Page 2 of Hexmate

“Your power may be weak now, but with proper training, you could become formidable. That is, if you survive the trials.”

The vines tightened around my legs, and I winced in pain. “Please,” I begged, “I don’t want this. Can’t you just let me go?”

Damien’s laughter echoed through the hall, cold and mirthless. “Let you go? Oh, Caden. You’re my son, my blood. You don’t have a choice in this matter.”

He stepped closer, and I could smell the acrid scent of his cigarette smoke mingling with something darker, more primal. “The first trial begins now. Free yourself from those vines, or they’ll crush you.”

Panic surged through me as the vines constricted further, their thorns digging deeper into my flesh. I struggled against them, my hands clawing desperately at the writhing tendrils, but to no avail. The more I fought, the tighter they seemed to grip.

“I can’t!” I cried out, tears of frustration and fear welling in my eyes. “I don’t know how!”

Damien’s face remained impassive, his cold blue eyes boring into mine. “Then you’ll die here, a failure and a disappointment. Is that what you want, boy?”

The vines crept higher, wrapping around my waist now. I could feel my breath being squeezed from my lungs. In desperation, I closed my eyes, trying to focus on anything but the pain and terror coursing through me. But no matter how much I concentrated, prayed, or begged, they didn’t loosen their grip.

“Please! You have the wrong person! I’m not what you think I am!”

“You are exactly who I think you are,” Damien said, his voice cutting through my panic. “You just lack the proper motivation.”

With a flick of his wrist, a ball of fire appeared in his palm. The flames danced menacingly, casting twisted shadows across his face. “Perhaps a little heat will encourage you to tap into your abilities.”

Terror gripped me as he brought the fireball closer. The vines tightened further, and I could feel my consciousness starting to slip away.

As the fireball drew nearer, the heat seared my skin. Primal fear surged through me, and suddenly I felt something shift deep inside. A strange tingling sensation spread from my core to my fingertips. Without thinking, I pressed my hands against the vines and focused all my fear, desperation, and newfound energy into them.

To my astonishment, the vines began to wither and crumble beneath my touch. They loosened their grip, falling away into brittle pieces. As the last tendril released me, I collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

Damien extinguished the fireball, a cruel smile playing on his lips. “There it is. Your first taste of real power.”

I stared at my hands in disbelief, still feeling the residual energy coursing through my veins. “What... what just happened?”

“You tapped into your innate abilities,” Damien scoffed, looking more irritated than ever, even though I’d survived his onslaught. “Green magic, it seems. The weakest of the powers.”

Still trembling, I struggled to my feet. “I don’t want this. I never asked for any of it.”

Damien’s expression hardened. “What you want is irrelevant,” he snapped, his eyes flashing dangerously. “You are a Cromwell, and you will learn to harness your powers, no matter how pathetic they may be. You will uphold the family's reputation, or you will be killed.”

I flinched at his harsh words, still reeling from what had just happened. My legs felt weak, and my skin stung where the thorns had pierced it. Blood was soaking through my jeans, and I felt like I was going to pass out. “But I don’t understand. Why now? Why keep me in the dark all these years?”

Damien took another long drag from his cigarette, regarding me with cold disdain. “Your mother - your real mother - was weak. But she couldn’t even survive the simple act of giving birth. Pathetic.” He spat the word like it was poison. “I sent you away, expecting you to be just as weak as she was. And it seems I was right.”

My head spun with this new information. “So, she’s…”

“Dead,” Damien cut me off. “And this family is better for it.”

A chill ran down my spine at the casual way he spoke of her death. What kind of monster was this man?

“Now,” he said, dropping his cigarette in front of me and grinding it into the floor with his glossy leather shoe. “You have two more trials to complete.”

I stared at the smoldering cigarette butt, my mind racing. Two more trials? I could barely survive the first one. And thisman - my father - seemed to have no qualms about killing me if I failed.

“What are the other trials?” I asked, my voice trembling.

Damien’s lips curled into a cruel smirk. “Eager, are we? Very well. Your next task is to prove your worth under the watchful eye of your peers.”

“My… peers?”

“You will go to Widdershins Academy, and you will study,” he said, already turning away from me. “And at the end of your studies, you will prove your worth to me and the family.” He stopped, glancing back at me with those cold, blue eyes. “And should I not find your power… satisfactory… then you will be cast out of this family and this mortal coil.”

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