She hit the ground hard. A grunt escaped her and she rolled onto her back. She blinked a few times to clear her eyes. A gray cloud-covered sky hung low over bare trees. The air was chilled, cooler than the elven forest. She watched the puffs of her breath rise and dissipate in the air for a few moments. She needed to stay calm, or at least try to.
Heavy footsteps approached her. She rolled over and pushed up onto her hands and knees. Her body trembled already. What was he going to do with her?
“Welcome, my sweet flower,” Bahkar said, leaning over her. He spread his hands out wide, a smile on his face. “To your new home.”
Claire glanced around. Dreary castle ruins stood around them, ravaged by nature and time. Half of the walls were knocked down, the ceiling and upper floors missing or caved in. Vines and dirt covered nearly every surface, tree branches stuck in holes in the roof. Old furniture was piled against the walls.
“How,” she said, her voice faltering, “how lovely.” She tried to make it sound genuine. She couldn’t afford to upset him.
“Hmph,” he grunted. “It was once. It will be again.” He crossed his arms and looked around him, his eyes wistful and the least insane she’d ever seen them. He looked almost normal at that moment. But it didn’t last long. Anger furrowed his brows and his mouth tilted in a snarl. “Earnehard will pay for what he did.”
It took a moment for Claire to realize who he was talking about. The late king of Derenan and Farron’s father. “Earnehard…” she said, trying to keep her voice even. “Earnehard’s dead.”
Bahkar blinked and looked down at her, anger turning to confusion. “Yes,” he said, “that’s right…”
Claire remained crouched on the floor, her body as still as possible. She didn’t want to draw his attention any more than she had to. As carefully as she could, she glanced around at the room, or what was left of it. There was hardly anything useful. Not against him, anyway. She thought about calling out to the others, Lianna and Razi, but he would feel the surge in her magic and know instantly what she was up to. But perhaps just the absence of the silver contraption would be enough to alert them.
A glint of metal caught her eye.
Bahkar held the bracelets up in his right hand. “Curious…” he said, looking them over with the awe of a child. “This is how you have hidden from me all this time.”
Claire swallowed, not sure what to say.
“Why?” he asked.
“I-I…” she stuttered. Her fear was getting the best of her.
“Why?!” he shouted, looming over her.
“I didn’t hide just from you,” she said, her pulse pounding too hard in her chest. “I hid from the others as well.”
Bahkar frowned and was silent for a moment. Then he smiled. “Running off with your little elf lover?”
“Yes.” It was mostly the truth.
“But you’ve been busy,” he said, playing with the bracelets. “Busy, busy.” He turned and walked toward a stone fireplace, surprisingly intact. Ashes covered the bottom. A stack of freshly cut logs stood next to it. He bent and carefully placed some wood inside with a peculiar attention to detail, adjusting them until they were just right.
While his back was turned, she used the opportunity to really look around. A doorway to the left led deeper into the interior of the castle. The one on the right was half-collapsed and impassable. Behind her stood two thick double doors, weathered but still sturdy. Who knew where they led? Up wasn’t an option unless she suddenly learned to jump really high. Flying was another, but he was much more adept than her at it. He would catch her too easily. Besides, she still had no idea where she was. She had to come up with a plan, wait for a moment, an opening. Hopefully, it would come soon.
A bright flash lit the room, followed by the crackling of the fire. Bahkar stood staring into it for several moments. Claire watched his back. Waiting. Her breath held. She didn’t know what to do.
“Yes,” Bahkar muttered. “He will pay.”
Claire shifted back onto her knees, freeing her hands. Her dagger hung at her side still. The stiletto blade was tucked into her boot, though she was hesitant to take it out after what had happened. Even with the weapons, she felt utterly helpless against the madman. He was too powerful and unpredictable.
Bahkar spun around and fixed her with a wild stare. “You will help me.”
“I—” Claire took a deep breath to help calm her nerves. “I will.” Arguing with him would do no good.
Bahkar nodded, a grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. He stalked over to her and pulled her to her feet. His hands grabbed her shoulders, his fingers digging into her skin. “My flower,” he said, gazing down at her. “Together we will do great things.”
Claire nodded, not trusting her voice enough to speak. She clenched her teeth to keep from wincing. The cut on her neck started to sting.
“Yes,” he said, releasing her.
She stumbled a little, her legs unsteady. Bahkar walked to the double doors and said over his shoulder, “Get some rest, little one. We shall act soon.” When his hand was on the handle he turned back to look at her, a dark glint in his eyes. “And remember, no matter how far you run, I will always find you.”
A chill raced through her body. He wasn’t wrong, and that terrified her.
A short burst of laughter erupted from his lips as he opened the door and swept through it. The door slammed closed behind him, shaking the dust from the walls. He wasn’t going to lock her up. He didn’t need to. Somehow he was able to find her even with the silver contraption, which he now held in his possession. There was only one way to escape from him. But would she be strong enough to do it?
Claire hobbled over to the fire, her body stiff, her mind heavy. Not even the flames were enough to warm the coldness within her.
She felt his presence even in her dreams. Claire stirred awake, sore and even more stiff from the hard floor. The fire had died down to a few glowing embers. Darkness had fallen over the room, making it seem eerier than before. But what scared her the most was the warm buzz of power sitting close behind her. Too close. Her pulse increased, but she remained lying on the floor, too nervous to move. His fingers brushed a few stray hairs from her cheek. It took everything she had not to jump or cringe away.
“Do not be afraid, my little flower,” Bahkar said, his voice soft, though far from soothing.
“What—” Claire stuttered, “what do you want from me?”
“You know what I want.” An edge seeped into his voice.
Claire didn’t, not exactly, but she wasn’t going to push it too far. She sat up and stretched, trying to make it look as relaxed as she could. She yawned and covered her mouth, but couldn’t keep her hand from shaking.
“The power inside of you…” His eyes swept over her, but not in a leering way. “They will learn to fear us. To obey us. They will not try to control us any longer.”
“Who?”
“Earnehard.”
“You killed King Earnehard,” she said carefully. “Don’t you remember?”
His eyes narrowed as he stared into the fire. “Yes, that’s right. I did. He wanted to control me. I wouldn’t let him. Not after what he did to Father…”
“What did he do to your father?” Not only was Claire curious, but the longer she could keep him talking, the longer it would delay whatever plans he had for her.
“He used him,” Bahkar said, his eyes glazing over as he relived the past inside his own head. “Earnehard the Great,” he spat out the name. “Father was loyal. Father was wealthy. A noble knight, a lord. But that didn’t matter. None of it mattered. Not to that bastard. He let father rot away up here, his body and mind decaying with the castle. After everything that he had done in the name of the king. I was too young, too strong-headed to understand. I wanted to be a knight, like Father. He tried to use me, too. But I wouldn’t let him. I made sure that he couldn’t use anyone ever again.”
“What did you do?” she whispered, trying not to break him of his spell.
“I did what any good son would do. I did, Father. Earnehard has paid for what he did to you.” He affixed her with a cognizant stare, back in the present. “Only now there are others. They want to use us, what we are. We are not weapons for them to use!” He clenched his hands into fists.
Claire tensed. Well, wasn’t he using her? But she didn’t dare point that out to him. Not now.
“That son of Earnehard, he’s no better,” he sneered. “He has that woman. She has fallen under his fae spell. And then there’s that Salí.” He shook his head. “We will make them see. We will free them.”
She gulped and nodded slightly. He wasn’t wrong about Razi being used, but at least Razi was aware of it now.
“I noticed that they have others there now, at that place, that damned palace. Was that your doing?”
Claire shook her head, hoping he wouldn’t see through her.
Bahkar looked at her for a moment, his eyes narrowing, but didn’t say anything. “We shall free them, too.”
“And how are we going to do that?”
“Together,” he said, a smile twisting his lips, revealing yellowed teeth. “You and I, our powers, we will be unstoppable. We will destroy the palace, free the world of that damned fae and Council. Then we will move onto the next one. Everyone will know freedom soon. We will be their saviors.”
“And then what?” she asked, carefully. “What will you do after?”
He frowned. “I will return here.”
“And me?”
“You may return here as well, if you wish. My home is big enough for all of our brothers and sisters. It will be a sanctuary for our kind. A safe place where no one will bother us ever again.”
It sounded a little too much like the compounds that the Syndicate had kept the Star Children locked away in. Would he ever let her or the others leave? She had a feeling that he wouldn’t. His idea of freedom was just another cage.
“I see,” she said, at a loss for words again. Of course, none of this was going to happen. Not if she could help it. “Do you have a plan?”
“Of course!” he exclaimed as he hopped to his feet. He paced the room, back and forth, his hand rubbing the top of his head. “You,” he said, glancing at her, “they trust you, that woman and boy. You can get inside the palace. Move freely within. I know.” His voice dropped lower and his hand gripped his graying hair. “I watched you before. Sensed you. But you were always under their protection. But not anymore, no, not anymore.” He said the last part more to himself.
A shiver went down her spine. Perhaps she had been safer at the palace than she’d thought.
“When you’re inside, there you will kill that bastard Earnehard.”
“You mean Líadan,” she said, unsure if she should even bother at this point. “Earnehard is dead. You said you killed him, remember?”
He hit himself on the forehead a couple times, so hard that it surely knocked a few more things loose inside. “Yes, yes!” He stopped pacing and looked at her. “He paid for what he did.”
She nodded.
“Now it is his son’s turn.”
Claire wondered briefly if Bahkar knew that Farron was also Earnehard’s son. If he didn’t, she certainly didn’t want to bring it to his attention.
“You will kill that bastard fae while I distract that woman and the other ones.” He started pacing again. “And when he’s dead, together we will destroy the palace, bring it down level to the ground. Earnehard’s legacy will be nothing but rubble when we’re through.”
“All right,” she said. “It sounds like a good plan.” It was—however, not in the way that he thought. He would essentially be delivering her back into the safety of Lianna and Razi. She just had to pretend to go along with it until then.
“You will do it, then?” He paused to look at her, his eyes studying.
She nodded. “They have tried to use me in the past, like I was just some sort of weapon. Held me prisoner against my will. I have no soft spot for them. Not anymore.”
Bahkar grunted, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You lie, my flower. But that’s all right. I have collateral. You will do as I ask or that little elf lover of yours will join the rest of his kin.”
Claire stilled. Did that mean he knew of Farron’s lineage?
He laughed, a full-throated, bellowing sound, and threw his head back. “Of course I know who he is, girl. Practically the whole realm does. Earnehard’s bastard was no secret. I’m sure there are a few others running around out there as well.”
So, he knew, and he was planning on using him as leverage against her. That was the reason he hadn’t killed Farron back in the forest palace. Could he find him though? Of course, he didn’t have to, because Farron was coming for her, no matter what. It was only a matter of time before they crossed paths again. Claire had to be extra careful. One wrong move could prove disastrous. If only Farron wasn’t so stubborn and had listened when she had tried to push him away. She was too dangerous to be involved with. If she wanted to protect him, and everyone else she cared about, then she had no other choice. She had to end Bahkar once and for all.
Her hand brushed down her boot, felt the outline of the dagger it concealed. She didn’t like the thought of taking another life, even if he was a murderous madman. But it was necessary. It was what she had to do to protect the ones she loved, and other innocent lives. She had to be careful about it, though, and wait for an opening. If she failed, she wouldn’t be getting a second chance. That she felt sure of.
He paced again, the laughter fading. “Yes,” he said, his eyes flashing with excitement. “It will finally come to pass, Father. You will get your revenge.”
“When do we leave?” Claire asked. She didn’t think she could last too much longer wherever they were. The fire could only keep so much of the cold at bay when the walls and ceilings weren’t exactly whole. And the sooner she could be rid of him the better.
“Rest up, my little flower.” Bahkar stopped and trained his gaze on her, lifting his chin, squaring his shoulders. “Earnehard’s reign ends tomorrow.”
It was still dark when she awoke from a fitful dream. A light sheen of sweat covered her body and a shiver soon set in. The fire had died down and she had only found a makeshift blanket among the furniture that might have once been a curtain. She laid on her side in front of the fireplace and curled up into a little ball. It was too cold to move and try to start the fire up again. And she didn’t dare venture further into the old house. Who knew what she would find? Instead, she just waited, staring into the embers, for the time to come. Watched as the sky started to brighten.
It was curious, though, that no one had come to get her so far. Surely they had felt her presence again after taking off the silver contraption. Had Farron gotten in contact with Lianna? Perhaps they were trying to come up with some sort of plan. Bahkar was too powerful to face off against unprepared. The magic within her was a warm buzzing presence, a predator waiting to pounce. She’d forgotten how alive it felt. How much peace the bracelets had given her. She needed to get them back and soon. The pendant around her neck could only do so much. The added damage that the General had inflicted on her was definitely starting to take effect. The wound stung unbearably. A trip to the Haven sounded like a good idea, even if she would have to face Maria and her daughter once again.
The sun was just above the horizon when the double doors creaked open. Claire tensed under the blanket. His footsteps were heavy on the wooden floor as he approached her.
“Are you ready, my flower?” he said, his voice low, ominous.
She wasn’t, but she said, “Yes.” It wasn’t like she had much of a choice in the matter anyway. She was his tool now.
“Good,” he said, his excitement rising. “Then come, my flower. Let us go and liberate the people of Derenan.”
Claire sat up and eyed his outstretched hand for a moment before taking it. As soon as they touched, the winds started whipping around them. She hoped that the only one to die that day would be him.