My pulse was racing as I knelt frozen next to Ian, paralyzed by the rage and hatred burning in his grandfather’s gaze. I knew exactly how he meant to “take care” of me, and I knew there was little I could do to stop it. I flinched as he stepped toward me, my hands clenched in fists against the cold marble floor. For the first time in years I wished I hadn’t taken my medication- that the cacophony of voices could save me.

“Wait.” Ian’s voice broke through my spiralling thoughts.

It shocked me- but his grandfather listened, pausing with his hand outstretched toward me. I could feel artificial magic gathering around his palm, a ring on his hand glowing with a dim, rusty red light; it felt like death, my throat tight as I fixed my gaze on that lethal threat.

“You think you can explain this away?” the elder man scoffed, his tone harsh and cold. “What reason could you possibly have for ignoring my orders again? Did you really not learn your lesson the last time I took care of one of your little pets?”

A cold shiver ran down my spine hearing his murderous tone, and I was certain I didn’t want to know what happened to the last arcanist who bore the mark of a contract with Ian.

The young man hissed in a breath between gritted teeth; when I glanced at him, his pale eyes were burning, spots of color on his cheeks. “You told me not to bring home something worthless,” he said. Though his tone was calm, I could hear anger seething just below the surface, Ian’s fingers curling against the rich carpet. “This one is far from worthless; he will be invaluable to my research.”

“Oh?” His grandfather’s tone was droll, sickening magic still slicked over his skin and his gaze not leaving me. He lowered his hand only to step forward, his fingers catching my chin to force my face up. 

My stomach churned as I felt the artificial magic crawl over my skin, the man’s grip tight enough to bruise as he kept me in place. The tendrils of magic crept down my chin, like trickles of thick, freezing liquid. I flinched as they met the rune placed on my throat, and there was a spark that lanced agony through me. It came with an audible crack and a flash of light; a faint relief filled me as the elder alchemist snatched his hand back.

There was an incredulous look on his face as he finally turned his attention back to Ian. “Where the hell did you find this thing?” Venom nearly dripped from his tone, but it didn’t completely cover up the fascination that had filtered past his seething anger.

Ian straightened slightly, quickly taking the slight opening it gave him. “I’ve been tracking it for months. The Gryffin hounds got their hands on him first-”

“You let somebody else snatch your prey out from under your nose?” His grandfather scoffed at him, the sneer reclaiming as lips as he crossed his slender arms. “Tell me you didn’t pay them for this little stray.”

Ian’s jaw clenched, his gaze dropping. His silence was answer enough; rage consumed his grandfather’s expression again. The elder man stepped away from me, his hand reaching out again- this time, to Ian, and the reason for the bruises around his neck became clear as his grandfather’s fingers pressed into the tender skin. Artificial magic snapped over his fingers, the faint scent of burning flesh reaching my nose; I had to swallow to keep from gagging, my hands curled into fists against my knees.

“You bring nothing but shame to this family- I should have left you to die along with your parents,” the elder man hissed, his dark eyes cold and cruel. “Don’t forget I can rectify that mistake at any moment.”

“I know that.” Ian’s voice was faint and raspy, struggling to speak past his relative’s hand crushing into his throat. The color had drained from his face, Ian struggling to stay steady on his knees as he looked up at his grandfather. “But you wouldn’t throw away talent like mine- it’d be a waste of all the resources you have already invested in me.”

For a moment they stared at each other in a frighteningly tense silence. It broke in the elder man’s hard, mirthless laugh; he shoved Ian back, sending the younger man sprawling to the floor. I was still motionless, not daring to draw attention to myself, as the elder arcanist loomed over his grandson. “You are indeed lucky you inherited some of my talent; if you were as useless as your parents, you never would have survived this long.”

Hatred flashed in Ian’s eyes, but he controlled it quickly, his expression solemn as he pushed himself back up. Rubbing at his throat with one hand, he didn’t dare to speak under his grandfather’s savage glare.

The meek silence seemed to satisfy the man, the murderous light emanating from the ring on his hand dimming. His dark gaze scanned over Ian, finally asking with a thinly veiled contempt, “Can you even control that thing?” He didn’t need to gesture toward me for Ian to understand his words as he added, “I won’t have our name dragged through the mud again for one of your careless mistakes.”

“I can handle him,” Ian’s tone was flat and expressionless, his pale gaze dragging away from his overbearing relative to meet mine. There was a silent warning in his eyes, his voice colder as he raised his hand. The ethereal links of the chain that bound me to him shimmered into existence once more, extended between us in a taught line of faintly glowing metal.

The ghostly lavender light reflected in the elder man’s eyes, a smirk pulling up his lips. “I suppose you are good for something after all,” he muttered, following the chain to where I knew it connected to the runes Ian had drawn in blood on my throat. “That will be nearly impossible for even something like him to break free of. Still, his kind warrants caution. If you make any mistake with this little pet,” he paused, eyes narrowed at his grandson, “I will ensure you can never put my reputation at risk again. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Ian forced out the words between gritted teeth; when his hand clenched, it dragged on the chain, slight pains radiating over my skin as I fought to stay in place. 

We were frozen in that stance for a moment before Ian’s grandfather grunted, shaking his head, and finally turned away from us. “Good- then get that filthy thing out of my sight before I change my mind.” The words were called over his shoulder without looking back as the elder man stalked toward the stairs, paying us no further attention- dismissing us as if we didn’t matter to him at all.

My shoulders slumped as the man’s feet hit the stairs, the relief almost taking my breath away as I closed my eyes. I was tired, my body sore from the tension which had filled my muscles. In my exhaustion I could see shimmers at the edges of my vision, hear the faintest whisper at the edge of my thoughts; my body and mind had been pushed to their limits, and the potion I had taken wouldn’t be enough to keep the voices at bay for much longer. I needed to rest, to regain my strength, before I became unable to control it.

A sharp tug at my throat reminded me I was far from safe still. My tired eyes opened to look up at Ian; he was standing in front of me, pulling at the chain to force my head up. “Let’s go,” he snapped, his gaze jumping to the stairs as he muttered, “Before he changes his mind and throws you into the breeding pits.”

I shuddered at the thought, banishing the pull of exhaustion to force myself to my feet. “Where are we going now?” I asked, my voice hardly more than a whisper as I began to trail behind Ian’s quick steps.

“Still have some spirit left in you?” He glanced over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised as he smirked at me.

I fought the flash of irritation, teeth gritted as I stared back at him in silence.

Ian gave a low chuckle; it made him wince, rubbing at his throat with his free hand as he turned forward again. “I’m taking you to the basement… to my laboratory. It’s the only place in this godforsaken manor where you will be safe.”

My throat was tight, shoulders tense again. He said I would be safe- but I knew better. I had heard tales of what alchemists did to my kind in their laboratories, thinly veiled torture chambers where they tore us to pieces. Ian may have spoken in my favor in front of his grandfather, but I had no illusions that it was for my sake.

He had plans for me, and whatever they were, I had to pray they didn’t include involving me in his twisted experiments. Because I was still defenseless, the man’s sick magic circling my throat, and I had no choice but to submit to whatever he asked of me… even if it led me down a dark path I could never have imagined.