She entered her hovel and immediately grabbed a worn and battered bag; she put in the things Tahlisa had left her and donned the black cape, discarding her own, in the process but keeping the carnelian. The remaining space was used to store what food would last the longest. There was nothing else she cared to bring with her. Glancing around she took stock of the last decade of her life and tried to convince herself that she would finally leave it all behind.
She was far from certain Callum would wait until the sun had set with looking for her but hopefully, her ruse combined with his father's control would be enough to give her a head start. Moving as inconspicuously as she could muster, she left, hugging the wall of her hovel around the back, where one of her escorts from earlier was waiting with a horse, all saddled and ready to go.
“Lord Harrow suggests you head through the forest to the East; if you keep the course, you'll find your way to the Sea-Bound road, it leads to Kalas.”
The man handed her a pouch, which jingled as she took it.
“Here's enough money to secure crossing to any country of your choice. Let it be far from here.”
The last part was said with enough venom to cause the horse to shift, uneasily. She shot the man a sharp glare, wondering if he had helped himself to some of the gold but said nothing.
Instead, she nodded and mounted, hoping she still remembered how to ride, adequately. The mare was calm and malleable and without hesitating she took off, at a trot, trying to stay hidden from the Tower. When she reached the treeline, she changed into a gallop and quickly found her skills were still there, if a bit rusty. The horse was given rein to set the pace and she used the position of the setting sun to make sure she stayed on course. As the distance between her and Mahlein grew and the darkness started to set in, she felt almost hopeful that she had actually escaped her prison.
Soft white flakes started falling, like downs from the heavens, gliding slowly through the air in an elegant dance. The snow muffled the hoof beats, causing a dreamlike atmosphere of moving through a world without sound. Tahlisa's cape kept the cold at bay, allowing Saelina to revel in the beauty of her surroundings. A white canvass stretched out in front of her, inviting and gentle, and for a moment she could sense the freedom which waited, just beyond her grasp.
Looking back, Saelina could not entirely explain what happened next. She remembered riding and then she was in the snow, with a mysterious figure standing over her. Black eyes looked down from a pale, almost white face and a gloved hand, with bare fingers, was pushing on her chest, keeping her from rising.
“You're not the sorceress.”
The voice was smooth and dispassionate with a strange accent. She struggled against the hold but the figure was surprisingly strong, staying perfectly still while she thrashed under his grip. Finally, she stopped, deciding to preserve her energy.
“Thank you for the clarification.”
While it was probably unwise to antagonize her attacker she was loathe to show him any weakness.
“Where is she?”
His tone demanded an answer but she just scoffed.
“I don't know.”
“Liar!”
The pressure started increasing and she gasped out in pain. She squirmed, again, and managed to get her legs under the stranger; with momentous effort she kicked and succeeded in pushing him off. She took the chance to stand up, putting her hands up before he could recover and attack.
“Stop! I'm not lying!”
He paused for a few moments. In the descending twilight, his skin looked almost luminous.
“Why are you wearing her cloak?”
“She left it behind. She left everything behind and disappeared in the middle of the night.”
He uttered a few words in a foreign language, probably curses.
“She must have ascended.”
He locked eyes with Saelina, again.
“Where's the essence?”
She just stared back at him.
“Why would I have her essence? Wouldn't that be with her?”
“Not hers, the dragon's!”
He was getting impatient and she had the distinct impression that she was about to enter a world of danger if she did not tread carefully.
“What dragon?”
For a moment the stranger's body tensed and she readied herself but then he thought better of it and let out a frustrated breath.
“Where are her things?”
“I have them.”
He took a step closer and she took one back.
“Show me!”
“No.”
She changed her stance, pushing her pack further behind her and immediately realized her mistake; the other's eyes flickered to her side and back, then he smirked.
Duck!
She never saw the attack coming, only barely managed to avoid his grasp as she dropped and rolled away, however, she had no time to recover as he reached out and grabbed her cape, pulling her towards him, forcefully. She felt his hand on her shoulder and in the next instant he had torn the strap and pushed her away, holding her bag, triumphantly. She fell to the ground with a thud and glared up at her opponent who ignored the angry look and proceeded to dump all the contents in the snow. He used a boot to scatter the objects, looking everything over with a careful eye.
Saelina felt some irritation at the prospect of having to pick it all up, again, before realizing she might not even get the chance. For all she knew, she was about to face her death. Oddly, the idea made her feel slightly less agitated. That quickly changed as the man's expression darkened.
“It's not here. Where did you put it?”
She stood and groaned.
“If I don't know what you're looking for, then how in the world would I know to put it anywhere?”
“Do not test me, beggar!” he spat.
She started getting angry and obstinately glared back at him.
“And why not?”
“Your kind are weak; I suggest you don't tempt fate.”
“I won't die easily! You might even be the one ending up dead.”
He seemed slightly surprised by her challenge, then crossed his arms over his chest and waited; it dawned on her that he wanted her to take the opportunity to attack him. She knew she should take the chance to escape but she needed to catch him by surprise. Without thinking it through she rushed in and tried to shove him but he side-stepped her attempt, easily. She used the opening to make a break for it, but he deftly grabbed her and spun her back around to face him. She swung as she turned and hit nothing but air.
She kept going, kicking, punching, tackling but he evaded every move of her, effortlessly, seemingly amused by her feeble attempts. She felt a rising anger at the smug expression on his face as she failed, over and over; her mind was filled with the image of Callum, laughing at her, mocking her; all the nights he sought her out, touching her, taking joy in her disgust. He had done everything to push her beyond her limits and she had been powerless, and she still was.
Why? Why was she always the one taking the beating?
Pathetic!
The word entered her mind and she could not deny the truth behind it. Her ferocity increased and her opponent started making little jabs with his hands, poking her in the ribs, back, shoulders, thighs, always lightning fast, always painful. With each failure to connect and each surge of pain, she felt a furious heat rise within, building more and more. She wanted to be strong, to be the one to hurt someone, for once.
Then take hold of true power!
She was burning on the inside, lava was running through her veins, boiling her blood. It became too much to take, she was going to explode. She fell to her knees, screaming, flames bursting forth from her; she felt the scorching heat in front of her for a second, then she was wrapped in something and restrained in place.
The heat started dissipating, almost instantly, but for a long time, she could feel the residual warmth; it took several minutes before she could feel the cold air, even more before she felt the restraints loosen and someone removed the cloak which was thrown over her.
The stranger was kneeling over her with an unreadable expression and she stared up at him, unsure what had just happened or how. His head was finally bared revealing a diamond shaped face with a celestial nose and thin, pale lips; the unnaturally pale skin, long, pointed ears and short, tousled, jet-black hair betrayed his true heritage: he was a nyx, one of the people who had shot Tahlisa. However, the danger of the man in front of her was not Saelina's immediate concern. She glanced to where she had fallen and saw that the entire area in front of the spot was scorched. The snow had been melted and the undergrowth turned to ash; the sight was both disconcerting and fascinating.
“It's in you.”
The statement was filled with curiosity and some alarm. She looked back at her attacker and the true implications of what he had said hit her.
“...Fuck.”
“You drank the dragon's essence?”
“Not on purpose!” she hastily declared.
It did not seem to matter much how it happened; the nyx groaned and looked at the damage done, once more. He said nothing and she was too preoccupied with her situation to start a conversation.
Tahlisa had tricked her into ingesting something dangerous; it should no longer shock her that she had been used but the revelation did sting, nonetheless. If she had simply gotten the vial, she could have used it to bargain her way out of her current mess, though in hindsight, that might have been exactly why Tahlisa had chosen to have her eat or drink it, instead.
“Let's go.”
She started at the voice and turned to the stranger.
“Go? Where?”
“Islasa. I was tasked with bringing back the dragon's essence and since it's inside you, I'm bringing you.”
She stood, shaking her head.
“Fuck off, I'm not going with you.”
He raised a hand at her and her arms locked to her sides; a dark, glowing ring encircled her, tightly and she recognized the sensation from when she was covered with the nyx's cape.
“You won't have a choice. I'm not giving you the chance to burn down the whole forest.”
There was no give when struggling against the bindings. She would have yelled at her captor but his comment about causing a forest fire had unsettled her, not to mention she was exhausted and not entirely sure how much longer she could stay conscious. She stumbled and a strong hand on her shoulder quickly steadied her.
“Hey! I need you to stay awake.”
A horn sounded in the distance and chills of dread ran up and down Saelina's entire body. She stared up, only then noticing that the snow fall had stopped, the sky cleared and a half-moon was beaming down, its light getting reflected by the snow.
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“Oh, no.”
She started shaking her head.
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no!”
The nyx stared in the direction of the sounds, then turned his head towards her.
“How did you manage to signal for reinforcements?”
She laughed loudly and bitterly at the absurdity of the notion. Her mind was racing, trying to work out her options but it seemed she was stuck with bleak or bleaker. She looked at her captor, trying to keep herself from showing the fear which was slowly worming its way through her mind.
“You want to take me with you? Then we need to hide, now!”
“What?”
She nodded in the direction of the noise.
“The man who's coming, he'll stop at nothing to bring me back, he will have soldiers with him, three, maybe five. Are you confident you can handle all of them?”
He smirked, self-assuredly.
“I could but it would mean their deaths.”
She stared at him for a moment.
“Well, that's not ideal.”
The horn sounded again, and a slight panic was beginning to sneak in. She inched closer to the nyx who seemed slightly puzzled by the behavior, though he said nothing.
“I will go with you! No struggling or arguing, I swear, but you have to keep me from them. Preferably without killing anyone.”
He hesitated, his gaze locked with hers. He was obviously expecting some sort of trap but she was unsure what else to say or do to convince the man. Finally, he broke eye contact and stood, putting his cape back on before gesturing for her to follow, quietly. She walked behind him, focused on keeping her balance with the ring in place; it took a few seconds for her captor to realize her predicament. He came back and walked next to her, reaching a hand out to steady her, whenever she stumbled. He led her to a group of trees and helped her hide within some shrubberies; with a quick hand motion, a field flickered to life around her, he looked it over and seemed satisfied with his work. Then he knelt down in front of her, his face close enough to hers that she could make out the pupil from the darkness of his irises. They were a dark gray, almost onyx.
“Stay still and stay quiet, they won't see you even when looking right at you. I will retrieve you once they've been dealt with.”
She nodded and watched him leave, hoping 'dealt with' did not imply something violent, though a part of her was not entirely sure she would be terribly bothered if the whole squad ended up injured or dead.
The minutes ticked by, with the horn blaring every so often; a favorite 'joke' of Callum's to scare her, whenever she had tried to escape and he was chasing her down. It would not be hard to follow her tracks, though the newly fallen snow had probably covered some of them. She could only hope her new companion had done his due diligence. She started to think about the devastation she had caused. The memory of the heat as it took over all rationale was still clear in her mind. The voice in her head was not her own, she knew that, now; it had urged her to release that terrifying power and she was relatively sure that she would hear from it again, if her past misfortune was any indication.
She tried to hail it, with her thoughts, but there was no response. It was hard to discern if the entity would be an ally or an enemy.
Even so, the power she had held had been real and there was a strange note of satisfaction to the idea of being able to cause so much destruction, though she hoped it would be better controlled, should it happen again. She wondered whether it would be possible to train and get better; or would calling it forth, again, cause her to incinerate herself?
It seemed the nyxis were every bit as good as their reputation if her own experience was anything, by which to judge. She had heard talk around Mahlein about them; they were considered strange and exotic, as well as thoroughly admirable for their secretive society. As with many things, shrouded in mystery, the inhabitants of Islasa inspired some odd romantic notions among the youth; she had overheard several young ladies fantasize about being abducted by a nyxan prince and offered to rule by his side.
Of course, the reality was far from romantic or particularly pleasant; then again, having a Lord's son falling for her and offer eternal love had not worked out either, so what did she truly know?
The sound of horses pulled her out of her thoughts and she froze, listening as the voices of men mixed in with the animal noises. Listening intently, she could make out Callum's booming voice among the rest; they were searching for her and had come across the scorched earth. There was some alarm and unrest among the soldiers but Callum's voice was aggressive and defiant as he barked his orders. The horses were even more nervous, judging by the cries to settle down.
They were spreading out to search the area; she prayed to whatever she could think of that whomever came in her direction would be quick and inefficient in their search. The crunch of heavy boots alerted her to the approach of someone. The nyx was immediately ruled out, she could not recall hearing him move, at all, even in the snow. Another few steps, this time away from her; she could not say how she knew, but she was fully aware that it was Callum moving towards her, even before she heard his voice cursing the snow and the other soldiers.
Saelina tried her best to remain completely still, even stilling her breathing as much as possible. The steps were moving towards her, again, slowly but methodically; it was clear he was seeking, thoroughly, for any trace of her.
It seemed almost impossible that it would be someone else who came towards her; she had no idea how, but it had always been the pattern between them. She knew when he was outside her door, he knew where to find her.
He was standing right beyond the bushes, now; she glanced upwards to see his gaze sweeping back and forth over the spot she was hiding in. Every time their eyes met, she felt her heart stop, fearing he had seen her; the urge to bolt was mounting but she had never been able to outrun Callum. Besides, with the glowing ring still in place around her body, any attempt at fleeing would see her take a hopeless tumble. She had to put her faith in the nyx's magic to keep her hidden.
His foot shuffled closer and she only barely managed to remain completely still. Her heart was slamming against her ribs and she had stopped breathing for fear of giving away her position; when he bent down on one knee, she wanted to shut her eyes tightly, but the idea of him grabbing her locked her eyelids in place and she stared, helplessly as he came closer, looking intensely at the very spot where she sat. She had no idea how close he had to come for the illusion to wear off but she was convinced he was nearing the border and the possibility of his finding her and taking her back to Mahlein was sending her insides into a spiral of despair.
A whistling sound made Callum spin around in time to see an arrow lodged in the snow, mere inches from him. He rose, looking for the shooter among the branches. A shadow, barely visible, quickly jumped from one tree to another and the Lord's heir immediately pursued yelling for his men to gather. Saelina's lungs were about to burst but she dared not breath until she was certain she could no longer hear him. When she breathed out a small sobbing sound escaped her and she froze up, again, wondering if she had just given herself away.
For more than a minute, she strained her hearing listening for any sign of her tormentor returning to drag her off, forever.
Coward.
Resisting the urge to jump, she quickly recognized the voice.
Who are you? she thought, but there was no answer.
“Who's talking to me?” she whispered, as quietly as she could.
The result was the same. Perhaps her mind was finally starting to slip; it seemed the most likely, considering her struggles over the last decade. Something had to give, though she had assumed it would have been her body.
Once again, she waited as time passed. Her lower legs were losing feeling from her kneeling position. When the nyx dropped down, right in front of her, she was so exhausted from the constant fear that she merely widened her eyes in surprise. Her insides were in chaos, though, and she was trembling, severely.
“You're still here.”
There was a slight note of bored surprise in his voice.
“Where would I run? How would I run?”
“Are you suggesting people never do stupid things, despite knowing the outcome?”
“I'm suggesting that between you and him, I'll take my chances with the unknown, however unpleasant.”
He grabbed her by the arm to help her stand.
“You ought to be grateful. Another few seconds and your friend would have found you for sure.”
She narrowed her eyes at him.
“You want me to thank you for making sure you're my only kidnapper?”
He shrugged.
“It seemed obvious you prefer my company to the young Lord's.”
“You could drag me off, by my hair, just to have me killed, and you would still be the better option. That doesn't make it a desirable outcome.”
“I suppose it's lucky for you that the success of my mission precludes your death, then.”
He started walking with one hand around her arm, dragging her along. She tried her best to keep up, wondering how the man had rid himself of Callum and his people; maybe they were all scattered in a bloody mess, somewhere. There was a tiny part that tried to remind her that she should care, should be worried but fatigue was quickly drowning out concern for anything more than her own well-being.
The nyx would occasionally turn around and reach out a hand in the direction they came from; she saw the snow on the ground flurry up and settle over their tracks. While progress was slow, it was steady and Saelina eventually got into a rhythm, despite the ties on her body. Her captor was surprisingly apt at keeping her on her feet, whenever she seemed to be about to stumble.
Eventually, they reached a clearing, completely empty and shining brightly in the moonlight; without hesitating, the nyx dragged her forward and the air around them shimmered and flickered, revealing a small camp, complete with horses, tents, and a campfire.
Pale faces were observing them closely as her companion sat her down by the fire. One of them approached.
She addressed Saelina's companion in their own language, questioning something. He answered and was met with a scoff and another question. His response was exasperated, but did not seem to elaborate further; the other nyx locked eyes with him for a moment, before shrugging and making one last disparaging comment, then she sat back down. Saelina figured her presence had just been questioned and addressed. It seemed the man who had caught her held some sway in the camp, as the next person he spoke to sounded like he dutifully reported on something or other back to her captor.
After hearing the guy out, he left to another corner of the camp, leaving Saelina to the indiscreet stares of his comrades. She wondered how much they would understand if she launched into a tirade of questions about nyxis and Islasa and decided against it, as she was relatively convinced whatever they said would be laced with disdain.
The woman from before finally spoke.
“We're not here to babysit a human. If you care for your life, you'd hand over the essence, rather than play these pathetic mind games.”
Saelina stared at the woman in confusion, trying to figure out which information she was missing to make sense of the other's remarks. The nyx scowled.
“Whatever you hope to get from the High Councilor, holding our history hostage won't save you.”
It occurred to her that her captor had not fully apprised them of the situation; for a moment she considered telling them but the hostile atmosphere made her think better of it.
“I have no idea what any of that means.”
She kept her voice indifferent, which only seemed to make the woman angrier, she came to stand over Saelina with a ferocious sneer.
“Your little dumb act may have worked among your fellow humans, but I won't stand by while you try and make fools out of the House of Shadow.”
She pulled out a dagger and knelt down, pressing it against Saelina's cheek. Her cruel smile revealed both upper and lower extended incisors. Saelina was feeling her pulse quicken and she was starting to sweat. As much as she wanted to seem unfazed, the cold blade was reminding her of her very fragile mortality.
Another person who seeks your life. Maybe you're simply unsuited to live.
“Perhaps marring that ugly mug will make you more cooperative, hm?”
“Please, leave me alone,” she pleaded, tired and scared.
The nyx smiled as the sharp edge started digging into her skin and she could feel as it drew blood.
“Lyari! Seri ta salan!”
Her captor seemed to appear out of nowhere, having somehow inserted himself between the two women; the nyx was no longer in Saelina's face, but rather cowering a few feet away, as her superior calmly berated her. She seemed shamed and even her friends seemed to suddenly find other places to direct their eyes. Saelina found herself gasping with relief, unsure how much more animosity she could handle. When taking into account the very real fact that she was already hearing voices, she figured she was teetering on the brink.
“Come with me.”
She was pulled to her feet and dragged into a nearby tent, still trying to compartmentalize the events which had just transpired. A strange numbness was starting to spread throughout her body and she would not have minded simply passing out. However, her captor had a different idea, as he sat her down and assessed the cut. He took a cloth and poured some water on it, before carefully wiping away the blood; his movements were not exactly gentle but they were also not callous or cruel.
“My people are not very trustful of strangers, humans in particular.”
“It doesn't show.”
“Your kind has caused a great deal of damage for a race so decidedly inferior.”
He looked at the wound, closely.
“I'll deal with Lyari; the cut will heal but you'll probably have a scar.”
“Lovely.”
Saelina was aware she was antagonizing the wrong person but she was too tired to care much, she just wanted to make everyone feel as miserable as she did. However, her target ignored the sarcasm and started pulling some fruits and bread out of a pack; she felt her mouth water but then realized that unless she was freed, he was going to have to feed her and her throat immediately dried up. When he reached out with an apple, she stared at him, in disbelief.
“You can't be serious! I can barely move, even without this rope-thing around me, I've already been attacked twice in one evening, I am not eating out of your hand.”
“If I let you loose, you might blow up the whole camp.”
“I'm not eating out of your hand.”
She was prepared to forego food altogether, but she was not about to have someone feed her like a pet. It seemed the nyx was convinced of her determination because he finally flicked his hand and the glowing ring dissipated. Saelina gratefully took the apple and started eating. She devoured it, sloppily and noisily not caring how she looked to the man with her. He said nothing and simply focused on his own food; she took the chance to look closer at the person with her: his incisors were also longer than a human's, so it was evidently a nyxan trait. He moved so naturally, despite being clad in black leather armor; the fact that he seemed so used to the attire was not boding well for any thoughts of escape she might have had. Though, she was also aware that even should she succeed she might merely be trapped between an overpowered squad of trackers and a lord in training with a disturbing obsession with her and if the Lyari-woman found her first, she was certain the rest would be fighting over her remains, instead.
“What's you name?” she asked.
“Why do you ask? Are you hoping to make friends?”
“I'm hoping to call you something other than 'My Captor'.”
He shot her a bored look.
“It won't matter. I'm just here to collect you and bring you. Afterwards, I won't have anything more to do with you.”
“So, a lapdog?”
She saw his jaw tense and knew she was getting on his nerves.
“My sister had a lapdog. We called it Ladyna, I always liked that name.”
He glared at her but she was not going to be intimidated; if she had no say over her destiny she, at least, wanted to retain the right to be as aggravating as possible. The tension between them filled the air as they each waited for the other to give in. In the end, the nyx huffed in frustration.
“Ezeas Sethaernan,” he told her, curtly.
She smiled, not sure if it was because of her victory or a symptom of her fatigue.
“Nice to meet you, 'Essy'.”