When Kaila Dwyn discovered her Gift, everything was taken from her: her father, her home, her faith. Hunted by the very heroes she once worshiped, Kaila had no choice but to join the Elysian. But the power of the Magisterium is absolute, and the ancient enemies of humanity can do little to prevent their inevitable slide towards extinction.
Some still fight. Elysian thieves, hidden amongst the underground of Tah’raus, they find their own small ways to resist. Kaila delights in taking what revenge she can against those who destroyed her life. But it’s not enough—until the crime lord Ambrose Braider hatches a plan to steal the Aegis. It is the most powerful artefact in the Magisterium’s possession. Without it, their hold over the world will crumble. Can Kaila and her ragtag group of friends pull off the heist of the century and steal it back—or will their reckless gamble doom the Elysian rebellion forever?
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“Daughter Wrenn. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Kaila startled awake as a voice boomed through the little stone room in which she had been locked the past however-many-hours.
Things had not gotten off to a great start.
The guards on the gates of the Sanctum had greeted her cordially enough, and while there’d been a Warden present, he had barely glanced up from his seat in the guard booth long enough to check she was a Daughter, before returning to his nap. The trouble had come when she tried to actually enter.
“Miss, you’ll have to wait for the Sister to attend you.”
“Excuse me?” Kaila tried to summon the edge of authority to her voice she had used previously while pretending to be a Daughter, but standing in the shadow of the Sanctum, she found it would not come.
“Sorry, miss, standard protocol for a Daughter out past curfew. She will only be a minute.”
Kaila’s skin crawled at the words. Eliza hadn’t said anything about a curfew. Why hadn’t they thought to ask her more before removing the collar? Kaila had known Eliza all her life, but she wasn’t prepared for a lengthy questioning, especially not from a Sister. They were the teachers and judges of Fresia, trained to hunt out the enemy wherever they might find them. But with a Warden waiting in the wings and her Gift blocked, Kaila had had no choice but to wait for the woman.
The Sister, when she arrived, took one look at Kaila and bid her to follow.
From there, she’d been led deep into the Sanctum, down beneath the earth where the endless corridors quickly rendered the scant knowledge she’d gleaned from Ambrose’s maps useless. By the time the Sister had led her into this room, Kaila was completely at the woman’s mercy. She had no idea how she would find her way back to the gates, or the dormitories where unpartnered Daughters slept for that matter.
The room itself was empty and windowless, without so much as a stool to sit. The only source of light came from a candle stick set in the centre of the room. It flickered in the draft from the door, casting shadows dancing across the circular walls. When Kaila had turned back to the door, she’d found the Sister barring the exit.
“What is this?”
“As the First Matron suffered the enemy’s punishments,” the Sister replied. “So must our errant Daughters.”
“What, wait—” Too late, Kaila had realised what the woman was going to do.
The door had slammed in her face, sealing Kaila inside. And so she’d been left shivering alone in the dark, watching her light slowly die with only the vague hope she would eventually be released. When her legs had begun to ache, she’d laid down on the concrete floor and tried to rest. Little good it had done her—in her dreams she had been stalked by soldiers garbed in black armour.
Now, as Kaila rose trembling from the floor, she found the silhouette of a woman darkening the entrance. Light still glinted from her candle, which had burned to the nub. Heels tapped against the hard floor as the newcomer approached.
“Well?” the voice pressed. “I’m waiting for an answer, Daughter Wrenn.”
As the candlelight caught on her face, Kaila realised it was not the same woman from the night before. Had there been a change in shift? It probably didn’t matter. This Sister was just as cold and intimidating as the last. Her dark hair was threaded with silver, catching in the flickering glow of the candle, and she wore long robes of royal violet.
Carefully, Kaila pulled herself to her feet and bowed her head. “My apologies, I have no excuse,” she said, hoping it sounded sufficiently demure. “I did not notice the hour.”
Silence answered her remarks. Kaila kept her head bowed, hardly daring to breathe. These were powerful people and she was currently powerless. She couldn’t afford to put a single foot out of place.
“Sister Vera tells me you were with my son last night,” the woman said at last. “Yet you returned well after curfew. I would like an explanation.”
The words brought a frown to Kaila’s brow, though she kept her head bowed. A son? Sisters didn’t have children. And the only person Eliza had met with last night was the prince…
A chill crept over Kaila as she realised who she was talking too. Carefully lifting her head, she found herself pinned by the grey, compassionless eyes of the Matron. For a second she just stood there, struggling to think.
Accept that things will go wrong.
Grasping at Quintin’s advice like the lip of a cliff-face, she drew herself up. It was easier said than done.
“I was…I was with the prince,” she managed at last.
The Matron slowly began to circle the chamber. She was surprisingly tall, towering over Kaila at almost six feet. “Over the years,” the woman spoke slowly, as though speaking to a child, “my son has typically dismissed my suitors well before the strike of midnight. Or they have retired themselves, upset at his flagrant disregard for etiquette.” She came to a stop, leaning in close. “And you wish to tell me you simply lost track of time?”
Sheknowssheknowssheknows!
Kaila bit her lip—it was the only thing she could do to keep herself from squealing. Blood pulsed in her skull and she realised she was holding her breath. Air whistled through her clenched teeth as she exhaled. Heart racing, she forced herself to think rationally. Ambrose’s illusion was impeccable; she even had Eliza’s real collar. What reason could the Matron have to think an Elysian stood before her, and not the same woman she had sent that afternoon to treat with her son?
“I…ah…” she paused, wetting her lips. “He and I…ah…we both like…books?”
It was about as pathetic an explanation as Kaila could have imagined—but after a week observing the prince, it was also the only thing she could thing to fit. Drawing in a breath, she matched eyes with the Matron, and prayed they couldn’t pierce her mask and see the frightened little girl inside…
“I see,” the woman said. “So, you wish to tell me, Daughter Wrenn, that you arrived four hours past curfew because you were busy reading with my son?”
Heat rushed to Kaila’s cheeks as she realised how it sounded. “No!” she gasped. “I mean, ah, nothing happened…”
“Nothing?” the Matron scoffed, her forehead folding in a frown. “That is a shame. Sister Vera tells me you made many great promises to be granted this appointment.”
Damnit, what the hell is going on here? And why exactly was the Matron sending Daughters to dine with the prince in the first place? That should have been the first question they asked of Eliza, but in the rush to put together their new plan, none of them had thought to question it. It was too late, however, and now Kaila was knee deep in her own mess.
“Well, not nothing,” she said, hoping it was the right direction to take. She could feel her cheeks growing hot. Hopefully the Matron would mistake it for embarrassment. Swallowing, she pressed on. “Like I said, we were…I lost track of time…”
“But nothing happened?” The woman’s face remained impassive, but her eyes had taken on a glint.
“The prince,” Kaila breathed, leaning into her gamble, “was wonderful. But…” She lifted her chin. “I fear he was the perfect gentleman.”
The Matron held her gaze. Kaila prayed to whatever fickle god watched over her kind that the woman wouldn’t call her bluff. She almost sagged where she stood when the smile finally crept across the Matron’s lips. Unfortunately, it was almost as terrifying as her frown—like a lizard attempting to smile.
“A gentleman?” she said with a snort. “Well, he certainly didn’t get that from his father.” Her eyes lingered on Kaila, before she wrinkled her nose. “Nor my husband’s good taste, mores the pity. Maybe he thinks your plainness will offend me.”
Kaila bristled at the insult, but common sense prevailed and she clamped her mouth shut. The woman wasn’t even talking about her, but Eliza. Although to call Eliza plain…she had been the most beautiful woman in Elgoss!
“No matter,” the Matron continued, waving a hand. “I suppose your rustic charm got you further than any of the others.”
“Ah, thank you, ma’am,” Kaila choked out the words.
“You will see the prince again—tonight,” the woman added.
Kaila had been about to relax, but now all her anxiety came rushing back. That wasn’t part of the plan! She was meant to lay low, ensure no one came looking for the real Eliza—not go on another date with the prince. Would seeing him be good for their plans, or a distraction?
“Ah…thank you ma’am,” she said. After all, it didn’t matter what she wanted. She was a Daughter of the Magisterium now—slave once more to duty.
The Matron nodded and dismissed Kaila with a wave. Letting out a sigh, she started towards the door, but a voice called her back.
“Oh, one last thing, Daughter Wrenn,” the Matron said, her voice cold once more.
“Yes, ma’am?”
Approaching, the woman reached out with a wrinkled finger to lift Kaila’s chin, forcing her to meet that concrete gaze.
“You will not fail me, understood?”
Kaila’s eyebrows lifted, but she nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“You will be the perfect Daughter for my son, yes?”
Again, she nodded.
“And if he should decide to be…ungentlemanly, you will be a good little Daughter and comply, now won’t you?”
A chill ran down Kaila’s spine. She stared at the Matron, her lips parted, not quite sure how to respond. “But…” she stammered. “That’s not—ow!”
Kaila cried out as the Matron’s nails sliced into her chin. She tried to pull away, but the woman’s fingers were like iron, holding her fast.
“This is why you don’t send a girl to do a woman’s work,” the Matron muttered, “but very well, if you need a reminder of your place, Eliza…”
The Matron drew back the sleeve of her robes, revealing a golden bracer imbued with dozens upon dozens of agimet crystals. Their fiery glow lit up the chamber, casting back the dark. They weren’t cut either, for the way they shone, shifting from red to blue to green, and a thousand other colours, spoke of the raw power of the earth.
“You remember this?” the Matron whispered. “The vow you swore?”
The Aegis!
Kaila swallowed. She didn’t know the words that Eliza had spoken, but she knew what the bracer was. For a moment she experienced wonder, looking down upon the fabled device. Then the Matron spoke again.
“Kneel.”
And Kaila knelt.
There was no chance to resist, no moment of struggle as she fought whatever compulsion the Aegis placed upon her. Submission came instantly, before Kaila could even comprehend it had happened. Suddenly, she was on her knees staring up at the Matron.
“What—”
“Silence.”
Fear sank its hooks into Kaila’s gut as the words left her mouth. Theron’s theory about the collar had clearly been wrong. It was more than just a block on her power, or a safeguard against treason. She strained against the compulsion, the muscles in her jaw burning as she tried to force her mouth to open, to scream and rage against the woman.
Nothing.
A sad smile twisted the old woman’s lips. “It’s always the quiet ones who fight the most,” she said, “but I have found pain to be a great teacher.” Leaning down, her lips brushed against Kaila’s ear. “Now, suffocate.”
Her breath stopped. Fear became terror, then panic. Red burst across Kaila’s vision as she strained against whatever spell had stolen control of her body, but no matter how hard she fought, it would not respond. The Matron’s command had locked her lungs in a vice, unable to inhale the dank air. A burning started in her chest, growing slowly, spreading until her entire body was aflame and red spots danced in her eyes. She looked at the old woman with desperation, pleading.
The Matron stared back, a cruel smile on her lips
The darkness rose to claim Kaila.
She was in that other place again. Down in the grey beyond the world, trapped between life and death. Without pain, or fear, or warmth, there was no need for breath in this place. No need for anything, just the stillness of nothing.
Nothing, and the king.
Oberon. Strangely, he did not seem to have noticed her. Perhaps because she was no longer in Iselador, or maybe she only lingered on the edge of death this time. He seemed farther away, a shadow amongst the shadows, rather than the burning light he had once been. Sitting at a great desk, his powerful hands fiddled with one of his contraptions—the great cubes of shadow. As she stepped closer, Kaila thought it looked familiar, like one of the agimet heaters they used in Tah’raus.
Her movement finally seemed to alert the king. His head lifted, surprise showing on his noble face. His mouth moved, but Kaila did not hear the words. She thought his lips formed the word ‘child’.
Then hooks of fire slashed into her spirit, binding her in flame, and dragged her back…
Kaila gasped, waking on the concrete floor of the chamber. The Matron loomed above her, the Aegis still shining on her arm.
“You cannot escape your duty, Daughter Wrenn. Not even in death,” she whispered.
Fire burned all through Kaila’s body, sinking into her limbs, her muscles, her flesh and bone. But she could breathe. It was all that mattered just now.
“Yes, ma’am,” she sobbed, uncaring for the tears spilling down her cheeks. “I understand.”
“Good girl,” the Matron said. “Though to be sure you have learnt the lesson, you will remain in this cell until Sister Vera comes to prepare you for tonight.”
“Please, no—” Kaila choked, but the Matron cut her off.
“Stand.”
She stood.
“Good,” the woman grunted. “Remember, Daughter Wrenn, do not fail me—or this chamber will be the last thing you see for the rest of your sorry life.” She studied Kaila, before offering a curt nod. “I will speak to you when you return.”
With that, she turned and strode from the chamber. As the door slammed closed behind her, the candle flickered and died, leaving Kaila alone in the darkness.
But that was not the worst of it.
With growing horror, Kaila realised even with the Matron gone, she still could not move. Frozen in the black cell, she felt the cold creeping upon her, then as the seconds turned to minutes, the pain. It began in her feet, but it soon radiated up through her legs, before gathering in a fiery ball around the base of her spine. Her body began to tremble as little gasps tore from her lips. The sobs were soon to follow, then the moans, and finally the screams as she cried out for mercy.
No one came.
Become a paid subscriber to access early chapters of this series, plus many of the other series I have written! You can even take a free 7 day trial to see if my books are for you. You can find my other books on my website.
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