Chapter 7

I gasped as I came to and immediately peered down at my hand. I sagged in relief when I saw that I did in fact still have all of my fingers.

“You fainted.” Lord Stryker’s deep gravelly voice came from behind me and I jolted, but then yelped when I realized I was still strapped to the chair.

“How long was I out?”

Lord Stryker watched me keenly. “Hours. I had my lunch. I thought you were dead but alas, no such luck. Does this happen often?” He seemed curious as if I were some science experiment.

Was there a point in lying here? In a world where I didn’t know a single soul. Perhaps revealing my greatest weakness to my enemy would be a mistake; I knew Queen Liliana and my mother would tell me it was, but I hoped that knowing about my ailment might actually soften him toward me.

“Yes.”

He frowned. “Interesting.”

He walked over and picked up the scissors again and I balled my hands to fists. “There is no need for torture, Lord Stryker. I will tell you whatever you need to know.”

He raised one eyebrow as if he didn’t believe me and I arched one in return as if to say try me .

Setting down the scissors, he crossed his arms over his chest and peered down his straight nose at me. His pose was probably meant to be intimidating, but I was too relieved he’d put the shears down to be properly threatened by his imposing figure. Besides, I think I was somewhat getting used to his size and scowls. And his scar, which may have been menacing to others, didn’t faze me at all. If anything, it added interest to his face, which was vexing to me.

“Explain your magic,” he ordered, and I held back a sigh. Of course he had to start there.

“I can influence emotions and feelings,” I said. Choosing my words carefully, I went for the simplest explanation for my magic, hoping that he would accept that at face value and move on.

“So mind control,” he said, his frown turning into a full scowl.

I winced. I’d often referred to my magic as mind control to myself, but I hated that implication. I did not strip away a fae’s free will. At least, not completely. I couldn’t tell them to jump and they would do it.

“No,” I said, shaking my head and shooting him a glare. “I don’t control minds.”

The look he gave me said that he thought I was lying.

“Yes, my magic has a persuasive element,” I admitted. “I can alter how someone feels, or at least their perception of how they feel, making them angry or calm, more agreeable and the like. But if I could control minds do you really think I would be strapped to this chair and at your mercy?”

He tilted his head a fraction, considering my words. After a long pause he gave a small nod. “Then explain to me how this magic of yours works. And I want details . Does it work on all fae? Can you use it against more than one at a time? Do you have control over how long it lasts?”

After his last question a spark of anger flashed in his eyes and I had to school my features to keep from smiling. He probably struggled with the emotions I pushed on him for hours after I’d passed out. The thought of that gave me no small amount of pleasure.

“I’ve never met anyone my magic doesn’t work on,” I said. “However, recent developments have shown that some can hold up against my influence better than others.”

I gave Lord Stryker a pointed look. I was still a little baffled about how he’d been able to function with so much of my magic piled on him. That had never happened before.

If he was pleased with his ability to best me, he didn’t show it. His face remained hard and unchanging. Like one carved from cold stone.

“Go on,” he said.

I didn’t want to reveal so many of my secrets, but what other choice did I have? My own secrets weren’t worth my life, or my fingers.

Under duress and repeated prodding from Lord Stryker, I spilled all of them.

Yes, I could push my powers on multiple people at once. No, I didn’t know how many. Yes, I had control over the intensity of the feelings I forced on fae. No, I couldn’t direct anyone to do something specific, but if I pushed enough of the right emotion on someone, then they could be persuaded in a direction. Yes, I could pull my magic back at will, and if I passed out before doing so the magic would linger, but eventually fade.

The questions went on and on and the better part of an hour had passed before Lord Stryker’s interrogation finally ended. He knew everything about my power now.

I bit my bottom lip in annoyance and frustration and the lord’s gaze dipped down to my mouth before immediately popping back up.

Interesting .

Maybe my seduction plan had some merit after all? But his next words caused those ideas to flee from my mind completely.

“So you are a manipulator then.” It was a statement, not a question. He snorted a humorless half-laugh. “I wouldn’t have expected any less from a deceitful Faerie witch.”

I kept my mouth shut as heat rose to my cheeks.

I wanted to disagree, but he was right. Not about being deceitful, but my magic was about manipulation, and it was something I’d always felt a degree of shame about. It was a large reason I was always so careful about using it, at least up until recently. In the last couple of weeks I’d used my magic more than I had in the previous nineteen years of my life combined.

“I’ve answered all your questions, now it’s my turn,” I said.

He chuckled, but the sound held no humor. “You are not in a position to make demands. I don’t answer to Faerie filth.”

The insult would have stung if I cared at all about what he thought of me.

“What did you do to Princess Dawn?” I demanded anyway.

His upper lip peeled back from his teeth and he growled, “Not nearly as much as I would have liked.”

Horrible images of Dawn being tortured flew through my mind. The man was truly a monstrous beast.

“You killed her, didn’t you? Tell me where her body is.” If I made it back to Faerie, I wanted to be able to tell her mother what had become of her and that her daughter was laid to rest properly. Dawn deserved that much.

“Killed her?” Lord Stryker’s dark eyebrows shot up. “Well, I suppose it would be a comfort to you to think that.”

“A comfort?” I said, disgusted. “How could it ever be a comfort to know that one of our princesses had been brutally murdered?”

“Because the truth is far more disturbing than whatever nonsense you’ve convinced yourself happened to the little witch.”

“What are you saying?” I asked, confused. Was he trying to tell me that Dawn wasn’t actually dead, or just that he hadn’t been the one to kill her? It was clear that he’d crossed paths with her. He said he hadn’t done as much to her as he’d have liked. Could she still be here in his dungeon, alive, but unable to complete her mission, like I was?

A kernel of hope sparked in my chest.

If she was here, perhaps I could rescue her. Then after I figured out a way to get back my dagger and kill this villain, we could both return to Faerie.

“Where is she? What happened to Princess Dawn?” I growled.

A smug smile lifted the corners of Lord Stryker’s lush mouth, softening his face. Something pulled tight low in my gut and I hated myself a little for my body’s reaction.

“Oh, I will tell you what happened to your Faerie princess,” Lord Stryker said, “not because you demand it from me. But because I want to see your face when you learn the truth.”

My brows bunched in confusion.

“Your Princess Dawn is not dead,” he said, and my heart leapt for joy. “But she is no longer Princess Dawn, but rather Lady Dawn.”

“Lady Dawn?” I still wasn’t following.

“Yes. Lady Dawn of the Northern Kingdom, to be exact. She is living in luxury, married to my brother, the Ethereum Northern lord, and ruling by his side. She has abandoned your world.”

My whole body went still with shock. I was struck speechless.

“No.” I shook my head. “You lie. There’s no way Princess Dawn would have betrayed her court and all of Faerie like that.”

But the haughty look on his face made me nervous. It didn’t look like he was lying.

“She can and she did,” he said confidently.

“But, why? How?” My heart began to pick up speed.

“Likely she realized the superiority of our world and somehow tricked my foolish brother into believing she cared for him. Love,” he said with a sneer, “is nothing more than a fool’s illusion. Someday my brother will realize that. Hopefully it’s before he finds a faestone dagger embedded in his back.”

My mind whirled. It didn’t make sense. Dawn had been trained as our champion since birth. Even if she did have affection for one of the Ethereum lords—which was almost impossible to fathom: I was experiencing firsthand how evil they were—she wouldn’t just abandon Faerie to perish under the weight of the curse. If it was in fact true that she’d married one of them, there had to be an explanation. Although at the moment I couldn’t think of anything that would make abandoning her quest, her duty to our people, acceptable.

“I just don’t believe you,” I muttered. I couldn’t. Not without proof.

“Enough of this,” he said, waving a hand in the air as if to dismiss the whole thing, not caring if I was convinced or not. “As entertaining as our time together has been, I have other matters to attend to today.”

He thought this was entertaining? He truly was warped.

Stepping away from me, he went to his tray of torture devices and picked up a needle dagger. My heartbeat started to flutter.

“What are you doing?” I assumed that at the end of this questioning, at worst he’d put me back in my cell, but apparently he had other plans. “I answered your questions,” I protested, squirming against the straps that held me in place.

“And for that I’m grateful and will make it a quick death. But I think even you can understand how I can’t let an enemy with such strong magic live. Especially an enemy who’s one goal is to take my heart.”

The breath stalled in my lungs. He was really going to kill me. And why wouldn’t he? It would be stupid to keep me alive.

Lord Stryker took a step toward me, adjusting the dagger in his hand so it was positioned over my heart.

“No, no wait,” I yelled in desperation. “I can help you.”

He narrowed his gray-blue eyes at me and goose bumps broke out on my skin.

“You can help me by dying,” he said. “And then when the next princess shows up, she can help me in the same way.”

I gasped. That was something else he’d gotten out of me during his interrogation. That if I failed in my mission, another princess of Faerie would come to Ethereum with the same goals.

I’d thought I was garnering goodwill with him at the time, but now I realized I might have just signed their death warrants along with my own.

“No, I mean I can be of use to you alive . I can use my magic for you instead of against you.”

I was bargaining with a monster, but I had no other choice. If I died now it would be another three months until the next champion arrived in Ethereum. My land would be withered by then and Lord Stryker would be ready for her. I had to do whatever I could to buy myself time to figure out how to escape, retrieve my dagger and kill this monster.

Out of desperation I pushed some of my magic into him. Just a touch of calmness mixed with acceptance to get him to believe me, that I could be an asset to him, but he realized what I was doing immediately and only got more agitated.

“ Stop using your witchcraft on me,” he yelled and held the pointed knife to my throat, pressing it in slightly so that a single drop of blood escaped.

I hissed, leaning back as far as the restraints would allow and pulled back my magic immediately. My heart was beating faster than a hummingbird’s wings, but I saw in his eyes that his anger dampened when my magic retreated. The blade hovered over my skin, yet didn’t bite into my flesh.

“I can help you discern who deserves to be in your dungeon and who doesn’t,” I said, trying to calm my heart. I had no doubt that if I fainted now he wouldn’t bother waiting until I woke to make good on his threat.

He scowled. “Everyone in my dungeon deserves to be there.”

I started to shake my head, but stopped myself because I didn’t want to accidently touch the blade. “That’s not true. The boy beside my cell, he’s innocent. He’s not a smuggler.”

The lord laughed darkly. “A likely story. Every one of the prisoners here claims innocence. You’re as naive as you look.”

“It’s true. I used my magic on him already to discern the truth.” That was a bold-faced lie. I hadn’t done anything to Eli to know if he was telling the truth, but I believed in my heart he was. Enough to stake my own life on it. “And if he’s blameless,” I continued, “how many more are trapped in this abyss as well? Do you care so little about your subjects you are content to torture the innocent?”

I saw indecision flash over his features and it gave me hope. Appealing to his mercy was a risky move because I wasn’t sure he had any. There was a very good chance this lord didn’t care who was or wasn’t innocent. He might just relish causing pain. But I felt a glimmer of hope when he hesitated.

“And I can find out who deserves to be here in his place,” I added, trying to appeal to his need for justice.

He narrowed his gaze. His striking gray-blue eyes assessed me. “How did you discern the truth? You didn’t mention that as part of your powers before.”

“My magic is multifaceted,” I said, thinking quickly. “I can relax someone enough that they will spill all their secrets. They won’t even think of lying.”

At least I hoped I could. It wasn’t specifically something I’ve tried before, but in theory it would work.

Something flashed in Lord Stryker’s eyes and if I didn’t know better, I’d say it was fear, but it was quickly wiped away. He stepped away from me, removing the blade from beneath my chin. I let out a sigh of relief, but it might have been premature.

“Prove it to me,” he said with a gleam of calculation in his gaze.

“How?” I asked.

He crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. “Figure it out. But don’t even think of using your magic on me again, or I’ll run you through without a thought. If you want to stay alive, at least for another day, prove to me you can be useful in this way.”

He called out to his guards and the two that had strapped me to the chair entered the room, along with another I didn’t recognize. They looked to their lord for instruction, but Lord Stryker just stared at me, waiting for me to prove my worth.

I assessed the three guards, trying to tamp down my panic and come up with a plan. I choose the guard in the middle for no other reason than he looked a little shifty to me, as though he might have secrets.

Centering myself the best I could, I pushed my powers onto him, starting with calming and then moving on to contentment. Then I started to layer on more feelings and emotions. Security. Comfort. Vulnerability. The feelings of being validated, of being supported. Anything I could think of that would make a fae feel both safe enough to reveal their secrets, and inclined to do so. The fae’s eyes started to appear glassy after only a few moments and then his posture slackened.

Manipulating my magic like I never had before, I did my best to weave emotions together to make this fae believe he was in a safe environment. So that nothing he said was of any consequence, and he’d feel encouraged to talk.

The fae’s eyes went to half-mast and he swayed a little, almost as if he were drunk. I hoped I hadn’t pushed him too far. I’d never done this before, and if I failed I would surely die.

“What is your name?” I asked him.

He stumbled a little and one of the other guards had to help him remain standing. The two looked at Lord Stryker in panic but he only nodded, as if telling them to let this play out. Perhaps I’d laid my magic on too thick. I pulled some of my power back, worried I’d overwhelmed him.

My heart was in my throat until he answered, slurring the syllables, but finally telling us his name was Garrett.

I could tell by the look on Lord Stryker’s face that it was correct, but he wasn’t impressed. He shrugged. “Getting a fae to admit to their name is hardly the same as pulling a hidden truth from someone.” He tested the sharpness of the tip of his dagger with the pad of his finger, his eyes never leaving mine. A clear threat.

I swallowed, wetting my dry throat. “Garrett,” I said, hoping against all hope that these weren’t the last words I would ever utter. “What do you think of your lord?”

I was betting that Garrett, or any of the guards working for Lord Stryker, had hidden animosity for their cold master.

Garrett’s gaze didn’t even shift to the Ethereum lord before he answered. “My lord is a strict ruler, but fair.”

Oh no, this wasn’t going to prove anything.

“But he has so many riches that he could be sharing with the rest of us,” he went on without any prompting.

Okay, now we were getting somewhere. Surely Lord Stryker would agree that his guard wouldn’t normally speak so freely around him.

But Garrett wasn’t done. “That’s why I like to help myself to a little bit of his treasure every now and then when he asks me to watch over it. He has so much, I’m sure he won’t miss the amount I swipe from time to time. Besides, my wife has expensive tastes.”

I caught my breath and the two guards standing beside him began to back away slowly as if they knew this wasn’t going to end well, and they didn’t want to be associated with him in any way.

This was incriminating evidence for sure, proving I could convince someone to tell the truth, but I hadn’t wanted the guard to actually get into trouble. Stealing from your lord was a serious offence, and the stormy look on Lord Stryker’s face said that this guard’s deeds wouldn’t go unpunished.

I felt sick to my stomach and was just about to pull my power back, stopping Garrett from admitting anything else, when he damned himself further.

“But the heist my brother and I are planning next month will mean that I can live like a lord for the rest of my life. After we sack the royal treasury, we’ll go live in the Midlands. Lord Stryker will never find us. The fae there hate him and will protect us.”

I yanked my magic back and immediately the guard straightened, snapping to attention. He looked at his lord and dread filled his eyes, then his gaze swiveled to me and filled with hatred.

“What have you done?” he screamed. Pulling his sword, he started toward me.

I was practically defenseless, still trapped in this blasted chair, so I gathered my magic to lash out and protect myself in the only way I could.

Before I had a chance push extreme panic on him, black shadows shot from Lord Stryker’s palms and wrapped around Garrett’s neck and face, smothering him completely.

The guard fell to the ground in a heap, his features obscured by the lord’s dark shadows.

I didn’t know what Lord Stryker was doing to him, but the guard’s screams echoed throughout the small room. If my hands had been free I would have covered my ears to block out his tortured wails.

Suddenly, the screams stopped and the shadows cleared. The fae lay face down on the ground, unmoving. I couldn’t tell whether he was alive or dead.

“Take him,” Lord Stryker ordered, and the other guards snapped from their shock and hefted the fae between them, dragging him from the room.

“Is he … dead?” I asked, my voice shaking from horror. What had I done?

Lord Stryker’s head turned toward me. His stormy eyes speared me, somehow looking colder than they ever had before.

“Well done,” he said, his deep voice monotone, emotionless. “You earned yourself another day among the living.”