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There was a fierce intensity to her I didn’t expect, not down here in this awful place where hope came to die. “Once you are free, the first chance you get, you claim the magic inside you. Claim it, before anyone else can take it away. Make it yours, do you understand?”
“How do I do that?”
Her face softened. “You must give away whatever is most precious to you. Which is different for everyone. Carex gave up his firstborn son for the magic. An ancient queen once gave away her beauty.”
I blanched, and Adele nodded sadly. “The price is always different. But every king…or queenwho inherits the magic must sacrifice something dear to claim it. Only you know what is most valuable.”
“That sounds…too simple.”
“Is it?” Her smile faltered. “Giving up that which you love the most is no easy thing. That decision could haunt you forever…and the magic exacts a high price. It’s your choice.”
“I haven’t been making very good choices lately.” I stared down at my hands. “In fact, I just got myself killed, if Solok gets ahold of me again.”
“All I know is this, Anaria.” She pulled herself up, pressed her face to the bars. “If you want anything in this realm, you must take it. No one ever gives you anything. No one will ever make things easy for you.”
Adele was right.
That she’d ended up down here—that either of us ended up like this—was criminal.
“Take what you deserve.” Her voice was faint, though she uttered every word with unbending strength. “Claim the magic trapped inside of you. You are more than a vessel, more than a pawn. True power is a gift from the gods, and right now, it belongs to no one else but you. Do not allow the unworthy to steal your power away.”
Then Adele’s hands slid down the bars, her words slurred. “I’m sorry, child. This has been…more than I am accustomed to. But when I wake, we will talk more. I have much to tell you.”
Something scraped, a body being dragged over the stones, and I listened to her harsh breathing until I fell asleep.
* * *
I woketo boots tromping on stone.
Certainly, more than necessary to drag the emaciated female from her cage.
“No.” Adele hung from the guards’ calloused hands like a fragile doll. “No. Please. Don’t take me away.” Her terrified gaze found mine, her mouth working to say something as they dragged her out of her cage.
“Let her go.” I reached through the bars, but my arm was too short. “Put her down.”
I plastered myself against the bars and got my first good look at what might become of me if I never got out of here.
Adele had been beautiful once, the kind of beauty males would kill for, regal and ethereal at the same time, but now, the only thing that marked her as High Fae were her delicate ears, arching up through the thin hair floating around her head like spiderwebs.
She was so thin I couldn’t believe she was still alive and after a brief struggle, she went limp, head hanging low as she was dragged past my cage.
“Stop.” I pleaded, catching one of the guards by the arm. He yanked out of my grasp, then lunged toward me, dropping the female to the floor. His hand shot through the bars and snared me by the throat, squeezing hard enough spots danced in my vision.
He disappeared and I stumbled backwards, hardly believing what I saw.
This female—half dead, barely able to move—was crushing his throat with her thin arms while the other guards pried her off, and the look on her face as our eyes met…
Adele’s expression was the fiercest I’d ever seen in my life.
Feral, wicked, her teeth bared, her eyes shining with purpose, as if she could bring this mountain of a male to his knees and end him, by her will alone.
Then, as quickly as it began, the whole thing was over.
Her arms slid away as she collapsed, her chest heaving from the effort, tears shining in her pale blue eyes as they met mine.
I couldn’t read what was in them. Not exactly, but the force of her stare knocked me back a step. I would have thought this was madness, but her gaze was clear, focused, as if she saw me in a way no one else ever had.
“Remember what I told you, Anaria. Claim the magic. Never let anyone else take your power.” She closed her eyes and tears slipped free, shining like silver on her gaunt cheeks.
