The Lich untied her after his work had been completed. He sat across the room, his sword resting on his knees and his eyes locked on her. It was not all that surprising, really. If one was lost to that attempt, it usually left their body a feral thing that would rip and devour everything in sight, continuing mindlessly until it was killed.
Rolling onto her side, she heaved, but nothing was left in her body to bring up. The sound had him moving to her side.
The damned did not heave, they raged and screamed and destroyed.
"I'm alive..." she gasped, her eyes finding his feet as he came into view.
He was wary, but he needed to see her. Turning on him, she found the shock and wonder on his face a little charming, at least until her foot flew and she kicked him squarely on the side of his head.
She was on him even as he fell, her hands closing around his throat. As pointless as the gesture was, trying to strangle a lich, it made her feel better. But the colour of her skin made her pause, at least it did after her fingers had already closed around his throat.
He did not so much as try to struggle, instead, he stared up at her.
His hands lifted, and he brushed her face, her cheeks and lips.
"How could you..." she whispered, tears suddenly filling her eyes. "I trusted you..." Turning, she reached for one of the knives they had agreed to hide around the room, ripping one from its place stuck to the underside of an end table. "I trusted you!" she screamed, lifting the knife above her head.
"Stop." He did not yell, did not even raise his voice. Instead, it had been as though he had been speaking to himself.
Her muscles seized mid-downward thrust. They simply stopped dead.
He was gentle as he moved out from under her, ignoring the books that tumbled to the ground. Sitting beside her, he stared at her in wonder.
"How is this possible? You're not a full lich," he said, unable to help himself. His hands reached for her face again. He wiped away the tears that continued to fall, examining the inky blackness of them. "What happened?" he asked, making a little gesture that allowed her arms to fall free, the knife sinking deep into the floorboards.
"Your demon needs more training," she snapped, tugging at the knife but unable to pull it free of the floor. Giving up on it, she turned to him, hating that he was still staring at her. "He got his hands on my soul, but it rejected him. He vanished."
The lich blinked at her. "He touched it?" he asked, shaking his head in response to her single nod. "That's impossible, if the demon had touched your soul you would have changed."
"Look at me!" she raged, holding up her arms that were no longer a pristine white. They were still white, certainly, but they held a weird blue-grey tint that she hated. "This is what you did to me! I am changed!"
He shook his head, reaching out to grab her wrist. She felt it too, the steady beating of her heart.
"You are alive," he said. "You rejected the change; you are only a half lich."
"Half lich, there's no such thing," she scoffed, yet she knew she was not dead. Still angry at him for trying to change her into a lich at all, she glared while his expression was one of a bewildered child.
"It shouldn't be possible."
"Well, it happened. And what was that with you telling me to stop?" Settling herself on the floor, she studied her skin, hating what he had done to her.
"As the one who turned you, I can give commands like that. Coupled with my will, I am able to force you to do things like that. Minor things usually. It's not like remnants, generally it was believed it was to stop foolish young lich from getting themselves killed."
He could not bring himself to tear his eyes off her.
"Your eyes glow when you're angry," he said in a conversational tone.
Fuming, she pushed herself up and moved away to the bathroom, coming to a stop in front of the mirror. The changes were minor at least; the change in skin tone, the definite glow of her eyes as her fury simmered. She looked otherwise normal, though. It was inside where she felt the difference.
Normally she would have felt cold in his rooms, but that was no longer the case. She felt comfortable in there, the temperature perfect. Her heart felt somehow wrong, beating slower than before but still beating stubbornly on. Her mind felt off, sideways in a sense, but she could not quite figure out what was wrong with her.
"I think you are all the more beautiful," he said, standing in the door to the bathroom.
"I think I look half dead," she growled, turning to him, the movement making her feel slightly queasy.
"Half dead, and more beautiful. Coldly beautiful, better than the rest of us mere former humans."
She shook her head, looking to the floor as she tried to right her thoughts and get everything back in order, yet it was still difficult.
"What was the point of this? Why do you care enough to try to keep me alive?"
They both knew why, but she wanted him to say it. She wanted him to validate his actions with a proper reason.
"You know why," he said simply.
"I want you to say it."
"I am the only lich in known history who has learnt how to love," he said slowly while she remained silent, waiting. "I am in love with you. And to protect you I tried to make you like me."
The way he said it made her stomach cramp, but it was not from repulsion. The words, the news, his confession, it hung between them and she finally looked up to his face.
She thought for a long moment, considering what had happened and how she had screamed for him, how she had hoped he would save her. She had wanted it to be him who saved her. She always wanted it to be him.
"I..." she opened her mouth to try again, but he lifted his hand to stop her.
"Don't do that. I am no fool, Etani. I do not require your comfort," he said, but her mind was reeling.
"I love you, too," she finally whispered, the realisation hitting her an instant before she spoke it. She had started to fall in love with the sadistic, dead lich prince.
There was a beat of silence between them, both of them shocked by the revelation. In an instant, he crossed the room and on impulse her arms reached for him, even as his reached for her.
Lifting her chin to meet his as his face turned down, their lips met in a brush of both desperate need and tender fear. Lifting her up onto the counter, his arms enclosed her, and she hooked her legs around his back. They remained like that for what seemed to be an eternity, hungrily exploring each other.
It was the first time since she was a girl that she had kissed another without an ulterior motive, and it was pure bliss.
When they broke apart, she opened her eyes to see him staring into nothing, astonished at the turn of events.
"Etani... You cannot love a lich. It's ridiculous," he said finally.
Her frown was instant, her stomach dropping out from under her. "So? I'm a half lich, this whole situation is ridiculous."
He looked at her then, her lips parted and slightly swollen from the pressure of his mouth. He reached out and brushed her hair back from her face, shaking his head.
"Epharis, don't do this now, just be glad." She gripped the front of his robes with her fingers, trying to gently draw him closer to her once more.
"Glad? My greed almost got you killed. My selfishness turned you into this." He waved his hand at her and she had to admit that it stung a little.
"You were trying to protect me. There's nothing wrong with that."
He scoffed, turning away from her but then turning back. He was angry, but unable to move away from her.
"You're a child, you know nothing of my intentions."
Offended, her eyes narrowed. "I'm older than you," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. That made him pause as he looked at her. "I'm immortal."
It seemed to her like that should have been obvious to him by that point in their relationship.
"But you tried to kill yourself..." he sputtered, reeling.
"I can die just the same as any other, but I don't stay dead, a bit like the plague." Her tone was dark, not caring that she had told him that.
"That's why it failed. You cannot turn an immortal into a lich. What other secrets do you have?" He gave her a suspicious look, and she arched her eyebrows.
"That was for you to find out," she retorted snippily. How could he do that after he had said something so important to her? She did not understand, and she resented him for it. "You cannot say that you care and then take it back in the next breath."
"You are still living, you deserve better."
"Better? Who is better? The drow? Your brother?" She knew it was a low jab, but did not really care. She wanted him to think about what he said, to realise that she wanted what she wanted.
He glared at her. "We cannot be. Even if I were to believe it was right, Alaric would never allow it," he said finally.
She felt as though he had punched her in the chest.
"Very well, seeing as your brother's approval is more important." Low again, but she was angry and hurt.
Sliding off the counter, she stalked past him and he made no attempt to stop her.
She had been stupid to think the lich actually cared, to believe he was even capable of loving her. Lich could not love.
She had been stupid for letting herself feel anything for him. She knew better than that. She had gone nine hundred years without once allowing herself to get close to another being, and now she had gone against her own rules. And he had rejected her. Ava was wrong, love was not better than safety.
Returning to her rooms, she made a decision. She was going to collect supplies, and she was going to hide out for a few days. She would give herself time to recover from this latest deviation to her life.
Grabbing a pack, she filled it with clothes, weapons and her poisoning kit. She did not know what else she would need out there, but for the time being, she felt she had everything.
Stripping off her clothes, she pulled on a fresh set only to stop at the sight of an odd mark on her wrist. It was in the shape of the amulet. Feeling her chest, she found the amulet was not there. The mark was four centimetres from top to bottom in a spikey pattern that resembled a star with four main points. It was completely white, and unless one was looking hard, it would not be easy to spot.
The mark only fuelled her anger, and she tugged on a long-sleeved tunic that covered the mark. Sliding on her gloves, attaching her belt and pulling on her boots, she headed for the balcony with her pack and headed down into the grounds. She did not want to pass the lich in her path to escape.
***
Dropping down carefully, she turned and headed in the direction of the castle gates, but found her path interrupted by the vampire twins. She had only ever seen them twice and their similarities threw her off. They wore the same black long coats with black pants, black vests and white undershirts; they also wore the same black wide-brimmed hats that hid their faces. They had been looking down as she approached, and she considered just breezing past them.
She was certain they had been talking, but she could not be sure.
She hoped to slip past them, but she was not that lucky.
"Princess," one said. She could not tell which one had spoken, for their heads had not lifted.
"Afternoon, Jaia and Kai, isn't it?" she asked slowly, trying to be polite, her mood still sour.
"Yes, Jaia and Kai." They spoke in unison and their synchronisation creeped her out.
"A pleasure. What are you doing out already?" It was barely sunset, and she had to wonder if their attire protected them from the sun. They were indeed wearing gloves and their black boots vanished into their trousers. Their hats covered their heads and their clothing covered every other inch of them.
"We come out to see the last shred of day. It reminds us of what it was to be human and it is not dangerous so long as we are careful." This time it was only one of them talking, but she did not know which one it was.
"I see—"
"But we have a purpose this evening," they interrupted her together. It was making her skin crawl.
Immediately she became wary of the two, somehow sure they were there for her.
"What might that be?" she asked, her tone dry.
"We come on behalf of King Alaric. He asks that you not leave the castle grounds. For your own protection." They spoke in alternating sentences, one man speaking one sentence and then switching it. It was irritating, or perhaps it was only irritating because she herself was irritated.
"My protection?" she asked, tired of the games the royal family played.
"There is a shadow in the city that hunts you. The shadow has only one goal, it is your death."
That made her pause, thinking immediately of Sasha. "What shadow?"
"Shadow is called Cain." They continued to speak, but her ability to listen had shut down as she connected the dots. Her people had found her.
"How do you know the shadow's name?" she interrupted. Her voice sounded distant in her mind.
"Met with Epharis and said he was hunting a fae woman. You are the only fae in the city and Epharis asked for his name, so he gave it," one of the twins said.
Fear flooded her as she tried to take in everything she knew about Cain. They called him Cain The Destroyer. He was the executioner for Queen Illia. Queen Illia was the ruler of the Celestrial people and about as friendly as an angry cobra.
"There are safeguards?" she asked as her eyes scanned the upper walls as though she might catch Cain creeping over like the spider he was.
"Plenty. You look different." The first voice had sounded calm, the second was curious, and she looked to see that the right twin had lifted his head.
It was the softer looking of the two, his lips slightly parted to show white teeth. He really was a shockingly attractive man, his oddly sweet, dark eyes taking her in as she did the same to him.
"Kai," the twin said.
She noted that the sun had set enough that the light no longer reflected down into the grounds. He had seen her hesitation and offered his hand. After a moment, she realised he was introducing himself.
She was surprised when he shook her hand instead of kissing it, as if she were his comrade and not a princess.
It made her feel good to be treated as something that was not royalty.
"It's nice to finally be introduced, Kai," she said honestly.
He beamed at her, the pleasure on his face confusing her. Why would he be so keen to meet her?
"Kai likes meeting new people. He has been eager to meet you properly since the dinner." The other voice was lower, mellower and calmer. But he held out his hand just as Kai had done and she accepted it. He did not shake her hand at first, but then gave a slight twitch of his head and did so.
"You have changed again," he observed.
She was struck by how attractive he was, so much so that she was struggling to contain a blush. She did not know what it was about him that appealed to her and why it had happened then but not at the dinner. It was incredibly strong, and it made her aware that she had no idea how to talk to him.
"An unpleasant turn of events," she said finally. The two men exchanged a glance as he released her hand. She was blushing, she knew it, but he really was just…
Cutting off the thought, she needed to keep her mind on the task at hand and not moon over him like a hormonal teenager, especially given what had happened with Epharis.
"You seemed to have recognised the name of this shadow," Jaia said, motioning back in the direction of the castle and the gardens.
Giving a slight nod, she headed that way with the two men. Oddly, the two vampires were the most normal people she had met in that place.
"Cain The Destroyer," she said in a low, bitter voice.
Kai opened the gate for them and Jaia motioned for her to enter first. She was a little startled by just how polite they were.
Stepping through the gate, she turned to wait for the two of them, and they set off again. With one of the twins at either side of her, she could not help but notice it was a defensive formation. They were protecting her while under the guise of conversation.
She found that she did not want to leave. They were friendly, and it felt good to hold a conversation with someone who did not want anything from her.
"What kind of name is that?" Jaia asked after a couple of minutes had passed and they had left the earshot of the guards by the gate.
"It was what he was given at birth. Executioners are bred and raised; they are given a name that they are expected to live up to," she said, letting out a slow sigh.
"Strange culture," Kai said, offering her a shy grin when she glanced at him.
"You have no idea," she said with a sudden exhaustion. Why did it all have to be so difficult? "How did you know Epharis had spoken to him?"
"We were spying," Jaia said unabashedly.
She stopped, looking between the two who stopped a step after her and turned back to look at her.
"You were spying on the lich?"
They nodded, Kai looking ashamed, but Jaia met her shock with level eyes.
She began to laugh then, helpless to the ridiculousness of the situation.
Kai first looked shocked and then grinned. "Told you she wouldn't be angry," Kai said, nudging his brother.
They were like little boys who had been caught doing something naughty, one defiant and one ashamed. She decided right then and there that she liked them both.
"Do you do that often?" she asked only after she had stopped laughing.
Jaia shrugged. "Any time we see him doing something odd," he said, a previously unnoticed tension in his shoulders easing as he offered a hint of a smile.
"Does Epharis do anything that isn't odd?" she asked. The twins exchanged a thoughtful glance before Kai shook his head. "You know what he will do if he catches you," she said, fascinated by the two of them.
"We know, but we're vampires, we don't get seen unless we want to be," Kai spoke brightly and after a moment of quiet wonder, the three set off again.
"Is there anything we should know about Cain?" Jaia asked, stepping ahead to open the next gate for them. This time he stepped through first, her following and Kai coming in and closing it behind them.
She thought seriously about that question, recalling rumours that she had heard and anything that might be useful. She looked at the two, slowing her pace and biting her lower lip. How much did she dare tell him?
"You have to understand my situation here. I am not free to leave; all I have left is my secrets."
The men stopped, exchanging another look before Kai shrugged. "We keep secrets better than anyone."
Jaia only nodded his agreement, his face serious again.
"I had heard rumours of how the prince had entrapped you. We are sorry you must suffer." Jaia spoke with the utmost sincerity and it was doing nothing to calm her schoolgirl crush.
Motioning to a table stone set up with four chairs, she sat down and the twins sat as well, looking interested.
"I take it you are spies by trade, or is that just a hobby?"
Jaia smirked and touched the side of his nose.
"I will sell you a secret, if you can find a way for me to free myself of the hold the lich has on me."
Kai frowned in thought, but it was Jaia who spoke. "It would want to be a big secret."
"It is enormous," she promised.
"Deal," Jaia said and offered his hand.
Feeling a surge of emotion inside her chest, she took his hand and sealed the deal.