She flashes her eyes at Elrod and says, “Oh, him? He’s agreed to be a blood sacrifice if needed, but he’s stunned and can’t change his mind. Pity if he feels differently now. Oh, well.” She smiles casually.
A commotion breaks my thoughts as Rohhit tries to battle against Nolan’s grip. “Briar!” he shouts, his words barely understandable through the slurs.
“Don’t make me laugh, you fool. You aren’t going to win this battle. You can barely even stand.” She raises her arms, exposing her blood-soaked hands. “My sons and I have had this in the works for years and finally got to put everything into motion when I convinced your father to begin the trials. We are already working on raising our armies to fight. To finally prove Lumor Wielders are superior, more deserving, and should rule all the lands as the strongest power. Shadow Wielders should remain in the dark once and for all.”
Fury rolls in my gut. “Your sons are dead, in case you forgot. I was there. I saw the light leave both of their miserable eyes,” I spit.
She grits her teeth, moving inches from my face. “Watch your fucking mouth.”
Her hand collides with my cheek. A sting of pain shoots across my face.
“However,” Calia flexes her wrist from the blow, “that’s only partially correct. But I think you are forgetting one.”
My jaw slacks and a swarm of dread crashes into my core.
What is she talking about?
Calia points to Nolan.
What the fuck is she talking about?
She moves toward him. Her hand resting on his broad shoulder. “He is also my son. Years ago, I found out what family he was adopted into and I was shocked at how perfect it was. Like the God of Lumor was putting this into place for me from the beginning—it’s a shame that I share the child with your father.”
My body quakes and I feel like I’m going to be sick. Nolan is her son with my father, my half-brother. Nolan could try to rule Daramveer and take my kingdom from me, and I have a strong feeling that Calia would help him. My mind flashes back to my father in the cave. His face when I said only son, it all makes sense.
“Now, about my other boys,” She smiles, patting Nolan on the shoulder. “We best get started. I miss them dearly.”
Nolan nods, a smile of insanity is painted on his face—the resemblance is uncanny. That’s where I know his eyes. They remind me of Barlowe’s because we’re blood. Connected through our father.
A thud breaks my stare as I see Rohhit slumped on the ground. Elrod standing over him with a bloody fist as if he came alive for that sole purpose. “Gods! Rohhit!” I scream.
I begin to move my wrists against the chains keeping me in place.
“Chain him up,” Calia yells to Elrod. “And make it painful.”
Elrod does as he’s told and uses the remaining chains on the wall to secure Rohhit to the stone, a few feet away from where I lay, the exact place I found Rose. It’s all too familiar.
“Now, can we please continue? I’m growing impatient.” Calia snaps her fingers, and Nolan moves to the ritual site, kneelingbefore the large Rigils. Blood immediately soaks his pants as he ignores the gore surrounding him. Nolan closes his eyes, placing both hands on the ground. Near-silent whispers leave his mouth as he begins to pray to the God of Light.
“I’m missing something,” Calia taps her chin, “Oh yes, the crystal. I believe you can help me with that, Briar.”
She walks to my side and feels down my body; the touch of her hands against me makes me gag. “Get the fuck off of me!” I demand.
Her hands quickly find the crystal tucked underneath my leg. “There it is! Such a stunning stone.” Calia admires the crystal which illuminates in the darkness with its black hues. The crystal begins to glow in her hands. It’s prepped and fully charged from years of magic draining into the small stone.
“Such a shame that your first large event as a queen will be your death. It’s almost poetic, I guess...” She laughs, “Good thing I have another readily available to run this miserable kingdom.”
Calia’s lips peel back, and a wide grin spreads. She lingers for a moment, studying me and my swollen cheek. She turns and bounds toward Nolan, still kneeling. Elrod joins them, offering his palms to be sliced for blood.
With the crystal in her hand, the room becomes charged with the magic draining from our bodies and flowing directly into the nearby stone when it hits me. This is where my father kept his prisoners all those years. They didn’t resist during their public punishments because they were drained of all life and magic. He had been charging the crystal down here for years. It’s genuinely unbreakable at this point and has the power to raise hundreds if wielded to.
The floor begins to shake like the dead are trying to break through the stone floors. Calia places the glowing crystal in the middle of the Rigil, causing a blast of magic to explode. Near-blinding lights make my eyes snap shut as I scream, trying toshield myself from it. Rohhit rustles on the floor, cracking his eyes open, still dazed from the blow and drugs in his system.
A chill moves through the room, like someone or something is coming through. Calia and Nolan remain on the ritual site, praying silently to the gods. Tiny beads of blood begin to float around them, filling the air with crimson rain. The small droplets slowly form a shape. The particles slap together like flesh, slowly weaving back together. I pinch my eyes closed in response, the sight too unbearable.
Rohhit looks in my direction, panic flooding his eyes as I continue to grind my hand against the chains holding me down.
I’m almost free.
