Thralled

It felt as though the entire throne room held their breath and Adelia saw people leaning forward, the faintest noise of feet shifting cutting through the silence, her heart sounding lout in her ears as it beat faster, before servants grabbed the curtains.

King Harold's mage, who Adelia hadn't noticed until now and who stood off to the side, waved his hand, the candles on the chandeliers going out all at once.

There was a brief moment of murky darkness, before the servant's bodies strained against the large, heavy swathes of fabric and the curtains got yanked open with a strong jerk.

Morning light streamed through the windows, the sun at the exact spot where it seemed as though the windows were framing it. Pale golden light illuminated everything, made brighter by all the white snow and clear, blue sky.

Adelia's gaze immediately darted to Rowan and she noticed his faint tension, his body slightly leaning away from the light, but nothing happened. He did not start crumbling apart or dying on the spot, the light stealing his life away.

Instead, he remained hale and whole and he stared out the window with a bit of a squint, as though, while the sun didn't harm him, even the pale morning was quite bright to him.

A soft, slightly shaky exhale of relief escaped her and Rowan's gaze darted to her. The way he looked at her stole her breath away, gaze heavy and full of emotion and awed adoration. As though she was everything he could have ever hoped for in life. As though she had done something he had thought was impossible.

There was a beat of heavy silence, people clearly waiting for more to happen, before murmurs broke out and King Harold took a sharp step forward.

"What is the meaning of this?" he downright barked at the monster hunters, who glanced at each other uneasily, bodies tense and their gazes surprised and then uncertain. "You said he was a vampire!"

"Forgive us, your majesty," the oldest of the hunters was quick to answer, the angle of his shoulders no longer confident and battle-ready but startled and even stiffly awkward. "We were certain, he had all the signs." He hesitated then. "But no vampire can escape the sun, even the briefest exposure to it is a death sentence."

"If Rowan is no vampire, then I am not thralled, isn't that correct?" Adelia raised her voice and King Harold's gaze snapped to her, barely controlled rage in his eyes. She looked away from him to the hunters. "Release him, he has done no wrong and the only crime he was accused of was clearly a false one."

The men hesitated, glancing at King Harold and Adelia turned to him, too, speaking before anyone else could, "Will you continue to insult the Wilds or will you admit to your error and release someone you claim is your friend?"

King Harold's gaze was piercing as he stared at her and he snapped out, words sharp and hard, "You have no power here, My Lady, watch your tongue."

Adelia looked back at him, calm and tall in a way she had never dared to be around the king. "Will you keep an innocent man in chains then, my king? Will you demand another trial and if that fails too yet another? Has he not proven his true nature to you?"

"The test has failed," Baron Izna spoke up, his usually kind, elderly face hard and his voice rose to be easily heard. "Will there be war over false claims, your majesty?"

The entire hall was silent and the king's eyes were dark, his expression barely controlled. He was about to answer when Queen Nina turned towards him, murmuring softly. King Harold exhaled and swiftly got himself under control again.

"The trial is on pause," he declared. "It seems I was misled." With these words he gestured at the hunters, who stood silently in the middle of the throne room, bodies tense and expressions grim, though their eyes flickered with quiet alarm.

The king could have them punished severely if he thought they had lied to him and he likely would claim to have been fooled to save face. Adelia did glance at Queen Nina briefly, the queen not meeting her gaze as she stood supportive and quiet beside her husband.

If their plan worked and King Harold was thralled, no one would have to die today. Nor would there be war.

"I will investigate whose lies led to this," King Harold continued. "And in the meantime, Lord Rowan Morrow is a guest of my house." With a gesture from him one of the hunters reluctantly stepped forward, pulling a key from his pocket.

Rowan's wrists were unlocked and he looked at Adelia a moment longer, dark eyes adoring and admiring and grateful, before looking up at King Harold, his gaze going cool. "You have an hour, Harold."

King Harold waved him aside, as though his words were meaningless, but Adelia noticed the tension of his frame and a vein was surfacing on his forehead, revealing his simmering rage.

"I will stay," Adelia said and King Harold glanced at her, a frown appearing on his face.

Before he could say anything, her father's voice cut through the air. "You will do no such thing," he said, sharp and clear. "You have spent too much time already amongst these people, it is time you return home and get ready to marry Lord Emmertal."

He gestured to the side and Adelia realized with quiet surprise that she hadn't even noticed Lord Emmertal. He looked a little paler than usual and leaned onto a cane, but his gaze was as haughty and dark as ever and at the mention of the wedding his lips twitched up into a cold, eager smile.

"No," she said, voice steady and clear as she stepped forward. "I will do no such thing."

Her father's gaze grew icy, a cold rage there that had once cost her what she had loved most. Never again.

"You are a daughter of my house and you will behave like it," he said, his voice a clear warning to not push this topic again. To obey, to not embarrass him in front of everyone. To be the sweet little, pliant doll he had raised instead of a human being.

Adelia wanted to embarrass him so much he wouldn't dare to leave his castle for weeks to come.

She stopped beside Rowan, standing between him and her father and she lifted her chin. "I reject your name, your house, your legacy and your blood," she raised her voice, ensuring the entire, silent once again hall could hear really clearly. "I cast the name Aria from me, you are neither my lord nor my family." And at last, a sharpness seeping into her words she couldn't hold back, "The ties between us are cut."

"I am your father," he downright snarled at her, his icy anger gaining a sudden, searing hot edge Adelia had never seen before. She had always stopped at his coldness. But not today.

"You are not my father," she answered. She had left his house with these words, a public separation that everyone had been part of. It felt exhilarating, it felt freeing.

He had no right to her anymore.

A muscle at her father's jaw ticked. "You will have neither my money nor my support," he answered, a warning and threat in his voice. "You are cast into the cold alone, banished from my lands for all your life. Is that what you wish?"

He sounded as though he expected her to think better of it. To remember the luxury and comfort provided to her station.

"That is exactly what I wish," Adelia answered and held out her hand, Rowan's sliding into hers immediately, their fingers lacing together. "And neither are you welcome in my lands for all your life."

"Your lands?" her father barked out with an incredulous laugh. "You are married to none, you are allied to none and you better hope your words about your purity are true, or none will want you."

"I beg to differ," Rowan said in that moment. "Adelia is my lady and welcome in my home, she is welcome to govern my lands with me and stand at my side. If she wants, I will propose to her again, properly this time. And if not, she has the rights and power of a lawfully wedded wife, along with my loyalty and regard."

Rowan stared her father down, who actually appeared speechless for a moment. "You cast a treasure beyond compare aside. Your foolishness stands untriumphed and uncontested."

"And if she gets tired of Rowan, she will always be welcome in my lands," Iris spoke up in that moment. "For she is my dear friend and will be provided for, for however long she might desire it."

Her lips quirked into a crooked smile. "And I am not the only one who would welcome her. Your daughter is a powerful, smart woman and you are easily one of the dumbest men I ever met."

Her father looked as though he was frozen in place, rage and confusion on his face and her mother stood stiffly beside him. Adelia met her gaze for a moment and noticed the quietly pleading look her mother sent her.

No, never again would she allow her mother to sway her. She tightened her hold on Rowan's hand, who gave her a gentle squeeze back. She glance at her friends and saw Iris look at Katrina, who took a deep breath and their hands entwined.

"The name Adelia shall be struck from all family trees," her father spoke up in this moment, but Adelia refused to look at him or pay attention to him. She had nothing more to say to him.

"Enough," King Harold cut in. "The girl is no longer noble, let her choose her fate and come to regret it. Now, excuse us."

Murmurs broke out now as the nobility moved to leave the throne room, some voices raised enough for Adelia to hear what was being said. Mostly they called her foolish and shortsighted.

Izabel and Katrina caught her gaze on their way out and Adelia noticed that Katrina was clutching Iris's hand, a determined tilt to her chin. Adelia couldn't help but smile at her friends smiled at her in return, Iris grin all easy confidence and warm care.

Izabel and Katrina would be safe with Iris, so she didn't have to worry about anything.

Then she met Tirn's gaze, his wife at his side and she wondered if fatherhood had made him more responsible. Tirn's gaze was very confused and he glanced between her and Rowan, then down at her hands and Adelia stared back, tall and proud.

Rowan was a far, far superior choice to Tirn and she was very happy with him at her side. Tirn... looking back now, while he wouldn't have been a cruel or mean or terrible partner he would also have been... stagnant. Content to keep going as things were, without seeking change.

Tirn looked away, something uncomfortable on his face and he left with his wife.

Adelia looked at Rowan then, turning towards him as the throne room got empty.

"Are you well?" she asked quietly and he leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers.

"I love you so much," he whispered and she had to kiss him, ignoring the reignited murmurs of the last nobles that saw her display of affection. Something that was rather frowned upon in public.

Fuck them, she couldn't help but think and kissed Rowan once more.

That was the moment someone approached them and she looked up at Lord Emmertal, who stared at her with such acidic displeasure and something dark and ugly it immediately soured her mood.

"I will not take a discarded girl to wife," he said. "I suppose I must return to your friend, then." An unspoken threat was in his voice. Marrying Katrina would both help him save face and punish her for escaping him.

But Katrina was safe and Lord Emmertal had at most two more months left to live. Three, perhaps, if his mage managed to keep him alive a little longer.

"Take your leave, my lord," Adelia told him. "The king will speak with us alone."

There was a twitch across his face, incredulity melting into dark rage. But King Harold approached now with Queen Nina and he had no choice but to step back.

He turned sharply on his heels and left, but Adelia noticed how, despite his tall posture, he leaned a bit more onto the cane than expected. The magical illness was already sinking its claws into him. Good.

Sorceress Iva stepped up on Rowan's other side when King Harold reached them, the hunters gone, too, now. Only the king's court mage remained, lingering nearby, his gaze resting on Sorceress Iva, as though gauging how dangerous she might be to his liege.

King Harold cleared his throat. "Terribly sorry about that business, Rowan, but you understand I have to take such matters seriously," he said, speaking a tad faster than Adelia was used to, as if he wanted to brush everything aside as quickly as possible and move on.

Rowan, beside her, was clearly anything than happy, but she gave his hand a subtle squeeze. He didn't know about the plan she had made with Queen Nina, but her brilliant husband caught on right away.

"Let's speak in your study," he said. "You know I don't like any unneccessary ears listening in. Or have I lost that privilege along with these outlandish accusations?"

King Harold blinked in surprise, before he sighed and inclined his head. "Yes, I suppose. Come. But your sorceress remains here with my mage. Will your... will she join us?" He nodded at Adelia, who bit back a sigh.

A woman was either a daughter or a wife here, especially a noble one. He clearly had no idea what to call her now that wasn't also insulting.

"My darling Adelia will join us," Rowan answered, his voice gaining a warning, slightly chilling edge. "Or have you forgotten her name already?"

King Harold's face was a still mask of barely clung to control, before he stiffly offered her a half nod and turned to leave, adding, "Then my wife will join us, too."

Rowan glanced down at her, giving her hand a squeeze, before he turned to Sorceress Iva. "I'll be back in a minute, Iva. I'll meet you in the courtyard?"

Likely to teleport right back home. Sorceress Iva nodded and the king's mage stepped forward, offering to escort her out. She accepted graciously, while Adelia and Rowan moved to follow King Harold.

Adelia had never seen the king's personal study, but it was as opulent as the rest of the palace. He sat down at his desk, while his queen moved to stand behind him.

Rowan pulled the single plush chair at the side of the room over and he offered one to Adelia first, coming to stand behind her. The king looked puzzled, but clearly decided to let that go, looking up at Rowan instead.

"I do hope you forgive that little mess," he said, all charming, kingly smile on his face. A smile that expected to hear a yes, that always heard a yes where his desires were concerned.

Queen Nina gave Adelia a nod and she lifted a hand over her mouth, acting as though she was hiding a sudden yawn as she whispered, "Are you willing to thrall King Harold? The queen is willing to aid us and ensuring there is no risk of war if you do."

"Though I do wonder," King Harold continued in that moment. "Why are you only ever visiting at night? I have to admit the... hunters..."

His voice trailed off, his expression going slack as he blinked up at Rowan. Rowan leaned forward, a hand on the back of Adelia's chair.

His voice, when he spoke, made the world fade out along the edges even for Adelia, who was not even looking at him, "We are friends, Harold. You will cease questioning me on this, or accusing me of anything. And you will obey your wife's every last word."

King Harold leaned back in his chair, murmuring a blank sort of, "Yes, I will."

"Lovely." Rowan leaned back again and his voice returned to normal, leaving Adelia and Queen Nina to blink as the world faded back in, and King Harold sat still and silent, staring into the distance. "You will have to come up with a way to hide his condition, but he will do as you say."

Queen Nina exhaled softly, a faint easing of her shoulders. "I thank you, Lord Morrow. The court mage is on my side, so we will find an appropriate enchantment and otherwise my husband will be attending less gatherings, sending me in his place."

"Yes," King Harold murmured, head bobbing a bit loosely as his body seemed to try and nod. "I will."

Queen Nina stepped forward then, coming to stand beside her husband. "And we will keep each other's secrets," she continued. "And if you are willing to cooperate with me further, we can be great allies to each other." Queen Nina looked at Adelia then. "The three of us."

Rowan leaned forward to meet Adelia's gaze, his brow raised in a silently questioning manner.

"We shall write later to discuss our alliance," Adelia decided. They first had to deal with Alexzander before they could start thinking about hammering out the details with Queen Nina.

Speaking of which. "If that is all, I fear we must leave," Adelia said and got to her feet. "Do send Baron Izna my kind regards and please tell Alexzander that Rowan has perished in the light."

Queen Nina nodded and rounded the desk to escort them to the door. She told the waiting guards outside to see them safely out and Adelia couldn't help but quicken her steps as they headed down the hallway.

Rowan easily matched her stride and the guards were swift to do so as well. They reached the courtyard minutes later and Sorceress Iva started casting the moment they were at her side.

As soon as the swirl of blurring color settled into solid shapes again, Adelia couldn't help but exhale at the relief of seeing the Grim Keep again. And the next moment Rowan swept her into a hug, breathing a cool breath against her neck before he inhaled deeply.

Adelia hugged him back, clinging to his solid body, though he smelled like wet iron and moldy hay. Like the cell he had been kept in.

"Thank you," Rowan exhaled, one hand rising to lightly cup the back of her head, his touch gentle and carefully not disrupting her hairstyle. His nose brushed beneath her jaw and his lips pressed against her neck. "I thought... after Harold trapped me and I heard of his trial, I feared the worst."

Adelia hugged him tighter. "I would not have let you die," she whispered back. "No matter what, I would have come for you." She felt her shoulders relax, her body sinking against Rowan's. "The ring worked well, I hope?"

He exhaled something that sounded like a breathy little laugh. "I could not bear a direct exposing to the midday sun, but the morning and evening light will not wound me. My fierce lady, my brilliant, beautiful love, thank you from the bottom of my still heart."

He pulled back then to kiss her, emotion spilling over as they held on to each other, touching and reassuring that all was well, that they had made it out, that no one had been lost. Adelia felt a brief nip of Rowan's fangs against her lower lip, sharp but light enough to not wound her and it made a brief, pleasant shiver travel down her spine.

She wished she could have kept kissing him, to hold him, to curl up at his side and sleep, for the day not slept the entire night, but danger had not passed yet.

So she pulled back, their noses briefly brushing each other and she whispered, "We must take down Alexzander, he has orchestrated all of this in the first place."

Rowan pulled back a little further, his eyes glowing a deep red. "I have grown quite hungry, clad in silver as I was for so many hours," he murmured. "I can at the very least drain him dry." He smiled then, his fangs on display and his hands rose to cup her cheeks. "And if you have plans for him, I will gladly aid you."

Adelia was about to answer when the entrance of the keep was thrown open and Ivan and Miriam strode past the threshold.

"Glad to see you back!" Ivan called out, relief easy to detect in his words. "The message that something was wrong reached us only half an hour ago. What exactly happened?"

"We collected further fragments," Miriam said. "I think we have enough to see what exactly Alexzander did to the clerics."

"Why don't we go inside for that conversation," Sorceress Iva cut in swiftly. "And I can take a look at those fragments."

The sorceress ushered them into the keep and as soon as they were within Adelia's workroom, she got Ivan and Miriam caught up on exactly what had happened.

"Alexzander wanted you," she told Ivan at last, Rowan standing attentively at her side. "I don't know why, but it was his demand for either saving Rowan or saving our lands from war."

For perhaps the first time since Adelia had gotten to know Ivan, his face was utterly unreadable. A dark golden glimmer went through his tattoos for a moment and he exhaled slowly.

"Only Cynar knows this," Ivan said, then paused and grimaced. "But if Alexzander paid really good attention, if he read history books, he might have been able to figure it out if he was clever enough. Or paid someone who was clever enough to do the research for him."

Ivan was silent for a moment, before he took a deep breath. "What I tell you know will not leave this room, swear it."

"I swear," Adelia answered, Rowan and Miriam and Sorceress Iva echoing her. His shoulders eased slightly.

"Sometimes, though it's rare, gods fall in love with humans," Ivan began. "As it happened with the sun goddess and me."

Miriam made a curious hum. "That's why you're stronger than the other sun clerics." It was a statement but Ivan nodded all the same. "And if Alexzander was clever, or hired someone clever, he could have cross-referenced powerful clerics through the ages and realized what your relationship with your goddess is."

"Precisely that," Ivan said with a nod. "But even then he must have been looking for a way to get his hands at the gods."

"Can he?" Adelia asked. "If he takes you, does he have the sun goddess?"

"Ordinarily no," Ivan answered. "Gods don't die for us or let themselves get held captive for us. But... Alexzander has created something very tricky with that spell that turns people into crystals. My goddess has promised to take me and Cynar in after our deaths. If my soul gets destroyed, she'll lose me forever. And if she reaches out and tries to save my soul, the spell would take her, too."

Adelia heard sharp inhales, while she stilled. "So Alexzander doesn't plan to control the sun, he plans to steal it." A disbelieving sound escaped her. "And with the sun in the palm of his hand, what force can stand in his way?"

Who could afford to, truly? Would the sun disappear from the sky? Or would he just have all the power for a god at his fingertips while daylight remained? Either way, they could not allow that to happen, no matter what.

"Yes, that," Ivan sighed and reached up to take his sun amulet into his hand, his brows furrowing. "I try to tell her not to reach out if something happens, but I don't know... our connection is special, in all truth I fear even if she doesn't try to save my soul, the spell might still touch her regardless."

"Then we strike first," Rowan said. "We can't kill him, but perhaps there is something else we can do?"

"If we can break into his castle and steal his research, we can start understanding what he did to himself," Miriam said. "But I wouldn't be surprised if he trapped his place and put his research into some sort of magical pocket space." Her lips pressed together for a moment before she added, "I don't know if we have time for all that."

Adelia frowned and turned to Ivan. "Has he tried to give you things or invite you somewhere?"

Ivan paused. "You know what, he started doing so a couple of months ago. I thought it was weird and he cited wanting to smooth any ruffled feathers, but I never trusted him, so I declined both his gifts and his invitations."

Adelia began to mull things over as Rowan and Miriam discussed breaking into Alexzander's place, since the risk was too high for Ivan that one of the potential traps was meant for him, specifically.

Adelia glanced over her shoulder to where Sorceress Iva had used the various fragments to build a complete page, though it was easily visible that it had come from various different pages, there was even a bit of a stain on one corner.

"Would his spell work on him?" Adelia asked and the conversation fell silent as everyone turned to Sorceress Iva.

She smiled. "It works on anyone with a soul. As long as he didn't get rid of his, it will take hold. And the definition of faith is very loosely, if he has faith in himself, in his abilities, in his magic, the spell will consume all of that." She thought about things for a moment, before she added, "Even if he has a fragment of a soul left in his body the spell will take hold."

"It would destroy him," Miriam murmured, before she smiled, too, the green heart-beat-glow of her chest growing a little in intensity. "It doesn't matter that we can't kill him when we take his soul and his magic and whatever immortality he has achieved away with this."

"But how do we get him to touch his own spell-trap?" Ivan asked. "We can't hardly smack him in the face with it, because anyone who touches it gets affected, too."

So no one could hold Alexzander down, either.

Sorceress Iva and Adelia glanced at each other at the same time, a silent conversation taking place and the sorceress smiled at her. "I think we had the same idea just now."

"Yes," Adelia answered and glanced at Ivan. "Are you willing to play bait?"

"Oh, absolutely," Ivan answered without hesitatioin. "If you tell me what your brilliant minds hatched together."

"We do again what we have done ever since he made the mistake of giving me one of his sunstones," Adelia said. "Build a clockwork trap."

"I would suggest putting it into the floor," Sorceress Iva said. "The entrance hall would work best, since he's always just walked in."

"He has to touch the spell though," Rowan cut in. "How will you make him do that?"

"I suppose that is where I come in play," Ivan mused and Sorceress Iva nodded.

"We hide the spell in the stone and you will have to step on the one to trigger the mechanism once Alexzander is in the middle of it," Sorceress Iva said. "I never would have made such a spell-trap myself, but I can adjust it. I can make it reach through the stone to the nearest soul and keep it from exploding outward."

She looked grim for a moment. "Alexzander didn't care for the damage it did, so he never gave the spell any borders. It just extended until it ran out of energy."

"How do we keep him from running?" Miriam asked and Sorceress Iva gave her a sharp little smile that made her pause and then smile back. "Oh, I get to block the exit?"

"He can't teleport out," Sorceress Iva said. "Only once he leaves the keep will my protective wards let him leave." And with a small shrug she added, "I trust that you both can keep him in check if he starts flinging spells."

Miriam snorted. "I killed him once before, I can keep him standing still long enough for the spell to take him."

"Make sure he doesn't leave the circle," Sorceress Iva advised. "Or the spell-trap won't work." She tipped her head slightly to the side and added, "He might not even realize what's going on if we're careful enough."

Adelia turned to the page for a moment, before she asked, "I think I have an idea if you can make it work, Iva."

"Of course," Sorceress Iva said and waved her closer.

Adelia stepped away from Rowan's side, her fingertips brushing his hip in a quiet parting. She paused briefly to glance back. "Would one of you write Alexzander? He'll expect an answer by the evening at the least since he'll believe that we lost Rowan and that I'm desperate to protect our home from war."

"Of course," Rowan said. "I'll tell Lam to write him. What else should he add?"

"That Ivan will arrive two hours before sundown," she answered and smiled up at Rowan, a sharp little smile that saw a dark red glow appear in his eyes. "If you want, you can give him the fright of his life by appearing."

Rowan laughed softly and stepped forward to press a kiss to her lips. "I love you," he murmured. "I can't wait to see this beautiful trap of yours."

He pulled back and his fingertips brushed her cheek before he left, Miriam and Ivan stepping closer to Sorceress Iva and Adelia to get started on the trap.

"So this is what I thought," Adelia said and grabbed a page. "You let me know if we can do this."