“These lovely souls,” he continued to stroll up and down the raised altar, “all gave themselves willingly. Their spirits live on, encased in their precious metals. It’s how their homelands flourish. Why the emerald isle never runs dry, why the Goddessforsaken southern wastelands still overflow with silver.
“Not all the families are content with this deal of course. Some insisted the bodies be returned, but once they leave the castle, the spell breaks, and the supply dries up. The sensible ones realize what I’m doing for them. I’m royalty, not a God. I can’t control the weather, turn the tides, exile evil. I can’t even control my own damned fate.”
His hands dropped to his sides in fists while his body momentarily seized. He exhaled, regaining composure and lowering his voice. “But I can command the flow of wealth.”
He stood in front of the shadow with the golden heart and faced me. Slowly, he lifted the knife and untied the sash, his gaze intense on mine. The black robe pooled on the floor, his body completely naked underneath. He dug the tip of the knife into his chest, not even a flicker of pain crawling across his face.
Blood trickled from the wound. He sliced upward, peeling the skin back from the glistening ribs underneath. A flash of candlelight hit his chest, the carved hole sparkling with the shine only diamonds produced.
I pressed into the wall. Awareness shivered through me, brushing my crown, my neck, my spine. The spirits from the ceiling clustered above me, sinking deeper down the wall, hovering barely inches away, but they weren’t threatening me.
They were cowering.
“Well, Tam, now you know.” He pressed the skin back, the rapidly clotting blood suctioning it closed. He prowled toward me with the knife held loosely in his hand. “Do you want to join me?”
I glared at him.
He sighed. “Well, unfortunately for you, I love this part even more than I do the wealth.” He dragged the edge of the blade down my cheek, smearing his warm, clotted blood on my skin. “Which is why my own mothers banished me here in the first place.”
I leaned as far back as the chains would allow, the freezing stone digging into my shoulders.
“Oh, come now.” He flipped the blade, repeating the motion on the other side of my face. “The others will go easier on you if you cede. If you fight too long, it reminds them they didn’t do enough when it was their turn.”
The spirits above churned, but their hate wasn’t directed at me.
“That woman you tried to save...” He smiled at my twitch of recognition. “Oh, I know everything, Tamara. It was valiant of you to try and release her spirit, but you really shouldn’t have dragged poor Lilyanna down there with you.”
He pointed the tip of the blade on my forehead and dragged it down, slicing through my eyebrow, lifting just enough to not sever my eyelids. I hissed through clenched teeth as a line of fire burned down my face. The edge of my lip gushed blood, spilling into my mouth and coating my teeth. I spat into his face, peppering him with flecks of spittle and blood.
He continued to smile. “At every turn, there you were obstructing me, preventing me from adding gold to my empire. There should never have been a wedding, it makes it that much harder for me to claim the next one. It does present a good face to the public, I suppose. Regardless, it’s why I sent the spirits after you. I couldn’t understand why it was taking so long. It must have been your kinship, your magic. They like power. Shame you’re not as powerful as me.”
He slid the knife down my face again. I bit back my whine, twisting the metal shackles around my wrists to distract from the burn.
He grinned and wiped his hand across his face. “No one likes a show-off, Tam.” He dug the blade into my forehead again, in the exact same spot. “A little harder this time?”
My heart throbbed. My chest burned. I dragged in a breath, every muscle in my body taut and expectant.
The knife sliced deeper, scratching bone, a slash of red candlelight burned through my closed eyelids. I tried not to whimper but a choked sob escaped my lips. I dug my nails into my palm, pulling my focus from him.
The gold bangle clinked against the chains. If only he’d untie me.
“There was a swathe of magic in that room when we held that trial, far too much. The divining rods couldn’t decide whether yours or mine was stronger. But after you left, they wavered toward that woman. Her magic was weak, mainly elemental, basic trickery.” He scoffed. “But she harbored traces of blood magic, enough to keep me satisfied and strong for a while. You, though...” His smile widened. “Will last me for months.”
A form flickered amongst the tangled mass on the ceiling. Was she here? Would she remember I’d at least tried to save her?
“Again?”
The spirits above held their breath, a brief pause in the swell.
I held still.
“Spill your secrets, Tam. Come and join my collection. You just need to say the word.” The knife returned to the start. A spasm of pain vibrated through my face as the tip carved a groove in my skull.
I closed my eyes, focusing on the pounding pulse in my ears, the pressure in my palm as I slowly speared my nails in further.
“Tut, tut. Poor Lilyanna. How long do you think she’ll last when you’re dead? Well, not dead exactly. Perhaps I’ll have you fetch her in spirit form, hold her down while I mount her on the wall with the rest of my collection.”
Blood gushed down my face, welling in my eye sockets, gumming to my lashes.
