“So this is a magical dampener.”
I had read about them, but never seen one. Because I was raised in the temple, I spent most of my days reading ancient tomes.
I could break the gem right now, though I’d read the gems were indestructible, infused and crafted with various elemental magic and argonite crystals, and it was that unique mixture that muted all magic. The vibrant-red gem pulsed with power.
Magical dampeners were powerful artifacts, mostly used bythe Magi Council who oversaw all magic in Saol. It was how they controlled prisoners.
Is that what I was now?
Had Kane always planned to imprison me? To keep me a collared pet?
When had I become such a threat to the Deathless One?
A folded note sat next to the collar in the box.
Thorn,
If you desire to see more than stone walls, wear this pretty necklace.
I made it just for you.
Do not try to destroy it. I have more than one.
I rippedup the note and threw it across the room. He was going to pay.Immortal or not, I would find a way to escape him forever.
Just as I had the thought, the note knit back together, this time with a different message.
Every action has an opposite and equal reaction, the note said.Thoughts have the power to destroy, but I promise this thinking is only hurting yourself.
I went to tear up the note again, despite how futile I knew it would be, and my fingertips burned. Instantly, I dropped it and stared down at the cursed piece of paper.
The words on the paper changed again.
Tsk, tsk. You’ll soon learn, Deirdre, that no one here is above consequences for their actions.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Kane
Leaving the human,even with guards posted at the spire entrance, was a terrible idea. The precarious creature would certainly cause some sort of ruckus.
I should have collared her before I left.
Seeing how stubborn the human proved, I doubted she’d wear the magical dampener willingly.
The spire tower kept her away from any plants, keeping her power in check, but what if she could reach down to the roots hidden beneath the rocks?
The guards posted at her chambers would have to be enough for now. Seeing as how I had to deal with an attack on a fae settlement, the human would have to wait. There were matters that needed handling, no matter how much I desired to see my little thorn squirm in her cage.
The portal to the destroyed settlement wavered in the distance. Even from here, I could see blood and bodies splattering the dirt road. When word arrived that the Lich King hadattacked a settlement this close to the mountains, I realized the peace my people desired was slowly slipping through our grasp.
Did the Lich King know I had taken the human, or was this attack merely a coincidence?
The timing seemed odd, considering the human had only been at my court for a day. If the Lich King believed the prophecy about Deirdre and me bringing balance to the kingdoms, this attack was a warning to us both.
Too many of my kind roamed the various lands, mingling with the other races instead of living in the mountains, where it was easier for me to protect them.
Many generations ago, the moon fae once lived near the Life Tree in the Nightsong Jungle, but when the Rift to the Never opened, causing darkthings to enter this world, the moon fae ran to the mountains where the moonlight amplified their power.
