As my body moves along the hallways, I pass by a mirror and stop. I watch as Lux's face smiles into the reflection, pushing her hair behind her ear. I quickly realize I am not myself, and though I search for Kane and cannot find him, she does not. It's a strange feeling, being within another body yet feeling at home here. The heat of my powers are more robust than I have ever felt before.
We continue down the hallway, the skirt of the dress we're wearing fluttering freely behind us. Each room we enter, I look for Kane, but he is nowhere. In fact, not a single being that we see is the same. There are no familiar faces, and even the castle seems different.
Hurrying down the hallway, we turn into the throne room and stop suddenly as we come face-to-face with Drogaem. He's younger, but I can sense the evil inside of him. He grins and puts his arms out, wrapping them tightly around us. I want to kick and fight, I want to scream at the top of my lungs, find my dagger, and plunge it into his chest, but I cannot. I can only see and feel, but I cannot control this body I'm in.
Drogaem lifts his hand and puts it on our cheek. He stares into our eyes, and as he leans forward, I cringe. His darkness is enveloping me, and his lips are so close to mine. I feel strangled.
My eyes open, and I gasp for air, gripping the front of my gown. The heat was so hot, but it's now dissipating. I look around in a panic, ready to strike out at Drogaem, but I find myself in my bed, locked in my room. My hands drop, and I calm my breathing, having been through this multiple times before. It is just a dream, but it feels so much more real than any dream I ever had before. It feels like a vision. I hate these strange dreams. I know that Lux and I are connected in some way, but I don't know why I have her visions, reliving her life.
I'm just immortal, with powers that I cannot control. But if I'm having these dreams, I can't help but wonder if there's something more to me than just a simple human. Maybe Lux is trying to tell me something. Maybe there is something more that I don't know.
I had fallen asleep in my bed, but it's the middle of the day. It's been days since the soldiers left to go scouting, and it's been days since I've seen Kane. Drogaem has forced me to stay in my room, which keeps me from harm but also keeps me from helping Kane. I can feel my magic starting to simmer back, stronger again within me. Willem was right, Drogaem only kept my powers down for a little over a day, but when he released the magical spell, I found that they were diminished. I am building them as fast as I can.
I walk over to the double doors that lead out onto my balcony. Stepping out, I feel the warmth of the air. I take in the city lights, thinking about how many souls are down there. They are a large part of why I'm doing what I'm doing. I'm trying to protect them and the humans from Drogaem. I am well aware that not every being in that city is good, but no one deserves the hell that Drogaem wants to create.
Imprisoned here in my room, though, I cannot do anything. Maybe this is why Drogaem has me here. Perhaps he worries that I will do something, use my magic in some way to destroy him. After Kane stopped him from going with his soldiers, I knew he would begin looking at me as the threat that I know I am to him.
As I turn to shut myself back in the room, the sound of screams echo across the void of the underworld. I turn back, watching in the distance, my heart aching. I can hear them. I can hear the people who are relying on Kane to protect them. The hunters, his army, are terrorizing the people below. I bring my hands up to the stone railing around the balcony, and I grip it tightly. There's nothing I can do. There's nothing I can say. The people are on their own for right now. I feel more trapped in this hellhole, listening to their screams and begs for mercy than I ever have before.
An anger is building inside of me, and it is no longer on the surface. With every shout, every screech, that anger grows. That rage will either be the end of me, or I will use it and destroy everything about Drogaem that he has ever coveted. I will get revenge, or I will die trying.
Chapter 8
Kane
I pace the floor, searching for answers, trying to figure out a way to get through this and get my kingdom back. I'm resolute in the idea that I need to keep my emotional distance from Briar. Between our connection, which I still feel is there despite Drogaem's curse, and the emotions I feel for her, giving in to them will only distract us.
Even as I tell myself that, I can feel bits of Briar's emotions surging through to me. It's not nearly as strong as it used to be, but I can feel it. It's distracting and concerning at the same time. I can feel her fear and frustration, and it only seems
