Sewn & Scarred (The Fated Creations Trilogy #3)

Chapter Forty-NineMaddox

Chapter Forty-Nine

Maddox

“ M addox, seriously, get the fuck out of here. I love you, but you need to go,” Wyott said, stern voice rising.

I shook my head. “You can’t keep me away. I’m going to be here because I’m going to help.”

“Sage can show up at any moment, and if you’re here she will see that you’ve changed back.”

I raised my brows. “I don’t care.”

Wyott sighed and crossed the room to fall back onto the couch.

“You’re making a mistake,” was all he said when he sat down.

Dean leaned forward from where he, too, sat on the couch.

“He might be right. James was serious when he told us the threat a Kova who could come back from being a Vasi was to them. If Vasier finds out you have the ability, he won’t ever stop hunting you down.”

I paced in front of the fireplace. “I don’t particularly give a fuck. If the choice is whether I help save Evaline and am hunted, or she dies and I remain safe in this fucking cage, then so be it,” I said, throwing my hand toward them, dismissing the conversation.

Cora’s leg bounced as she sat in the seat to Lauden’s—no one’s—desk.

“I agree with Maddox. It’s not fair to continue to keep him out of these conversations.”

I nodded at her. “Thank you, Cora. I don’t—”

The sound of muffled voices entered the room and all four of us turned toward the kitchen.

Wyott straightened and Dean stood, and I knew what that meant.

I swallowed, prayed to the Gods that it would be Sage and Evaline that came through that portal, but we all watched as Sage appeared, feet landing in the space between the worktable and the island.

Her arms were full, and she tottered for a moment as she landed, the ballgown she wore not helping. Dean was at her side in an instant to grab the several bags and items she was holding, and I fought to maintain a lock on my composure, and the Vasi inside, at the lack of Evaline in tow.

He rumbled, pushed against the walls, but didn’t get through.

She looked up for the first time, and when her eyes locked on mine, she took a step back.

“Maddox?” She shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t understand,” she said looking to Dean.

I strode forward then, as if remembering why I was here.

“Where’s Evaline?” I asked, my voice hoarse. “How is she?” I asked, eyes searching hers. “What’s happening?”

The fact that she was in a ballgown seemed to register with me then.

“The ceremony, is it tonight? Why isn’t she here with you?” I said, my voice rising.

Cora was at my side then, a hand on my back and one on my arm, pulling me back. I hadn’t noticed that I’d gotten so close to Sage.

“I couldn’t portal her here with me, I’ve already tried.” Her eyes saddened. “I thought that because the wards are a physical boundary, at least for the person they lock, that my portal could get past them. My portals get past other physical barriers, but we tried.” She shook her head. “We tried and it didn’t work, my portal wouldn’t even open fully while I touched her, and even when I opened it without touching her, as soon as we held hands, the portal died.”

“Where is she now?” I pressed, shoving away the panic that swarmed up my throat.

“Vasier is taking her to the Ball,” she motioned to the bags she’d brought with her. “I brought all of our personal belongings. They took everything when she got there.” She pointed at them. “That’s her sword, her clothes, her boots, her throwing knives.”

“Her daggers?” I asked, immediately plagued by the thought of her there without any protection.

“She’s wearing them, and her barbed wire.”

“What of the wards, Sage?” Wyott asked, on my other side.

Her face fell a fraction. “I can’t break them. I keep trying, but nothing is working. This ward,” she said, raising her hand to wave all around us. “I think I could dismantle it with no problem. But—”

I couldn’t handle how slow she was talking, my mind was racing.

I couldn’t handle the fact that she only kept mentioning the worst scenarios—Evaline is in Vasier’s possession, that she’s heading to the ceremony that will kill her, that the wards still locked her in.

“Why are you here?” I asked.

She snapped her jaw shut mid-speech and looked up at me.

“I came to bring our things, because tonight we either come back here together, or we never—”

“Don’t,” I croaked, shaking my head. “Don’t even say it,” I said, as if merely uttering the words would speak the situation into existence.

Sage’s jaw clenched shut, but she continued. “She wanted me to bring you back one last jar of blood.” Her eyes softened. “She knew it could be the last one you’d ever get, and wanted you to have at least this much.”

My heart hammered but I shook my head so violently that pain shot up my neck.

Sage continued. Told Wyott, Cora, Dean, the goodbyes Evaline had passed along and I had to clench my teeth so that I wouldn’t run out of this building right now, try to rip myself past the wards, and go to her.

But then Sage looked to me. “She wanted me to tell you that you were the best prize she ever won pickpocketing.”

I felt every eye in the room fall to me, time seemed to cease, and I felt my heart in my chest shatter.

Because these were the last words my mate thought she would ever say to me, and Gods they were beautiful and Gods knew I felt the same way about her, but they couldn’t be the last.

I wouldn’t allow it.

“What can we do?” I asked past the lump in my throat. “What can I do to save her?”

Sage swallowed and turned to the desk behind me where Dean set all the items she’d come with, pulling Evaline’s blood from her bag.

“I don’t have much time, but if those wards are out there, then there’s nothing you can do.” Her head raised then, as if thinking of something. She turned back toward us. “Except that it won’t matter now if my father discovers I’ve betrayed him,” she said looking toward the loft’s door as if looking out to the Vasi that stood in the water. “I could try to dismantle it, but every moment I’m here, I’m not there with Evaline.”

I opened my mouth to speak and Dean cut me off. “Absolutely not. You’d have to go out past the ward that keeps the Vasi out to get to the ward that keeps us in. You’d be killed in a second.”

I growled and turned to the fireplace, ripped my hands through my hair.

He was right. If she tried to get to the ward, she would be killed by the Vasi instantly. Strong magic or not, there were too many of them against just her. There were no portals if she was dead, and there was no getting Evaline back without her portals.

“Stop,” Wyott said, nudging my arm. “Drink this. You’ll feel better,” he said, and I turned to see his hand outstretched with the jar he must’ve gotten from Sage.

I took a deep breath and grabbed it, removing the lid and drinking.

“Why do you think the wards are different?” Cora asked, turning back to Sage.

She shook her head. “A ward like this is created only to keep someone out, or in. But the ward in Mortithev is made to keep not only Evaline in but to lock her magic down.” My gaze snapped to Sage, but she shook her head. “She has all of her magic now, but the ward was created to be able to lock it up whenever needed. The only reason she got it back was because she manipulated it when Lauden wasn’t paying attention.”

We all nodded along, too stressed about the situation to even revel in the fact that Evaline got one over on Lauden.

I took another drink.

“The way you create a ward is with blood, and the way you dismantle it is with the same blood, unless it’s a generic Kova and Vasi ward like these here. Then it can be any Kova or Vasi’s blood. But her ward is only for her, so the only way to break it is with her blood. But I’ve tried and it doesn’t work with her ward.” Sage shook her head. “I can’t get her out with the ward standing, because her blood locks the ward into place, just like Kova blood locks this one, no one with that blood can go in or out.”

Cora furrowed her brows and looked at me.

“What?” I asked, but she stayed silent as she reached for the jar.

“Sage,” Cora said pulling the Sorceress’s attention. “If Evaline can’t pass through the ward because her blood locks her in the ward,” she said raising the jar. “Then why can you?”

Every person in the room straightened, all of our eyes widened, and Sage’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“I don’t know,” she breathed, then looked to the ground in thought. “Because even when I tried to dismantle the wards, I put her blood on my hand, and the ward pushed against it.” She took a step back. “That doesn’t make any sense, I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of that before.”

Dean straightened, his wide eyes flashed to mine quickly before he looked down to her.

“Have your portals ever failed like that before?” he asked, softly.

She looked up at him. “No. My portals have never failed to let someone through, and they’ve never closed without my permission.” She tilted her head. “Except for when Vasier tried to force me to use blood magic and my portals to bring Alannah to him, but those didn’t work because I wasn’t strong enough to use blood magic.”

My head snapped up at that, and so did Wyott’s and Cora’s. The mention of Vasier’s name, of him forcing her to do something she didn’t want to do, sparked a realization in our minds. And when we looked at Dean, who nodded slowly, it was clear he’d feared the same.

I took a step forward and gentled my voice.

“Vasier allowed you to transport her blood for me, right? You said she brokered that deal with him so that I could survive off of her blood?”

Sage looked up at me and nodded. “Yes.”

I swallowed. “So Vasier let her blood cross, your portals let her blood cross, but your portals don’t allow her body to cross?”

She nodded as I spoke, and I pursed my lips.

“Sage, you know what compulsion is, right?”

“Of course, I’m around it constantly.”

My heart stammered in my chest at the hope that sprung in it. This hope that had seemed so impossible before, but grew with every moment she spoke.

“So you’ve seen them compel people, seen Vasier compel people?”

She nodded, brows furrowing. “Yes. Why are you asking these things? I need to get back to Evaline.”

Dean slid his hand into hers, and she turned to look at him.

“Have you noticed that the people who are compelled, don’t remember being compelled?”

She let out a frustrated sigh and pulled her hand from his. “Yes, Dean. I’m aware that they don’t remember that they’ve been compelled. It would sort of defeat the purpose of it if they remembered, wouldn’t it?”

Cora spoke. “Sage, is it possible Vasier compelled you?”

Her head snapped to Cora’s, her eyes wide.

“No,” she clipped, her head shaking violently. “He promised, he always promised, that he never would and that he wouldn’t let anyone else.”

“But there isn’t any other explanation,” I said softly. “For why her blood, alone and by itself, can travel through your portal, but she cannot.”

Wyott nodded. “As if Vasier knew that you’d discover your portals wouldn’t be stopped by the ward, that her blood could pass. As if he was proactive and compelled you.”

Her head still shook, but it slowed. It slowed, and her wide eyes unfocused, looked to something behind me. They filled with tears as she went silent, and finally, she clenched her eyes shut.

“He compelled me.” Her voice was so soft, so sad, that for a moment I forgot that we were in this position because of her. “I saw it,” she whispered. “I remembered.”

Dean’s brows furrowed and he placed a gentle hand on her wrist. “You remember?”

Wyott, Cora, and I shared a look. How could someone remember compulsion, without being compelled to remember?

“I didn’t know before, I swear to the Gods,” she said, looking up at me, eyes wild. “I swear, I didn’t know, I just—it’s like the memory revealed itself the moment you all told me that he compelled me.”

“Maybe once you know you’ve been compelled, and exactly what you’ve been compelled to do or not do, you remember?” Cora speculated, looking to the other Kova in the room.

I looked to the wall of books behind us. “Maybe Ankin has a book about it somewhere?” I shook my head. “I’ve never heard of that.”

Sage sniffled and it pulled my attention back to her, back to the pain in her eyes. “He compelled me, before I took her blood that first time. When he read the note.” She looked up at us now, eyes filled with tears. “I could’ve saved her this whole time?”

Cora wrapped an arm around her.

“You didn’t know, and you still will have to fight it. Just because you remember the compulsion, doesn’t mean that you aren’t still compelled. You all have to go, and when the time comes to portal her back, you’re going to have to fight the compulsion.”

Sage looked at her, scared.

“No, no I’m not strong enough for that. If I couldn’t do blood magic in the past, the little magic that Vasier wanted me to do, I’m not strong enough to fight compulsion.”

I stepped forward, and she turned to face me.

“Sage, we don’t have any more time and we don’t have any other choice. You put Evaline in this position, and even though we understand why you did, and understand that you’re sorry, it is your duty to get her out of it. You are the only person who can.”

Her eyes fixed on mine, dried of their tears, and she nodded.

“Okay,” she said, her voice even.

She took a few steps back and held a hand over the wood floor.

We all watched as a black puddle opened on the floor beneath us and the portal grew.

It lit with a bright red, and I steeled myself to see the very castle where I turned.

It stopped growing, and she breathed.

“Okay, the first part is done. If this is all true, then we won’t know for sure until I touch someone who the ward constricts.”

Cora looked to Wyott. “I can’t go,” she whispered. “But you go, go get her,” she said, looking to Wyott, then to me.

We both nodded.

Sage reached for us. “You have to be touching me when we go in.”

Dean took one hand, Wyott took another, and I placed mine over her shoulder.

We all looked down at the portal, still red and glowing and wide.

We gave one last look to Cora and stepped in.

No sooner than we stepped into the portal, my foot was hitting the floor. My eyes were clenched shut, even though I didn’t remember closing them, and immediately my heart fell.

It hadn’t worked.

But I heard Wyott gasp beside me and I opened my eyes.

And there it was.

The same throne room I’d kneeled in, twice before. The throne room where I was turned, where I nearly lost everything.

“I don’t understand,” Dean said beside me as we let go of Sage and turned to face the railing that bordered a high balcony in the rear of the room. “I can see the orchestra, they’re playing. Why can’t we hear them?”

Sage grabbed my arm and pulled me back from where I’d been wandering near the edge of the balcony, looking for my mate.

“Evaline has a shield up here for us. So they couldn’t detect my portal or hear us.”

My heart leaped at the sound of her name, and at the bond I could feel again.

A breath of relief sputtered past my lips at the feel of it, at the knowledge that she was here . That I was within range of her again.

“She’s alive,” I breathed, looking for her around the affair below us. I felt Wyott’s hand on my arm, knew it was there to soothe me, and looked at him, to where he was looking, then followed his gaze.

That was when the pain hit.

Pain, searing and blinding, raced down the bond and my eyes landed on her in an instant.

She stood at the front of the room, right in front of the throne that stood beside her like an altar.

Vasier stood across from her, eyes boring into hers as I watched her try to compose her face into an unreadable look.

But the bond couldn’t lie, not without her blocking me from it. And right now, it was clear she didn’t even feel me here. And who could blame her? Her pain was blinding all other senses.

“Oh, Gods,” Sage said beside me, her voice hoarse.

And that was when I finally saw it. When I finally allowed myself to pull my gaze from her face—her beautiful face—to her blood-soaked hands.

“Is that…?” Wyott trailed off, and my heart hardened as I straightened.

“It’s her barbed wire,” I growled out.

“They must’ve already started the ceremony,” Sage said, worry invading her voice.

Ceremony. The word sounded so odd for the occasion, for a ritual to remove her soul from her body and implant her mother’s, but the thought drove my eyes around the room. There were hundreds of Vasi present, and from the looks of it, some humans and maybe even Sorcerers. As if needing to confirm that thought, my eyes landed on Lauden standing a few feet behind Vasier on the new stage, as if waiting to be summoned.

My jaw hardened at the sight of him, and I felt Wyott and Dean straighten beside me.

Vasier turned to the crowd and his lips moved, commanding something of his people, and in an instant, all of the bodies that had been waltzing about the floor stopped, and turned to face him. It was only when they stopped moving that I noticed that they were separated into two halves down the ballroom floor, with an aisle dividing them.

My heart thundered in my chest and my gaze flicked from the cleaved crowd to my mate, who stood on the left, to Vasier, who stood on the right. To a woman who stood between them, with her back to us, like an officiant clad in chains. To the leather-bound book on the table between all of them.

A ceremony.

It was a ceremony.

I fell back a step, a shuddering breath loosing from my chest, and Wyott caught me.

“You know it’s not,” he urged beside me, already understanding my fear.

I shook my head and tried to breathe past the panic.

“It’s a wedding.”

Not again.

Not again.

Gods, please, not again.

I couldn’t handle this a second time, I hadn’t handled it the first time, let alone now, when the man it seemed she was poised to marry, or at least be bound to in some capacity, was the most evil man in the world.

My uncle.

My jailer.

Her jailer.

I shook my head, my vision tunneling around me until it focused solely on her, on her furrowed brows and gaping mouth as she stared at the woman who stood between them.

I grasped for Wyott and he kept his grip on me, helped me to regain my balance.

“It’s okay. We’re here. We’re going to get her out,” he said, then in my peripheral, I saw him look to Sage.

“Tell us what to do.”

She nodded, opened her mouth to speak, but we all turned to watch as the woman with her back to us shuffled behind Evaline to stand on the other side of the table, with her back to the throne, facing the crowd, facing us.

Sage and Dean gasped at the same time, and Wyott and I turned to them.

“What?” we asked in unison, and in unison themselves, they spoke.

“That’s Charlotte.”