Chapter 22: Separation

LYDIA

Lydia’s head pounded angrily as she slowly struggled back into the world of consciousness. She felt exhausted, her mouth tasted of blood, and—worst of all—she had no idea where she was.

“Did the princess enjoy her beauty rest?” came a voice. As her vision shifted back into focus, Lydia could see a lone figure standing in front of her.

“Evine,” Lydia hissed, her memory returning.

“In the flesh,” Evine replied nonchalantly. Lydia motioned to attack, only to realize that her hands were currently bound to the wall by a pair of manacles. Looking around, she realized the two of them were in some sort of underground chamber of polished stone—not unlike the subterranean dungeons of Ellesmere.

“I wouldn’t struggle too much if I were you,” Evine said nonchalantly. “You might hurt yourself. And then you’d just be doing my job for me.”

Lydia sneered. “What’s this about, then?” she asked. “I stole Gabriel away from you, so you decided to lock me up in a fit of jealous rage?”

“Oh, hardly,” replied Evine. “Although, to give credit where it’s due, you freeing Gabriel from my spell was certainly a nuisance. So, congratulations on that, I suppose.”

“So, what is it you want from me?” asked Lydia testily. “In fact, what is it that you want from any of us? Why are you doing the bidding of Uzier in the first place?”

“My, you’re impatient,” Evine said, her voice tinged with annoyance. “I can see why you resonate so much with Gabriel now. He always did have a preference for instant gratification.”

At this, Evine ran her hands down her own body tauntingly. Lydia scowled.

“Oh, come now, don’t give me that look,” Evine said, pouting. “Nobody likes a sore loser.”

Lydia fumed at Evine’s insulting remark. To think that after everything this woman had done, she could turn around and act like this was all some childish game. The Slifer felt her blood begin to boil the more she was forced to stare at Evine’s face.

She took a step toward Lydia. “Fine, tell you what,” she said plainly. “We are going to be spending a lot of quality time together from here on out, so to pass the time, I may as well address those questions you seem to want oh-so-desperately answered.”

She reached out to brush a strand of hair from Lydia’s face. Lydia thrashed, attempting to bite her; Evine pulled her hand away at the last second and gave Lydia an impressed look.

“Cheeky,” she said. “So, you really are a fighter after all.”

Lydia struggled, straining herself against the manacles once again before giving up in exhaustion.

“Now then,” Evine continued. “I suppose it would make the most sense to start at the beginning…”

***

GABRIEL

“~Missing?~” Gabriel demanded, his nostrils flaring with rage. “What do you mean she’s missing? How do you lose a Slifer?!”

The castle guard shrank back at the intensity of Gabriel’s words. “None of us have seen her since last night,” he stammered. “She left Ellesmere’s walls to go for a walk and hasn’t returned since.”

“Surely there’s more you can offer than that,” Gabriel spat. “Are there any other details that stand out to you? Did she happen to be with anyone else when she left?”

The guard retrieved a handkerchief and began to mop his brow nervously. “Erm, now that I think of it, I believe she was with that young wizard,” he said. “Dorian, I believe his name was.”

“Dorian!” Gabriel seethed.

He should’ve known that little twit was behind this.

“The weasel!” he shouted. “If I am to discover that he is the one responsible for Lydia’s disappearance…”

The king spun on his heels, storming toward the door.

“Where are you going, your majesty?” the guard inquired with a trembling voice.

“There has been a change of plans,” said Gabriel. “We can wait no longer to plan our assault on Uzier’s lair. For Lydia’s sake, I must rally our forces and strike now.”

“But, my lord!” the guard called after him. “Aren’t you supposed to be aiding in the defense effort at Trinivan?”

“To hell with Trinivan,” said Gabriel. “This is a matter of much higher importance. I would let a hundred cities burn before I allow Lydia to come to any harm.”

He threw open the doors of the meeting room, only to be met on the other side by…

“Lucius?” Gabriel asked in bewilderment. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here for the same reason as you,” Lucius replied bluntly. “It would appear as though Lydia has gone missing, and I intend to help find her.”

Gabriel scowled at the old man disdainfully. “So, the great wizard has chosen now as the time to grace us with his presence,” he said bitterly. “Suffice to say, I’ll have no need for an old drunk on my rescue mission.”

Lucius’s eyes flashed with a sudden intensity, one that Gabriel hadn’t seen for some time. The king took a step back in surprise.

“I would expect you to choose your words a bit more diplomatically, my lord,” Lucius said in a low voice. “You may be in love with Lydia, but the gods themselves chose me to act as her sole guardian and protector. She is my mission, my responsibility. But most of all…”

The wizard’s wrinkled face softened. “She is my ~family.~”

The utterance of that final word told Gabriel everything he needed to know. It was obvious: Lucius felt as though Lydia’s disappearance was his fault.

Gabriel had known the wizard to be self-deprecating at times, but the look in Lucius’s eyes now was one of an intense self-loathing that the king had never seen before.

Gabriel gave him a sympathetic look. “Forgive me, old friend,” he said. “If my temper seems to have flared, it is only because I worry for Lydia’s safety as much as you.”

“I could have prevented this,” Lucius said, looking crestfallen. “Had I not been so busy indulging in my own vices and feeling sorry for myself, perhaps I could have done more to fortify Ellesmere against infiltration.”

“Now isn’t the time to lay the blame for this,” Gabriel chided the old man. “There’s nothing constructive to be found in it. Instead, let’s focus our efforts on making sure that Lydia is returned to us safely.”

“Agreed,” said Lucius. “However, we must not shirk our responsibility to protect Trinivan either. I know for a fact that Lydia would chastise us both if she knew we were prioritizing her over hundreds of other lives.”

Gabriel hung his head. “That she would,” he said.

“Besides,” Lucius continued. “While you may think you know Lydia, I happen to have known her for her entire life. She is strong, Gabriel. Strong enough to defend herself against whatever Uzier or anyone else attempts to throw at her. Let us make haste to Trinivan, and once we have secured its safety, we shall move on to save Lydia.”

As Lucius turned to leave, Gabriel placed a hand on his shoulder, thankful for his old friend’s words—and startling clarity.

“Lucius,” he said. “Something about you seems different. Are you…”

“Sober?” said Lucius. “For now. Don’t make me regret it.”

***

LYDIA

“Unlike certain lucky individuals, I was born into a weak magical bloodline,” Evine explained to her captive audience. Left with few other options, the Slifer listened patiently.

“And when I say ‘bloodline,’ I mean that quite literally. Like my ancestors before me, I was born with the inherent ability to manipulate blood, both in myself as well as others. A grotesque ability to be sure, but certainly not one without its uses.”

Drawing a dagger from its sheath at her hip, Evine slowly dragged the blade across the back of her left hand. In the same instant, Lydia felt a sharp pang of intense pain in her own left hand as well. She let out a startled cry as blood began to slowly trickle down her manacled arm.

~What the hell was Evine playing at?~

The dark mistress smiled. “By inflicting a minor injury on myself, I can transfer the effects of that injury to another person of my choosing, provided I have some of their blood. What’s more, the pain of the injury my target receives is ten times the intensity of the one inflicted on myself.”

She leaned in closer to Lydia and smiled. “I’m especially proud of that part. It took me quite a while to hone my abilities to achieve this level of transfer. When I was just a beginner, it would take the entirety of my power just to inflict someone with a paper cut.”

She took a step back, tapping the flat side of the knife on her palm. “Of course, that was before I met Uzier. He showed me the extent of what my powers could be, and for that, I’m eternally grateful.” She gave Lydia another wicked smile. “I continue to show my gratitude whenever I can, and in more ways than one...”

“So you left Gabriel for Uzier?” Lydia asked. “Pity for him, you seem like such a catch.”

Evine smirked. “Oh no, I met Uzier long before my marriage to Gabriel. He helped arrange it, actually. It was always my mission to infiltrate the royal family of Ignolia.”

Lydia’s heart plunged.

~What?!~

Evine paced the dungeon, delighting in the shock she must’ve seen on Lydia’s face.

“After I received confirmation that Uzier survived the war, I carried out the rest of my mission. I killed Gabriel’s mother, and then faked my own death to escape suspicion. The emotional damage that inflicted on Gabriel was, regrettably, only a side benefit.”

Lydia felt the veins in her neck bulge as she struggled to break free. She never even loved him?! As if she already had enough reasons to despise Evine, the fact that she had emotionally manipulated Gabriel for years on end was enough to make her foam at the mouth.

Lydia spat on the floor. “You’re a monster,” she hissed.

“And you’re a girl chained to a wall with no means of defending herself,” Evine replied. “So, I’d be a little more careful about the name-calling if I were you. Not that good behavior will change anything, of course.”

“Gabriel and the others will stop you,” Lydia said.

“I’d like to see them try,” Evine replied. “After all, none of them had enough sense to notice a spy among their ranks. ~Twice~ even.”

“Twice?” Lydia asked, confused.

As if on cue, a figure stepped out of the shadows in the corner of the dungeon.

As she perceived the new arrival, Lydia’s heart sank with a mixture of shock and dread.

“Dorian,” Lydia said, her voice dripping with disgust.

“Yes, he told me you two had met,” Evine said. “I imagine he probably neglected to mention one thing, though.”

Lydia looked over at Dorian, who seemed determined to avoid her gaze.

“You see,” Evine continued. “Young Dorian here is my ~son~.”