Cursed by Malignant Magic (Once Upon A Curse)

Chapter 16

Chapter

Sixteen

G ood news, the first I'd had in a while—I used my power to blow through the barred window in my cell with minimal ease.

True, I did nearly out myself by sneezing with the amount of dust it kicked up when I yanked the bars through the hole I had made. They were heavier than I expected, and I grunted as I carefully lowered them to the floor, doing my best to ensure that I didn't accidentally set them on my foot.

Once the bars leaned safely against the wall, I gulped down the rest of the water in the pitcher on the desk. I had no way of bringing any food or water with me, so I had been doing my best to eat and drink as much as I could in the hopes of being able to find more once I got out of here.

I reached up and rested my arms on the windowsill, doing my best to lift myself up with a grunt. I had lost weight recently with how little I had been eating, but apparently it wasn't enough to pull myself up through the narrow window. I clawed at the mud with my fingernails, kicking my feet against the wall.

Another stroke of luck, because it turned out that I had been right about me fitting through the window if I could get my shoulders through it. It took a bit of wiggling and digging elbows, knees, fingers, anything to get some purchase, but I managed to slither through the narrow hole.

Less good news, though—someone grabbed my ankle as I was hauling myself out of the window.

Unable to twist around in the narrow space enough to see who it was, I instinctively kicked out behind me, clawing my way forward as much as I could so I was no longer trapped.

Outside, I scrambled to my feet as quickly as I could, but rather than hearing a shout from one of the guards that I had escaped, I instead heard a soft whisper, more frustrated than anything else.

"I'm glad I caught you, but that hurt."

A familiar voice.

My shoulders slumped as I turned back, dropping to my knees in front of the window, or what was left of it. If I hadn't recognized the voice, I would have already been across the courtyard and scrambling up the wall like a monkey.

"Varna! What on earth are you doing here?" I hissed.

I was glad to see her, but her being here made no sense whatsoever, nor did the timing. What were the chances that she caught me right in the middle of my escape?

Varna didn't seem the slightest bit upset at my tone, although she had every right to be. She held up a small leather bag, the straps looped around her wrist. "I brought you this. I stole things here and there because I knew you would be leaving soon. I wanted you to have something to take with you."

Still kneeling in the mud, I reached forward to take it from her, strangely touched at the gesture. We barely knew each other, just a few conversations through walls and an escape, and yet she had decided to risk her newfound safety to steal and help me with my own escape. She was a far better friend than I'd had in a long time, and I wasn’t sure I deserved her.

"Look inside," she urged. "I got as much as I could. Didn't know what all you would need since I've never really been on the run before, but I grabbed anything that looked useful."

I grinned and fumbled for the buckles on the bag to open it. Stuffed on the top was a threadbare cloak, which I would put on as soon as I was safely away. Right now I couldn't take the chance that it would trap my arms, but the night was already cooling down, and the wet mud sinking into my clothes certainly wasn't helping the situation.

Beneath the cloak were plenty of other things that would help me in my journey, although I had no idea how she had managed to gather so much in such a short amount of time. A small skin that sloshed when I nudged it, no doubt full of water; although, given how long I had been without food or water last time, I would be just as happy no matter what kind of liquid was inside it.

Well, within reason anyway.

A thin cloth covered a hunk of bread and some cheese, enough that I could smell it the second I unwrapped it. There was also a slim coil of rope, a shirt, a pair of pants, and a sheathed dagger.

Tears pricked at my eyes, but I shook myself, refusing to cry. Yes, I did appreciate everything she had done, and the fact that she had gone out of her way to steal things for my escape attempt was more affection and care than I had been shown in a long time, but right now was not a good time to cry. I swallowed hard, my throat closing, and blinked away the tears.

"Thank you. This means a lot to me," I managed.

"I know," she said cheerfully and made a shooing motion. "Go on. You're going to get caught if you stick around. I'll do my best to keep the guards away from your room. Give you as much time as I can."

I thanked her again, and she nodded as she turned away. I gathered up the bag and slung it over my shoulder, making a note to put it on more firmly once I was a bit farther away. My boots squelched in the mud as I hurried toward the far wall.

Part of me wondered how Varna had gotten into my room in the first place, let alone how she had managed to steal so much for me, but I didn't have time to figure that out. I needed to get over the wall and far away from here.

My heart pounding, my arms shook as I jumped up on the bench and scrambled onto the wall. It was higher than I had originally thought, but it was too late to turn back now.

Footsteps pounded behind me, shouts echoing from all around me.

My feet dug into the crumbling stone as I hauled myself up the wall. And I nearly made it.

A hand closed around my ankle, and the world spun as I was yanked backward. My arms flailed, and I landed hard. A fist closed around my collar and hauled me back to my feet nearly the second I touched the ground.

Magic surged into my hand, but I froze as the cool bite of a blade touched my throat. I raised my hands to my sides, letting my magic fade, and narrowed my eyes at the person pressing me against the wall.

"You again," I snarled.

Legacy bared her teeth in return, her red hair whipping around her face. Her left hand still held my collar, while her right held the blade to my throat.

I was tempted to lash out at her, but on a more personal level. She was the one who had caught me in the first place, and she had chased me back to my own safe place. My own people thought I was a traitor, and now I had to deal with her again.

"Me again," she said, giving my collar a sharp yank before she let go. “You won’t be needing this anymore.”

She plucked her silver bracelet I’d stolen from my wrist.

I shifted, but her blade pricked my throat, and I settled back against the wall as she reached into her bag with her left hand.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

She dug out a length of rope from her bag and held it out toward me, never taking the blade away from my throat. "Your wrists."

"No," I hissed back. "I can't tie myself up, and you're going to have to drop the blade to do it yourself. I'm not going to help you kidnap me. Again."

"Fine," she snarled.

Her familiar burn of magic curled against my skin, pinning my upper arms against my sides, leaving my lower arms free. Legacy grabbed both of my wrists, pulling them in front of me, and started tying them together. The rope felt rough, but not painfully tight. Strangely enough, neither did the magic.

When I'd been in training, Ehuna had ensured we knew that magic could cause pain, even if it was merely immobilizing magic. I had burns on my upper arms from that, and I'd nearly lost a finger to frostbite when someone had used ice magic rather than simple immobilizing magic.

But Legacy’s felt more like sitting in front of a warm fire on a cold winter night. Pleasant and almost relaxing.

I swallowed hard. Now was not the time for thoughts like that.

"So now what?" I could take a guess since this was a kidnapping, but I wanted her to confirm it.

If she was going to take me back to the people who wanted to use me at best and kill me at worst, then I would make her admit it.

She turned to look at the rapidly approaching soldiers, then her green eyes flicked to mine again. “Now you’re coming with me.”