Isai’s voice was filled with admiration and respect, everything Barnabas had never given her. Her warrior championed her in all things. Even now, he was fighting against impossible odds to get to her.
Julija lifted her chin and looked Barnabas right in the eye, something he’d trained her never to do. “I have no master. I’m no one’s pet. And your games are anything but delicious, Barnabas. I find them cruel and vile.”
He smiled at her, his white teeth gleaming. There was no hint of amusement in his eyes. “I can see our lessons will have to begin all over again right from the very start.”
He glanced at the ground around her feet. It was bare of snow and still smoking in places. It was also stained red with her blood. “You destroyed Xavier’s book.”
“I did.”
He sighed. “You amaze me with your continual poor choices, Julija. That book was invaluable, although it is not necessary to me, just a mere shortcut.” He glanced uneasily over his shoulder, looking not toward the hellhounds, lightning and battle between Anatolie and Isai, but west. “We must go now.” He snapped his fingers at her and pointed to his side, expecting her to obey his command to come to him.
At once she felt humiliation. That moment when he had forced her to her knees and made her crawl, begging for scraps of food, begging for water. He made her pay dearly for every concession. She shook her head. “Go, Barnabas. Go before Isai comes for you.”
“Isai is nothing. I have no need to worry over him. The longer you resist, the more I will punish you. Do you remember how the lash feels tearing through your flesh? The pain of it?” He paused and let his gaze drift over her. Claiming her. “The pleasure?”
He was making her feel those things just with his words. With his breath. She countered, knowing she was feeling a little desperate, but trying not to show him.
Circle of light become a pillar.
Wrap around me as if a cocoon.
Holding back both words and sound,
That would seek to harm and wound.
“I see you think you have learned to protect yourself from me. Do you think your childish spells can possibly counter mine? You are a child next to me. I learned from my uncle Xavier, no more than a child working by his side. My father, Xaviero, also taught me many things, things Xavier had never learned. I also had the advantage of training under my other uncle, Xayvion, and, although he preferred to stay behind the scenes, in the background, he undoubtedly was the most powerful. I have the advantage of all three.”
As he spoke, his tone casual, almost conversational, his hands moved gracefully by his side, fingers tapping a rhythm on his thigh. He never spoke casually or conversed with her, not since he had revealed himself to be dark and cruel. She wasn’t in the least deceived. She knew it was an attack on her, she just was uncertain where it was coming from. She had protected herself against his voice—
The ground opened up, dropping her straight down. He smiled at her as she fell into the dark hole, the one he would bury her in and leave her in for indeterminate days and nights with only a small straw to breathe through. Dirt filled in all around her. His hands were up now, weaving a pattern, as he murmured his command. She kept her gaze fixed on that pattern as well as his lips as the soil consumed her.
As the dirt filled in around her, Isai’s voice poured into her mind. You are Carpathian, my love. The earth welcomes you. You have no need to breathe air if it is your desire not to. He cannot harm you by putting you in the very place that rejuvenates you.
Julija hadn’t considered the soil would revitalize her. It would regenerate her torn flesh and restore her. It took a few minutes to overcome her need for oxygen. She had to fight not to panic, but she was able to follow Isai’s steady breathing. Once she realized she could do it, she took her time thinking how best to counter Barnabas as she rose from the soil. Something to put him down hard. Very hard. She still had the little ritual dagger. It was small, but it carried a tremendous amount of power.
Her heart began to pound. If he was listening, he would