Page 81 of Memory of Ashes

“No, at least we don’t think so. It only seems to be when we enter the human world. When we came back through the rift, we felt… different, almost normal again.”

“How could that be?”

“We hoped that you’d know. You and Tiryn are two of the elders. When we were in that land, the land we shared with the humans, were we immortal then?”

“No,” he whispered and leaned heavily on the table beside him.

“How will he be stopped if he’s immortal?” the king asked. “He was dangerous enough before becoming immortal. His foul magic will be even more powerful if he gets his hands on the Lifesource. What about Casyl? Does he have no sway with him, or has he fallen as deeply as his father?”

Ruven and Danae looked at each other and then at Amelia.

“The king has him under his complete control,” Danae said.

“That’s not possible!” Elthar said. “A Mind Warper’s control is temporary.” His eyes found Amelia, and she remembered the bitter taste of Zandhro’s blood in her mouth. “What you’re talking about is an indefinite control over another being. It’s unheard of.”

“Perhaps it would be impossible with a stranger, but Tiryn has entered Casyl’s mind since he was a child. He knows every defence Casyl has. He shaped them. Their shared blood gives him a direct path no one else possesses.”

“What do you mean?” Amelia asked Danae.

“What I mean is the king has taken over Casyl’s body and is using it for his own ends. You’ve seen how he controls the beast. That’s what he is doing to Casyl—using him like he’s a thing, a weapon, with no regard for him,” Danae said.

“His own son,” Elthar muttered.

Amelia clutched at her chest. “But he stopped. He told me to run.”

“You must have blocked the king’s control when you tried to block him,” Danae said.

The memory replayed in her mind. Casyl’s sword falling to the ground. Him sinking to his knees.

“But I left him there. We left him there! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” she cried.

“Because if we told you, you wouldn’t have left him, and we couldn’t have taken him with us,” Danae said, her eyes shining. “We couldn’t be sure that the king wouldn’t see our plan through his eyes and try to stop us. You couldn’t block him continuously. Tharos will be with him. We’ll save him if we can, but this is about more than just Casyl. This is about all our people, and yours too.”

For so long, she had believed she’d lost the one place where she hadn’t felt like an outsider.

She choked back a sob. He hadn’t betrayed her.

Chapter 18

Casyl

He was screaming internally, trying to make his body listen. It was no use, he knew, but he couldn’t just watch as his body attacked her. He’d known, as soon as the words had come from his mouth, what he was about to do.

He watched as his hands drew his sword. They shook as he fought the action. She tried valiantly to defend herself against his onslaught. The force of his blow broke her weapon in two.

The hopelessness in her eyes broke him. She was going to die, and he knew it; she knew it, and she’d die thinking that he had been the one to kill her.

He was trapped in a nightmare, unable to escape. Only sleep offered oblivion, though he was sure now that his dreams would be haunted by this moment.

Then, in her last moment of desperation, she launched herself at him physically and mentally. He felt her power wash over him like a wave, leaving him numb in its wake. His hand dropped the sword, and he sank to his knees. His father’s control was diminishing. Casyl fought to keep him out of his mind.

“Run, Amelia!” he shouted. She needed to go now whilst she could. He would resist his father for as long as possible to buy her time, but he could feel Tiryn regaining control the farther she moved away.

A roar tore through his throat.

His mind snapped back into its prison as he moved against his will. He stood up and raced in the direction that she’d gone. He hoped that she’d have enough time to get away, but then he remembered the guards stationed outside. If she’d got that far, they’d stop her.

He exited the mine. The guards were shackled together, unconscious, their horses, including his own, missing.