spellbound | book #1 | completed

X L I I I

[edited: 17/03/2018]

When Remy awoke again, she felt as though something was clawing at the walls of her brain. She whimpered and curled in on herself, the rocky floor scratching her skin through her damp clothes. She wondered if this nightmare would ever end and tried desperately to fall back into unconsciousness.

She could not, though, and so instead forced her body to straighten itself out so that she could sit up. When she did, she made sure that the key was still there. It was, stinging her skin and burning a hole into her shirt. She could barely feel it; the pain in her head seemed to numb any other sensations she might have had.

After a moment, her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she searched for Sarah, her heart sinking when she realised she had gone—or, perhaps, it was Remy who had gone, for her surroundings no longer looked the same. The cave she was in now was smaller, colder, darker, and she was trapped between three panes of glass that started at the cave floor and rose up to where the ceiling must have been on each side of her, though it was so high up that Remy could only see darkness.

Slowly, she crawled towards the front glass wall and pulled herself up, wincing as her fingers came into contact with the surface. It was not glass—glass did not burn your skin to touch. This was magic, and the longer she touched it, the blacker the glass turned in confirmation. She stepped back from it, half-expecting Ackmard to emerge from the shadows with one of his smug smiles on his face, but the cave was utterly empty and utterly silent.

That was, until she heard footsteps, and her name being called quietly. Until he came from an invisible opening and his eyes found hers.

"Maksim?" she whispered, relief seeping through her. Her heart pounded as he ran to the glass and placed his hands on it, worry crossing his features, and then the pain as he realised the glass was made of dark magic. He stepped back, his eyebrows knitted together.

"Are you alright?" There was something almost angelic about him in the darkness of the cave. His skin glowed unnaturally white, his eyes superficially blue as though somebody had painted them in the wrong shade. They were not supposed to be the colour of the sky; they were supposed to be the colour of the sea. She found herself reminded of how Ackmard had pretended to be Maksim before he had brought her here and shivered.

No, she thought. No. She was imagining things. Her head was cloudy and her eyes sensitive from being in the dark so long. Nothing was supposed to feel right. Besides, Ackmard would know better than to play the same trick on her twice.

It hurts, she wanted to reply to his question. Everything hurts, and everything is wrong, and I want to go home, but I don't know where that is anymore. Instead, she nodded, wishing she could place her hands on the glass to feel closer to him. "How did you find me?"

"You were right about Annika." His lip curled upwards in disgust. "She is working with my brother. She told me that you were here. Stand back."

She gulped and obeyed as magic flew from Maksim's hands. She didn't have time to acknowledge the fact that his sparks were no longer silver but a tainted dark grey.

"I'm going to get you out of here," he promised before the glass wall shattered and fell, piece by piece, onto the stony ground. Remy thought her ears might explode at the horrific noise it made.

Then, there was nothing separating them. He stood directly in front of her, his arms reaching for her. She stepped back without knowing why, feeling darkness teetering on the edge of her vision. The pain in her head was unbearable and she knew that she would pass out again soon.

She frowned. She could smell dark magic, as strong as though it had just been used; perhaps it had.

"Did he take the key?" Maksim questioned, and Remy shook her head.

"He couldn't."

"Give it to me," he ordered softly, holding out his palm. "You should not have to suffer with the burden of it anymore. It has brought nothing but darkness to you."

"It brought me you," she whispered, holding the key protectively over her chest. She did not know why she suddenly felt as though she couldn't give it away, only that everything still felt wrong: The way that Maksim was looking at her hungrily, the way that his outstretched hand was half-covered in soot, the way that his eyes glittered unfamiliarly. He did not look like himself, did not smell or act like himself.

It wasn't him.

He smiled in amusement, his eyes too focused on the key to notice Remy's eyes widen in realisation. "I know that, and I swear that it will be yours again once I get you out of here, but let me keep it safe until then. Safe from him."

"He can't get it whilst I'm wearing it," she frowned, thinking it best to pretend as though she didn't know the truth, at least until she could find a way to run from him without being caught instantly. "Isn't it safer with me?"

"He can hurt you as long as you continue to wear it. Remy, please." He took another step towards her, the broken glass crackling under his boot. "Give the key to me."

She cowered away from him. Perhaps if she could just inch closer to the invisible opening where he had emerged from ...

"Remy!" Maksim—the real Maksim—stood in the very place that she had been trying to get to. He was glancing frantically from Ackmard, who was still disguised as him, to Remy. Both of them appeared confused, but only one of them could be him, and she knew which one that was. She had always known, because only Maksim could possess the true beauty that he did, and he did not need glowing skin or bright eyes to do it. There could only ever be one of him.

Ackmard's eyes blackened—he knew that there was no point in trying to pretend anymore. He must have seen it in Remy's eyes.

"Ackmard," Maksim breathed.

His angelic face merged into one of fury as he transformed back into his true self, with damp brown hair that curled against his neck and lips that would always curve instinctively into a smirk. Instead of responding, he turned to Maksim.

"Always in the way, brother. I must admit, though, that I have been expecting you. What took you so long?"

"Your new servant got in the way," Maksim said, his eyes falling quickly onto Remy as though he was examining her. He wanted to know if she was hurt, she thought. She wished that she could nod to him and tell him that she wasn't, but her head felt as though it might split open. "I must admit, I did not see that one coming. You must have had such fun corrupting her."

Remy frowned; she had no idea what he meant. She could focus only on the cave's surroundings spinning in front of her as though she was on a fairground ride that never stopped. 

"As a matter of fact, I did, although I do not have much use for her now." He tilted his head, but Remy could not see his expression. "She is rather ... weak."

"Another trait, no doubt, that she learned from you," Maksim retorted. He was hovering around his brother cautiously, trying to work out what his next move would be with narrowed eyes. Remy tried to focus on him and ignore the dizziness she felt, but it was hard when he was pacing. "So what is the plan, brother? Heat-proof gloves? I suppose you've tried spells. You've even pretended to be me. So how on Refilyn will you get that key from around her neck?"

"I will not." Remy's skin prickled at the change in Ackmard's voice. Deliberately, he turned on his heel and glared at her as though sizing her up like a snake ready to catch his prey. "You will."

Black flames erupted around Remy's feet and she screamed as they burned through her jeans and onto the skin underneath them. Before she could run to Maksim, the smoke choked her and pulled her back down to the darkness again.

She could hear Maksim calling her name as she fell.