spellbound | book #1 | completed

X X I

[edited: 05/08/2017]

Remy could hear that Hilda was home when she emerged from her bedroom with a clean shirt on—it had been left folded on the edge of her bed, most likely by Maksim—for the shrill voice emanating down the corridor certainly wasn't Maksim's or Annika's. She sighed, preparing herself for whatever it was that she was arguing about now, and bravely stepped into the kitchen.

Maksim was stood against the counter in almost the same position that Remy had seen him in last, though now his posture was tense, whilst Hilda paced around the kitchen with her hands flying around erratically. Her words echoed off the glass walls of the kitchen and began to hurt Remy's ears.

"It seems to me like you do not want to find your brother at all!" she was saying in an icy tone. "You hid everything from me as though you did not want me to find him either! Why, Maksim?"

Maksim sighed and ran a hand through his red hair before replying. "Do you honestly think that he can just return to light magic and we can all be a happy family again? He is evil, Mother, whether you care to admit it or not. Look at what he did to Remy!"

Upon being mentioned, she cleared her throat and took a few cautious steps into the room. "Would you like some privacy?"

"Actually, no," Hilda said rather surprisingly, a strange smirk that was neither friendly nor malicious curving her dark red lips. "I have been meaning to talk to you about the key, actually."

Remy clutched her necklace instinctively and frowned. Even now, after having had her life threatened because of it, the feel of the cold metal against her palm provided her with a sense of comfort. "Did you come up with an idea, then, to lure them to it?"

"Yes, though it is not a very good one, I must admit."

Maksim rolled his eyes. "That is not filling me with much confidence, Mother."

"The Council agreed that in order for the Dark Ones to return, they must think of you as an easy target." Remy gulped instinctively, fear spreading like a fast and deadly disease, starting from the pit of her stomach and seeping into her lungs, her heart, her throat as she remembered the pain she had endured last time she had encountered Ackmard. "This means you will live here like any normal witch. You will befriend a few of the locals, venture out into Astracia, do whatever it is you wish as long as you can easily be found." 

"And then what? What about when they attack and she is in the middle of it? What about when they hurt her to get the key?" Maksim questioned, and he sounded just as he did during the trial yesterday: angry, incredibly so.

Remy wanted to say something, but couldn't. Hilda was already speaking over her. "We will make sure to always have a few warlocks keeping an eye on her. I am sure that you will not let her out of your sight very easily, and a few warlocks at the Central Hall have volunteered their assistance. They are already preparing themselves for an attack. If the Dark Ones come, they will be there in minutes."

"Do you think that makes very much difference?" Remy squeezed her eyes shut as Maksim's voice rose. She was beginning to get a headache, and she was panicking about the dangers of the plan, even though she had gotten herself into this mess by saying that she would help in the first place. "Dark magic is more powerful than light. Elthar made me bleed using his, and my brother can disappear from one place to another whenever he likes. Do you honestly think that having a few warlocks around who care nothing for Remy and her safety could save her from them?"

"I think that this is the best chance we have at getting my son back," Hilda snapped back, equally as unkindly. "I think that your emotions are clouding your judgement, just as they always have."