Page 43 of What Lies Within Blood & Heirs

A serene smile swelled her cheeks. “You,” she answered. “I see you.”

He released a shuddering breath.

“In all my life, I’ve never seen silver eyes.”

“They were once green,” Garrik said. There was pain there. Flashing across his features.

Alora’s brows pinched. “What happened to them?”

That steady heartbeat in his chest quickened as ink overtook his once-green eyes. Alora placed her hand on the star-shaped burn scar—over his heart. The skin quivered, and his head snapped down, spearing it with his gaze.

His eyes clenched, and inhaling a steadying breath before they opened, the abyss misted away. Garrik’s palm enveloped hers, pressing her deeper into his chest. “I was a fool,” he began. “Rarely, I accepted drinks from servants. It would be mindless of me to be anything but sober when Magnelis’s demands were malevolent. I had sent away Jade, Aiden, Thalon, and Everlyn?—”

Alora’s throat knotted at the mention of Thalon’s wife.

“—as I was informed of a possible coup. Brennus never trusted them. He led schemes to have them injured or dismissed from their positions. So, I would not have them there. I would be alone.

“But that night, at a ball celebrating Magnelis’s ascension anniversary to the throne, I recklessly allowed my suspicions to subside the longer the night carried on.

“I believe it was the wine. I remember seeingher.My confused thoughts regarded her like it was the first time. The long black hair and serpent-like eyes. Such beauty was captivating, though with a sober mind, I would not have desired more.

“But she brushed her hand over mine, and I felt ... a shift in my mind. Against all reason, my body demanded it, and my mind failed to convince me against taking another cup. The burn in my throat should have come as warning enough. But no matter the protest, I continued drinking.

“Summoned to speak with Malik, the dark-haired High Fae in the Dawnspace, Ravens who spoke in whispers led me through a hallway as I stumbled.

“Malik crossed through the threshold to Magnelis’s war chamber, where Brennus braced himself with his boots on the table littered with maps and correspondence. I presumed it was likely a strategy meeting. But my head ran away with itself, and a dreadful pain settled behind my eyes, rendering it hard to see, let alone remain standing. I did not notice Ravens gathering behind me, nor have time to defend the blow to my head.”

Alora shook her head in earnest—unable to stop as if the motion would stop what had happened.

“When I woke, I smelled the wet iron of my blood first. Hooks were pierced through my arms, shoulders ... my back. Chains drawn tight while my blood dripped to the floor from where I hung. I called on my powers to steal into the mind of a guard to release me, but,” Garrik’s lips trembled, “they did not answer. And I knew as Magnelis stalked through the door that my wavering obedience to his commands had concluded.

“He allowed me a choice; Freedom for complete fealty. Locate Marked Ones for his gain or decay in the dungeons until the stars claimed my life. But I would not betray my kind for comfort.

“Instead of ending my life, Magnelis deemed my powers too valuable to waste. And because of his deal with Kerimkhar, he could not steal the powers of those with his name or blood. So, as long as I lived, my mother and myself were protected from his control, but we suffered. She died because of it, and whenwe imagined the powers of Zyllyryon passing to me, her heir, Magnelis, instead, seemed to have stolen them. Perhaps a flaw in Kerimkhar’s deal. Nonetheless, my mother was gone. And years later, I was imprisoned.”

Alora kept her breathing quiet, gut twisting.

Garrik’s gaze embedded into the straw behind them. His hand mindlessly brushed her. “They call it magic-washing. Magnelis tainted Zyllyryon’s sacred mate ritual and constructed a blasphemous altercation for his own usury. Instead of offering yourself in service to your intended, he created servants for himself. He gave powers to few, the power to steal into minds and reframe their entire being for his pleasure.

“Shewas one of them. But she also held powers of poison—venom. Daily, she, Malik, and Brennus visited my dungeon. Daily they tortured my body until I simply had no voice to scream, and even after, they continued. Though my body was useless, somehow, magic itself protected my mind since I could not. A part of me their drugs never penetrated. She could not cleave through.”

Horrible, despicable, infernal monsters?—

“But by mistake of one guard’s foolishness, I died, and she found a pathway.”

Alora’s eyes flickered to the scar on his neck.

He noticed and regretfully nodded. “For thirty years they tortured me in unimaginable ways no body could withstand. That is why when I succumbed to my injuries, she was always present—restoring my life—so the game of my suffering and humiliation continued.

“They brutalized and destroyed, killed, and fucked me until the only thing remaining was the reminder of what Magnelis would do to those I protected. If my mother’s powers were stolen by a flaw preceding her murder, then what of mine? There wasno choice. I endured the torture and humiliation for as long as the stars allowed my existence, so Elysian escaped Magnelis.”

Garrik paused. Blinking, eyes glassy. “My silver eyes … a result of stealing into the consciousness. Altering everything I once was due to the magic-washing. And I am not alone. Every one of those washed is colorless in our gaze. On minds, unlike mine, the washing is effortless.Sheuses her magic to slither inside the deepest parts and irrevocably change everything until her victim is a shell to be filled and molded into whatever Magnelis deems necessary. For my own, she, Malik, and Brennus were forced to stop my heart. Over and over, shattering every lingering stronghold of magic until nothing remained but a thin barrier.

“On that final day, I was simply entertainment. Magnelis hosted balls and celebrations monthly, summoning his elite and the kings of Elysian with their courts. To which I was always … invited.”

Only, Alora knew Garrik’sinvitationwasn’t as a willing guest.

He continued, “An endless night of food, drink, and proclivities centered on gambling—casting lots for their perversions and barbarity under the illusion of high class and sophistication.”

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