“There’s more than just attacking,” he said to me between smacks of the training sword, my arms jarred with every blow. “And I can see your intents clear on your face.”

I curled my lips in frustration and lunged forward to hit him with the blunt wood, only to be blocked again, the impact echoing through the weapon and into my limbs.

“Don’t ever play poker,” he advised.

We danced around each other, circling, our feet mirroring. I struggled not to trip over mine. I’d never done sword practice before, and I’d only been at this a few days. However, as much as I was loath to say of my captor, he was a good teacher. I got the distinct feeling that he enjoyed both teaching me and besting me at swordplay every chance he got. Though, if I’d been locked up by myself for centuries in a cave sealed by magic, I would probably jump at the chance to beat someone up as well.

He swiftly turned, giving me a beautifully wide opening. My eyes widened, I ran forward, seizing my perceived opportunity.

His foot curled around my ankle and I fell on my back, looking up at his blunt training sword hovering above my throat. His eyes were bright, smile mischievous, as he looked down on me. His hair had ruffled itself, now messy, since we’d started the lesson. His face was a tad flushed, the red in his cheeks only bringing out the green of his eyes. Something about them looked familiar, though I was positive I’d never seen them before. They elicited some sort of specific feeling, a sense of urgency, and familiar safety, that intrigued and confused me. He was an enigma.

He removed the practice sword, sighed, and extended a hand to help me up. I begrudgingly took it, standing once more, and tried to look him in the eye as best as I could. That was a difficult task to begin with, as I was at least a foot shorter than him and just about everyone else I knew. I glared at him from my vantage point, knowing I probably looked like a raging child.

“You’re improving quickly,” he said, “but you’re still pretty awful.” He turned away from me, his back to mine, ignoring my rage. He walked a few steps away, still refusing to face me.

I growled. This man – demon – whatever – had the ability to make me more angry than other living creature I’d ever had the displeasure of knowing. My fists balled up, the right one tightening against my wooden sword. That bastard is going to get it.

I ran at him again and jumped up, my sword raised up to strike.

But it never landed. A burst of telekinetic magic pushed me back, throwing me down onto the ground roughly.

“Assume everyone has their own agenda, darling,” he said, still turned away. “Nobody does anything out of the good of their own hearts.” He looked over his shoulder to watch my expression. “Nobody smart, anyway.”

I pushed myself up to stand, holding my sword in a defensive position, as best as I could remember. The point wavered, my hands shaking with resentment.

He telekinetically pushed me down again. I landed hard on my backside, the stone unforgiving, the sword clattering to the ground next to me. He smiled impishly.

I saw red. That goddamn bastard had the gall to bring magic into this when he was supposed to be teaching me how to swing a sword? My vision swam, my baser instincts took over as pure, unadulterated anger swarmed through my body. My fingers tingled, my skin heated, my extremities shook with my wrath. Oh, he was going to get it.

Something skittered about my knees as I sat on the ground un-ladylike, squeaking. The tiniest of claws scampered across the smooth stone. I looked down to see an army of mice running from every direction towards me. I would’ve been startled by that, except at that very second, the window slammed open. An arctic fox lept through, magnificent and elegant with its thick white fur. It jumped into the room and ran to me, its little paws padding delicately on the floor, almost entirely silent. I recoiled backwards, but before it could reach me, it stopped in front of my knees, and turned towards Zaavi in a stance unmistakably protective.

What on earth had just happened? The door pounded, the guards yelling about the commotion. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it sounded urgent. What were they worried about – was there an attack? Had Tomas finally found me, had Hazuzu and Selissa finally been able to send in a rescue team?

The open window slammed open again, nearly breaking the glass. A burst of wind swirled inside, turbulent vortices creating a tornado, scooping up a few books and a few stray mice, regrettably. Zaavi looked positively shocked during the entire thing, and if I hadn’t been so confused and shocked myself, I would’ve taken some satisfaction from his confused expression.

The miniature tornado widened, the eye of the storm encompassing myself and Zaavi, gently releasing the random mice on the floor with a flourish. It scampered away to join the rest of the mouse army that clamored around my feet. Shakily, I stood, the arctic fox leaning against my calves. I shot a look down on it, its teeth bared at Zaavi.

The wind swirled around us still, but the intensity calmed. Something floated in on a draft, throwing it into the center of the tornado’s eye, at Zaavi’s feet. Looking around carefully, the arctic fox watching his every move, he leaned over it carefully. He fluttered his fingers in some pattern around it, and it glowed for a second. Satisfied, he picked it up, no longer concerned about the parchment. As he lifted it, I noticed the seal. The color was the distinct royal wax. Hope rose within me, but I dare not show it. Or at least, I tried as hard as I could to not reveal what I thought. Though Zaavi had shown me some modicum of decency and kindness by not killing me and offering to teach me to fight, I was very well aware that I was still a prisoner here. Whatever that letter was, it had potential to be a lifeline or a death sentence. I stilled, stifling the fear that rose as I watched him examine the parchment carefully.

Zaavi peeled open the parchment and read whatever was on it, silently, to my frustration. Periodically he would flick his eyes up at me, then back down to the paper. After a few minutes I could stand it no longer. The wind around us, while still swirling, had become a lazy breeze, no longer a miniature tornado. It lifted my hair off of my face casually as it swirled by.

“What’s it say!” I shouted. The fox curled up around my toes, warming me, and no longer on the defensive, though it stayed at my feet. Whatever the deal was with these animals, I would have to figure that out quickly, or I would have a lot more pets than I knew how to take care of. The mice scattered about the room, their tiny toes scampering across the stone and finding hiding spots, though I could feel their beady little eyes watching us and waiting.

He met my eyes with a curious look. “If I ask a favor of you, would you do it?” he asked cryptically.

I raised my hands, frustrated. “I don’t fucking know.”

“I accept the terms,” Zaavi said to the wind spirit, ignoring my response. “We will be there, Callie and I.”

The wind swept through the room, scooping up a quill and ink, dumping it next to Zaavi. He took the hint, wrote his response on the back of the parchment that the wind had brought, and handed it back into the tornado, which had swirled back into its powerful intensity. It whisked away out the window, taking the parchment with it, and slamming the window shut behind it. That was fortunate, as the window must have been enchanted to keep heat inside, but when it was open, the cold outside was far too chilly for comfort.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I said stubbornly. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on.”

He tilted his head, calculating. “You promised me you’d tell me how to get to Hazuzu in return my teaching expertise. I’ve held up my end of the deal so far – but this asks for a step more than information, so I’ll offer you something to sweeten the deal. Ask something of me and I’ll grant it.”

I stared at him carefully, trying to determine his sincerity. I didn’t know what exactly he needed from me, but I knew he wanted to use me as bait for Hazuzu. Given that Selissa had sent the message, I could guess what they were trying to do. If I was in their position, I would probably try to lure him out so that I could fight him, kill him. And that meant bait. Was it possible that they were suggesting a meeting? I couldn’t think of much else that Zaavi would agree to. But he had offered me something, and it sounded like I was going to get out of here. But there was still something I needed to do. Zaavi had other prisoners here, obviously. The healer, from when I’d first gotten here, must still be here somewhere. I knew I had to try something, had to try and save him. He had helped me, healed me, and given me advice. I owed him this much.

I took a deep breath, releasing all of the tension in my limbs. The fox, who had been curled up at my feet, opened a sleepy eye, and settled back down. The mice settled in their hidey holes, relaxed with still wary.

“I’ll go with you willingly on one condition,” I said firmly. “Release the Healer, too.”

He looked at me, his smile growing as I spoke.

“I saw Selissa’s seal. I know that’s who sent the message,” I added when he didn’t respond. “That’s my request. Release the healer, and I’ll go.”

“You really don’t know, do you?” he said, the smile wide on his face. I wanted to smack it right off. “Have you ever heard the lore?”

“The what?” I said, furrowing my brows and growing irritated. He wasn’t acknowledging what I’d said. “Did you hear me? And what fucking lore are you talking about?”

“Back in my day, it was said that if a demon showed their true form to another, it forms a bond between the two that is unbreakable. Much like, soulmates. You’re forever affected by that person, as they know you at your truest self.”

“How interesting,” I said dryly. “What the fuck does that have to do with anything.”

“What’s interesting, is how deeply you seem to care for this healer that you barely knew, that you just met,” he purred. “Don’t you think?”

“He was good, and kind, and he doesn’t deserve to be your prisoner,” I shouted. “He helped me, and I want him to have his freedom. He deserves it.”

Zaavi’s smile brightened. “It’s intriguing that you feel that way,” he said, approaching me. “Do I look like a prisoner to you now?”

My mouth fell open. Was he saying what I thought he was? He was the healer? How could that be? And to think I’d been wasting my energy and time being concerned about the healer’s well-being, when this whole time, it was Zaavi himself. I felt foolish, chastened.

“I truly am sorry to deceive you,” he said, getting even closer to me. “It was never my intention to hurt you. I will not be able to release the Healer to my enemies, of course… but I can offer you your freedom.”

“What exactly do you mean? Tell me what the letter said – no, wait – what exactly is the favor you want to ask of me?”

“They wish to give me Hazuzu in exchange for you,” he said, confirming my fears. “If it were up to me, I would keep you both. You’re simply too much fun.” He sighed, looking into my eyes. “But I know you need your freedom. You’ll be allowed to walk home freely after the trade. I won’t come after you, won’t seek to steal you away. I shouldn’t cage such a beautiful and powerful creature like yourself. You have my word; I’ll leave you alone to your freedom after all this is over.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. It all seemed too good to be true.

“If you agree to go along with this for me, I promise you’ll be free.” He looked down at the arctic fox at my feet, still curled up, and now snoozing softly. “It seems that you have a new pet, too.”

I looked down at the fox as well. “Yeah, I don’t know what that’s about.” I scratched my head, ruffling my hair.

He looked at me curiously. “You remind me of your mother.”

I scoffed. “That would probably make sense.” Not that I knew at all what that meant. I’d never met her before, nor had I heard anything other than whispers and hearsay. I’d barely even come to terms with the fact that she must exist, and that there had to be more to her story than I knew.

“Do you know anything about her?” he said softly. “I could tell you.”

I looked up through the corners of my eyes, unsure. Who was this person? My captor, the evilest, most cursed demon sorcerer in history, the reason the demon hunter guild was founded, wanted to set me free and tell me about my mother? I didn’t trust this for a second. Everything about this was wrong, although I was dying to know. For whatever reason, he must have known her. I didn’t know much about her, had never heard Hazuzu mention her, and had barely even thought about her. Who was she in all this? Where was she? And why was he going along with all of this? It all reeked of shady plans, tricks and traps.

“I don’t think I can trust anything you say,” I said finally.

He nodded. “That’s fair.” He turned around to leave the room. “If you ever change your mind, let me know. I’ll leave you be.” He walked away, leaving me alone in my thoughts, feeling thoroughly confused about everything I thought I knew.