“What…” My voice falters. “Whathappenedto you?”
“You did, Princess.” His voice is quiet. “This is your work.”
I shake my head, my breath coming hard and fast. “No. That’s not true. I wouldnever.”
“Oh, but you did, and if not for my misfortune…” he gestures vaguely to the melted ruin of his skin, the drooping curve of his mouth, the eye sealed shut by scar tissue. “I must admit, it was… wondrous.”
I refuse to believe it. Refuse to let his words take root. That I could have done this.
“How?” My voice is sharp. “I’m shackled. You made sure of that.”
He exhales heavily, the sound wet, tinged with a drool he can no longer control. “Ah, well. I am too kindhearted for my own good.” His lips pull into something resembling asmile, but it only makes him look more hideous. “I feared for your safety, princess. So I removed your collar.”
A cold rush of dread slices through me.
His voice dips lower. “That mistake cost a dozen Ithranor Fae their lives. Burnt to a crisp in a blaze of green fire.” His good eye gleams. “Fire you conjured.”
“You’re lying.” The words scrape from my throat, barely more than a whisper. “Another trick.”
He laughs, but the sound is wrong. Strangled. Almost painful. “Then it is a trick I’ve played on both of us. Believe what you will, princess, but know this. I hold you no ill will.” His gaze drifts over the bars. “All you have done is prove exactly what we hoped. You are the power we need.”
I wrap my arms around myself, resisting the icy fingers of his words.
“But such power must be contained,” he continues, tone almost… regretful. “So we’ve had to increase our precautions. I’m sure you understand.”
The question on my tongue is desperate for escape.
“Where is the Golden Son?”
Anethesis studies me curiously. “Do not worry yourself about Ronin. We will not allow him to hurt you again.”
“Hurt me?” I let out a short, incredulous laugh. “You and your tests are what slashed me to pieces. What nearly killed me. Not Ro…” I catch myself, my pulse hammering. “The Golden Son.”
He inclines his head as if acknowledging his own guilt. “You are right. The last test was… intense.”
I let out a bitter breath. “And what if Ihadn’tsurvived?”
He smiles, and the sight of it curdles my stomach.
“Then we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” he says lightly, “and we wouldn’t be one step closer to returning home.” He clears his throat and slurps. “Just one test left.”
I jerk at another surge of disbelief. “No.” My voice cracks with defiance. “What makes you think I will do anything more to help you after what happened last time?”
Anethesis doesn’t flinch. His expression is as cold and calculated as ever. “Because I still possess what you desire most.” His words are dripping with cruel confidence. “Your freedom. Even with your power. Even after you incinerated my dear brothers and sisters of House Ithranor. You are still trapped in Driftspire, locked in a cage with a collar aroundyour neck. And that is where your child will be born if you do not finish what we have started.”
A torrent of rage builds within me, a chorus of curses and venomous hate burning on the tip of my tongue, desperate to be unleashed. I loathe him. I loathe everything about him. But more than that, I hate that he’s right. He has power over me. He wields my child like a weapon, using my very flesh against me. The truth is merciless, and it digs deep into the wound of my pride.
I don’t doubt his threat. I don’t doubt the lengths he will go to for the one thing he desires most. Who wouldn’t? Who wouldn’t do whatever it took for what they love?
One last test. One more, and then we will be free. Ashen. Me. My hand brushes over my stomach, where my child stirs. Our child.
My chin dips in silent submission, and the soft, almost satisfied sigh from Anethesis grates on my nerves. At least, I think bitterly, I’m wearing him thin.
“The trial of portals,” he says, his voice cold as ice.
He crosses his arms, his hands beginning a mystic dance in the air. A surge of magic rips through the air around me, and suddenly the breath is torn from my lungs as the cage that held me vanishes, dismantling into thin air. I’m left suspended over the lake, floating in nothing.
I twist, searching for Ashen, but he’s gone.
