Page 19 of Stolen

“We served for a millennium,” Midian said. “Your stories never mention that part. A thousand years of doing the elves’ bidding. Enhancing their magic and spying on their enemies. We gave them power because they didn’t give us a choice.” He met my gaze. “I believe you know how that feels.”

I did. I’d felt it when Rolund pledged me as a thrall, but I’d also felt it long before that. Every day in Sithistra, I’d been without choices. Queen Amantha had banned the castle staff from speaking my mother’s name. And when my father died and Rolund became king, he’d forced me to bury my vampire instincts. As a result, I’d arrived in Nor Doru knowing next to nothing about my heritage. It had put me at a disadvantage with Laurent, who was probably the most powerful vampire alive.

As Midian waited for my reply, the air between us shifted. It was subtle but noticeable, like a gentle current rippling across still water. Some of my fear abated, and curiosity sprang up in its place.

“What happened during the Fall?” I dared to ask. “When the elves died and Vai Seren was destroyed—”

“Does it look destroyed to you?” He spread his arms. Turned and moved away from the table, his mantle flowing around his long legs. “Where is all the damage your histories record? The toppled buildings and buckled roads?”

I turned with him, once again jarred by the surreality of speaking to him after seeing him in my dreams for so long. I wanted to ask him about it. I waited for him to pluck the desire from my head, but he continued his stately progress up the center of the Hall, his boots echoing in the cavernous space.

And it was cavernous, I realized. And empty except for the long table at our backs. Most castle halls were beehives of activity, with fires roaring, servants bustling, and animals constantly underfoot.

But this Hall was as silent as a tomb. The opposite end was dominated by a huge hearth, but it was spotless inside, with not even a stick of firewood to mar its white perfection.

Midian stopped in a shaft of sunlight, then turned and lowered his arms. His voice was soft, but it carried easily, reaching my ears as if he stood at my side. “Demons didn’t destroy Eldenvalla, Given. The elves destroyed themselves. They ruled the most prosperous kingdom in Ter Isir, but they lusted for empire. Already blessed with so many gifts, they wanted more. So they called up old, unstable magic. They summoned my people and bound us inside them, stealing our freedom and condemning us to endless servitude. From generation to generation, they did this, passing us down like property. And when the opportunity to invade their neighbors arose, they marched us to battle.”

I moved closer as I absorbed this. His words had the ring of truth. What if Rhys was wrong? What if he had it backward, and it was the elves who refused to release the demons and not the other way around? Every part of me recoiled at the idea of being trapped inside another’s body. It wasn’t hard to believe the demons had struggled for their freedom.

The moment that thought surfaced, another tried to push to the fore of my consciousness. Something about bright eyes that pierced the night and jaws that snapped near my face. The thunder of hooves and mocking, high-pitched laughter.

Abruptly, bells tinkled. I turned my head toward the sound, but it cut off so suddenly I wondered if I’d heard it at all. When I looked at Midian, he appeared undisturbed.

I cleared my throat. “So the elves wouldn’t release you?”

He shook his head. “No matter how much we warned them. Avenor wanted a victory, and he ordered his warriors to keep us locked inside. Eventually, he ordered all his people to hold us this way. His victory was within reach, but it was too late. The elves’ souls died and we remained.” Midian tilted his head back, letting the sun strike his face. When he lowered his chin, his smile was sad. “We are spirits. We were never meant to be trapped this way.”

Sorrow swept me. In the back of my head, another emotion lingered. Or maybe it was a memory. Something I was forgetting. I felt as though I’d misplaced something important and needed to find it. I struggled to recall it, but it was like grasping at smoke. The harder I tried to remember, the more quickly the memory slipped away.

But it didn’t matter. Midian was a prisoner here, the same as I had been in Nor Doru. It was a grave injustice.

“I wish there was some way to free you,” I told him.

He studied me a moment. “Perhaps one day we’ll find it.” He came to me and gestured over my shoulder. “For now, I believe there’s someone you came here to see.”

I turned, and I forgot how to breathe. Because the table under the coat of arms was no longer empty.

Varick sat there.

And he looked furious.

Chapter Six

VARICK

Given was fully under Midian’s sway.

And I was helpless to do anything about it.

The devious fucker had watched her from the moment the other demons dragged her into the Great Hall. In those moments, I’d dared to take my eyes off him—and my blood had boiled when I spotted the darkening bruise on her jaw. There was no reason for them to strike her. They didn’t need to resort to physical violence. They could simply pull a person’s worst nightmares or most disturbing memories from their mind and terrorize their victims into submission.

No, they struck her to get under my skin. They wanted to rile me up until I lost concentration and gave them access to my head. Once that happened, I had little chance of forcing them out again. And then Given and I would both be helpless to stop Midian from doing whatever he had planned for us.

He’d smiled at me with my father’s face while Given slept. When he spoke, it was with my father’s voice. I wasn’t sure when Midian had pulled Valen from my head. Probably, one of the other demons had plucked the bastard from my consciousness when they took me in the Thicket. I’d been weak in those moments, worried about Laurent and desperate to get Given away from the shadows. The demons intended to take us both that night. Otherwise, they would have shown us different illusions. But judging from Given’s reactions, she and I had seen the same things and heard the same sounds. The fact that Midian wanted both of us was more terrifying than seeing my father again.

I kept my eyes locked on the demon king as he drew Given to the table. She was a blurry splash of beauty at the edge of my vision.

And she was such a brave little fool. I wanted to vault over the table and shake her for not listening to me. I’d warned her as best I could in the few minutes she’d pulled me into her clearing. I had no idea if Midian could venture there, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

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