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  Reegan remained silent as he walked past both, sheathing his sword and lifting his cloak from the ground. He dusted off its backside. “I believe that’s enough training for today.”

  Zachariah tackled Reegan to the ground, knocking both of them over the log, and began beating Reegan without pause. Eliza sat, shocked at the flash of movement and change of pace, so that she reeled back and watched in awe rather than interfere.

  Reegan matched each blow Zachariah landed, though with slower efficiency. To Eliza’s surprise, it was Zachariah who stopped, catching one of Reegan’s incoming swings before head-butting him, leaving him dazed. Zachariah abruptly stood and took long, powerful steps away from Reegan before hollering a list of profanities to the afternoon sky.

  “YES! YES, Reegan I did find out. No, I was not sneaky nor was I trying to be, but you lie, you hide the truths and only reveal them when it suits you. I KNOW you killed my father.” Spittle flew from Zachariah’s mouth as a raging scream issued forth once more.

  Eliza had never thought Zachariah would ever lose control of himself and realized in that instant she was hearing admissions she should not. Reegan coughed, shakily coming up from the ground. It was the first time Eliza had viewed Reegan as ugly, regardless of his physical beauty. That aesthetic was a mask to the dark, sinister creature that lurked below, but she saw more within his eyes, which she could have sworn were not entirely human.

  “Eliza.” Reegan spat blood from his mouth. “Heal me and let’s head back.”

  Mouth dropping open, Eliza shuffled backwards. Zachariah was suddenly behind Eliza, pulling her from the ground and beyond Reegan’s grasp as he fumbled forward, reaching over the log.

  “She is going nowhere with you.” Zachariah’s voice was steel and ice.

  Reegan eyed the two before providing a broken laugh. “What have we here? Have you fallen for my fair little bride?” Reegan wiped his mouth clean from the blood that was slipping out from the left corner of his mouth, a long streak seeming to highlight the already dark coat.

  “I will see that you pay for your crimes, Reegan.” Zachariah had already set himself in motion, nearly dragging Eliza to her horse and throwing her up on her saddle. Eliza had never seen Zachariah move as he did then, hard movements, without hesitation.

  “I expect you both back by dinner, or I will see to it you are hunted down and killed for your treachery.” Reegan was seething, gritting his teeth with the blood still slowly bubbling out. “Your beloved parents will be eliminated in your stead, Eliza.”

  Zachariah had just mounted his horse but paused, taking account of the words before turning and spitting at the ground next to Reegan. Zachariah led them away, taking Reegan’s horse along for good measure.

  As the two rode away, Zachariah made sure enough distance was covered before attempting any communication, slowing the horses a small bit before speaking to Eliza. “We will pack up and leave. I have someone ready who can take us away and cover our tracks.”

  Eliza tore her reins from his hand, slowing Harriet down to a trot. “I…” Her voice exposed her pain. “I cannot leave. My parents, Zachariah! He said he would kill them, and I know he will!”

  “We will send word.” Zachariah had slowed and circled back, pulling his steed up beside hers.

  The light and the darkness, Eliza mused.

  “We will protect them, but we cannot stay here. He knows you have powers, has known, Eliza. You are nothing more than a tool he intends to exhaust.” Straining on the emphasis, Zachariah watched her face, his own resolve set.

  Eliza shook her head. “How long have you known this?”

  Zachariah opened and closed his mouth to answer but then licked his dried and bruising bottom lip. “Since…long enough.”

  Stopping Harriet, Eliza turned a severe look upon Zachariah, this time commanding rather than asking. “You will tell me now, how long have you known?”

  Zachariah shifted uncomfortably in his saddle, having stopped as well and looked back towards the castle. “The entire time.”

  Eliza refused to look away, and when Zachariah finally gathered the courage to look her in the eyes, he found her fist connecting squarely with his right eye, almost knocking him from his saddle.

  “If you have known the entire time, then he has always been ahead, always prepared. Even now your words, if you promised your life in exchange for my parent’s safety, you would forfeit your life because he must certainly have his pawns in place.” She was fuming, distraught, and understood there was no safety for anyone. Her mind rushed back to the last orders he had given before their departure. A sickening knowing created a lead ball that bore down upon the pit of her stomach. “It’s too late,” she whispered.

  “No, it’s not—”

  “It is! There is only one option to ensure this ends tonight.” Eliza’s eyes had taken on a wild life, brighter than usual and pupils dilated.

  Zachariah tried to blink away the confusing scene before him. “What option is that?” Caution overwhelmed his words.

  “Tonight, he will expect us at dinner. He will plan to bed me tonight.” Eliza spurred Harriet on as she continued her analysis of the situation. “I will go to him as he bids, but I will have my own plans.”

  “Eliza…” A quick glance stole his building rebuttal, and he quieted himself to allow the time remaining back to ease her fiery vigor.

  Their arrival was marked with utter confusion. Somehow they had lost two more hours in the day than they should have, and within the halls of the castle it appeared every servant that had been missing during Reegan’s absence had returned, and there in the center of their chaos, stood Reegan. Completely unharmed and unphased, smiling that large, inviting, farce of a smile at the two as they entered and stopped short with the recognition.

  “Finally, you’ve returned!” Reegan clapped his hands together, his voice a soured cheer that no one else seemed to notice. Pearl stepped out from the shadows just to the side of Reegan, with her suddenly timid husband by her side. “We were worried you two had gotten lost, that we might need to prepare a search party.”

  Reegan stood, waiting for their submission to entreat his good favor again. Neither moved, only continued to stare in amazement.

  “Are you all right, Eliza? Your clothes are filthy!” Pearl looked between the trio and was the first to step forward, taking Eliza by the hands and guiding her down the hall to her own room. “We should see about you getting ready for the banquet your Lord Reegan has prepared. He’s invited many of the noble lords and ladies in your honor!” Her voice was a high trill of excitement, not knowing of the recent transactions.

  “I will go ready myself as well.” Zachariah bowed, a stoic expression painted across his face with little indication of any disturbance. His cold mannerism was noticed only by Francis, who waited further back in the shadows, and Mrs. Deboan.

  IT WAS A banquet to be admired, a feast prepared in Eliza’s honor, though for no purpose other than for Eliza having been such a devoted and most patient wife. Eliza acted as though she were just that, in perfect compliance and synchronized movements with Reegan. She laughed, spoke civilly, gossiped with the women, Pearl included, and her beauty shone brighter than all others within their kingdom. She had posed herself, arms interlocked with Reegan’s, dressed in a fitted deep purple gown that highlighted her newly developed feminine figure. Her light blonde hair had been braided and pinned back, leaving strategic wisps to fall in rolling waves.

  Zachariah noticed and reconsidered she could be the most beautiful within their country. Yet her appearance and act did not deceive him on the few occasions when a twitch gave away the boiling that was occurring beneath that most obedient exterior. Though the noble lords gathered around her as though a prized bird within their most exquisite cage, Zachariah knew she could both dissect them with her sword and possibly burn the entire castle down around them. He did not know the extent of her powers, just what history had taught him, and that was fire and brimstone, curses and hexes.
It was hell incarnate, based on the teachings he learned, but here he found she was none of those things. Not yet, at least.

  Zachariah stayed along the wall after dinner, watching the exchange of conversations, all the nobles and their wives partaking in pleasant conversation with what he knew to be a monster. Reegan was affable, cordial, a perfect host and ruler to all beneath him. Had it been only once, Zachariah would have missed it, but on three separate occasions he had seen a red flash in Reegan’s eyes. At first Zachariah had shrugged it off as nothing more than firelight, but two further occasions revealed that was not the case. Francis snaked his way across the room to stand beside Zachariah, allowing a silence to remain between the two.

  “I can’t leave, Francis, not just yet.”

  Francis only nodded in response.

  “Eliza has some plan she would not share with me, and I fear it is something along the lines of a suicide…ultimately,” Zachariah clarified.

  “All is in place whenever you two are ready, my young master.” Francis did not look to Zachariah but instead pushed away from the wall. The revelation of Reegan having orchestrated Zachariah’s father’s untimely death had come from Francis, when he had become aware of Reegan’s final goals to kill him sooner rather than later. The two had struck a deal to save Eliza and rise up against Reegan. None of that, Zachariah felt now, would ever come to pass.

  “He’s been dabbling in dangerous things, young master,” Francis had said. “Best to leave without a word, disappear and never tell me nor anyone else where you’re planning to escape.” His one good eye had been sorrowful but certain of the final decision. Francis had changed over the past two years, and Zachariah wondered more than once if it wasn’t the man’s own mortality causing him to gauge the life he lived or the way he would die. Either could be dangerous, but Francis had been his only way out. All others were blindly loyal to Reegan.

  Music filled the large ballroom they had been shuffled into. More guests had arrived from lower homes, but all were invited. In the hustling of the crowd, Eliza lost sight of both Pearl and Reegan, feeling only a miniscule relief at finding Zachariah’s familiar face in the sudden crowd. The disappearance of both Pearl and Reegan, while Pearl’s husband wandered about aimlessly seeking his new bride, made Eliza nervous for reasons she was not certain. As the music shifted its pace, the center of the room cleared, leaving Eliza standing alone to be watched for the proper course of action. With Reegan nowhere to be found, she nervously began wringing her hands before the far end of the room cleared, Zachariah making his way through and heading straight to Eliza.

  With a slight bow and extension, Zachariah offered no smile but an invitation. “Will you dance with me, Lady Eliza?”

  “Yes, of course.” Eliza felt relief wash over her. She hadn’t realized she had been holding her breath under the weighty eyes of the guests she barely knew.

  Zachariah pulled her in gently with one hand. His other hand found the small of her back, and he guided her through the motions that synced precisely with the music. The floor filled with other couples.

  “Thank you,” she mumbled.

  As the floor became indiscernible, Zachariah pulled her closer to him and leaned down to her ear. “What is your plan, Eliza? You must let me help you somehow.” His voice was urgent, but he still managed to control the tone and volume.

  Eliza scanned the room once more as far as she could, taking account of those nearest them, feeling the nervous anticipation that was building.

  “Well…” She pursed her lips a moment, fearful to relinquish her plan, wholly believing Zachariah would stop her. “He plans to…to take me to bed tonight, that much is obvious. I have my priestess abilities, and I will…well, I plan to use a particular spell and end it all tonight.” She could feel Zachariah stiffen and falter, throwing them off from their synchronized steps.

  Regaining his composure, he brought her back into step with the music. The sound from the violins and cello were reverberating in their bones as they did their strings. Just as the song came to an end, Eliza saw Reegan enter from the side doors into the room and Pearl enter through the doors where the quartet had set up. Their eyes met, Pearl appearing somewhat disheveled in her burgundy gown and red-rimmed eyes. Pearl’s eyes narrowed on Eliza as she focused on how closely Eliza and Zachariah stood, his arms holding her firmly in place. Eliza tried to pull away, but Zachariah would not relent his hold, not just then, as he leaned in close once more.

  The music started up and the coupled dance partners began the next dance. “If you do this, if you succeed, or even if you fail, you come to me in back, by the rose garden. In either case, Eliza, we are both leaving here tonight no matter what.” Zachariah stepped back suddenly, bowing and kissing the back of her hand before she felt another hand press firmly upon her back.

  “Forgive my absence. I had some business to attend to.”

  Eliza turned her glassy-eyed expression up to Reegan’s deceitfully handsome face, seeing the threat fresh and menacing.

  “Zachariah, my cousin, thank you for entertaining my wife and guests.” He sneered before grabbing Eliza’s hand and dragging her into the crowd, pulling her into his arms and beginning his own dance with her.

  Eliza watched in shock as Zachariah disappeared into the crowd. Simultaneously, Pearl stopped her march towards Eliza upon seeing Reegan holding her. At his look, Pearl turned to stone. She did not move, breathe, or blink but stood with a horrified expression. Others around them had noticed and given her space, one woman stepping away from her dance to ask if Pearl felt well enough, and then her husband appeared. His previous demeanor was gone as he stepped up to her and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her from the dancers.

  Eliza could hear his voice as he gave one final, venomous look at Reegan. “Did you finally get what you want? Just a common whore, aren’t you?”

  Eliza watched Pearl shudder at the words before the two became a true spectacle, as she turned on her husband and struck him. A collective gasp echoed amongst those surrounding the couple.

  “SHUT UP, JOHN! You are weak, nothing! I’m going home.”

  Reegan had kept his eyes on Eliza as she watched the two come undone, and for a moment she tried to pull away from Reegan to stop Pearl, but Reegan held Eliza in a vice grip. She could feel the pressure that would leave bruises, if not possibly break her arm, forcing her to give Reegan her full attention.

  “I believe we should retire for the night, my loving wife.” His words were anything but loving before he yelled across the room, shocking all the guests and the musicians. “I believe this party is over, my neighbors and friends. You will be escorted from the premises promptly.” He was again dragging Eliza along, leaving her fully open to receive the surprised and dubious expressions. None, she recognized, felt anything other than confusion and some bitterness towards Eliza.

  Reegan wasted no time, taking her directly to his bedchamber where only a few black candles were lit across the room. He gave quick orders to two guards standing outside his door, not a normal practice, she knew as much. Throwing her in the room, Reegan followed her as she slid across the floor, a squeak of surprise escaping her as she rolled to a stop. Eliza had been waiting for this moment; though it was not quite as she had planned, it could still work. Lifting the long skirt of her gown, she worked at freeing the dagger she had strapped to her thigh.

  Reegan laughed. “So eager!”

  Ignoring the taunt in his voice, Eliza readied herself. She had seen how fast he was with Zachariah, and she didn’t know what powers he himself possessed but had confidence in what she knew. Stripping a pin from her hair, Eliza pricked her finger and dragged it along the long dagger, whispering her spell, “Bless the shiver in the heart of the mountain, its bones are ground and offer their dust, freeze in the blizzard, hear me now.” Her eyes had been open the entire time, and she had expected to see the dagger glow the gentle blue she had seen in her practice, but there was nothing. Reegan had been standing, waiting patiently, she
realized. She had expected to be fending him off during the entire time, but the words were easy enough to memorize, and it had worked in her practice after dressing! Why, she wondered, why not…

  Reegan took a few slow steps forward. “You are a wonder, Eliza. More beautiful than your mother before you, and she was indeed a treasure to behold.”

  Eliza whipped her eyes to his and gave a small cry in surprise. In place of his amber-colored eyes was a darkness, not something she could call black, but an empty darkness as though the pupils had dilated so far beyond their limit to engulf the irises, and that space had been hollowed out.

  “Now you are that treasure. The power you have is perfect, a witch to bear my heir and allow me to complete the ritual.” Reegan spread his arms out to either side, reaching and flexing his fingers as he issued forth a harsh laugh. “I was going to kill you if I found you had not reached your peak but, to my great surprise, and some displeasure, Pearl let me know you had done so a year ago! A full year, and my foolish little cousin hid it from me.”

  Eliza had gained her wits long enough to see the opening as an opportunity. If she could not activate the blessing upon the blade, she knew, believed, she was more than capable of planting it squarely in his heart. Her aim was true as she thrust herself at him, the dagger sinking into his chest and earning a cry of shocked pain. It was followed by a sputtering laugh; he had not even moved more than a step back, Eliza found. Pulling back with the dagger, she watched as blood poured out from the wound that was beginning to close back up even in the seconds she witnessed the miracle. Reegan provided a mock-pitying face.