Luella stilled. "Sister?" she breathed.
"Lux." Caliban drew out the word.
The Lux and the Tenebrae. Light and darkness. Two halves of the same golden piece.Siblings…
Luella didn’t speak, afraid to anger him further. This was the mercurial rage he’d shown Enora. She knew how that story ended.
His finger pressed against her chest. "If only I could mark you like he did, then you’d be forced to obey me."
She wanted to know why he didn’t.
He saw the question in her eyes and laughed darkly.
"A being can only be marked with a Binding mark once. It is forever, once it is done. It can only be absolved by the one who placed the mark. I guess my half-brother knew, deep inside himself, that one day I’d get my hands on you. He wanted to keep you safe from me. But that just means I can work to get your obedience in much more entertaining ways."
He oscillated between claiming the name Caliban and the Tenebrae, as if even now he questioned whether he was truly Caliban—or something else entirely. The truth became clearer when Luella saw the green in his eyes flicker and vanish.
Caliban was alive. He had to be—somewhere in his body. Trapped.
He let her go, and she stumbled back, hand cradled to her chest, hair hanging in tangles around her shoulders. Her wings had been tucked close to her back the whole time. She nearlyforgot about them. Their weight was so comforting and normal to her now, but as his eyes fell on them, she wished she could cover them up.
"The conquered Princess is a pretty little angel. Those wings make this all so much more fun. It’s like your innocence is bare for all to see. When you finally bend a knee before me, and I claim you as my bride, I will ensure your gown highlights them. Pure white feathers, yet you’ll be so dark for me, won’t you?"
Luella shook her head, mute. She would be dark for no one, good for no one.
He smiled, and a delicate clinking sound from behind her made her jump and turn.
Shadows drifted on the ground by the tray of half-eaten food. A tiny stone cup filled with water had been dropped near it.
"Drink. Fae can live without food longer than water. If you try to deny yourself water, you may find your food taken away, so you can experience what true hunger is before you foolishly die of thirst."
She felt an iciness travel up her legs, forcing her to walk to the cup. She bent and lifted it with her good hand. She drew in a faint breath. It was clean, clear water. She doubted he’d poison her. He wanted her alive.
Luella drank the water, forced into it, with no choice. When the little stone cup was empty, she pulled it away from her lips, droplets trickling from the corner of her mouth.
"See how easily you obey when you have no other choice. Obedience always starts with things you deem inconsequential. It’s so much easier to give those up," Caliban said lowly.
And she realized she’d played right into his hands.
As he left, his dark laughter echoed.
Luella sat down, placing the empty cup near the tray. She tore the rest of the bread into chunks, then threw them outsidethe bars. All the while, the water sloshed in her stomach. It didn’t help.
She still felt empty.
Luella was roused from a fitful sleep by the feel of something cold on her ankles. She woke slowly, too tired to be frightened. She drank when Caliban showed up, shadows forcing the cup to her lips. He made her eat only enough to keep her alive, but she could barely stomach anything more.
She tried to track how many times he’d visited her, how many cups she’d drunk, some way to gauge how long she’d been here. But they blurred. She remembered the first time, the second, the third… Had it been a week? Longer than a week?
She didn’tthinkit had been longer than a week, but her thoughts were addled, growing more so with every moment, every breath.
She was weak, muscles trembling. She should want to eat so she could be strong and fight, but she was sotired.
Luella’s eyes were crusted as she opened them, and she rubbed her good hand against her face to clear the sleep away.
Her head was pounding in tune with her heart.
She struggled to sit up. It took her far longer than it should have.
