in volume of voice rather than direct insult. “I have my magic back; it's at your disposal. Please, nobody needs to die tomorrow.” My voice broke with desperation and turned into humbled pleading. I stepped around Kiran, beseeching Lucan to honor his promise.
“How did you get it back, child? How did you make it yours again?” Lucan avoided my question, demanding the answer to his own query nagging him.
I thought about lying. I thought about answering with a short sarcastic retort, but I knew that he would see through me and then demand blood for disobedience. He was testing me, deciding if he broke my spirit or if I would continue to challenge his every breath. This was information I wanted to keep secret, it was valuable and sacred, yet I wondered what he could do with it. I wondered if he would ever be in a position to want to give someone back their magic, or even care that it was possible. He paced in circles around me, waiting out my resolve, growing more confident with every moment that I struggled. If I told him the truth, he would believe that he won; he would believe that I learned my lesson. And I would buy time until he threatened me again with a life that was not mine to bargain with.
“I'll tell you, but I want your word that no one will die today. I want your word that you will honor your side of this arrangement. I have my magic back, no one dies,” I worked very hard to maintain the measured tone masking my utter hatred for this man, knowing that today was all I could ask for.
“No one will die today by my hands or my edict, you have my word,” Lucan promised, nodding his head, while the corners of his thin lips curled into an evil snarl.
“It is not the task of the taker, but the one who has lost the magic; they must reclaim it on their own. The other person, the person who took the magic, has to be willing to let it go, but they cannot physically give it back. It doesn't work like that, only the initial holder of magic can recover their own. It is as hard on the person pulling their magic out as it is for the person who has to let it go. Once the stolen magic has bonded with the blood, it is nearly impossible to separate the two. But with patience and hard work, it can be done,” I finished enthusiastically, having just gone through the experience myself.
“There, that was easy, Eden,” Lucan's forehead creased in self-satisfaction. I shivered from his thirst for control, and from his desperation to own everything in this world. “You're going to comply now. You know what's at risk. You understand that every decision you make, every thought in that pretty head has consequences. If you step out of line again, if you so much as roll your eyes in defiance, I will break you. I will round up everyone you hold dear and take their lives as if I were blowing out a candle!” He finished by stepping forward and screaming in my face.
He stepped back, composing himself. His expression, a reflection of hatred and disgust only moments ago was masked with a cool tranquility that read stately and forgiving. My stomach lurched at his ability to retract his wrath in seconds, at his manipulation of forgiveness and benevolence.
“The Summer Solstice is approaching,” Lucan continued. “In one week, the Citadel will be filled with Immortals ready to enjoy the feast and the newly engaged couple. I have taken the liberty to include your engagement celebration during those days and I expect you both to be on your best behavior. However, Eden, I speak to you specifically. If you do not utterly dote upon my son, if your eyes leave his for even a moment, if your hand finds even a reason to leave his grasp, if there is any reason why my people will not assume that the two of you are so exhaustively in love that you cannot for even a moment be separated, then for an engagement present I will start this all over. I will line the prisoners up one by one and toast each of their deaths as a special matrimonial
“How did you get it back, child? How did you make it yours again?” Lucan avoided my question, demanding the answer to his own query nagging him.
I thought about lying. I thought about answering with a short sarcastic retort, but I knew that he would see through me and then demand blood for disobedience. He was testing me, deciding if he broke my spirit or if I would continue to challenge his every breath. This was information I wanted to keep secret, it was valuable and sacred, yet I wondered what he could do with it. I wondered if he would ever be in a position to want to give someone back their magic, or even care that it was possible. He paced in circles around me, waiting out my resolve, growing more confident with every moment that I struggled. If I told him the truth, he would believe that he won; he would believe that I learned my lesson. And I would buy time until he threatened me again with a life that was not mine to bargain with.
“I'll tell you, but I want your word that no one will die today. I want your word that you will honor your side of this arrangement. I have my magic back, no one dies,” I worked very hard to maintain the measured tone masking my utter hatred for this man, knowing that today was all I could ask for.
“No one will die today by my hands or my edict, you have my word,” Lucan promised, nodding his head, while the corners of his thin lips curled into an evil snarl.
“It is not the task of the taker, but the one who has lost the magic; they must reclaim it on their own. The other person, the person who took the magic, has to be willing to let it go, but they cannot physically give it back. It doesn't work like that, only the initial holder of magic can recover their own. It is as hard on the person pulling their magic out as it is for the person who has to let it go. Once the stolen magic has bonded with the blood, it is nearly impossible to separate the two. But with patience and hard work, it can be done,” I finished enthusiastically, having just gone through the experience myself.
“There, that was easy, Eden,” Lucan's forehead creased in self-satisfaction. I shivered from his thirst for control, and from his desperation to own everything in this world. “You're going to comply now. You know what's at risk. You understand that every decision you make, every thought in that pretty head has consequences. If you step out of line again, if you so much as roll your eyes in defiance, I will break you. I will round up everyone you hold dear and take their lives as if I were blowing out a candle!” He finished by stepping forward and screaming in my face.
He stepped back, composing himself. His expression, a reflection of hatred and disgust only moments ago was masked with a cool tranquility that read stately and forgiving. My stomach lurched at his ability to retract his wrath in seconds, at his manipulation of forgiveness and benevolence.
“The Summer Solstice is approaching,” Lucan continued. “In one week, the Citadel will be filled with Immortals ready to enjoy the feast and the newly engaged couple. I have taken the liberty to include your engagement celebration during those days and I expect you both to be on your best behavior. However, Eden, I speak to you specifically. If you do not utterly dote upon my son, if your eyes leave his for even a moment, if your hand finds even a reason to leave his grasp, if there is any reason why my people will not assume that the two of you are so exhaustively in love that you cannot for even a moment be separated, then for an engagement present I will start this all over. I will line the prisoners up one by one and toast each of their deaths as a special matrimonial
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