Her dam could not have been of the blood or she would not have been discarded. He would have used such a carrier to breed more offspring so that he had the chance to produce children who carried his power. He would have watched a woman capable of producing issue with such power carefully and used her carefully. How could she have escaped his notice?
Or had she?whispered the mocking voice in his head. Memories flitted through his mind before he tamped them down, ignoring the taunting doubt. Instead of dwelling on it, he focused on showing Brienne how to hide herself in the smallest of flames. The girl learned quickly, absorbing all of his instructions and demonstrating skills he had not had at her age, even with training.
He would have taken a few moments to be proud of her if it wouldn’t be a waste of his time. She would serve a purpose in the goddess’s plan and then be gone. Once the portal was opened, she would be a powerful sacrifice and would make both him and the goddess he served invincible and unstoppable. The spells cast to exile the goddess worked only if all four gateways remained closed. If he could open one, she could escape its prison and then destroy the others, never to be bound again.
He turned his attention back to the girl and found her distracted. Closing his eyes, he opened his senses to discover the reason for it.
Fire was not the only power he possessed. Once he’d discovered the portal in the oldest ruins of the original castle—a window of a sort—the goddess shared more with him. He could work other spells, such as a sleeping spell like the one at work tonight. He could cover any sounds that others should not hear. He could sense, almost hear, the thoughts and fears of those around him, which was helpful in deciding how to sway them to his use. There was another power that he’d just begun using—one that would bend others to his will— and he salivated just at the thought of using it.
The image of the king’s knight appeared in his mind.
“William de Brus?” he whispered aloud. The fireball she was perfecting dissolved at the words.
“My lord?” she asked, carefully avoiding his gaze. “You know the king’s knight?”
Hugh studied her face as he waited for her to speak. “You spoke to him this day.” Everything she did was observed. He trusted no one, not even his recently claimed bastard.
“Aye,” she said. Nothing more. Hmm. Did she purposely hide something from him? It would not work, but she had not discovered that part of his abilities yet.
“You know him, Brienne?” he asked again, pushing against her mind with his, causing some amount of pain for her. When she gasped, he paused.
“I met him when we traveled back from Gifford.”
“Who else was with you?” He pushed again, and she hissed against it, her face going pale. “My father.”
He decided he did not want her to think of Gavin again like that. Hugh spread the pain out so that her whole body felt it this time. She cried out then, her hands clenching against it.
“Who was with you?” he asked again. She looked at him with fear-filled eyes. “Call him by name, Brienne. And remember that you are my blood and not his.”
“Gavin,” she whispered. He released her, and she panted as the pain, once very real, faded. “I was with Gavin.”
“So the knight has been on my lands for weeks now?” he asked, waiting to see if she would tell him the truth this time.
“Aye, my lord.” She was breathing heavily now, part in fear and part in anticipation of the pain she knew he could cause. He reached over and lifted her face to his. Inhaling her scent, he knew something else now.
“He arouses you.” He pulled her closer and inhaled once more. “He excites you and you want him.” Interesting. She reacted like a bitch in heat at the mention of the warblood’s name. He dropped his hold and walked a few paces away. “Are you a virgin, girl?” he asked. She did not answer immediately.
He knew the answer from the blush that rose in her cheeks. But he wanted her to answer him. This was about obedience, which he was enforcing as surely as he was building her skills with the fire. Hugh pushed.
“Aye,” she called out, wincing as it hit her.
Untouched.
Another asset he could exploit if and when he needed to draw the others to his cause.
“Again,” he said, pointing to the center of the chamber.
She walked to it and created the perfect sphere within seconds. Her mind was focused so closely on her creation that she did not see it coming. He blasted her from behind, throwing his power at her. The fire flared, filling the entire chamber before she pulled it back.
“Do not let it falter, Brienne. Keep the sphere before you,” he ordered. He did not lessen his assault until she realized what he wanted and did it. “No matter what I do, keep it before you. Perfectly round and compact.”
He moved around her, pushing her mind and throwing his own fire against her. Over and over, until she could both fend him off and focus on her creation. Hugh continued until he could feel her weaken and heard her scream out. He stopped.
A good effort for the first full night, he thought as she collapsed on the floor before him. With only burned scraps of clothing left, for the garments could not withstand the flames once she’d faltered, he let her lie there while he went to speak directly to the goddess.
The warblood was his next target. Sir William, the bastard son of the king, would be a triumph for Hugh, and he intended to bring him to his side of the battle. Oh, he’d known from the moment Sir William had crossed onto his lands that he was one of them. Those last few left who would try to defeat him.
He was also untrained in how to call upon or control his power—the power of the supreme and utter warrior. Because of his ignorance, Hugh was able to shield his power from the knight, so he would be unaware of his true abilities until it was too late. Since the others were just as ignorant of the prophecy and what they must do, Hugh would use his advantage of knowledge to conquer them, one by one.
