When Mina appeared in the open doorway, Tiyan could only hear the clanking of his bindings in absolute, stale silence. She was in one piece, wearing a blue dress, her hair pinned up, brown swirls falling in a thick cascade on her shoulders. She never wore dresses, not in Venklann Valey. All the girls in Inamora wore pants to protect themselves from the cold. Mina, in her dress, looked much more grown up. Out of place. As in the fey realm, she grew older and distanced herself from Tiyan with a barrier of silk.
His whole being longed to touch her, to see if she didn’t have hidden wounds, to hold her… and to feel that his life had a meaning again. His heart was shattered and rebuilt, all in three seconds, when Mina entered the room. He looked for trembling arms, fear in her eyes, something that would confirm his suspicions… but she stepped firmly, without hesitation. She was not afraid.
And now she saw him as he was. Bound, naked, covered in blood. His desperate concern for her and his hopeless joy at seeing her again couldn’t erase the feeling that he must look pitiful, and that alone would make Mina lose all hope that he could save her.
But Mina… was not afraid. She smiled.
She came closer, the horned woman leading her by the hand – like her own child. Mina’s eyes were joyful. As if nothing had happened, ever.
“Tiyan!” she finally exclaimed, but with a slight hesitation. A second between her words and the embrace around his neck… but Tiyan saw it. She hugged him, her small hands wrapped around his broad shoulders, pressing him against her small chest. Tiyan felt his world become brighter, fuller… but also… strangely hollow.
She planted a kiss on his blood-stained cheek.
And he couldn’t even return the hug, even though his hands were itching to hold her, his soul was tearing out to embrace her and show… what?
That he wasn’t useless. That he could save her.
That he was more than just a piece of flesh to be used by the Fae.
But her eyes showed true, unadulterated joy. How could that be real? A terrible, horrible thought crept into his mind, leaving bloodstains. It ate away at his sanity, leaving coal in its wake.
“Mina…” his voice was hoarse. Her forehead touched his, as they did at home. A silent gesture of understanding, love and connection.
Brother and sister. Inseparable.
“I am here, Tiyo,” she stroked his hair. Her smile… was plastered on her face. Not real. She called him Tiyo. Like in the old days, when he played with her with wooden toys and when he read her books. About knights and dragons. About adventures and heroic deeds. Not perfect times… but much more innocent. Mina was three when the Fae arrived. She didn’t remember those times, when life was counted in seasons and spring and summer still licked the trees with gold and green.
But Tiyan remembered.
“Did they…”
“No, Tiyo. They did not harm me.”
“If they had…”
“They didn’t. King Lorian has always been kind to me.”
That simple sentence hit him like a fallen tree dying under the lumberjack’s axe. Tiyan looked into her eyes to see if they were silently begging him to save her, to show that she was lying because they had ordered her to. But no. She was like… a doll. A pretty child doll, happy to see her brother. Her dress and pinned hair weren’t the only thing that separated her from him.
“Did he do this to you?” her voice was honestly curious. “He must have had a reason. He fed me delicious fruit and gave me beautiful clothes. You see?” she whirled around, sweeping the cloth over Tiyan’s outstretched arms.
“Yes, he did that to me,” he said bitterly. “Surely he had a good reason.”
“The Fae palace is filled with wonders,” Mina continued, unsparing. “And King Lorian allowed me to watch him punish escaped slaves.”
“Oh…”
“They are eaten by the trees. Have you ever seen anything so fascinating?”
Yes. Too often.
“What have you done with her?” he growled at the horned woman. His fists curled furiously. They enchanted her. Made her lose her mind for kind King Lorian and his grace. He showed her murdered people.
And took away her will.
That was worse than her death. That was the end of all things. For her. For him.
“She is the same Mina our hunters brought here. Same flesh, same blood… same eyes and mouth. Same beautiful hunger for life,” the woman’s smile was as innocent as Mina’s.
“What have you done to her mind!” Tiyan almost roared. The chains sang around him, clanking with melodic sound.
“She asked for it,” both Mina and the horned woman fixed their eyes on him. He felt as if those eyes were sucking the air out of his lungs. “She made a deal with my lord. But she forgot many words… and did not add many conditions…”
The woman was having way too much fun. Tiyan’s muscles worked furiously under his skin. They destroyed her. They took her away from him before she could even see her.
“Tiyo… are you alright?”
No, he wasn’t all right. He was furious, angry. And seething.
Like a furnace, his face turned red from the effort to break the chain and close his hands on this woman’s throat. Order her to offer him a solution, how to get Mina back. His muscles ached, his lungs seemed to stretch in his chest.
He wanted to be free. Even if they would kill him later. He longed for a chance, even more than when he had been used by Lorian. Mina. His only goal. His only family.
Someone he was afraid to stand up for. Because he never had a spine of iron.
Tears rushed to his eyes, fueled by anger and fear. Mina said something. The woman watched him with interest in her eyes.
We see your pain. We see your struggle. But you are where we wanted you to be. With your flame. With the power we offered you. That we have awakened. You are here to break the chains. To open our eyes. To give us the refection we can’t wait to consume.
The flames blossomed in his veins, this time not blowing around him in a storm of fire, but burning within him, fueling his hopeless rage. Overwhelming him with a hundred small fires that burned beneath his heated skin.
The chain broke.
The binding that held him by the neck fell to the bed.
Tiyan’s skin smoked, like coals. Gray smoke. The hair on his forearms stood up, moving as if under water.
“Oh, Tiyo… I didn’t know you could do that,” Mina smiled.
Tiyan threw once more. This was not the way. If he wants to help his sister, he can’t act like a beaten prey or a wild animal. He had to plan. As mad as it sounded.
“He won’t like that you broke the chain,” the horned woman shook her head, disappointed.
“Maybe bring another one,” Tiyan grinned. He felt so tired, but the small realization that all is not lost until he breathes again brought him an unexpected peace.
No matter what they do to him, as long as he lives, as long as Mina lives… it’s not the end.
And death won’t come so soon.
The woman’s eyes bored into him… beautiful blue, intense azure.
She had no aura. No will of the fey, she couldn’t force him on his knees.
And she was a human.