Cursed by Malignant Magic (Once Upon A Curse)

Chapter 8

Chapter

Eight

I stared at Varna in shock, unsure of how to respond to that.

What could she possibly mean? As far as I knew, I was the only other one with natural magic, not mined magic, and if she did have magic, why was she here? Perhaps it was the same reason I was…

She interrupted my whirling thoughts with a sigh. "I shouldn't say that. Not like you exactly. But I am special. I can sense magic without the use of a gauntlet. And I can sense that you have a ton of it."

I swallowed hard, again not sure what to say. If she could sense it, there was no point in denying it, but I was also not entirely sure that I wanted to agree with her so readily.

She could sense magic without a gauntlet, and I could wield it without a gauntlet. What a powerful duo we could make.

"I’m Collie," I said carefully.

Throughout our conversation, our voices had lowered without me even realizing it. If there guards stood outside the door, then no matter how quietly we talked, there was nothing we could do to prevent them from listening in on what we were saying, but that didn't mean we had to make it easy for them. Besides, giving her my name was the least I could do if we were going to build any sort of trust with one another.

She seemed like someone who could help me escape. Even Legacy, who wasn’t overly cruel, was my enemy. She would not help me escape, but this girl might.

If I took her with me.

My mind finally made the connection to why she was here. Not because she was a prisoner, but because of what she could do. They wanted to know what I could do as well.

"You're here to see if I have magic," I said. "To see if I would be useful to them the way you are."

She flinched, and I realized belatedly that what I'd said could be construed as cruel.

"I didn't mean that unkindly,” I said. “Was only thinking out loud. You have to do what you must in order to survive. No one can blame you for that."

Not even me, as much as I wanted to. If they learned that I had magic, even without my gauntlets, this would go very poorly for me indeed. There was not one situation I could think of that didn't involve pain, death, or both, and lots of it.

If they tried to turn me to their side, they would want me to prove myself, and I was not about to kill any of my compatriots to save my own skin. Or they would decide that I was too dangerous to live, which meant I would die.

“I’ve already told them,” Varna muttered, her cheeks flushed, and I choked on what was left of my spit.

Her shoulders hunched, as if she were trying to hide within herself.

“Pardon?” I asked.

“The red-haired one, Legacy. She can tell if you’re lying if she touches you. I didn’t want to lie to her.” Her voice softened with something like fear, and I nodded slowly.

Of course she wouldn’t want to risk lying to Legacy and risk her own life.

“How long have you known?” I asked.

Varna shrugged, gesturing to the wall next to us. The wall with the small hole in it.

“Since the moment you were brought here. They always bring new prisoners to the cells next to me so that I can tell them if there’s anything useful about them. Magical or otherwise. I was able to sense you when you were still unconscious when they were dragging you in.”

I wanted to point out that I had been at least partially conscious when they were dragging me in, but now was not the time.

Varna seemed eager to talk, and I was more than happy to listen. Not just because I was learning something useful from her, but also because she seemed desperate for the company, and I hadn’t had much good company these last few days either. Perhaps we both had something to gain from this conversation, beyond just the sharing of information between two prisoners.

And exchange information we did.

We talked for hours about anything and everything we could think of, anything that might be useful to one another. The whole time we kept our voices low just in case anyone happened to be listening to our conversation. I highly doubted that anything we spoke about would be useful to those holding us captive, but I wasn't about to take that chance.

Finally, I couldn't stand the suspense any longer. Varna seemed to know more than I did about this place, perhaps because she had been here longer. Although the more suspicious part of me whispered that perhaps there was more to it. I had hung around Ehuna long enough to grow suspicious, something I couldn't shake even now.

Whatever the reason that Varna knew more about this place than I did, I would take advantage of it.

"Does Legacy have to kiss someone to tell whether or not they're telling the truth?" I cringed, immediately regretting asking that question.

Varna cocked a dark brow and frowned, coiling her chains loosely around her hands in what looked to be a nervous tic. "No. Perhaps it helps, but she's never felt the need to do that with me."

I guessed I was just lucky, then.

We kept talking about other things, but I couldn't think of any other questions that Varna could help me with. We kept one another company, and I began to consider her a new friend by the time the door to my cell slammed open against the wall.

I shot to my feet as quickly as I could with the chains still in place. There was no way that I could escape, not without a plan in place, but I wouldn’t let them kick me while I was down.

"Was the slamming door necessary?" I sneered, but the guards barely even spared me a glance.

Panic surged through me as the guards clamped onto Varna's arms, yanking her up from the ground. I pulled against my restraints, trying to reach out and help her, feeling my magic stirring inside me. It took all of my willpower to keep it contained within me.

"Leave her alone!" I shouted.

As they forcibly dragged Varna away, she frantically reached out towards me. Despite our efforts, the chains that bound us kept us inches apart, denying us even the slightest touch.

The guards paid no mind to my pleas and continued their merciless march, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.

My heart ached as Varna disappeared into the darkness, slipping away like a distant memory. I hated being parted from the only friend I might have in this place.

"Please!" she yelled.

Her chains clattered on the hard stone as she returned to her cell, and the only comfort in this situation was that she was still close. Only a cell away.

Guards yanked the chains that bound me taut once again, cutting into my wrists and ankles with a painful reminder of my captivity. With a surge of anger and desperation, I lashed out at the guards with my feet, not daring to use my magic for fear of further punishment.

One of them stumbled back, clutching a bloody nose, and I couldn't help but feel a grim sense of satisfaction in seeing him suffer, even just a little. They might have held all the power in this place, but I was determined to make them regret it every chance I got.

Just as I kicked another guard within my reach, a hushed voice came from the door. “Leave!”

The sound of their boots scraping against the stone floor echoed as they reluctantly obeyed, leaving me alone once again in my cold cell.

"Legacy?" I mumbled, squinting at the figure standing in the doorway.

I couldn't shake off the feeling of familiarity with the voice, one that resounded through my memories, but I couldn't quite place it. As the figure stepped forward, their features slowly coming into focus, I realized that it wasn't Legacy standing before me. Instead, it was someone I knew all too well. Someone from my past.

Goose bumps formed on my skin as I tried to make sense of their sudden appearance. My mind raced with questions and possibilities, each one more unsettling than the last.

The air around us felt heavy with tension as our eyes met, and my heart began to race.

“What do you want?” I spat.

I had seen him before, but not enough to know exactly who he was or what he wanted. I had a vague memory of him speaking to Ehuna, but that made no sense. Someone who could hold Ehuna’s limited attention shouldn’t be here in an enemy camp. He was certainly no prisoner like I was.

The man's brows lifted, emphasizing the sharp angles of his face. His pale blond hair, nearly white in the dim light, fell in tousled waves around his face. A single, gleaming gauntlet adorned his wrist, an unusual sight compared to the soldiers on the front lines who wore two distinct gauntlets—one for attack and one for defense. My gaze lingered on the lone gauntlet, wondering which purpose it served for this mysterious man.

"I'm surprised you don't remember me. I'm Tannin, Ehuna's superior."

My brows lifted. I did remember him, but that only left me with more questions. If he was Ehuna's commander, he should not be here. Not unless...

I sucked in a breath. "You're a traitor."

He shrugged as if it didn't matter at all. "Traitor to your cause, yes. Mine, no. You're not in any position to understand, so I don't feel the need to explain it to you."

I gritted my teeth. He was belittling me, but I was less concerned about that than I was about the fact that he was a traitor. When I got out of here, I needed to know more about him so that I could take that information back to Ehuna.

Rumor had it that he descended from the original Caputo family, which was one half of the reason this war had started hundreds of years ago in the first place. The Caputo kingdom blamed the Montrose kingdom for harvesting magic from their land. The Montroses blamed the Caputos for the same thing, and thus the bitter feud began.

“If you don’t feel the need to explain yourself to me, then why are you here? To gloat?” I asked Tannin.

That would be just my luck, but he shook his head.

"No. A little bird told me that there was a prisoner here who can smell magic. That she sniffed out a whole warehouse of it before it exploded. I wanted to see for myself, as you will be very useful for our experiments. Imagine my surprise when I found Ehuna's pet here."

I ground my teeth harder. Everyone loved to call me Ehuna's pet. I had no way of knowing if she was even looking for me, let alone if she was close to finding me. If Tannin was here and kept her from finding me, I might never get out of here alive.

But if I didn't try to escape, what worse horrors would be in store for me here?

Wait a second. I hadn’t told Varna about the warehouse or my sniffing ability, so what did Tannin mean by a “little bird”? By little, did he mean giant? I hadn’t thought to check the sky before breaking into the warehouse.

I looked up at Tannin, straightening my shoulders as the chains rattled. "Whatever you plan to do, do it. There's no reason to keep dragging this out."

Tannin nodded slowly, although he made no move to approach me. "Ehuna always said you were brave. Perhaps too brave, but we shall see. We're not nearly finished with you yet since I suspect you can do more than just sniff out magic."

He stepped out, and the door clanged shut behind him, the room pitching into darkness.

My magic sparked on my fingers, and I breathed deeply, letting it flow over the chains. Perhaps if I moved slowly, I could weaken the chains without completely destroying everything in the room, including myself. It was the best chance I had at escape.

I highly doubted that I’d like whatever Tannin had in mind for me. Better to take my chances on my magic.

“Perhaps you’re not finished with me,” I muttered under my breath. “But I’m finished with you.”