She glanced over my shoulder at Fin, and then back at me. “Fine.”
Like speaking to a wild animal, I tried to keep my tone mild and soft. “What exactly did he use you for?”
Wrapping her arms tighter around herself, she tucked her chin, staring at her knees before she answered. “Anything he could. At first, I expected him to steal my power like he did all the fae he brought into his house. But then he started using me to make weapons, jewelry, anything he could use to trap more of my kind. I hated doing it, but he made it clear that if I didn’t, he’d strip me of my magic and then kill me. Back then, my self-preservation instincts wouldn’t let me give up.”
“But that wasn’t all he wanted from you, was it?” I prompted.
She shook her head. “After a while, he started wanting bigger magic, things that tapped me out completely. He started bringing in others for me to take their power and use for whatever he needed. It’s how I made the knife for him all those years ago. He wanted more weapons like that, but making it almost killed me, and I refused. It was the first time I tested his resolve to kill me, and he balked.”
“What other big magic did you do for him?”
She looked at me, her eyes filled with self-loathing. A feeling I knew well. “He used me to create a vault. A way for him to trap magic in metal and manipulate it afterward. Making it killed two other fae and almost killed me. After that, I knew I had to get away or I would never walk out of that house.”
Her gaze shifted over to Fin. “I wasn’t the only one he wanted. He planned to take you at some point too, but you’re too strong for him. He wanted to use your power to control minds to trap more fae. And once he figured out how to make your power his power, he planned to take everything you had left and kill you. He spoke about it often enough, using his horrible stories to scare me into doing his bidding. After he reminded me over and over how you were the stronger of us and you should have saved me by now but chose not to.”
Fin stiffened behind me, and I wrapped my arm over his around my waist. “I’ve been trying to find you, to save you, for decades. I never stopped looking for you.”
“It’s how he and I met, actually,” I piped in. “He came to me because he thought he was out of options. His research into finding you was extensive.”
I let my brain assimilate this new knowledge. It still didn’t explain why the Black Mage was coming so hard at me now though. I’d never been a part of his evil plan, only Fin and Melinda. I tried to think back to our last fight but all I saw was the Captain’s blood and I blocked the memory again. One day, I’d need to go back there, but not yet, and definitely not now.
When it came to long term strategy, I wasn’t the best at profiling. Short term moves were clearer to me, as well as the motivations behind them. The long-term game had always been more of Hawk’s purview. He could reason out a long game like a chess grandmaster, a skill I could never quite pick up no matter how many times he tried to teach me.
Pounding in the outer room reached us. We all glanced at the door. Helix moved to sit there, his back at the edge of the jam.
I sighed and shifted forward, ensuring I had easier access to my weapons. “I was hoping we had a little more time before they got through that door.”
“Me too,” Melinda whispered, huddled in the farthest corner by the water fridge.
“If they get into this room though, that means their magic will fail, right?” I asked, looking between Helix and Melinda for the answer.
“Yes. Magic is dead in here.”
Even if it would give us an advantage, the space was too small for any maneuverability.
“We can’t fight them in here,” I said. “We have to go out and try to fight in the bigger space.”
Helix nodded and stood, adjusting his weapons as Fin and I did the same.
I pulled my knives and glanced at Melinda. “You should stay locked in here. If anything, we can draw them away and you can escape.”
She glanced at Helix who gave her a slight nod. “Go to the meeting point. If we get separated, wait there. I’ll join you when I can.”
Helix opened the door and the three of us ducked out back into the weapons room. He closed the door behind us. The outer door to the room shook violently, at the same time I felt the sharp pull of my bond with Fin flutter to life.
“Zoey,” he breathed.
Helix was already two steps ahead of us, throwing one of his super wards at the door just as it burst apart in a shower of metal. The shards of metal bounced off his invisible barrier and hit the men who’d blown apart the door.
&nb
sp; “That was handy,” I said, waiting for the next wave of goons.
We braced as two more guys stepped into the doorway, over their fallen friends. “We know you’re there. We feel this ward. Let us in, give us the women, and we’ll leave you alone.”
“They want the women...” I said, pulling my magic around me to shield.
I’d learned getting gutted hurt like a bitch and preferred not to go down that way again.