“Magnolia,” Dahes said, forcing my gaze to his. “Elion will try to use you to find out information about my kingdom. No one has ever left Moriann before, and he’ll be intrigued enough to keep you.” He was silent for a moment, the only sound was the drumming of his fingers against the table, and I knew there was something he wasn’t telling me, some other pertinent information he was purposely leaving out. Everyone knew the two kings had a past. They had an entire war revolving around their history, but whatever peace they agreed on to end it, wasn’t enough to keep things civil. I could glimpse that much from the triplets chanting. From what I could tell, the only times they interacted now were to exchange criminal drop offs.
His gaze bore into me. “Under no circumstances is he allowed to touch you. You aremine.”
I nodded. Besides hunting, I hadn’t felt the touch of another person in seven years. Hadn’t held a conversation with one. Hadn’t seen one beyond hunting them and bringing them to Dahes.
I ate two more bites of food before he spoke again. “The Sands will block our…” he paused, letting the silence fester, “communication.”
I went deathly still, waiting for him to say more. I knew the Sands blocked magic, but I didn’t think it would stop our deal, that Dahes wouldn’t be inside my head while I was over there. I tried to hide my excitement, to not outwardly react even though, internally, I was screaming.
“Just because it blocks my access to your mind, does not mean I don’t still own you. You will come back to me after the hunt.” His compulsion ran through me.
“I will have someone drop off a map of Viven to you in your room,” he said. “Memorize it. I marked a spot where a thatcher will pick you up when it’s time to come back to me.”
“How will I know…” I swallowed, then tried again. “If we can’t communicate, how will I know when?—”
“I will go to the Islands of Perinth when I want to communicate with you. It’s not blocked by the Sands and will let me have access to your mind again. When I want you, you’ll know.”
I nodded once, then focused on what was left on my plate without moving to eat it. I could feel Dahes watching me, studying me. The islands used to be the third kingdom in Hilithia before they were ultimately destroyed at the end of the war, left to slowly sink into the ocean.
“Magnolia.” I looked up. His voice had gone stone cold. “This is important to me. Fuck this up and you’ll regret it.”
I nodded. I already knew that.
“Go back to your room,” he said, dismissing me. “Memorize the map and get some rest. Your hunt starts in the morning.”
Chapter Six
Healed
MAGNOLIA
Iwas restless. There was so much more I wanted to know for this hunt, but couldn’t ask. I had no idea what Dahes’ idea of being a damsel meant, and I couldn’t stop thinking about his words—that my hunt would start in the morning. It didn’t make sense, not if the drakin wasn’t dropping off the next criminal for two days.
I paced my room another four times before the stone groaned open.
A ghost floated at the other end with a map in her hand that she extended to me. I smiled softly, walking toward her.
“Thank you,” I murmured as I took the paper. I had no idea how she was able to hold tangible things, and I never asked.
Her eyes softened as she took me in, but she didn’t say anything. She was beautiful. Soft wavy hair and light eyes that somehow looked like there was color to them even though they were all gray. Everything about ghosts was gray—like the moment their bodies stopped breathing, the color left their souls.
I had no idea how she died or when, but she’d been here the entire seven years of my slavery.
I tried to stare at her face and not look down—however you died was how you entered the After. I’d seen some ghosts shredded to ribbons, some without heads, some with their skin burned off. But forsome reason her body bothered me the most. Her stomach was slightly swollen and darker shades of gray ran down her legs. I didn’t need the red coloring to know that it was blood.
She was pregnant, or had been pregnant prior to dying.
So many nights I wanted to ask her about her baby, but I didn’t want to remind her of what she lost. In my first year of slavery, I prayed every night for a year straight that her baby was alive somewhere out in the world, but then the thought turned sour, and I realized that no matter what, she never got to meet the life she created.
She reminded me of myself. Trapped. Sad. Lonely.
I always wondered if my Token was inspired by her—by his ghosts in general.
It made me question the two Suns—where our Tokens were claimed to be gifted from. Was our power predetermined before we were born or was it sparked by the choices we made in life? All we knew for certain about the Tokens was that Wielders’ unique powers came from either desire or necessity.
Nessium,the Sun Goddess of Necessity, andCupio,the Sun Goddess of Desires.
But if I hadn’t become Dahes’ slave, if I hadn’tneededmy Token that night, would mine have still been the same?
