“That’s your punishment for running. Because of you Adeline had an… accident.”
Fire burned in her veins. Before she realised what had happened her fist hit his smug face. Her knuckles hit solid bone, the shock reverberating up her arm as Dirk barked a laugh.
Frederick’s head snapped back, his angry shout joined with a splash of blood. His hands flapped to cover his face, and before Kyra even thought about running the choker tightened, strangling the breath from her lungs. She fell back to her knees, black invading her vision before the choker released.
“Fucking bitch!” Frederick screeched, his fingers delicately touching his nose. It was clearly broken, the bridge crooked. “You’ll pay for that.”
Kyra no longer cared. She concentrated on her breathing, not even making a noise when Dirk lifted a heavy foot and kicked against her ribs. She kept herself flat to the floor, looking up through the hair that had escaped her braid. She flared out her awareness, but she couldn’t feel any life. Her power thrummed beneath her fingertips, charged but slightly weaker than before. They had replaced one magical restraint with another.
Shit.
“You’ll be good, won’t you?” Dirk asked. “Won’t you?” he repeated when she remained quiet, his smile growing.
“Yes,” she croaked, her ribs protesting.
Frederick stepped back towards his armchair. It looked at odds with the rest of the room, the green velvet bright and luxurious compared to the surrounding shades of dirty brown. “Tell me, Kyra, what is Chaos magic?”
“I don’t know,” she said quickly. She slanted her eyes to the side, watching Dirk as he stood with his arms folded, eyes bright with excitement.
“Of course you don’t know, I forget, you’re uneducated,” Frederick sniggered as shame burned Kyra’s face. “Chaos magic is the foundation of all magic, the conception of what we are all now. It’s what originally powered the veil between the realms, before the birth of witches. Over the years magic has evolved, but Chaos is always there, named because of its violent force and destruction. You’re only the second person I have ever been able to track down that’s able to manipulate it without succumbing to the force, and you weren’t even aware of it.”
“I’m not hurting people for you,” she hissed.
Frederick smiled. “Do you really think you’ll have a choice? Dirk was less than pleased when he found out you had run, and into the arms of a Guardian of all people. The only way I’ve been able to calm him down was to offer you to him.” His eyes mechanically appraised her body. “All of you, and not just as insurance.”
“Fuck you!” she spat.
“Is that an offer?” Dirk chuckled.
“Did your Guardian teach you that language?” Frederick said. “Honestly Kyra, I truly believe you’re one of the most ignorant bitches I have ever met. Do you even know who those men are? Savages. They know one thing, and that’s how to kill, especially people like you. Tainted. Disgusting.” Frederick’s smirk grew, eyes flickering to Frederick behind her before returning with an extra glint. “Maybe that was their plan, to trick you into one of their beds and then carve out your black heart. You’re tragic enough to believe anything.”
The choker tingled against her skin, but was no longer painful. She slowly moved to her feet, conscious that Dirk remained only a step away. “If you give me to Dirk you’ll never get what you want. You need me.” It was the only option she had left.
“You really think I would give you up entirely?” A click, and the room morphed around them. The dirty, brown walls transformed to the stone of the bastion. The uneven floor straightened, plush rugs breaking up the expensive oak. The bed had changed into a desk, an ink dipped quill writing across several sheets of paper before twisting in the air, and then starting again. The cauldron disappeared by the hearth, the fire roaring to life only seconds later.
The bedroom before had been a trick, a threat.
“We can only hope The Guardians come to play,” Dirk purred behind her.
Frederick tilted his head, his hair brushing forward to cover his brow. He stepped closer, and Kyra tightened her stance, her hands clammy at her sides when he stopped before her. His lips were thin, too thin for such a long face and his eyes glittered with victory, despite the newly blossoming bruises. “Dirk may have you physically, but it’s your magic I need, and if I make you my familiar I can take that anytime I want.”
Familiar.He wanted to force her into a familiar bond, pulling on her magic whenever he wanted without fear of the repercussion. That had always been her true fear, the one thing that could shatter her mind. It wouldn’t matter if she suffered, because he would pull her magic from her over and over again.
“Get the ceremony ready,” Frederick demanded over her shoulder as the door behind her opened, awareness prickling down her spine. “We need to have the bond active before our friend arrives.”
Kyra stiffened, Dirk moving a step closer to Frederick.
“Bane, that was an order,” Frederick snapped before his face paled, his eyes widening. He staggered a step back, arcane burning up his arm. “What do you think you’re…”
Dirk swung his arm, and Frederick’s words became gargled, blood spluttering out of his mouth.
Kyra didn’t have time to react before Dirk was before her, stepping over Frederick who had collapsed to his knees, his breathing laboured. Wings slowly erupted from his back, the click, click, click of his bones nauseating as they rose high above his head. The arcs were spiked, the horns dangerously sharp as he rolled his shoulders.
Dirk’s pupils dropped to her choker, his smile turning sordid. “This is going to be so much fun.”
She struggled, unable to move as something cold coiled in her gut. He had a serrated knife on his hip, the end covered in blood. If only she could reach…
Her tongue darted out to lick her dry bottom lip, Dirk’s eyes following the movement. She let herself fall forward, landing heavily against him as her hand snaked against the cool handle in her palm. She would have sliced it into his stomach, but he caught her before she was even unable to unsheathe the weapon. His eyes darkened, annoyance furrowing his brow as he spun her in his arms, clamping her tight against his chest. Her head was wrenched to the side, face forced forward.
