Page 21 of The Book of Legends
“In Nithya, you’ll find all kinds of things because anything is possible.”
“What’s a Spellbinder?”
“Centaurs are Spellbinders.”
I blink. “A what?”
“Half human, half horse. Their magic is in their song. They have a way to lure anyone who doesn’t know their power. It is how they drug their prey. It puts the prey in a trance. The magic doesn’t just make you weak; it makes you crave them.”
I want to gag from the memory. His hands on my skin, his breath against my cheek. “You’re lucky someone killed him before he finished the ritual?”
My head lifts. “Ritual?”
His gaze darkens. “Spellbinders don’t just take.”
I hold my breath.
“They keep.”
Oh, fuck. I wasn’t going to make it out alive.
“How?”
“When they sing, they lure their prey. Humans especially. They violate them, and when they are done, they use them for bait to hunt.”
A sob racks my body. Tears run down my cheeks.
“Why are you crying?”
Is he stupid?
I wipe my face. “I want to go home.”
“Where is that exactly?”
“Idaho.”
“Idaho,” he repeats, confused, like it’s on another planet.
“Yeah, like in the United States of America.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“Of course you haven’t. You’ve been locked away for the last fifteen years,” I point out. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Is there a way I can get out of here?”
He’s been here the last fifteen years. Maybe there is a way, but he’s too old and doesn’t have the strength.
“You mean, out of here?” he says, like I’ve lost my mind.
I nod. “Well, yeah. I mean, I haven’t done anything wrong. There’s no reason I should be in here.”
“The dark prince,” he says, shaking his head. “Once he puts you in here, there is no way you’re getting out. Unless he wants you out.”
There is no way that can be true. He can’t just lock people up after he saves them. I’ve done nothing wrong. Maybe the old man doesn’t remember things or…I’m delusional and he’s right. I’m stuck here.
“What are you in for?” The last thing I needed was to talk to a murderer.
“I killed Nithyans when they attacked my family in self-defense. At the time, I didn’t know Elariya was at war.”
