Hazel
Tejus hadn’t removed his hand from my arm the entire way back through the forest. As we neared the courtyard, his grip tightened perceptibly, and soon I saw why.
The entire castle seemed to be surrounded by sentries, great looming figures all wearing their black, official robes as they milled about, waiting for something.
As we entered through the main gates, the murmurings got louder. They whispered to one another, and not once did they take their eyes off of Tejus and me as we made our way past them.
I looked up at Tejus, but he didn’t even seem to notice the crowds. His eyes were fixed firmly ahead as the sentries parted to let us through. I kept my head down.
When we got inside the castle, the situation didn’t change. It was just as busy in here as it had been outside. Tejus continued to pull me along, heading toward the staircase which led to his living quarters.
The crowds started to thin out as we reached the entrance to the stairwell. I gave a small sigh of relief—being around that many sentries made me feel anxious and jumpy.
As we climbed the stairs, Tejus let go of my arm, but he still didn’t speak a word to me. When we reached his living quarters, Lucifer approached and started to weave himself in and out of his master’s legs, but Tejus was no longer in the playful nose-patting mood, and Lucifer was ignored.
When we reached the living room, I expected Tejus to lock me in and leave me, but he walked over to the window, while I remained by the entrance, at a loss for what to do or say. I felt uncharacteristically sorry for Lucifer and bent down to stroke him. As I did, a crumpled item on one of the low tables caught my attention.
I instantly recognized it, but had to touch it to make sure.
Tentatively I reached out my fingers and slowly pulled at one of the corners of the faded lime-green material. It unfolded and I read “Brainz” written in a florid red font.
This isn’t happening.
I blinked a couple of times and felt a strange sensation in my legs, as if they were about to give way. It was Benedict’s t-shirt.
“He’s dead,” I whispered to the room. “My brother’s dead.”
Nausea rolled over in my stomach, and I heard a loud ringing in my ears. The room started to blur and shift. I caught hold of the back of the sofa and remained staring down at the shirt. “Brainz” flickered in and out of focus.
Tejus turned toward me, but I was only half-aware of his presence.
“He’s dead,” I said again, louder. “He’s dead!” I screamed out. I heard it echo, and a million voices seemed to scream with me.
I started to sob wildly—great heaving, racking sobs that tore at my chest. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, like my throat was constricted, and I started to tear at the high collar of my gown.
Tejus rushed toward me, but I jumped backward—I didn’t want to be touched. I didn’t want to do anything but kill the creature responsible.
He moved forward again, trying to restrain me, but I punched and kicked out at him as I ran for the door. He grabbed hold of me by the waist, yanking me back, but I just fought harder and, twisting, slipped out of his grip.
“Hazel, what is going on? Wait!” Tejus called to me, but I didn’t stop.
I could hear his footsteps following mine, but I knew he couldn’t stop me. Not with all his strength. I felt invincible, like nothing could touch me, like nothing could stand in my way. I was going to kill Jenus, and I didn’t care if I lost my own life doing it.
I clattered down the staircase with Tejus hot on my heels. But every time he reached out a hand to pull me back, I bit and twisted and fought my way out of his grip. We were halfway down when Tejus clearly decided that he’d had enough.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and yanked me back against his chest. I thought he would crack my ribs, he held me so tight.
“No! Let me GO!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, hysteria taking over completely till I was crying garbled words. “Get your hands—I need to—get OFF ME!” I sobbed and screamed wildly, noticing that a group of sentries were ascending the steps below to get a better look at what was going on.
Guards pushed their way through the crowd, weapons held aloft. Jenus was with them, leading the way forward. His dark eyes pierced through my sobs and heartbreak, transforming them into an icy rage.
“YOU killed him!” I pointed toward Jenus, spitting the words out, trying to lean forward toward him and out of Tejus’s arms.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please depart,” Jenus announced in a loud voice and smiled around at the gathered sentries. “Clearly my brother has lost all control of his human. Unfortunate state of affairs, but if you would please all leave us to it, the guards and I will subdue the creature.”
The crowd tittered, and the whispers now took on an amused and snide tone, with some outright smirking.
“No!” I shouted at them, managing to wriggle free again from Tejus. “No! You killed him—you killed my—”
Before I could get another word out Jenus had come forward, grabbed me and clamped his hand over my mouth. I tried to bite, but he had me smothered. He marched me back upstairs, Tejus somewhere alongside us. Still holding me in a vice-tight grip, Jenus threw me on the nearest sofa in Tejus’s living quarters.
They marched back out before I could rise, and the door locked.
“Tejus, the emperor wants to see you,” Jenus announced. “Better hurry, brother.” I could tell that the words were said through a smile.
I pounded on the door and screamed with all my might. It made no difference. The door remained closed, and I was locked inside a room with my dead brother’s t-shirt.
* * *
The longest hour of my life passed. My head throbbed from my exertions and screams, and I curled up on the sofa with my brother’s t-shirt in my hands. Burying my face in it, I could smell the warm comfort of his body—it smelt like home, Benedict’s morning dragon breath, and the assortment of sweet rubbish that he liked to eat.
I calmly came to the conclusion that I would rather die than have to return to my parents with the news that I had, as his older sister, failed him in every way possible, and that this was the price we would now all pay. A life without Benedict.
This can’t be real.
I still didn’t truly believe it. It seemed such an impossibility that we could have lost him. I had always thought that parents and loved ones wanting to see the body of the deceased was a bit morbid and weird. But now I understood why. It just didn’t feel real—he was too alive within me, too loved—and it wouldn’t be a reality until I saw him myself.
I spun around at the sound of the door opening, hoping to see Tejus. I wanted to tell him everything that had been happening, and at least try to get him to help me avenge my brother’s death. I wouldn’t be successful on my own—now that my hysteria had subsided, I knew that I would have to be more Machiavellian in my approach to Jenus.
It was Jenus who stood in the doorway.
My fingers curled up, digging into the sofa, and every muscle in my body tensed. He smiled at me, his eyes gleaming in enjoyment of some private joke.
“You have surpassed yourself, human.” He smirked. “Bravo on such a wonderful outcome. Tut-tut for not killing my brother, but the outcome is much the same, and so you have accomplished something at least.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but he cut me off.
“But do remember—and this is important—your brother and friends are still in my possession and I—”
“Benedict! H-He’s still alive?” I gasped. “You didn’t kill him?”
Jenus shrugged and replied offhandedly, “Well, he was alive when I left him, though next time you might not be so lucky… To keep them alive, you’ll need to serve me faithfully in the trials. Very faithfully. No tricks, no betrayals, no hysterical outbursts—no nothing. Do you understand?”
I nodded. I hadn’t really been listening. The relief drained my body of all other emotions, and I felt almost light-headed as
Jenus beckoned me to follow him out of the room. Benedict’s not dead.
“Follow me,” Jenus commanded. “Don’t dally.”
We went back down the staircase to the main entrance of the castle. We seemed to cross its entirety, walking for ages along more dimly lit hallways. We soon approached another staircase and started to climb. I realized that Jenus lived in the second turret of the castle, about as far away from Tejus as he could physically get.
I wondered how long their sibling rivalry had been going on and what might have caused it in the first place. Their loathing of one another seemed to be deeply rooted and immense, so much so that Jenus was willing to kill his brother for the title of emperor.
Jenus’ living quarters were not dissimilar to Tejus’s. He took me into the living room. It was almost an exact replica of his brother’s in terms of layout, but Jenus kept no bookcases or tapestries on the walls. The only decoration was rows and rows of weapons—swords, crossbows, daggers, a mace, and a few elaborate axes, all polished to a high shine so that they glittered where they hung, casting fragments of light across the room… and some vulture skulls.
Jenus strode toward the furthest wall and dragged out an old-looking chest that I hadn’t originally seen. Behind that was a small door. It looked like the entrance to a coal scuttle or a chute.
“You’ll sleep in here.”
He opened the door, and I could see a dark cubby hole awaited me.
What is it with these Hellswan brothers and their cubby holes? I thought irritably.
Without arguing, I sighed and crouched down. He kept the door open, and, while glaring at him, I crawled through. The stone floor was cold and hard—and this time I wasn’t given so much as a blanket or a pallet to lie on.
He shut the door with a slam, and I heard the lock fall into place—then I heard the sound of a chain being dragged through the handle, and a key lock snapping into place. I doubted Houdini would be able to escape from this.
I didn’t know why he bothered. I was so cramped, and there was absolutely no light—I wouldn’t have had much luck in trying to get out of here. And escape where? It seemed to me that Hellswan kingdom was just a hotbed of sentries waiting to kidnap humans—when you managed to escape one, you soon fell into the hands of another. I thought of Tejus. I hadn’t seen him since my outburst. I wondered what Jenus meant by having succeeded even without killing his brother—it sounded like Tejus might have been taken out of the running. My heart plummeted at the thought. That would mean neither we nor Nevertide stood a chance with Jenus as emperor.
I laid my head on my hands, and thought about retrieving the stone from my pocket. I felt I needed support. Calming.
But not while he’s still here.
I didn’t know what properties or powers that stone held—but I certainly didn’t want to give Jenus any clue that I had it.
Ruby
It was about one o’clock in the morning. Ash and I had drawn two large chairs toward the crackling fireplace in the kitchen, and we sat watching the flames lick up the chimney and throw shadows into the dark corners of the room.
I felt mellow and drowsy, enjoying the warmth and the silence. I knew we were far from safe, but with the roaring fire and the comfortable chairs, I could at least pretend that I might have been.
“Ash.” I broke the companionable silence. “I heard people talking about Tejus and Jenus today, that there’d been some dispute or trouble. Do you know what that was about?”
“Yeah.” Ash sighed. “The rumor is that Tejus lost control of his human. She started behaving like a wild animal, and so Jenus worked it so that he has her now.”
“Jenus has Hazel?”
“Yeah. In his quarters. I don’t know if Tejus will even be in the trial now.”
I felt afraid for Hazel. I knew that as long as Jenus needed her for her mind-powers she would remain alive, but helping that monster would be killing her anyway. I wondered what would have made her behave like an ‘animal’—she had seemed to get on okay with Tejus, all things considering.
Do we have any chance with Hazel on Jenus’s side?
As if he’d read my mind, Ash grimaced at me.
“It’s why we need to win tomorrow, shortie—we’ve got to beat that brute into the ground. He can’t be named king. It’ll be the end for all of us—he’ll never let you and your friends go. You can count on that.”
He was right.
Any hesitation I had left about helping Ash during the trial disappeared. Their futures depended on Ash or Tejus winning—and it didn’t look like Tejus stood much of a chance now. It was up to us.
“You can take as much of my energy as you like—drain the lot,” I replied fiercely. “I don’t want Jenus to get away with anything that he’s done to us. You need to win, Ash.”
He nodded hesitantly.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. I had thought he’d be pleased with my response—but he was looking at me like I was about to bite a chunk of his head off.
“Um, nothing.” Ash hesitated, and reached for the poker by the side of the fire. He started moving the logs about, sending sparks flying, and I tried to read his expression.
What’s his problem?
“All right.” He cleared his throat. “The thing is, I’ve never actually borrowed energy from someone else before…” He trailed off.
“What? Never?”
“Nope. Never.”
I exhaled. “Okay… Well, I’m sure it’s pretty straightforward—Jenus and Tejus just seem to do it naturally.”
“I’ve had my energy sucked before,” he replied bitterly, glancing in my direction. “I know what it feels like. I was a kid—but I remember it very well.” He gave a small shudder.
“Who did that?” It hadn’t occurred to me that sentries could drain one another.
He laughed shortly. “Take a wild guess… Jenus. He’d been outside training with his brothers, and I guess he came back to the castle feeling tired. He cornered me in a corridor and drained me. The bastard walked away feeling fresh as spring—but I was sick for the rest of the day. He was only about twelve then. Already a nasty piece of work.”
Ash stared glumly into the fire, and my heart went out to him. I’d had very little interaction with Jenus in the grander scene of things—to grow up with him, or in the same castle as him, must have been a special kind of hell.
“Well, when I’m borrowed from, I get a fuzzy kind of feeling in my temples and—”
Ash held out his hand to stop me mid-sentence. “I know all that—it’s the taking bit that I don’t get. People have explained it to me in theory, but without actually knowing how, it’s all a bit… vague.”
“Okay…” I swallowed. “Well, we can try it now. I’m sure you’ll pick it up in no time.” I hoped that I sounded more encouraging than I felt.
“All right.” Ash smiled at me and sat upright in the chair. “Let’s try.”
He closed his eyes tightly and reached out one of his hands toward me. Three awkward seconds passed, but I felt nothing. My previous experience told me that if it was working at all something would have happened by now—but I didn’t feel so much as a head strain.
“It’s not working, is it?” he asked, opening one eye.
“No.” I sighed. “Try again—this time, maybe just relax a bit?” I could see the vein in his temple throbbing. At this rate he’d give himself a nosebleed.
“All right. Let’s try again.”
Ash closed his eyes, and held both hands out toward me. I waited again, but felt nothing.
“Do you feel anything?” I asked tentatively, thinking that maybe if Ash’s intentions were good and that he didn’t want to hurt me, I wouldn’t actually experience any pain or headache.
“Nope.” He dropped his arms and opened his eyes. “Not a thing.”
We tried it again, and then several more times. All I could see was that Ash was getting more tired by the second, not more energized. I was really starting to worry.
What chance does he have over Jenus if he can’t even use me to boost his energy? I wondered.
I could tell that Ash was getting embarrassed as well as frustrated. His normally pale face was starting to look flushed, and I tried to think of a way I could make this process easier for him.
Unsure, but thinking it couldn’t make things worse, I reached my hand up to Ash. I closed my eyes, breathing slowly, and tried to ‘gather up’ my own energy and push it out toward Ash.
My fingers grazed his outstretched hand with a ghost of a touch, and as soon as I did so, a warm, blissful feeling spread from my head throughout the rest of my body. It felt like the entire world had gone to sleep, and the two of us—Ash and I—were suspended in time. I imagined that I could see covers creating a canopy over our heads, held up by broom poles and covered with fairy lights, as if we were kids and had built a secret fort in our bedrooms. I could picture us, lying on the duvet and surrounded by popcorn and juice cartons—staring up at the flickering lights, whispering and sharing secrets—warm and happy, comfortable in our small world, and cradled in a sense of child-like trust. It was perfect. I smiled drowsily, and the lights sparkled and swam.
In a second it was gone.
I felt sorrow as the image faded away, and the warm comfort vanished—I felt irrationally that I had been robbed of something that was rightfully mine, and its absence left a hole deep within me.
I looked over at Ash. We had both leaned back in our chairs, and his expression was as surprised as I was sure mine was.
“What was that?” I breathed, stunned.
“I have no idea,” he replied, his voice tinged with awe and wonder.
I wonder if his feelings matched the intensity of mine—if they were as blissful and dream-like. I was too embarrassed to ask outright. Judging by his expression he had obviously felt something—whether or not it was the same would have to remain a mystery.
He sat still for a moment, the expression of awe transforming into one of deep thought.