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Dusk stood in shock as he stared at Tiernan. Lyra, the oldest dragon to have ever lived, was pinned to the ground by a web of magic restraints and the man in front of him hadn’t even broken a sweat to do it. He couldn’t imagine how much power it must have taken to subdue her, but Tiernan didn’t show the slightest sign of fatigue. Even Nedarya didn’t have that kind of power with pieces of the crystal heart embedded in her arms. Dusk reached up and touched the exposed crystal at his chest. He wished he could hear Tephyss’s voice, but even without him he knew he had to give it a try.
“Don’t be foolish,” Tiernan said, letting his arm fall to his side. “That crystal is worthless against me. The only reason any of you are still alive is because I have use for you.”
Dusk let his hand fall away from the eye. He knew Tiernan was right.
“How about we test that theory, bitch,” Tara growled, stepping forward with her greatsword leveled at his throat.
“Must we do this?” He crossed his arms once more, clearly growing tired of their threats.
Without a word Tara lunged forward, her sword aimed to plunge through his chest. With a lazy snap of his fingers the sword suddenly began to glow red. Tara let out a howl of pain as it burnt her hands and clattered to the ground, still glowing hot against the stone. She stared down at the bubbled flesh on her hands, all the aggression replaced with pain. Tiernan flicked his wrist once more and the sword lifted off the ground and shot through the air, going over the side of the mountain and falling out of sight to the ocean below. He turned back with a smug look on his face.
“We had a deal!” Nedarya shouted, running to Tara’s aid. She stooped down and carefully looked over Tara’s damaged hands. “You told me she’d be unharmed!”
“I made no such promise,” he chuckled. “Merely that she would live, and live she shall.”
Dusk felt his eyes widen with realization. He glanced at Nedarya who was holding Tara’s hands in her own.
“What does he mean?” Tara managed to ask, wincing as Nedarya’s fingers touched hers. “What deal?”
Nedarya was silent, her head bent so that her eyes were hidden.
“Neddie,” Tara said again, stooping down to look at her. “What’s going on?”
“Don’t use that on me now,” Nedarya replied, her words soft. “You never use that name unless you’re disappointed with me. I hate it.”
Tiernan had re-crossed his arms once more. “Would you like to explain it?” he asked, a big smile plastered across his face. “Or shall I?”
Nedarya didn’t respond, but kept her head bent so as to not make eye contact with Tara.
“So be it.” He strode forward, coming up behind Nedarya and placing his hands on her shoulders. He looked up at Tara who met his gaze, a snarl forming on her lips. “Your little princess here has been extremely useful. She’s been tailing you all for some time, ever since you were captured in Calendia, in fact.” He reached down into Nedarya’s satchel at her side and pulled out the round golden mirror she’d gotten from her suitor in Malkekna. “Such handy things, mirrors. Did you know they were first invented by magicians? The silver makes for such a wonderful conductor of messages across long distances. Wouldn’t be caught dead without one.”
Nedarya had always been checking herself in that mirror, every morning before they set off and every night before they went to bed. Dusk had never thought twice about it, even when he’d caught her talking to it earlier that day. She was the person Tara loved more than anything in the world and because of that, he trusted her. To betray the group was one thing, but to betray Tara’s love was something else entirely. He would never do such a thing to Lex and the thought of it made him sick. In that moment Dusk felt something swell up inside his chest, an aching sadness for Tara and pure rage directed at the small woman in front of her.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” he shouted, lunging towards Nedarya. Lex grabbed his arm, holding him back from getting too close to either her or Tiernan. “How could you do that to us? To Tara?” Dusk struggled, trying to break free from Lex. He wanted to rip out that perfect blonde braid she’d spent so much time on in front that mirror. “You made us believe he was hunting you down! I felt sorry for you!”
“It was a pretty clever ruse, wasn’t it?” Tiernan clasped his hands behind his back, circling around the silent women. “It was her idea to use the Amarok to win your trust and I agreed, knowing your little group can’t help itself when it comes to doing the noble thing. But then I sent a band of men after her as well to really seal the deal. Want to know the best part?” He flashed a wicked grin at Dusk. “None of them knew she was working for me. And, you know, it just slipped my mind to tell them she had powers of her own as well. How unfortunate.
“But she did her job exceedingly well, I must say. Her knowledge of the royal family, contacts among the noble families, and her romantic ties to the captain here have made her an invaluable asset to my plans.” He paused, turning on his heel to look back at them all. “I bet she even told you what my real plans are, huh? To further solidify your trust in her and victimize herself in your eyes. Such a clever girl.”
“It can’t be true,” Tara whispered, wincing as she reached up and brushed Nedarya’s hair behind her ear. “You’d never do that to me. Would you?”
“Oh, but it is true.” He reached out and jerked Nedarya’s chin up forcefully so everyone could see the tears running down her face. “And she’s done a beautiful job. Thanks to her I’ll have the eye, the heart, and the throne of Ditania once more.” He leaned forward and kissed her on the mouth.
Tara took a step backwards before falling to her knees. The look on her face was one of pure defeat, something Dusk recognized immediately. Meanwhile he and Lex stood by, watching as Nedarya clenched her eyes shut, her hands balling into fists at her sides. Tiernan took his time, his eyes turned towards Tara to wound her further. There was a maniacal grin on his face and Dusk knew he was taking great pleasure in torturing them all.
But then something happened.
Dusk watched Tiernan pull back abruptly, crying out in pain. At first Dusk thought she might have bitten him, but as he took a step back both he and Lex saw the long dagger sticking out from under his ribs. He looked down at Nedarya, a fierce expression now painted across her tear streaked features. Tiernan’s muscles suddenly went stiff and he fell to the ground, blood oozing out from the wound in his chest, the knife still buried to the hilt. The crown on his head fell to the dirt and rolled a few feet away, coming to rest near the edge of the volcano.
“The poison will stop you from doing any magic,” she hissed, reaching up to wipe her mouth on the back of her sleeve in disgust. “And that wound will kill you once I remove the blade. But you’ll have to wait for a while longer before I give you that mercy.”
Tara looked up at her, still in shock. Dusk glanced at Lex, both of them clearly confused, but almost relieved by the turn of events. Nedarya stepped over to Tiernan and squatted down at his side, her arms draped across her knees. She reached out and began to twist the blade slowly, more blood pouring from the puncture. Tiernan didn’t make a sound.
“I’ve spent months playing your little game just for this moment,” she growled, grinding the blade further into his flesh.
Paralyzed on the ground, he was unable to cry out, but Dusk thought he could just make out the hints of an internal scream behind his dark eyes.
“I’m so tired of people thinking they can tell me what to do. I have plans of my own and none of them include you or your ideas.” Nedaya stood up and grabbed Tiernan by the hair.
With considerable strength she dragged him to the edge of the volcano near the stone platform before dropping him with a thud. She gave him a considerable kick in the side and Dusk heard at least two of his ribs break.
“But you have some things I need first,” she growled, lifting her arms up at her sides.
Dusk watched as the air around Nedarya began to ripple, like heat rising off stone in the height of summer. She held both her hands out as energy began to arc between her splayed fingers, noiseless as it streaked back and forth. The loose blonde hairs began to rise around her, creating a halo-like effect and wind swirled the dust around her feet. Suddenly she reached down and took Tiernan by the arms, lifting him clear off the ground so that his feet dangled in the air. Tiernan’s cloak began to unravel as the energy connected with him, exposing the scars and shards buried under his skin. His head tilted back into a silent scream as the lumps under his skin began to wriggle like maggots. Slowly the crystals began to work their way out of his skin, blood streaming down his arms and across Nedarya’s hands. Like thousands of glass shards they inched down, slicing every tiny bit of flesh they came in contact with until they met with Nedarya. There they melted and made their way to her own scars. As they connected they began to fuse with her own shards. Aquamarine colored crystalline spikes grew out of her forearms, puncturing the skin, and coalesced around her, creating something akin to faceted bracers that looked as if they could never be removed.
Dusk didn’t understand what was happening. He watched Nedarya who had her eyes squeezed shut as if she was in pain. The energy continued growing around her, the crystal armor growing and forming over her arms. It spread from wrist to elbow before the skin on Tiernan’s body finally stopped moving. Slowly the arcs of energy faded away and Nedarya’s eyes flashed open. Instead of their usual honey color they were almost white with the faintest hint of blue. A wide, triumphant smile spread across her face. She was someone Dusk didn’t recognize.
“And now I’ll destroy all of your hopes and dreams with a simple snap of my fingers. It will be too easy to put an end to your pathetic group of imbeciles. Or maybe, I’ll use them to my advantage.” Nedarya grinned maliciously, pulling Tiernan close. “Say hello to death for me. And tell her she’s about to have a lot of very unhappy customers.”
With that she opened her blood-soaked hands and Tiernan fell from her grip, his body tumbling into the volcano and slipping out of sight, the knife still plunged in his chest.
There was an intense silence as everyone stared at Nedarya. Dusk was confused, relieved, and shocked all at the same time. Why was any of this happening? Had Nedarya betrayed them just so she could betray Tiernan? Whose side was she really on? Why had she taken the crystal shards from him? She’d said so many things, but he didn’t know which to believe. An endless barrage of questions streamed through his mind, each with fewer answers than the one before. But no matter how many came, he couldn’t bring himself to break the silence.
“Lex?” a voice said off to his left.
Dusk turned to see Lord d'Ronja looking up at Lex. He looked like a man who was staring at a ghost. Lifting his hands he stared down at them for a long moment, as if searching for something.
“What’s going on? Where are we?” He paused, turning his gaze back to Lex, a look of confusion plain on his face. “When did you get so big?”
Something about him had changed. His eyes had lightened to an amber color and behind them Dusk could see something that hadn’t been there before. Emotion. Dusk had a feeling he was now seeing the real Lord d'Ronja for the first time.
“Lex,” he said again, taking a step forward.
“Stay away from me,” Lex muttered, his rapier swinging up, trained on his father’s heart. “I don’t want any more of your tricks. I’ve had enough surprise and betrayal for a lifetime.”
“Lex, I don’t understand.” He took another step. “What’s going on?”
“Stay back!” Lex shouted.
Lord d'Ronja stopped in his tracks. Dusk had never seen someone look so hurt and confused at the same time. He wanted to say something to Lex, but he doubted his own intuition.
“He doesn’t remember anything,” Nedarya piped up, not turning away from the hole in front of her. “He’s been under Tiernan’s spell for a long time. I imagine he won’t be the only one to awaken from such a thing.”
Off to Dusk’s right, Lyra began to shift, the silver cords that held her down having disappeared with Tiernan’s power. Slowly she pushed herself to her feet, flexing her wings and claws one at a time as if checking for damage. Lex, noticing her newfound freedom, let his sword dip a few inches.
“You really have no idea where you are?” he asked, furrowing his brow.
“No,” Ronja replied. “The last thing I remember was getting you ready to be presented to Princess Nedarya at court.” He glanced back to the blood stained woman with crystalline gauntlets before he turned back to give Lex a once over. “How long ago was that?”
“I was fourteen,” Lex said, dropping his sword to his side. “That was almost ten years ago.”