I looked at him over my shoulder, my silver waves jostling with every bounce of the horse, making him see just how pissed off I was.
Go to Hells,I mouthed at him.
He lent down, lips roughly pressing against my ear.
“Behave, or I will tie you up anddragyou behind my horse.” He breathed against me and disgust curled through my stomach. “Your screams would be fucking beautiful.”
Twenty
Voiceless
Three days had passed. Three long, miserable days. I’d been dragged through dense forests and two bustling villages, their streets filled with colour, laughter, and life so vibrant it made the dark tales I’d heard about the Fae seem like cruel lies. But I knew better. I’d seen how they slaughtered my people.Innocentpeople.
The Commander hadn’t said a word to me. Hadn’t so much as looked in my direction unless it was to drag me up onto that cursed horse like I was some burden to be carted around.
I burned with fury, but I had no way to scream it since the Commander refused to loosen his hold over my will through my poorly worded bargain. I had no voice to spit my rage into his face. No words to demand answers. And that made it worse, the silence.Mysilence. It crawled under my skin like an ever-present reminder that I wasn’t in control. Though it seemed, the power thrumming through my veins had plenty of commentary to make.Plentyof vivid daydreams of how to kill the Commander the moment I fulfilled my end of the blood deal.
Every night was the same. Solas, ever the charming cook, would hunt and roast some unfortunate woodland creature. He would hum to himself as if this were normal. I hated that I found comfort in the rhythm of it. The way his awkward jokes tried to fill the silence I wasn’t allowed to break almost made him feel less dangerous. But I wasn’t fooled.
Each horse carried a small tent strapped to its side, and by now I’d grown efficient at setting them up. I remembered the first night, watching Cerilla begin to unroll one like it was second nature. I’d stood there useless, a ghost in someone else’s life, while they all moved like they belonged. I hated that feeling… Uselessness. Although it clung to me like a second skin. I’d worn it my entire life. A prized possession, seen but never heard. I had been trained to smile and obey while men played games of power and blood. And now, after everything I’d risked escaping that life, afterchoosingto leap into training, to fight, to matter… I was right back where I started. Muzzled, ignorant andsilent. I was being dragged around like some fragile decoration, for reasons I still did not understand, fumbling after answers everyone else seemed to hold. My ignorance burned brighter than any shame, and I hated it most of all.
So that first night, I’d shooed Cerilla away, jaw clenched and hands trembling. I neededsomethingto claim as mine, even if it was just pitching a damn tent. Because if I was going to be hauled through their war like baggage, I’d at least plant my feet anddo something.
Solas talked at me constantly, telling me lazy stories of their world undeterred by the fact that I couldn’t respond. It was almost comforting—his voice filling the silence my own had left behind. I had learnt that the Commander of Death was a legend in Lumireth.
Amonster hunter.Solas told me stories of him fighting legendary beasts to save their realm. I believed none of his stories, but I still enjoyed them.
At night, I slept in a tent alone, the Commander sitting guard at its entrance. Strange noises jarred me from nightmares of the sea. It was always the sea.
I had, at least, found some rhythm in the saddle. I was proud of that, of learning to stay upright without gripping the reins like a terrified child.
I flinched as the fire cracked sharply, dragging me from my thoughts. Embers leapt into the air, swirling upward in an intimate dance with the smoke. I followed their path, amazed by the night sky that hung above us. An unimaginable number of twinkling lights shone down upon us in the clearing where we had made camp. Seeing the night sky was almost worth all of this.Almost.
Cerilla returned from the horse with three small bags filled with a dark liquid. She passed one to the Commander and he snatched it. His shadows consumed half of his body, withering uncontrollably. He stood suddenly and stalked away, his body disappearing into the shadows themselves.
Cerilla watched her brother disappear into the shadows, her lips pressed into a thin line. Solas sank his teeth into his bag without hesitation, drinking with a hunger that made my stomach twist. I grimaced, something inside me whispering to run. They were drinking blood. Solas threw the empty bag into the fire, wiping the dark liquid that smeared around his mouth onto his forearm. He caught me watching him.
“It’s a blood bag,” he said casually, as if it was nothing more than soup. But he stared at the flames, lost in thought.
“There were Mortals here when the realms were sealed,” he said finally, voice light buthollow at the edges. “There are many that live in Lumireth in their own communities and blood donations are paid handsomely.” He paused. His next words were quieter. “Inthiscourt, anyway.” His gaze drifted, not at me but through me, to some memory I wasn’t privy to. The corners of his mouth twitched, not in a smile, but in the strain of holding something back. Then he blinked it away, flashing a grin and tilting his head with feigned ease. “Let’s just say you do not want to know what the other courts prefer.”
I gritted my teeth. I had so many questions.What court were we in? How many courts were there?
“Will you let the girl speak?” Solas said, looking past me. “It would make the trip far more entertaining.”
“You’ll regret that request,” the Commander rumbled from behind me. He waved his hand in my direction, and the blood mark on my skin tingled in response.
I shot to my feet and spun towards his impossibly large form, shadows snaking around his body like they were alive.
“I hate you,” I growled, eyes blazing. “The moment our blood bargain is over, I will kill you. I will slit your throat and watch you bleed shadows and send you to thedeepestpit in the Seven Hells.” I closed the distance between us until I was glaring up into his void-like eyes. Power thrummed beneath my skin, and my vision pulsed with flickers of darkness.
“As long as you find the Soul Relics and imbue for me, I will hand you the fucking blade myself.”
“I don’t know where they are!” I shoved at his chest, open palms striking warm skin that refused to give.
He didn’t move. Not an inch. The realization snapped something sharp inside me, rage surging as I struck him again.
His eyes changed, thin inky veins bloomed outwardfrom his irises and consumed the whites. The eyes of a monster. He leaned in, closing the space between us until I could feel his warm breath wash over my face. My heart hammered in my throat, but I held my ground.
