up with the idea to use a changeling as a catalyst to come through the veil and increase her powers. Do you know what a changeling is?”
I hope I look believable as I shake my head, placing a curious look on my face before lifting my spoon and dipping it for another bite.
Pyke proceeds to tell me about the changeling ritual, which provides me no more information than I already knew except that he imbued the daemon that placed the changeling baby with powers so my parents wouldn’t notice him.
“What happened to the baby the daemon took?” I ask, my voice slightly hoarse with a welling of emotion. I pick up the glass of water and take a sip.
Pyke’s smile curves high, and his eyes gleam with pride. “She became a vessel to harness and transform magic.”
Those words strike deep, and I try not to sound affected. “Harness and transform?” I ask dully.
Pyke nods. “I stole my mother’s staff, which has the remnants of the meteor stone that she used to create Faere in it. It still holds tremendous power, and I used it to channel light magic into the vessel. Then Kymaris’ dark priests who came back to the Underworld with stone magic turned it dark.”
My stomach rolls as I get a clearer picture of what Zora went through. That she was force-fed magic, and then something else was done to her to turn it dark.
What did that feel like?
Was it painful?
It was certainly a horrible abuse.
“This… um… vessel,” I ask, coughing again to clear my throat. “She was just a baby, right?”
“Yup,” he says with a careless shrug. “As she grew older, she could take higher doses of magic. I’d sneak Nimeyah’s staff out of the castle, then visit the Underworld at least once a month to pump her up.”
I want to vomit. The few bites of stew sit at the bottom of my throat, threatening to spew out. “And what did this vessel do? Was she like chained up or something?”
“I honestly don’t remember,” Pyke replies vaguely, settling back in his chair. He crosses one leg over the other. “It’s not important, but I can tell you it tormented me because the entire time we were filling the vessel, my beloved Kymaris was in stasis.”
I don’t respond, not able to get the image of Zora perhaps chained in a dungeon like this and being force-fed magic out of my head. As a baby… a young child… a teenager… a young woman. Her life was beyond awful.
“Aren’t you curious what stasis means?” Pyke asks, not in a suspicious way that I didn’t ask, but more like he can’t believe I’m not enjoying his story.
I nod, smile, and pick my spoon back up while he talks. I force the food into my mouth while he tells me all about the things I already know. I nod, ask a few questions… try to appear interested and amazed at his cunning.
“Of course, when Carrick asked me to go on an adventure with him for the Blood Stone, I couldn’t believe the fortune that had fallen in our laps.”
“Why not just take the Blood Stone when we came out of Micah’s realm?” I ask, my tone pissy. “You had it in your hand.”
“It wasn’t the right time. I’m no match for Carrick, and he would have killed me had I tried to abscond with it then. Patience prevailed.”
“You must be so proud of yourself,” I snap in sarcastic irritation.
“Why yes, I am,” he says with a feral grin, rising from his chair. Clearly, he’s not happy with my tone. He honestly expects me to be impressed with him.
With a wave of his hand, I’m back on the floor with my chains in place. The food, water, table, and chairs are gone.
“Kymaris is right, you know,” Pyke says as he walks up to me, giving a light kick to the side of my leg in an almost playful manner.
“About what?” I ask, tipping my head back to see him.
“You’re nothing special,” he murmurs in contemplation. “We’re still a bit stumped why you’re the key to this prophecy, but it doesn’t matter. Once we get the Blood Stone, you’ll be less than nothing special.”
I give Pyke a sweet smile. “You flatter me. But what makes you think you’ll get the Blood Stone?”
“A message has been sent to Carrick offering you up,” Pyke says as he turns away and heads toward the staircase. “I can’t imagine he won’t jump on that, then we’ll have the