“The stench of smoke lingered for days around the time of Aneirin’s death. Yet, no one could remember there being a fire. I suppose that’s Morwenna’s particular skillset.” He lets out a dry chuckle and scratches his chin. “It was you reading the Ancient Tongue that triggered my memory again.”
I fight to keep my breathing steady.
“The texts declare that a Mage of royal blood has the ability to tear down those wards and summon the Enchantress Queen, just as she’d summoned the Underling Prince a thousand years ago.”
“So… you thinkIcan tear down the wards and summonEnidwen?”
“Yes, and as a reward for her release, you will obtain ultimate power. Enidwen’s spirit fused with the Underling Prince’s, so you’d have twice the power that either of them ever had. And this time, there are noHeirs of Dusk and Embersto stop your reign. You will be not only the queen, but the empress of the realm. Erleya will be invincible.”
I can’t help but laugh. “You’ve forgotten one very important detail about that story. When Enidwen released the Underling Prince, he overpowered her. She no longer had control. What makes you think that the combined spirits of Enidwen and the Underling Prince won’t overpowerme? More importantly, what makes you think I evenwantthis?”
His oily smile makes my skin crawl. “Because, Princess, this time her spirit will be tethered to a mortal body with a conduit.”
My brows draw close before the metal band on my wrist grows heavier. My pulse triples. “Conduit… is that what’s on my wrist?” My voice hitches and I wince at the sound.
“First, tell me what the prophecy says.”
“Didn’tyoujust tell me the prophecy?”
“I told you the redacted version that’s known by anyone who still believes the words of the ancient oracles.”
Part of me wants to tell him. To end this all. To find out what this device on my wrist does. But his desperation indicates that the information is clearly important for his twisted mission to open the Veil. I can’t let that happen, I can’t let him unleash Enidwen or let her infiltrate me. The Book of Agryna spoke of the moon and sun falling if the Veil were opened. It could be symbolic, but there is no room for risks. I’ve caused enough messes in my twenty-one years—I refuse to destroy the world.
Iywan glances at the sadist beside him. “Eefa?—”
She eagerly slices into my arm, right through the last two cuts. I grit my teeth and keep my focus away from the pain.
“What does the prophecy say?” Iywan asks.
“That the daughter of Agryna shall restore power to?—”
More pain. I clench my teeth and breathe through the searing sensation. Blood darkens my light grey tunic and my vision blurs.
“Cutting me over and over again isn’t going to change what the book says,” I grind out.
Another slice, this time through my trousers. The blade nicks my thigh but it’s nothing compared to the slashes on my arm.
“Keep going until she tells the truth,” Iywan instructs.
Bile rises into my throat. They’re never going to stop.
Eefa grins as she presses the point of the blade into my upper thigh. I steel my resolve and imagine myself far away, on a ship in the middle of the ocean, gazing out at the beautiful blue waters. Still, pain tears through my leg as Eefa languidly pushes the knife deeper and deeper and deeper. I bite my lip and a coppery tang springs onto my tongue. My heart threatens to burst from my chest, and a strangled cry of pain fills the space.
It takes a while before I realize that the screams are coming from me. Tears pour down my cheeks, and the dagger slowly sinking into my thigh encompasses all my thoughts. I clench my jaw, cutting off the scream and emitting a prolonged, almost animalistic grunt instead.
“She can’t bloody think if you’re shoving a blade into her leg!” Briony yells.
Eefa yanks the blade from my flesh and blood spurts, drawing another scream from me.
Briony swears colorfully as she rushes to my side, pushing Eefa away. “You’ve severed an artery, you doltish girl,” she says, casting a heated glance at Eefa while she presses her hand against my leg.
I bite back another cry.
Eefa shrugs. “Good thing we have a Healer around.”
Briony glances sidelong at her as a pale blue light glows around her hands. The pain slowly dissolves, leaving behind a faint throbbing. Then Briony rocks back onto her ankles and stares silently at my newly healed leg, trying to regain her own composure as I try to regain mine.
I’m dizzy and heavy-limbed, barely able to register what’s happening as Briony reaches for my injured arm.
