Elara's POV
I wake up choking.
Something's wrapped around my throat tight, invisible, and suffocating. I claw at my neck, gasping for air that won't come.
Then, just as suddenly, it releases.
I collapse back onto silk sheets, coughing and trembling. My hands are still at my throat, but there's nothing there. No rope, no chain, nothing.
Except the bond.
I can feel it pulsing inside my chest like a second heartbeat. The connection to King Cassius. And I realize with horror that what I felt was him somewhere in the palace, something happened to him, and I felt it through the bond.
You're awake. Good.
I jerk upright. A girl stands beside the bed holding a tray of food. She's maybe sixteen, wearing a plain servant's dress, with cautious eyes that have seen too much.
Where am I? My voice comes out hoarse.
The Crown Mage's tower. Your new home. She sets the tray on a table. I'm Sara. I'll be serving you during your... stay here.
Stay. Like I'm a guest instead of a prisoner.
I look around for the first time. The room is beautiful expensive furniture, silk curtains, a massive bed. Like a princess's bedroom. But when I try the door, it doesn't budge.
Locked from the outside.
It's a cage, I say flatly.
Sara doesn't deny it. A comfortable one, at least. The last girl had the same room.
The last girl who died screaming.
I turn back to her. How long did she last?
Two years. Almost. Sara's face is carefully blank. Longer than most.
Two years. I have maybe two years to live.
My legs give out. I sink onto the bed, the reality crushing me. This is real. This is happening. I'm going to die in this tower, drained by a cruel king until there's nothing left of me.
You should eat, Sara says quietly. You'll need your strength for the power session this morning.
Power session?
Every morning, you'll be taken to the throne room. The court mages will make you cast spells to strengthen the king. It's... painful. The bond drains your life force to fuel his magic.
I remember the pulling sensation from last night, the feeling of something being sucked out of my chest. That was just the beginning.
What if I refuse? I ask, even though I already know the answer.
Sara's expression softens with pity. The bond won't let you. You'll obey whether you want to or not. Fighting just makes it worse. She moves toward the door, then stops. The girls who survive longest are the ones who don't resist. Just... do what they say. It's easier that way.
She leaves before I can respond.
I stare at the breakfast tray fresh bread, fruit, and cheese. My stomach growls loudly. I haven't eaten since yesterday morning, before my family's betrayal.
I want to refuse it. Want to throw it against the wall in defiance.
But I'm so hungry it hurts.
Hating myself, I eat.
An hour later, guards come for me.
They march me through hallways filled with servants who won't meet my eyes. Everyone knows what I am now. The king's property. Already dead, just still breathing.
The throne room doors open, and I'm pushed inside.
It's different in daylight less terrifying, more cold and official. Court mages in dark robes stand in a circle, waiting. And on the throne sits King Cassius, looking exactly like he did last night.
Empty. Distant. Bored.
Like I'm nothing to him.
I remember his warning through the bond run while you still can but looking at him now, I wonder if I imagined it. This man looks incapable of caring about anything.
Begin the assessment, one of the mages orders. He's old, with cruel eyes. We need to test her magical capacity.
Another mage steps forward. Cast a fire spell. Simple flame, nothing fancy.
I look at King Cassius. He doesn't even glance at me.
I've hidden my magic my entire life. My family always said it was dangerous, that girls with power were just tools to be used. Now I understand why.
They were already planning to sell me.
I said cast! The mage snaps.
The bond flares hot in my chest. Suddenly my arm moves on its own, raising without my permission. Magic pours out of my palm not a simple flame, but a massive burst of fire that roars toward the ceiling.
I gasp, trying to stop it, but I can't. The bond is controlling me, forcing me to obey.
The king's eyes glow briefly as he absorbs my power through the bond. And I feel it feel my life force being pulled out of my chest, flowing into him like water down a drain.
It's agony.
When the spell finally stops, I'm on my knees, gasping. My whole body feels weaker, hollowed out.
Impressive, the cruel eyed mage says. Again. Ice this time.
Wait, I beg. Please, I need to rest
The bond flares again. My hands move, and ice explodes from my palms. More power drains away. More of my life sucked into the void.
They make me cast spell after spell. Fire, ice, shields, light. Each one tears something out of me. By the tenth spell, blood trickles from my nose. By the fifteenth, my vision blurs.
That's enough for today, someone says.
I collapse forward, catching myself on my hands. I can barely breathe. Everything hurts.
Through the haze of pain, I look up at King Cassius.
He's watching me now, and there's something in his eyes. Not emptiness.
Rage.
It's gone in a second, his face going blank again. But I saw it.
Take her back to the tower, he says, voice flat and emotionless.
Guards haul me to my feet. My legs won't support me, so they drag me toward the door.
I hate him. I hate him so much I can taste it.
He sits there on his throne, stealing my life, and doesn't even have the decency to look guilty about it.
As the guards pull me into the hallway, I hear footsteps behind us.
Wait.
The king's voice.
The guards stop. I'm turned around, still hanging between them, barely conscious.
King Cassius stands a few feet away. Up close, I can see tension in his jaw, something dark flickering in his eyes.
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small vial filled with silver liquid.
Give this to her, he orders one of the guards. One drop in water before bed. It will help with the pain.
You're Majesty, the court mages said
I don't care what they said. His voice turns sharp. Do it.
He meets my eyes for just a second. And through the bond, so faint I almost miss it, I hear his voice in my head:
I'm sorry. I can't stop them. I can't stop any of this.
Then he turns and walks away, leaving me staring after him.
The guards drag me back to the tower. Sara is waiting, and she helps me into bed. Every muscle in my body screams with exhaustion.
Here, Sara says, holding up the vial the king gave us. He's never done this before. Given medicine to a crown mage.
She puts one drop in a glass of water and hands it to me.
I drink it, too tired to question it. Within minutes, the pain starts to fade. My breathing eases.
As I drift toward sleep, I feel the bond pulse gently in my chest. And I swear I hear him again, that desperate voice from before:
Seven days. That's all the time we have. After that, the crown will be too strong. Seven days to find a way out, or we both die.
My eyes snap open, but the voice is gone.
Seven days.
What did he mean? And why did it sound like he was counting down to something terrible?