"Wake up." Someone takes me by the hair and yanks my head up. It's not Salvatore, no, this voice is female. I don't open my eyes, which is the wrong choice. My cheek stings, the imprint of this girl's hand on my face. "I said wake up!"
I do as she says, opening my eyes to see her glaring down at me. My hands are tied to a stone pillar behind me, making moving nearly impossible.
"Now, now, Rella, we don't want to hurt our guest too badly. At least not yet." There's Salvatore. "She has some purpose, after all." He's setting up a multitude of candles, lighting them as he goes along.
"But you promised!" Rella pouts, crossing her arms and tossing her jet black hair back.
"I said you could do whatever you wanted to Caspian. Does she look like a Caspian to you?"
"I suppose not. Where is Caspian, anyways?"
"I changed the plan. Turns out, his brother posed as him. I took care of it, but I can't exactly waltz back into the castle now. That's where she comes in." He gestures to me, tied up on the floor.
"What are you going to do, Sal?"
"You'll see. Be a doll and get my herbs please?" Salvatore turns to me as soon as Rella leaves the room. "Good help is so hard to find these days, you know?"
"What do you want from me?" I squirm around on the floor, not that it's of much use.
"Not from you. It's what I want you to do. You heard what I told Rella, I can't go back to the castle. But you can."
"You honestly think I'd work with you?"
"Of course not. Otherwise, this all wouldn't be necessary." Salvatore pours a sludgy green liquid into a goblet. "Deus meus ad me anima tua, faciam tibi liberate animum et animam tuam. Et sub mea potestate. Iustus amo te mihi."
The liquid bubbles furiously. Rella returns with an armful of herbs, then comes to my side and holds me down.
"Your mother-in-law isn't the only who has magic, you know?" He bundles the herbs together and dips the end in the liquid. "Though, this type isn't exactly the prettiest."
Salvatore uses the herbs as a brush to spread whatever he just concocted on my forehead in some sort of symbol. Pulling a needle from his belt, he digs into his finger, drawing blood. He presses it in the middle of the symbol he drew. He does the same with my blood.
"Rella, get her something to bite down on."
Rella sighs, untying the scarf she had wrapped around her wrist and placing it between my teeth. "Try not to scream too loud, sweetheart."
"Libertatem abiit et fateor. Cogitationes mea fateor te. Ego tuus mortuus est pristini, et hæreditate possidebunt te."
Blinding pain racks my body. I fight against Rella's grasp, which makes it nearly impossible to escape. I don't know if I'm screaming or not, all I know is that it hurts. My brain feels like it's on fire, and Salvatore is attempting to put it out by adding more firewood.
I lose control of my body, I stop writhing around, falling into a paralyzed state. The pain continues growing worse and worse until it suddenly stops. I'm left numb, unable to think by myself.
"Now, Coraene. Here's what I need from you." Salvatore squats down to look me in the eye, taking Rella's scarf from my mouth and using it to wipe away the symbol on my forehead. "You're going to kill every last Quillsnake in Yna. Got it?"
"Yes." I answer without hesitation.
"Untie her, we've got to bring her back to Viâna."
"How are we going to explain her random appearance?" Rella tosses me onto the cold, stone floor. Where even are we?
"Careful, Rella!" Salvatore helps me to my feet. "You okay, love?"
"I'm fine." I brush the dirt out of my hair. "Thank you."
"What's a believable story? We captured her, and she ran away? Does that work?"
"Should." Rella shrugs. I don't like the way she's glaring at me. I didn't do anything to her.
"I have one quick question, actually." I raise my hand slightly, calling their attention to me. "Do I have to pretend to be my old self?"
"It's crucial that you do." Salvatore kisses my cheek.
Stop, stop, stop! This isn't right! A voice in the back of my head calls out. You can't do this! You're-
"I don't like it either, but this is the way it has to be." He looks genuinely apologetic. His soft, dazzling green eyes are hard to ignore.
"I'll be ask quick as I can then."
YOU ARE READING
Caspian Jones
Fantasy*READ THE NOTES FROM A DRAGON SINGER SERIES BEFORE THIS ONE* Caspian Quillsnake has it all. The cushy royal life, his best friend, Davy, by his side. But Caspian has a secret. When his uncle, the only one who knows Caspian's secret, is attacked, C...
