Chapter 1

“Let me help you”

Neera could barely piece together the words that came from the mysterious woman’s lips. The woman stood in front of the only window in the room. The mountains shot up behind her and the moon made her dark hair glisten. Her face was covered in shadow, but her tall proud figure and intimidating aura was unmistakable. It took a few seconds because of her hazy mind, but Neera managed to recognize her as the honored guest from the banquet a few hours ago. Neera listened carefully when the maids had helped her get ready. They talked about the beautiful diplomat from the empire who had come to give them the iron they so desperately needed in their mountain kingdom. When they talked about Iron, Neera had stolen a glance at the small iron trinkets that hung around their necks, and cursed her fate as she so often did. If only she was born like all other children.

She had always thought that it was weird that the evil spirits hadn’t possessed her body despite not wearing an Iron amulet for protection like everyone else. But Neera was too busy starving on the streets to give it much thought. It was only when the maid that took her in one freezing winter night discovered that she wasn’t wearing any Iron, that it became important. Things had happened so quickly. She had been presented to the king, and after having a priest confirm that she truly was unprotected, the king had proclaimed her to be the royal seer. That’s when it all went wrong.

Neera had performed that night at the banquet as she had done many times before. But in their need to impress the foreign dignitaries, they had given her too much of the toxic herb that made her hallucinate. She was weaker than usual, and could barely move her mouth to speak the ’prophecy’ the king so desperately wanted. The drugs they had given her were far too strong for her small and malnourished body. The world around her became unrecognisable. Colours became distorted and from the shadows in the corners of the large hall, frightening figures arose. She collapsed on the floor convulsing and screaming at the monsters she saw all around her. When the king realised that his precious seer was completely unable to pretend to have a vision, he ordered the guards to remove her. They dragged her screaming and crying from the banquet hall. The last thing Neera saw before they knocked her out, was the prideful king kneeling before a beautiful dark haired woman, apologising profusely. Neera took great pleasure in knowing she had ruined their chances to impress the empire’s representatives, and fainted with a smirk on her face.

When Neera came to, her mind was still cloudy, but the vicious monsters from her drug induced hallucinations were gone. She sighed in relief. Her body was paralysed and she could barely move her head. There was no one to fight, no one to spite, and no one to prove that she still had the will to live hidden inside her, so she gave up on moving and let her head fall onto the ice cold stone floor.

“Need a hand?”

Neera was sure she had hallucinated the voice. There was no one in this world that would ever offer her any help. She laughed coarsely. She was still stupid enough to hold out hope, even if it only was her subconscious.

“You really do look like you’re struggling.”

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There it was again. That arrogant voice, that sounded like it was used to commanding never begging. Neera hated it, hated how different it sounded from her own. Neera glared in the direction of the imaginary voice, and was shocked to find a figure standing in the exact spot where the voice had come from.

”No need to look so hostile, I’m only here to help.”

Yeah right, Neera thought. No one ever wanted to ‘just help’. Nothing in this world was free. Neera had learned that the hard way when the king had discovered that she was a defective seer. When he realised that he wouldn’t get any visions out of her, his goodwill had quickly disappeared. That’s when she was thrown into the dungeon like room that would become her home the next eight years. That’s when they had begun putting drugs in her food. That’s when they had begun dragging her to the banquets and forced her to perform like some toy. It was when her life had become hell. Often she caught herself thinking that she wished her immunity would disappear one day and one of the evil spirits would possess her body. Then finally, everything would end, and if she was lucky, the spirit would hurt a few of those that kept her locked up here, before she died. This option seemed like her only way out of this terror where they wouldn’t even let her take her own life.

“You don’t look like you believe me.”

Neera scoffed, at least the imaginary figure seemed to have some sense.

”Good, skepticism is a valuable skill.”

Praise was unfamiliar to Neera, and she hated the small grain of pride she felt at the woman’s words.

”But I promise you, I’ll never lie to you.”

There was a determined sincerity in the woman’s voice that made Neera want to believe her. But Neera wouldn’t let herself be fooled again.

“Let me help you.”

The woman took a step closer. Then another and another. Her steps echoed in the room, and Neera glanced fearfully at the door, worried the guards would rush into the room at any moment. This was the first time someone had truly spoken to her in years, and she could admit that she desperately wanted the woman to keep talking. Even if what was coming out of her mouth was nonsense. But no guards came, and the woman walked across the room, until she was standing in front of Neera. Then, this woman who looked like she had never been beneath anyone her entire life, kneeled down.

“What’s your name?”

”Neera.”

Even though it was difficult to get the words out, It felt good to say her own name after so long. She hadn’t heard it since she had become the royal seer at ten years old.

“I have an offer for you Neera. You’ll have to keep pretending to be a seer, but you’ll at least be protected and treated with respect.”

Neera doubted the offer. It sounded too good to be true. Neera knew she should turn away the woman, it was the safe choice, to stay locked in this room where she knew exactly what to expect. But Neera desperately wanted the woman’s offer to be real. She wanted to escape, even if the life waiting for her on the other side was worse than the hell she was living in right now. She knew she shouldn’t but still, she let her hope get the best of her, and with all the strength she had left in her body, she forced her arm up. She stretched it out and readied her hand for a handshake. She would make a deal with a monster if it meant she could have a chance at a different life. The woman took her hand and shook it gently. Neera thought she saw a spark of respect in her eyes. The moonlight hit the woman’s face, and finally Neera could see it clearly. Neera was sure that she had just made a deal with something otherworldly, because no human could be so beautiful, and she felt a tinge of fear for her future.

“Name?”

Neera managed to ask. She wanted to at least know the name of the person who she had just handed herself over to.

”Illiya.”

‘I hope you don’t betray me Illiya’ Neera thought to herself. She had no idea what the future held, but she knew that this woman, whom she had barely known for half an hour, would be at the center of everything, for better or for worse