A Court of Desires and Darkness

Chapter 7

"What?" I breathed, nearly choking on the food I swallowed. The King just watched me. Had all my dreams not been nightmares of that day that got me here, I would think this to be one. But everything is so real, especially the lack of hunger pains. "What is the catch?" No bargain from this court comes without a price. The whole world knows that.

He displays a toothy smile, "You cannot use your magic against me, nor to escape. After all, you will be bound to this land as Queen." 

Bound to this desolate, bleak land, with a husband to match. At least I could feel mostly whole again. I trace the metal wrapped around my wrist, the purple gem gleaming bright in the faelight. Release from one bound only to be trapped in another. "And if I refuse?" Again. 

He shrugs, "Then you return to that cell and the cuff remains on." An obvious answer. I clench my jaw, still touching the cold metal. Without magic, there is an emptiness to our soul. An unbearable void that feels almost physical--like a hole blown through my chest. For fourteen years, I have ached to fill that hole. To feel my magic rumbling in my heart once again. To feel even the presence of the Cauldron, to hear its ghostly whispers. 

Now my fingers caress the golden circle on the opposite wrist, a scar from the arrow directly in the center. I trace the shape, noticing a pleasant thrumming pulsating from it: the sound of acceptance.  The Cauldron wants me to accept his bargain. 

I look back to the King, who's gaze has not altered. "One more condition," I say firmly. If he can put rules on my behavior, then I can do the same to him. 

He arches a brow, "Do tell."

"I will not bear you children." I hold his glare, not faltering or even blinking. 

After a silent moment he finally answers, "Deal. Do we have a bargain?" He asks stoically, his uninterested expression a testament to his long years. Had I not been older than he, I would miss the subtle details about his anxiousness for my answer--the slight twitch of the eyes, the tiny drop of the corners of his lips.

Deny it and live for who knows how long back in that cell, never sure when my opportunity to escape would come. Or to accept and to be whole again, only to some degree. I'm sure he will not forgo the use of my magic. At least I could be the one to wield it instead of he wielding me. Would I be able to, though? Would I be able to use my abilities to end someone's life that the King deems forfeit? 

"We have a bargain," I say. I will have to make it work. When he decides that someone is set to die, my willingness to cooperate or not will not save them. His toothy grin evolves into something sinister. With a wave of his hand, the cuff breaks and lands to the floor in pieces. I stare at the jagged parts of it, like the reality of them not clutching my skin is too much to think about. My eyes slowly move to the bareness of my left wrist, its paleness seems more severe than the rest of me. A burning sensation where the cuff was has me cringing. I watch as a thin silver band etches itself around my limb. I look to the King who is holding the same wrist up, the same band that is a twin to mine circles in the same spot. 

"To mark our bargain," he responds cooly. 

"I know how bargains work," I bite back, which only causes him to laugh as he refocuses on the food on his plate. 

After dinner, my two handmaidens lead me back to the room from earlier. The sun has set outside and a cool breeze set in. Here, even the sky is dull, as stars are no where to be seen. While they prepare me for the night's rest, I daydream about Prythian. No matter which court you found yourself in, there was beauty. Nature thrives there. After spending some time in the Spring Court, I was hoping to return north, to the solar courts. Hopefully some day I can. 

Even with the removal of the cuff, I still have not felt much of my magic. I fear that it will take some time to return, given the suffocating effects of the jewel. When the two female fae leave, I crawl back out of bed, sitting on the side. I observe the two metallic markings on each wrist. The newest one feels strange, its energy like a noose around my throat. One that is tied loosely, but eager to tighten should I do something wrong. The golden one on my right hums at my touch, familiar and comforting. I close my eyes, calling to the Cauldron, if just to feel its gaze. 

In the silence of the night, I feel it. Hear it. The phantom sound of its voice caressing me, happy to be heard once again. To see once again. After fourteen years without its presence, there is something unfamiliar about it. A minuscule difference, dark and hungry. Perhaps it was always there, and I was just used to it. Maybe I should be wary of it. 

Suddenly, I am sucked into the image of a dark, cold space. Underwater. I am underwater. I have no limbs, no way to traverse the area. I can't even turn my head. Something grabs me and hauls me upwards, the flow of the liquid a rush against my cool skin. The higher we ascend, the brighter the surroundings, until I am plunged from the waters. Someone holds me, carries me. I am handed to someone else before a covering is placed over me. I hear a familiar voice say, "After all this time, it was sleeping at the bottom of Lake Lapplund."

The King of Hybern.

The Cauldron. 

It is revealing to me how it was found. And the King has it.

When I open my eyes, I am back in the room at the castle, my limbs still tickling with the cold. Dark, swirling shadows dance around me. My shadows. They have returned and are eager to consume. Their rage--my rage--fueling the rumbling that is emerging in my gut. 

I think back to the first day I was his prisoner and the speech he gave to the people of Hybern. He told them that he wants to bring back the freedom that was taken from them five centuries ago. The Great War. My eyes widen with realization. The Wall... the human lands beyond it...  

I curse under my breath at the silver band. He is going to use me to piece the Cauldron back together. I know it.