The following week came and went in a haze. Callum left in his enchanted carriage to confront his commanding officers with the news of his sudden marriage. He’d come back with two matching silver bands and a bouquet of red roses. He’d sent word to his parents that he’d be journeying home with a wife, and spent the rest of his time resting and healing. Elise spent long hours kneeling over him, her veins lit in a vibrant blue as she poured her healing Essence into him. She and Madelynn took a trip into the city, using all the money she’d brought from her parents’ house to buy early learning books on Essence. Madelynn spent her time reading, studying the foundations of Essence Bearing. Elise had informed her, after Madelynn asked about teaching her the basics of healing, that she’d need a stronger foundation than nothing to begin learning.

Madelynn poured herself into her studies, recalling her early days when she’d been permitted to use her Essence. It was an entirely different world, unlocking a side of existence she didn’t even know existed. When she spoke the Language of Old, as Elise did when she healed, her veins lit up in a sickly green color, and she wondered if she’d ever find the same beauty as Elise had in her sky blue misty aura, or Callum’s silver.

On their fourth day at the inn, Elise had announced that Madelynn was finally ready to learn the basics of healing. When asked if he would be teaching Madelynn the basics of combat, Callum just shook his head and said she wasn’t ready. He would teach her the basics of self-defense, but they wouldn’t delve into Essence. Madelynn clenched her jaw and spat silent curses at him, but decided he was probably right. She and Elise needed to focus on finding a way to neutralize the rune, anyway.

On their seventh day at the inn, there was a deafening crack, and the air around them seemed to compress, growing heavy with a golden mist. Elise shrieked and dove behind her bed. Callum simply stepped in front of Madelynn, shielding her with his body as his old friend crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

“This isn’t quite the romantic getaway I was expecting,” Casimir said in a menacingly smooth tone.

Madelynn pressed herself against Callum’s back, as if he could sweep her out of the room in the same way Casimir had appeared. His skin was sickly hot, and she watched as silver crept down his arms until it settled in his hands, a cloud of grey droplets circling around his outstretched fingers. “Why are you here?” Callum asked, his voice deep and accusatory.

Casimir chuckled, but the sound wasn’t one of amusement. It was condescending as he tipped his head back and stared down his nose at Callum. “Well, the time ran out,” he said casually, motioning toward Callum’s middle. “And in a week, it’ll run out again. And again. And again.”

And again. Madelynn’s eyes clamped shut as she felt Callum take a step back. Her stomach filled with the familiar pull of dread at his words. He had marked Callum just so he could… what? Torment them? Kill them off one by one?

“You need to leave,” Callum said sternly, the cloud around his hand spreading up his arm.

“Or what?” Casimir laughed out, his boots thumping heavily against the floor as he took a step forward. “You know what I’m here for.” His tone dropped the playful maliciousness, contorting into a seriousness Madelynn had never heard from him before.

“You’re not taking my wife away from me,” Callum responded heavily, his non-glowing arm coming around to grasp Madelynn’s hand. She held onto him like he was her lifeline, and turned her head to find Elise peeking over the bed at Casimir, her eyes full of the same horror as when she’d read the letter from Callum.

Casimir smiled in a way that didn’t reach his eyes as he took another step forward. Callum took a step back. That golden mist still danced through the room, and Madelynn realized it was Casimir’s Essence. Of course, he was pompous enough to flaunt it so widely. “I don’t plan on taking her anywhere,” Casimir started, his boot tapping impatiently on the wooden floor, “unless she wants me to, of course.” He leaned sideways until his gaze met Madelynn’s, and he gave her a little wave. Madelynn scowled, drawing backward until Callum was between them again. “All I want is to talk to her, make sure she’s…safe.”

Callum went rigid, perhaps in some silent communication only two people who’d known each other for a lifetime could possess. The hand that held Madelynn’s trembled again, and Madelynn squeezed it reassuringly. But, before another word was said, Callum dropped his hand from her grasp and stepped to the side. What was he doing? Casimir smiled villainously at her, and she took a step toward Callum, her belly churning once again, but Casimir let out a tsk, stopping her in her tracks.

She glared at Casimir, who just nodded in Callum’s direction. Madelynn followed his gaze and stared in horror at the golden tendril wrapped around his throat. He stretched his neck upward as the cloud of mist solidified and pressed in, cutting off his air supply.

“What do you say, Madelynn?” Casimir asked, not bearing Callum any heed as he pressed the air from his windpipes. “A word?”

Madelynn’s eyes flicked from Casimir, to Callum, to Elise, who just shook her head frantically. She swallowed heavily, her body rigid as she turned back to Casimir. “Two minutes,” she said flatly, not meeting his golden gaze.

“Five minutes,” he said with a tinge of humor, as if all this was some grand joke to him.

“One minute,” she pushed, wishing she’d kept up on her practice from all those years ago. She’d rip his throat out right now if she could.

The golden vice around Callum’s throat closed in tighter, and he let out a sickly gurgle. “Five minutes, or Lover Boy’s doing the Devil’s Dance.” His voice was manic as she spat the words, and Callum’s face blossomed into a deep red hue as the tendril tightened once again. His silver Essence flickered against the strain, flicking at it weakly.

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Madelynn watched, horrified, frozen in fear, as his feet slowly came off the ground until just his toes supported him. He gagged, the veins in his neck bulging as his hands came up to grasp at the Essence. Suddenly, she saw herself kneeling next to Callum as his flesh fell away, sticking to Elise’s fingers. She’d done nothing to protect him then, she had to do something now. “Fine!” Madelynn shouted, but Callum was hoisted higher still. “Five minutes!” she blurted, taking a step toward Casimir. “Just please, don’t hurt him.”

Casimir smiled menacingly, his shoulders coming up in a shrug. “See?” he said, and released Callum, who plummeted to the floor, his knees slamming against the wood with a crack. Elise was on him in an instant, and Madelynn turned her attention back to Casimir. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” He held his hand out, his gaze locked on her. “Now, five minutes, and I swear-” he held a hand to his heart in a mock sincerity- “you’ll be back with your dear lover, probably before he wakes.”

Madelynn glanced at Elise and Callum once again, Elise’s hand on his head as blue shined out from her. “Five minutes,” Madelynn said quietly. She couldn’t will her feet to move, the weight of all her decisions pressing down on her, as she reached out to grasp Casimir’s hand.

As soon as their fingers brushed, her vision faded to gold. The floor fell out from under her as the air around her pulled inward, compressing her lungs. She couldn’t find her breath as the ground met her hard, and she collapsed, her stomach promptly emptying into the soft grass.

“You’ll get used to it,” Casimir said from somewhere behind her, but she couldn’t turn to seek him out as her vision cleared and she heaved again.

As her stomach finally expelled the last of its contents, she wiped her mouth and pushed herself to her feet, her legs shaking under her as the world cleared. She stumbled, holding her hands out to steady herself. “What was that?” she barked out as the blurry figure of Casimir came into view.

“Shifting,” he said simply, as if that explained anything. “You’ll learn it soon enough.”

Madelynn closed her eyes, pressing a hand to her forehead as a headache overwhelmed her. “What do you want from me?” she asked, feeling the world tip under her feet. She felt herself fall sideways, and couldn’t catch her footing as she crumpled to the ground.

Casimir knelt over her, resting his forearms on his knees. “I want you to learn,” he said, picking at his nail, as if Madelynn was boring him already. “I meant what I wrote in that letter. You have a unique potential, and it would be a shame if you wasted it with someone like Callum.”

“Someone like Callum,” she spat, pushing herself up to sit. “Keep his name out of your mouth.”

Casimir laughed, low and mighty, tilting his head to look up at the sky. “I forgot the sting of your tongue,” he choked out between the roar of laughter. “I’m your ally here, Madelynn,” he said, his tone suddenly serious as he rocked back to sit on his butt. “Perhaps your only ally.”

Madelynn glared at him, wishing she could disappear. But her head still screamed in pain as she squinted against the harsh sunlight. “What do you want from me?” she repeated, trying to draw the subject away from Callum. She didn’t want to think about him, laying on the floor helpless as Elise tended to him. Madelynn, as usual, did nothing. Couldn’t do anything to help him.

“I want you to open your eyes,” he said, but she could find no malice in his words. “Callum won’t ever let you see the ways of the world beyond that room. No matter where you go, if you’re with Callum, you’ll always be stuck in that room- stuck in that house you despise so much, your potential limited to the crumbs he drops at his feet. You’ll always be tied to his weakness.”

“Shut up!” Madelynn shouted, clamping her hands over his ears. He was lying. Callum was her friend, her first kiss, her husband. He wouldn’t keep her ignorant. Even as she fought it, doubt swirled in her mind, circling back to his refusal to teach her in the ways of Essence. Casimir was lying. He was a manipulator and a liar. She slammed her hands into the grass, feeling the dirt underneath jam under her nails. “How dare you speak of his weakness when you’re the one who carved it into him!”

Casimir tilted his head, his eyebrows drawing together. He blinked once. Twice. Then the composure returned to his features, as if he’d worked out a problem inside his head. A cynical smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he spoke. “I made Callum,” he said slowly, his voice deep and laced with an anger that he didn’t show as he smirked knowingly. “And as such, I know exactly who he is.” He leaned forward, the mist of his Essence spreading from him like a golden halo. “If I were you, I’d pay very close attention to the stories he whispers in your ear at night.”

In an instant, he disappeared in a cloud of gold, then Madelynn’s ears popped as a crack sounded in the air just behind her. Her skin crawled as the breath of his words tickled her ear. “He won’t hesitate to lie to protect the ones he loves.” Madelynn whipped around to find him crouching just behind her, his face emotionless. “I’m not that honorable.”

Madelynn pushed herself backward until there was more than an arm’s reach between them. “Why would I trust anything you say?” she breathed out, her ears still ringing from his shifting.

“Tell me, Darling,” he drawled, cocking his head to the side, “did your lover tell you how that rune on his side came to be? Or that terribly inconvenient curse?”

Madelynn couldn’t find the words to respond. A quick retort lingered the the tip of her tongue as he watched her, then pulled his lips into a thin line and shook his head in faux devastation.

“I didn’t think so.” He breathed heavily, then glanced down at his arm, where a watch didn’t decorate his wrist. “Oh, would you look at that… time’s up.”

Without warning, he lunged forward and grabbed her arm.

Fear paralyzed her, clamped her eyes shut, even as the world disappeared into gold once again. She was trapped inside the fold of golden wings, unable to move, unable to resist, and then the hard floor of the inn crashed against her. She fell to her knees and sucked in a deep breath, dry heaving at the sensation as her stomach flipped.

“Until next week,” she heard Casimir chirp out, before the crack of Essence filled the room, and he was gone.

Her ears continued to ring as Callum and Elise rushed to her side, dragging her to the bed as Elise’s blue Essence poured into her, checking for any injuries. Even as Callum ran shaky fingers through her hair and peppered gentle kisses on her temple, his words fell on deaf ears. She stared up at the ceiling as Casimir’s words echoed in her head. Callum won’t hesitate to lie to protect the ones he loves.