Haven: Chronicles of Warshard (15 page)

“It seems fair, Corrin,” Emeril gave the young king a harsh look. He knew as well as they that this was a good deal, and it would allow them to escape, regroup and come back swinging. The only problem was, Kadia hadn’t stated her
terms.

“What do you want?” Haven
asked.

She had had enough of the run around. They needed to know what Kadia wanted and be done with it. If she wanted to let them go, then they needed to go. With the queen’s gaze on her once more, Haven’s stomach lurched. She suddenly knew, by the way that woman looked at her, what the queen
wanted.

“I want you, of
course.”

“What?” Emeril
gasped.

“You can’t be serious, Lady Kadia,” Corrin
said.

“Of course I’m serious,” Kadia laughed, approaching Haven. Her guards quickly circled her. “All I want is Lady Haven. Then you may go. That is my only requirement, my only term, and the only thing I want. You will not change my mind. I have things to do, so come along little
queen.”

“We won’t let you take her,” Blythe growled. They began to back Haven away from the queen. Haven’s horse whinnied as it was pulled
back.

“She isn’t yours to take,” Lareina hissed, drawing her
dagger.

“You’re all so
adorable
,” Kadia smiled. “You’ve already delivered her right to me. I’m not asking anyone’s
permission.”

With that, Kadia raised her hand over the ground beside her. From her gloved hand came shadows, swirling like dust until they reached the ground. The darkness twisted and curled on itself like a living thing, growing more solid and more palpable as it neared. The horses began to whiny and rear. Something about the shadowy fog felt as wrong to them as it did to the
rest.

“Retreat!” Corrin
shouted.

The group backed away, moving slowly in their panic to get to the trees. Before they could move into formation and begin a trot, the darkness sprang forward in the form of soldiers. Kadia laughed and her creatures
attacked.

Haven and Corrin’s guards fought valiantly to keep the dark soldiers at bay, while simultaneously removing their king and queen. Haven drew her own sword and sliced at the darkness, which bit at the legs of her horse. The beautiful gray dappled mare whinnied and reared, nearly throwing Haven from its back. Haven clung on, but dropped her sword in the process. Lareina’s horse nudged hers as it tried to escape, and suddenly each horse bumped into one another, trying to
flee.

“Leave the horses!” Blythe called to the group. “They’re useless like
this!”

At that moment, the rest of their small army emerged running from the woods, swords drawn and shields up. Haven watched as Kadia’s gaze whipped toward them. Her smile turned into a smirk. She flung her hand toward them and the darkness suddenly grew into waves, washing over her people and knocking them back. Haven quickly dismounted her horse, alongside the others. The stallions and mares took off across the
plains.

“So much fuss over one girl,” Kadia
cackled.

Haven grabbed her sword, just in time for a dark soldier to swing at her. She blocked the attack and rolled to the side. Lareina jumped in front of her, taking on the opponent. The soldier was suddenly not one, but two, and then not two, but three. Lareina took a step back. Haven dove forward to join her alongside Malka. The others were already locked into battles of their
own.

“Get Haven back to the trees!” Blythe called from somewhere in the fray. Haven could barely see anyone with the dark soldiers closing
in.

Swiping at them with her sword, Haven put all of her strength into fending off the beasts. Her adviser dead in the forest suddenly came to mind, pushing her. She would not have her guards dead, she would not risk her friends again. She would fight for them, as they would fight for
her.

Keeping an eye on her guards and attacking furiously, Haven took down as many as she could. The more that went, the more that came. The soldiers in the trees soon joined them, but still, they were overtaken by
shadows.

“Every swing is futile!” Kadia taunted from somewhere behind the wall of
darkness.

Haven plunged her sword into one’s chest, then ripped outward. The one good thing about these shadows was that her blade slipped through them with ease, almost as if they were simply water. “We need to get away from her,” Haven said through gritted
teeth.

“We will,” Lareina answered nearby, cutting the head off
another.

It was several minutes later when Haven heard a cry of pain. Whipping around, she watched as a shadow soldier ripped its sword through Blythe’s
shoulder.

“No!” Haven screamed, trying to dive toward
her.

A hand clamped around her wrist and yanked her off her feet. Haven toppled to the ground, barely holding onto her sword. She looked up to find a soldier bending over her, trying to grab again. Haven swiped upward, rolling out of the way. She nearly missed the thing, barely moving in time. She got away from one and right into the arms of
another.

“Haven!” Lareina shouted. Haven could barely see the blonde hair of her friend through the
fray.

“Lareina!” she called back as she struggled in the dark soldier’s
grip.

Suddenly an arrow shot past her face and she was
free.

“Malka!” Haven gasped. “Get Blythe out of
here!”

She never got a response. In the next moment she was stabbed from behind and her world went temporarily black. She came to seconds later; wondering if she’d actually passed out. Lying on the ground, Haven spit blood from her mouth. Her ears rang
painfully.

“Bring her to me!” someone yelled over the
commotion.

Haven struggled to her feet, only to have her arms grabbed. The shadows pulled her from her feet and dragged her across the ground, away from the forest and her friends. She tried to call for help, but her head was swimming. A long trail of blood lay in the grass behind
her.

“Haven!” someone
screamed.

Haven could see the fight for what it was now – futile. Just as Kadia had said. Her friends were overwhelmed. Soldiers lay dead on the ground. Blood soaked the
plain.

Before she knew what she was doing, Haven was screaming,
“Run!”

At first no one listened. Then she screamed it again. Haven caught Corrin’s eyes, Lareina’s, Emeril’s.
“Run!”

Haven watched as her friends retreated. Corrin grabbed hold of Lareina and pulled her from the fight. She struggled and screamed, but Haven was losing consciousness again. “Run,” she murmured. It was the last thing she said before she blacked
out.

CHAPTER 15

H
aven awoke with a start. For a moment she lay still, images flashing through her mind. Blood-soaked grass, bodies lying on the plain, a sword ripping through her friend’s shoulder. Lareina and Corrin’s faces as they retreated. The young king had literally dragged her away. Then she remembered why she’d blacked out. Her hand flung to her side. The wound was long healed. Haven sighed in relief and then started again when she realized how unfamiliar her surroundings
were.

Gazing around the room lit with beautiful morning light, Haven blanched. This room was absolutely stunning. Golden walls, decorated with burgundy-and-bronze wrapped pillars and adorned with jewels and large paintings of animals, places, and people she had never seen or could hardly imagine. Turning slightly, she looked over her shoulder to find a stained glass window, with equally strange images. Silks hung from the ceiling, along with a gorgeous chandelier. If she didn’t know better, she’d think she was
dead.

Haven decided to sit up when she realized her wrists and ankles were wrapped in leather binds, chaining her to the table on which she lay. Pulling on her restraints, Haven began to panic. She pulled and twisted the shackles until her wrists were raw and her hands bled. Even then, she pulled some more, ignoring the bite and sting of pain in her wrists. After several minutes passed, she sighed and collapsed back onto the slab. The dull ache in her wrists quickly faded. It was useless. She wasn’t going
anywhere.

“
Finally
you are
awake!”

Haven stiffened. Kadia swept into the room, wearing regal silk black robes. Her ash-blonde hair shone in the golden morning light and her blue eyes danced in a frightful way that had Haven
cringing.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” she purred, sitting in the chair beside the table. She took Haven’s hand and nuzzled it. “Trying to get away already I see.” Haven kept quiet, staring at her hand in shock. “Why do you want to leave me? We’ve only just met.” Kadia’s demeanor was somehow childlike. The way she smiled and looked, even her movements – they were all increasingly juvenile. “And your wound has already healed!” she gasped, searching through Haven’s shirt for even the trace of a scar. Haven knew she would find
none.

“I need to go with my friends,” Haven
said.

That was apparently the wrong thing to say. Throwing her hand down, Kadia growled and stood, pacing the room. While Haven had a moment to breathe she took in her surroundings again, finding there was more she had missed. In the corner by the window was a lush bed of silks, and a door at the far end of the room. It was slightly ajar, revealing a bathing room. Trying to get a closer look at the table she was lying on, Haven froze. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed the table of instruments beside her. Covering a metal sheet were knives of all shapes and sizes, as well as different metal objects she had never
seen.

Kadia stopped her pacing and watched the young queen. Her once childlike gaze had grown hard and calculating. Her eyes darkened and a smirk spread across her pale face. “You like them?” she asked, tilting her head toward the cart of torture devices. Haven gulped as Kadia approached it, sliding her fingers along its metal
edge.

“What are you going to do with those?” Haven
shivered.

“Many things I’m sure,” Kadia sighed, picking up a small knife Haven thought might be a medical scalpel. “I want to know how you work, little
queen.”

Turning back to Haven, Kadia eyed not her face, but her body. Haven couldn’t help but squirm under her gaze. “Please, Lady Kadia, don’t hurt me,” she said, her eyes glued to that
knife.

Kadia’s grin only grew. She ran her free hand from Haven’s collarbone, down to her hips, then her thighs. She stood straight again and sighed, “You can’t be hurt.” With that, Kadia stabbed Haven’s thigh, sinking the knife as deep as it would go. Haven screamed and blood gushed from the wound. She could feel the warmth wet her leg, then pool over the table under her. “Hush now,” Kadia purred, placing her fingers over Haven’s lips. Haven moaned and whimpered in pain, tears coming to her eyes. She struggled against her restraints, but Kadia continued to drag her hands over Haven’s body, poking every now and then with a knife, breaking the skin again and
again.

“What’s wrong?” she smiled, wiping the tears from Haven’s face. “Why are you
crying?”

“You’re hurting me,” Haven
whimpered.

“But you can’t be hurt, little queen.” Kadia ripped open the sleeve of her blouse. She brought a much larger knife over the soft flesh of Haven’s inner arm. Haven gasped, bucking her head back against the
slab.

“Please stop,” she cried, trying to pull her arm
away.

Kadia climbed onto the slab, bracing one knee on Haven’s hand to stop her struggling. Gently, Kadia dragged the knife over Haven’s skin. Haven grit her teeth to keep from crying out, trying with all of her strength to pull her hand from beneath Kadia’s knee. “You fuss so much,” Kadia snapped, throwing the bloody knife onto the tray. She sat back, straddling Haven’s hips as she watched Haven’s wound begin to
heal.

“Astonishing,” she breathed, utterly
fascinated.

Haven waited as the cut healed. Her arm warmed, the pain slowly subsiding. She breathed a sigh of relief once the sting
faded.

“How do you work?” Kadia asked, feeling Haven’s arm where the wound had sealed. “I must know. What are
you?”

“I don’t know,” Haven admitted. She’d always wondered herself. No one else in her family had this
ability.

“You’re incredible,” Kadia murmured. “Do you heal from everything? Burns, cuts, bruises, sickness? Could you drown, suffocate?” she paused, staring at Haven with what she could only describe as madness. “If I cut off a limb, will it grow
back?”

Panic lurched to life in Haven’s chest. Her struggle began again. “You mustn’t Kadia! Please! I can’t be killed, but I can still be
hurt!”

“Nonsense,” Kadia huffed. “Bring it
in!”

Through the main doors to the room came a tall man with a large black pot. Haven could feel the heat as it approached. “Please, Kadia, please don’t!” Tears began to flow freely. “You can still hurt
me!”

Kadia dismounted the slab and pulled a long prong from the hot coals. The end of the poker was orange like
fire.

“
Please!
” Haven
begged.

Kadia yanked up Haven’s shirt, exposing her midriff. “I want to see you heal again,” she said simply, her eyes wide with
glee.

Mad. She was absolutely
mad
, Haven thought, closing her eyes as Kadia brought the poker near. Its heat grew until it dragged across her skin. Haven couldn’t keep herself from screaming this
time.

“Stop!” she shouted,
“Please!”

Kadia laughed and watched as she healed, and then did it again and again. “Fascinating!” she cooed, absorbed in the act of defiling Haven’s body. “I knew you’d be perfect. You’re just like me, special in every way,” she said. Haven’s head lolled to the side like a ragdoll. She gazed at the blonde woman to find Kadia’s eyes wide and tears spilling down her cheeks. She screamed again as Kadia dragged the poker across her skin. Then it was lifted – and plunged through her
chest.

Haven blacked
out.

When she came to, Kadia had put away the poker and was obsessing over the healing wound in her chest. Haven gasped to life, the searing pain in her chest returning her to the waking world. She tried to move her wrists. The chains shook and she
groaned.

“Absolutely wonderful. You’ve almost completely healed.” Haven didn’t need the update to know. She’d still be unconscious if she weren’t. “My assassin said he shot you through the heart and you lived. I never believed him until
now.”

Haven looked at the mad queen. “
You
sent the
assassin?”

“Of course. I suppose he was telling the truth then, wasn’t he,” Kadia sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have killed him. Oh well,” she shrugged and covered up Haven’s bare chest. If the assassin had been Kadia’s doing, than Nikolai’s death was on her hands, as well. “You’re a marvel, Haven,” she played with the red ends of Haven’s otherwise brown hair. “There’s just one more thing I want to
try.”

Haven couldn’t suppress the groan that escaped her. Her entire body felt weak from the healing. Every ounce of her strength went into staying awake. She couldn’t bear much more of
this.

“Guards!” Kadia called, and two entered. The two men avoided Haven’s gaze as they removed the leather from her wrists and ankles. It took them several moments, during which Haven tried to come up with a plan of escape. By the time she’d gotten her thoughts together and tried to move, her bonds were gone and she was being dragged from the table. Hoisting her under her armpits, the men carried her toward the bathing room. “Just one last little thing,” Kadia purred as she slipped into the room before
them.

The running of water echoed through the small white marble room, striking fear through every inch of her being. She’d nearly drowned once as a child. It was the first instance her parents thought something was different about
her.

Haven knew instantly this is what Kadia had in
mind.

“Kadia, please don’t!” She thrashed wildly with all of her remaining strength. “I’ve drowned before, I will live! You don’t have to do
this!”

Kadia fixed her with a sweet smile as the guards pushed her to her knees on the cold marble floor. A large tub rested in the center of the room. “Of course I don’t have to. I don’t have to do
anything.”

“Then
please
don’t do
this
.”

Haven tried to catch her gaze and keep it, to break through whatever insane haze this woman was in, but nothing seemed to break through. The next thing she knew, Kadia was motioning toward the tub with her fingers. Haven was shoved face first, hands bound behind her back, into the tub of water. She struggled valiantly to get away, kicking her feet out, twisting her hands. With her awkward positioning and her quickly diminishing oxygen, she gulped down
water.

Her lungs burned and her eyes watered. She tried with all of her might to push away. This only earned her a whack on the head and pulled hair when she was shoved in further. Slowly, her muscles lost their strength and the fight drained from her body. Darkness crept in, and she was soon lost to
it.

When Haven returned to the world of the living, it was with a great gasp and water regurgitating from her lungs. When she could finally breathe, she sucked in more gulps of air. She lay on the cold floor of the bathroom, hair dripping in front of her eyes. Shivers racked her body. The first thing she saw when she looked up was the pleased look on Kadia’s crazed
face.

“I wish I knew more about you,” Kadia sighed
wistfully.

“I’ll tell you anything you want if you stop hurting me,” Haven said. At this point she would do anything to stop the constant pain. Though her body didn’t physically ache, her mind was tired. She could only take so much and the constant healing was
exhausting.

Kadia seemed to perk up.
“Really?”

Her childlike demeanor was back. Haven gazed at Kadia, trying to decipher if this was an act, or simply extreme mood swings. One moment she was a little girl, and the next a mad queen. Haven nodded.
“Yes.”

“So you’ll tell me anything? Anything at all?” Haven nodded, pulling herself up into a sitting position. “We can be friends then!” Kadia suddenly moved forward and hugged her captive, pulling Haven to her feet. Haven froze under her weight. “I knew you were special, beautiful and quite intelligent, but I never imagined you’d be my friend
too.”

Haven reigned in the terror coursing through her limbs and gathered the courage to say, “We’ll be the best of friends.” If Haven had to pretend to be Kadia’s friend in order to survive, she
would.

Kadia nearly squealed with delight, jumping up and pulling the knife from Haven’s leg. Haven gasped and her eyes watered. “A friend! I’ll have a friend!” she smiled and laughed, throwing the knife away and dancing back into the bedroom. “I can’t wait for us to share secrets, braid each other’s hair, take long walks in the courtyards,” Kadia rambled as she flew from her chambers entirely, leaving Haven to her
solitude.

Sighing, the young queen leaned back against the tub and looked up at the ceiling. Her torture was over for the time being, though Haven had a feeling it was only just the start of her journey with the mad queen. Curling up on the floor, Haven tried to fight the tears that threatened to
flow.

How had she ended up here? Her power had never seemed more of a curse. Over and over she remembered the stabs, the pokes, the prods, and the rod through her chest. She trembled at the memory. Though the pain was already gone, she could still feel its ghost against her cold skin. Pushing her dripping hair from her face, she peeled herself off the cold tiled floor and returned to the main
chamber.

Not long after Kadia had fled, guards came in to take away the instruments. Haven refused to let them see her relief. Instead she sat up in the soft silks of the bed, wondering if perhaps she could appeal to one of these men’s softer
sides.

“Hello,” she said tentatively, trying to garner the attention of one. “Why do you work for her? She only causes pain.” The man didn’t even glance in her direction. “Could you help me escape? Is there a way out?” he continued to remain silent. “Did you not hear what she was doing to me in here?
Please
help me.” Her desperation flooded
her.