VYSES WAS EXACTLY where Ravenna expected him to be — lounging lazily atop the golden throne, swathed in elaborate white robes, complete with glittering golden trim. A thin white crown sat crooked atop his head, speckled with rubies and diamonds. His elbow was propped against the elegantly carved armrest, his palm cupping his cheek.
His expression was completely and utterly bored.
Behind him, several hundred humans in heavy armor lined the walls. Swords and spears were grasped tightly within shaky, nervous hands. Their eyes pulsated with a crimson-colored spell.
She watched as Vyses's gaze seemed to focus on her. His expression brightened with a childlike sense of joy. He leaned forward, straightening within the chair. "Oh! Thank goodness you are alright," he said. Sheer relief dripped heavily from each word.
Ravenna maintained a stoic expression. She watched him cautiously. "Hello, Vyses," she greeted him.
His expression immediately darkened when he noticed Caelan walking up behind her. He slumped back into the throne again and pouted. "What is he doing here?"
Caelan remained silent. Ravenna took a small step closer to the throne, ignoring the nervous shifts of the humans behind it. "You know why we are here, Vyses," she said gently.
His wine-red eyes locked with hers. Another wolfish grin appeared. His canines glistened against the bright witchlight that illuminated the room. "I knew that you would come home, Ravenna," he said. His voice was earnest — genuinely filled with an overwhelming sense of happiness. "I just knew that you would come back safe to me."
Ravenna saw through him.
It was a ruse. His kindhearted words and happiness were a simple act, meant to put her at ease — and to lure her back to his side. Vyses knew that if he attempted to act friendly, it would make her question her newfound negative perspective of him.
It was a test. A test to see just how far gone she really was from his manipulative grasp.
"Vyses," she said. Her voice carried throughout the throne room, echoing against its towering walls. "You need to surrender."
She became keenly aware of Caelan's hand, which reached toward her own. His fingers curled around hers, squeezing tight.
Vyses's gaze instantly dropped to their hands. He stared at them for a minute. The childish pout faded away, transforming into something else. Something a lot meaner.
"Oh this is rich." He sneered at them. "Holding hands? How precious."
His snickers echoed throughout the throne room. Around him, the spelled humans shifted anxiously again. A broken, forced laughter bubbled past their lips — the sound a haunted symphony of torture.
Vyses leered at her now. "Tell me. Has he whisked you off your feet, Ravenna? Like a real fairytale prince?"
Her cool, collected composure slipped. "Is that jealousy that I hear, Vyses?"
Anger flashed within his eyes. "Hardly."
Caelan ignored the exchange and took a small step forward, toward the throne. He positioned himself between Vyses and Ravenna. His expression was void of any emotion. "It is time for this to come to an end, Vyses," he said.
"I am not interested in speaking with you," Vyses said simply. His eyes remained locked on Ravenna's form.
"Vyses," she said. Her calm composure returned. "You know that he's right."
A colder, calculating look marred Vyses's expression. Then his eye twitched and the expression vanished — replaced with another cheeky grin. He threw his head back, laughter echoing throughout the room again. Climbing to his feet, he lazily stretched his arms upward, over his head, almost as if he were exiting a bed.
From the corners of her eyes, she observed the white broadsword rematerialize within Caelan's free hand. Her eyes widened.
Another laugh bubbled past Vyses's lips. He bolted forward. His hands glowed. A simple dagger appeared, clutched tight within his right hand. Glowing crimson-colored irises zeroed in on Ravenna.
Caelan moved fast. The hand that had gripped hers shifted, grabbing her by the shoulder and wrenching her backward behind him.
A blast of white burned Ravenna's eyes. Tendrils of white magic whipped violently between Vyses and Caelan. Vyses lunged forward, narrowly avoiding the magic that lashed out at him. His dagger extended, forming a slender longsword. He drew upward and Caelan matched the attack. The sounds of metal clashing against metal echoed.
Movement drew Ravenna's attention toward the right. The humans shifted around, not moving away from the wall. Their stationary movements surprised her. She had expected them to lunge forward first, to take the brunt of their attacks against Vyses.
Instead, a dark shadow burst forward, lunging at her. She whipped around, her hands extending in front of her. Ice erupted from her fingertips. The dark shadow dodged her attack, swiping at her with a single dagger.
She stumbled backward, almost knocking into Caelan. In an attempt to keep from hurting him, she jumped aside — only slightly distancing herself from Caelan. Another blast of ice sliced through the air aimed at the shadow. The shadow turned toward her, following her movements. A cloud of icy daggers zipped forth through the air around her.
The shadow paused. She instantly recognized its facial features. Her heart stopped.
"Lyth." The name was broken on her tongue.
Lyth did not verbally respond — but she could see the painful awareness that withered within his irises. His small, shadowed body turned away from her and lunged at Caelan. There was a flash of movement.
Ravenna screamed out a curse. Her palms flew forward, jagged shards of ice bursting from her fingertips.
The ice shattered against a crimson-colored barrier. Ravenna screamed out again and blasted the barrier with more ice, watching in horror as it expanded — stretching until halved the throne room. Caelan and Lyth fought on the other side, their image tainted with red.
Feather-light footsteps sounded behind her. Ravenna whirled around, coming face to face with Vyses.
"Enough," she told him. Anger quivered within her voice.
His glowing eyes glared down at her for a moment, and then softened. The sword in his hand melted away. His hands dropped to his sides. He stood before her, his shoulders sunken. "Ravenna, please. Listen to me. I'm on your side."
She fastened a stoic expression upon her face and remained silent.
"I'm so sorry for how I treated you. It was awful — I was awful. But I panicked when I saw what Caelan did to Lyth," Vyses said. He shook his head and glanced back over his shoulder. Behind him, Caelan's sword danced, a shadow of lethal movement parrying every movement.
Vyses returned his gaze to Ravenna and continued, "I knew that I was next. With Lyth gone, he would come after me — and anyone around me."
He lifted his hands, holding them outward as if in a surrendering gesture. "I was just trying to protect you. I trusted that if he thought you hated me and were against me, that he wouldn't hurt you. And I was right."
His eyes turned pleading. "I am so sorry for how I treated you. I just didn't want him to kill you too."
She didn't bite. He switched tactics.
"He abandoned you, Ravenna." The words cut through the air like sharpened daggers. She grimaced and took a step backward. Vyses matched her movement. "You killed a mere clone. Caelan could have come to your aid at any moment. He could have helped you run through the kingdom. He could have helped achieve your goals. But he didn't."
Vyses's eyes blazed at her. "I did."
His hands curled around her biceps, fingers digging into her skin. "I sacrificed everything for you! My tavern, my apprentice — even my life!"
"I am the one that truly loves you, Ravenna," he shouted. His voice trembled with emotion, echoing throughout the throne room. "You know that. Deep down. He abandoned you when things went south, but I was there for you. I walked with you every step of the way. I did everything in my power to make sure that you could achieve your goals!"
A ping of sadness pierced her heart. She stared into his eyes, watching as a glaze of tears formed across his wine-red irises. His emotion built. Her sadness grew. The words that tumbled past his lips soon became muted to her ears, along with the rest of the world.
A familiar pearl of anxiety formed within the depths of her stomach, shifting and stretching as though it were a seed attempting to grow.
He was trying another manipulation spell on her again.
"Caelan is the true monster here — not me!" Vyses's fevered scream shattered through the wall of silence that had encompassed her.
"Enough, Vyses," she said. Her voice remained calm. She focused. A thin layer of magic spread across her skin, protecting her from any outside magic. His eyes widened.
She watched a tear escape, trickling down his cheek like a raindrop.
A feral smile broke across Vyses's face, contorting his face into that of a mad man. Laughter exploded past his lips, an echo that bounced against the tall diamond-marble walls that surrounded them.
"You genuinely believe that he cares about you? That he loves you?" The words were sneered. Vyses's eyes blazed at her. Anger. Betrayal. Hurt. So many emotions flashed within his gaze. "How utterly pathetic."
Anger boiled deep within her, an ever growing inferno that ravaged her veins. Her sword materialized within her hands. She pointed it at his throat.
"That is the difference between you and I," she said. Her tone was calm — each word carefully chosen. Her lips curled back into a victorious smile. "Unlike you, I don't care what Caelan thinks of me. My own self-worth is not based on his feelings."
Vyses narrowed his eyes at her. He knocked her sword away as though it were an insect. His fingers grasped her chin and jerked her face upward. Her gaze interlocked with his again.
"I see through you," he told her. His voice trembled.
"No," she said. In the reflection of his eyes, she could see her own irises begin to glow. "I see through you now."