Sewn & Scarred (The Fated Creations Trilogy #3)

Chapter Thirty-NineEvaline

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Evaline

“ A re you ready to behave?” Lauden called from the other side of my door.

I swallowed the fear that crawled up at my throat, and knew he was summoning me for another test. Feared what Vasier may do to me this time to leach the blood from my veins.

But I loosened the muscles of my face until I looked disinterested and opened the door.

“He stabbed me, Lauden. Surely any misbehaviors ,” I said, sneering the word, “Are well within my rights.”

He blinked once, then shook his head. “They’re not.” And with that, he spun on his heels and headed for the throne room.

I rushed after him, heard Broderick fall in step behind us, and tried to slow the race of my heart but the dichotomy that warred in my body made it soar even higher. I was both afraid for the pain of whatever blow Vasier would deal, and excited to feel the pulse of my magic through my veins again.

This time when we made it to the throne room there was far more protection around Vasier. They must’ve heard what happened and wanted to be here to shield him.

There weren’t any Vasi standing directly in front of him, I knew he’d never want to appear that protected, but there were several standing on every other side of him.

Lauden led me to the window again, cut my hand, and I tried to listen to his incantation in hopes that I could somehow repeat it myself if I ever managed to get close to a ward without being spotted, but his voice was too quiet, even when I tried to use my Air to hear.

I noticed the room was more tense, this time, as if waiting for me to make a move on one of them. Or maybe, they were preparing themselves for the smell of my blood.

The moment my magic was unleashed I felt it swarm and curl up into me. The warmth spread to my heart, then beat with every breath through my entire body until I could feel it all the way to the tips of my toes.

I turned to Vasier and tried to keep my fear from wavering my voice as I asked, “What now?”

The last thing I wanted to do was to appease him. To allow him to hurt me, to bleed me out. I didn’t want to cooperate, but I knew that if I didn’t, I’d never lower his guard, to get close to him.

And if I didn’t participate in these tests, he might stop having them, and I needed access to my magic again. Needed to steal it back.

He looked over my shoulder, and I turned to see Broderick approach until he stood between Vasier and me, and squared his shoulders to me.

My eyes widened and I took a step back as I fell into my fighting stance, but where I’d usually wield a sword or a dagger, my hands were poised in front of me with only my magic to protect myself.

“Fight. But do not kill each other,” Vasier instructed from somewhere behind the Vasi.

I took a deep breath, thankful that I would at least not have to deal with another wound and more blood loss during this test, but I’d hardly finished the sigh of relief when Vasier continued.

“But it’s your choice on how to drain her.”

The Vasi continued moving towards me in slow but sure strides and I backed up a few more. My heart beat outside of my chest and my eyes zeroed in on his teeth at the same moment that his fell to my neck.

Please don’t. I whispered internally, mind already falling back to the only time I’d been bitten by a Vasi, the night I watched my father die.

I couldn’t go through that again. Not now.

But the terror that washed through me at the memory seemed to be stamped down by my magic as it buzzed through my veins, reassuring me that it was here and I’d never fight alone again.

Broderick took another step toward me and reached for my left wrist, but I was able to back away again. He slashed out another hand for my right arm, but I dodged it, too.

He didn’t give up, only smirked as he brought both hands back and slammed them onto my chest, pushing me backward.

I stumbled back, trying to catch my balance and throw out a wall of fire between us, but the step I took back resulted in the back of my boots hitting the stone wall behind me, the window sill hitting the backs of my knees. My body began to fall back and out of the window, until I slammed my head against the ward and the metal framing that hung in the empty window for stained glass broke at the impact and pierced my skin. Cuts bloomed open on the back of my neck, my arms, and my back and I bit down against the pain as I continued to fall down onto the now spiked metal, until I couldn’t move, because the bars latched onto my flesh and held me there.

Broderick smirked and despite the pain, I brought a wave of water up behind me and threw it forward to shove him back, but it pushed me, too, and I yelped in pain as the water covered me, and the tidal wave plucked me from the metal spikes and shoved me forward and onto my knees.

The wave sent the Vasi flying back, too, and several others who stood in its path, until it exited the throne room on the opposite wall’s open windows.

I scrambled to my feet and nearly slipped on the now slick stone floor, but he had already rebounded.

Vasier was right, my magic did feel stronger today despite the amount of blood I’d lost, and I threw a wall of fire between us as I regained my balance.

The Vasi only walked through it, effortlessly, and I sank into my fighting stance before he slid and swiped my legs out from underneath me.

I swore as the ground rushed up to meet me and cried out in pain when my elbow slammed against the stone. Tears stung my eyes but Broderick descended on me, picked me up and flung me across the room. A sea of other Vasi parted so that I could fall onto the floor, and the impact knocked the wind from my chest. I could only watch in horror as Broderick came for me again and I tried to gasp for breath.

The lantern light in the room flickered all over him, reflecting light back from all over his chest, his sides, his legs, as he approached and I realized it was from the many weapons that littered his body. The breath still evaded my lungs, but an idea took shape.

And I knew what I had to do.

I threw up a hand and a wall of Air flung him back until it was his back hitting the wall of the throne room. He slid down it onto his knees, and the reprieve gave me a chance to catch my breath and get to my feet.

We were aiming for each other again when I threw a fireball at him, and he dodged it easily.

I knew it wouldn’t land, but I needed to at least look like I was trying to ward him off. I couldn’t let them know that I wanted him to get close again.

My fingertips tingled as he approached, excited to put their skills to the test again in what felt like a lifetime since the last time they’d swiped something.

He reached a hand out and wrapped it around my throat, tightened and lifted me until my feet swung above the ground.

I clawed at his face, at the hand at my neck that held me, but then I let my hands beat across his chest. I couldn’t breathe, but that’s not why I swung at his abdomen.

I didn’t dare stray my eyes from his, I knew I didn’t need to look, anyway. My hands knew what they were doing.

His eyes twinkled and I watched as they fell to my neck, where I could feel the blood that still trickled down the back of it squelch out faster at the squeeze of his fingers and slide down my chest. His fangs lowered and I knew now was my chance, now that he was sufficiently distracted by my blood loss.

My legs kicked all around, my gasping breaths filled the air, and I swung my body to block the view of all the Vasi behind me, so that they couldn’t see the space between him and me.

My hands beat, and slapped, and slipped over his chest, over his abdomen, until the right one slipped a medium-sized dagger from a holster on his stomach and slid it down the sleeve of my tunic.

I thanked the Gods I’d chosen to wear long sleeves today.

He didn’t give any indication he’d noticed, but he was still enthralled with the blood that I felt seeping over his hand, and if the gleam in his eyes wasn’t enough to indicate it, the drool that slid down his fangs was.

I knew he’d notice tonight, though, when he went to take them off, so I had to do something to knock a few more weapons loose from him, that way he’d never suspect I took one.

My vision started to fade, time had started to catch up to me and I realized I’d been hanging here too long.

I swung my feet to plant against his chest and pushed off of him. He lost his grip on my neck, now made slick by my blood, and Broderick hurtled backward as I fell back onto the granite.

I threw myself forward onto my knees, gasped for air, and swung my hands out toward him. Air shot from them, a wall of swirling dust and debris slamming into him and pushing him out of the window at the same time that my wave reached up out of the water, grasped him mid-air and pulled him under.