmed against them as Heinrich loomed over her.
“You can’t escape, don’t exhaust yourself trying,” Heinrich said as he crouched down in front of her, leaning in close enough that she could smell his thick cologne that made her gag and under it something sweet, like burnt sugar. Stardust. Her suspicions were confirmed.
“You’ve let yourself become corrupted, for what? You’ll never win against my mother.”
“I haven’t corrupted anything, Liane. I am returning to the way things are meant to be. Magic is my birthright. All I’m doing is claiming what’s mine, like the crown your bitch mother stole from me.”
Her eyes widened. “Stardust is poison; it kills people.”
“It kills the weak, like your stableboy. What was his name? Lewis?”
“Elias,” Liane snarled. Hearing his name on his lips only fueled her anger more.
If only the power that flooded through her before came to her aid, but all she felt was cold. No magic burned in her veins now.
“That’s right. Elias. Peasant scum aren’t meant for this power. They cannot begin to understand it. But those idiots have given me valuable information. When I am emperor, those with the gift will rise above the weak and powerless.”
“You’re a monster.”
“Only the strong should survive,” Heinrich said. “That’s how I know you’re not worthy of your power. That much magic inside you… wasted…” He grabbed her chin, his nails digging in her flesh; the hunger in his gaze disturbed her. Twisted and perverse. She imagined he’d drink her of all the magic in her veins, if he could.
“Then why kidnap me if you think I’m beneath you?” she asked.
“Because that’s what the elves want. Short-sighted fools that they are. They’ll drain every drop of blood out of you, carve out your bones, and burn you to ash before scattering you to the four corners to make sure the power inside you stays forgotten.”
