Chapter 5

“It’s ‘King.’” Osprey corrected. “I no longer go by Duke or Lord. You should know that by now.”

He moved closer and went to take my arm. I flinched and pressed closer to the wall beside me. Osprey stepped forward again and took my hand, gently pulling me into the center of the room. He gestured to take a seat and returned to his desk.

Once he sat down, I looked towards the door and wondered if I would make it out before his long strides caught up with me. He must have understood what was going through my head; he simply smiled and placed a hand under his chin.

“You’re free to leave my company, Cressida. However, I think you would rather have mine than Shrike’s. He can be a stubborn man, which is exactly why he works for me. People usually respond better with a little motivation.”

I had mixed feelings. Of course, I didn’t want to return to Shrike, but I didn’t want to be in Osprey’s presence either.

He folded his hands in front of him and set his piercing green eyes in my direction. He hadn’t changed at all. To say Osprey was handsome would have been an understatement. He had always been the one Lord in my father’s court who had women swooning at his mere presence. The Usurper was tall, with broad shoulders and a strong back. He was a formidable fighter and very intelligent. Package all that with beautiful deep brown hair, and you have an almost Faith-like figure. Attractive yet dangerous at the same time.

He had been my father’s best friend and trusted advisor. Osprey was younger than him by almost a decade. But that had not stopped their flourishing friendship while growing up together on the castle grounds. By my calculations, Osprey was twelve years older than me, but he nearly looked to be in his early thirties, just like me.

“You’re even more beautiful than the last time I saw you, Cress. I see you’ve changed your hair colour. Clever. I’ve been looking for a girl with fiery bright hair for ten years. I’ve also heard you were going by a new name. Would you prefer I called you that? Ida, was it? It suits you. If I am not mistaken, I think I heard your mother call you that.”

I was surprised. My mother had called me Ida, but only when we were alone. It had been her pet name for me. How did he know that?

“I don’t care what you call me. Why aren’t I dead? I’m a wielder; you’ve been killing every wielder who has crossed paths with you. Torture isn’t really your thing.” I said with my head held high.

I always thought they would kill me on sight once Osprey found me. It surprised me to have made it in his presence… alive.

“I have never had the intention of killing you, Cress. My plan has always been to keep you and your family alive. You are… important to me. When none of my men returned after I ordered them to retrieve you from your studies, I figured your annoying teacher had helped you escape. However, when your parents refused to tell me where you were, I might have slightly overreacted.” He refused to look into my eyes and preferred to look at the wall behind me instead. “Let’s call it a rash decision in the heat of the moment. I had waited for that day my whole life, then suddenly, years of meticulous planning all went up in smoke.”

He sounded almost like a pouting child. One ‘no’ and he had a tantrum. I felt my cheeks flush bright red with anger.

 “What was so important for you to plan a coup against my father? You were practically family!”

“Let’s just say you and I aren’t so different.” He pressed his back to his chair and looked at me with newfound hope, wearing a slight grin on his face.

I sat uncomfortably in the chair. I didn’t care that I was spoiling the upholstery, but I very much wanted to leave. My back was in agony, and I squirmed in my seat, very well knowing I was staining the seat cushion with my blood.

“What do you want from me?” I tentatively asked.

“All in good time, but for now, I want you to show me exactly what you are. My hunter assures me you are indeed part Faith. I simply want a demonstration as proof. I want you to embody your true self, Cress. You are so much more than what you think to be. Let me help you reach your full potential.”

I had seen what my full potential did, and I had no intentions of letting it out. Every time it took hold, I felt this burning desire for destruction and death, and people died—or almost did each time. I couldn’t control any of it. Heck, they could use me as a weapon. A hazardous one, since I didn’t have any self-control.

“And if I refuse?”

His face became sombre and his eyes darkened at my words. He clicked his tongue on his bright white teeth and moved his body over the desk.

“Then we will continue this treatment until you oblige to my request. I don’t think it’s a difficult one. I am simply asking for your collaboration.”

Osprey’s request seemed simple, but I felt he wasn’t candid with me. He didn’t just want a show of power. He wanted something else. Besides, I didn’t know how to bring forward the power that lived in me. It only seemed to happen when I was in danger or became highly emotional. I thought it might have something to do with my being bound.

“I’m afraid you’re wasting your time. I can’t give you what you want.”

Osprey lifted his arm and pulled on a rope hanging to the desk's right. A few seconds later, a footman opened the door and looked at his master.

“Please let Shrike know I am in possession of the girl. Bring him up.”

Before the footman closed the door, I heard a lot of noise in the corridors, with doors opening and closing and people yelling. I returned my attention to my captor and glowered. They must have still been looking for me.

“I’ll escape. You know that, right? You can’t keep me here indefinitely.”

“Oh, but you’ll find that I can. You are never leaving my side again.”

We sat, staring at each other in uncomfortable silence until the door to the study opened again, and I felt a hand press on my right shoulder.

“Bad pet. You should have known better than to run away from me.” Shrike let out slowly.

I shrugged and let an electrical current of energy pass over my body, zapping his hand off me. I forced a smile on my lips, directed at Osprey, then stood up and faced my jailor. He backhanded me on my cheek, and I instinctively placed a hand on it to reduce the stinging sensation.

“Do that again, and I won’t be as nice.” Shrike hissed through his teeth.

Osprey stood and came to meet his henchman.

“Keep her in her cell for a few days without food or water. Make sure she can’t pull another stunt like this one again. I thought you said you had everything under control. You clearly didn’t.”

Osprey’s voice was ice cold. It reminded me painfully of Xander when he had stood up for me when Silas had burst into my room before we departed from Starling Castle. I hoped Xander was alright wherever he was.

Shrike pulled on the shackles on my wrists, and I followed him with no resistance. What was the point? I had given them the slip once. I was confident I could do it again.

Harrier followed closely behind us. He stayed silent, as he almost always was.

I padded on the stone-cold floor to get to the underground cells. As a child, I never wanted to come to this castle section because I thought of how claustrophobic the small units were. Little did I know, back then, that I would spend a lot of time in one cell.

Before entering my prison, Harrier grabbed my arms and pulled them behind my back. The motion had me arch my spine, but it stopped when the shackles on my wrists prevented my arms from moving further. Shrike lifted a small vial and cocked his eyebrow.

“Will you be a good pet and take it? Or will I have to forcefully put it in your mouth again?”

I licked my lips, feeling the scar where the glass had cut the last time, and I opened my mouth, patiently waiting for him to pour it in. I didn’t have any choice. They would put it in whether or not I liked it.

Shrike pulled his lips into a tight smile and poured everything into my mouth. He waited until I had swallowed everything and opened my mouth with his hands to ensure everything had gone down. Once satisfied, he nodded at Harrier, who pushed me into the cell and secured the chain on a metal ring that stuck out of the stone wall.

I felt my body become heavy. It weighed me down, making the metal cuffs bite into my skin. My feet had become numb, and I noticed I didn’t have my shoes or stockings on. Did I lose them before coming here or when I ran?

It seemed colder than the last time I had been there. I had lost the slight warmth the top of my dress provided me. I hoped the thin chemise I had on would be enough to get me through the next few days. With any luck, my back would heal faster with Xander’s healing ability, and I would be able to go through the subsequent torture they would create for me.