Old Magic(82)

I would try a quick spell, but there’s no point. Rhauk would only be amused. The spells I have tried over the past few weeks have proved useless. He’s aware of everything I do. He outsmarts me. I detest him.

He heads for the door, but turns just before it with an afterthought. ‘Jarrod must be gone by morning. Right now I am going to pluck my sweet little herb out of the ground by its roots and extract the oil I need that way to finish this damn curse. This close to winter the strength of its poison will be sufficient, and will make no difference to the sweet taste of my wine.’

‘You would break your promise?’

He laughs coarsely. ‘My Lady, did you really think I would keep it?’

‘But … you said … if I stayed – ’

‘I lied.’

‘Why? I lived up to my end of the bargain. I came back to you!’

‘And I gave you what you wanted – freedom for your lover to return from wherever he came. It’s your fault he didn’t leave. You obviously didn’t try hard enough to convince him.’

Nausea hits me. I sway and grab the bedpost nearby. ‘But the curse, you promised to destroy it. It was part of the deal!’

‘If I hadn’t promised, would you still have chosen me?’

This does not require an answer. He knows I would never have, and this explains the reason for his lies. He tricked me. Just like he thinks Eloise had been tricked into choosing Lionel instead of him all those years back. And Jarrod will probably still die, and I’m trapped in this cold and draughty hell-hole with a dangerous lunatic for the rest of my life. It’s all been for nothing. The curse will still go ahead. And there is no way Jarrod will be gone by sunrise. The thought hits me that I will never see Jillian again.

I have to try something; panic threatens to suffocate my lungs. How can this have happened? I watch, my soul filled with black, passion-fuelled hatred, as Rhauk moves towards the door. ‘If you go ahead with the curse – breaking your promise to me – I will jump out of this window, taking my chances with the cliffs below.’

This seizes Rhauk’s attention. His eyebrows lift, black eyes shift to the only window in the room, the one that overlooks the cliff, contemplating, assessing the weight of my threat. Would I really go through with it? When he turns back, he searches for my eyes, and locks with them. He is too fast, the effect hypnotic. ‘In that case, my Lady, you leave me no choice but to control your mind sooner rather than later.’

‘What?’

He doesn’t bother to explain. Immediately I feel a sharp stab of energy. He moves closer and the energy that holds me suddenly changes, twists, piercing like a dagger straight into my mind. It is so intense it hurts, and takes all my concentration to stop it from penetrating my brain so deeply I feel sure it will cause permanent brain damage.

I try to break free, but all attempts prove useless. My legs give out on me, but the power of Rhauk’s punishment holds me frozen. The energy grows and electricity jolts through my body in shuddering waves.

I know the moment I start to lose it. Control, the remaining trickle I cling to, finally disappears. I begin to plead, in my mind, through my mind. I don’t know if he hears me, or whether it incites him more, but I understand that if he doesn’t release me now, my mind will never be the same, but altered, damaged. Forever.

I fall to the floor in a heap, the connection finally severed. I don’t know why he let go, except perhaps he doesn’t want me that way – brain-dead. Whatever his reasons, I’m too drained to think at this moment.

I do hear him though, as I start to lose my grip on consciousness. ‘You will never escape me, Lady Katherine. That was just a sample of what is to come for you. After I’m done with your lover, and after I’ve delivered the gift of wine to my traitorous brother, I will attend to your training. And you will be mine – completely.’

I think he is going to leave, but at the door he pauses. ‘It was something I wanted for Eloise, but her mind wasn’t as strong as yours.’ He turns back for one last look. ‘By the time I’ve finished with you, my Lady, you will appreciate the beauty of Blacklands, and enjoy being my Queen.’





Jarrod


I’m aware of the exact moment my time runs out. Rhauk does something to Kate. Power, a surge of energy so strong I feel it in my own head, like someone is twisting a corkscrew into my skull. I wonder, fleetingly, if she will live through it. Her pulse is slow, so slow. But she lives. For now, that’s all I have.

So I am forced out of training and into a challenge. Tomorrow, at dawn, I will meet Rhauk in battle.

‘Jarrod, what’s wrong?’