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Chapter 22: A rough awakening

Cael woke up and considered this to be a blessing. The rest… wasn\'t.

He didn\'t open his eyes, pretending that he was still asleep while covertly examining his surroundings. Cael was lying on cold, wet grass that did little to soften the hardness of the ground beneath.

His hands were bound in front of him, and the lack of movement made them sore. The rest of the aches in his body seemed like it came from either a light beating or a rough transportation.

His mouth tasted like metal and dirt because of the amulet still hidden behind Cael\'s cheek. He chose a good place to hide it, in hindsight; the glow of his own mana pool must\'ve hid the amulet\'s magic from the sight of his kidnapper.

The slight warmth of the amulet against the rest of Cael\'s mouth indicated that he got at least one message overnight, and now they waited for him to accept and hear them.

Oh, and his bladder was bursting.

*Father would never let me outside of the tower after this…*

There were voices out there, quiet and unfamiliar. Some of the speaking people emanated enough mana to be full-fledged mages. Two? Three? One mana pool Cael sensed was especially familiar.

The wind brought the smells of smoke and cooking food. Cael\'s stomach reacted to the latter with a sad pang of hunger.

A pair of footsteps approached to stop near Cael.

"I know you woke up, Oliveira." The familiar voice of his kidnapper reached Cael\'s ears at the same time as a tip of his boot reached his ribs. It wasn\'t a kick—just a nudge. Yet.

Cael opened his eyes and turned his head towards the kidnapper. Then he had to remind himself about the Sending Amulet in his mouth to not gape.

His kidnapper was a woman. A young woman with a low, husky voice, dressed in high riding boots, close-fitting leather pants and jacket. Cael\'s eyes followed from her defined, muscular calves to her thick thighs. Above that, and the woman\'s flat stomach, Cael saw her chest mounting over him.

It took Cael a longer while than he was proud of to actually meet the woman\'s eyes. Stormy and gray, they were full with no small amount of contempt. The woman\'s wide lips curved into a smirk.

"Look all you want, Oliveira—it won\'t ever be yours to touch," she said, brushing a stray strand of soot-black hair from her face. The rest of it was pulled back in a hairdo Cael couldn\'t see from his position.

*That woman… Could she be?..*

His suspicions were confirmed as soon as he sat up. Cael\'s eyes shot to the woman\'s right ear, where from an earring hung a Mage\'s Mark with three shining purple amethysts.

The woman, who could only be Enzo Nuvoloso\'s only child, Ginevra Nuvoloso, took two steps back.

"If you promise to be a good little hostage, Oliveira, I will unbound your hands and let you eat, drink and maybe even relieve yourself without help. Otherwise, I will let you suffer… and wet your pants. Which do you choose?" Ginevra asked.

Cael looked around. They were in a small military camp, it appeared, and it was early morning in a forest. Which explained the wet grass—the water came from the dew. There were only a dozen people… Few, but more than enough to stop him if Cael tried anything.

Ginevra alone was enough.

"I promise to not try to kill you all with a spoon," Cael spoke around the amulet in his mouth.

Ginevra\'s brows rose. "The lordling has a fighting spirit… You better keep it to yourself. Have you noticed your new accessory?" She gestured at her neck.

Cael mirrored the movement. His hand touched a finger-thick metal band. It was wide enough to not rub on his skin, but not wide enough to take off without unlocking it. Cael\'s eyes widened.

"Is it—"

"A shock collar? Yes. If you try to use any spells, you know what will happen."

Cael pressed his lips together. It was likely an unwise idea to annoy his kidnapper, but… The more she spoke, the more likely she was to give out something that would tip Cael about her plans. And those Cael could pass to his father through the Sending Amulet.

It was his best chance to escape.

"Actually, I don\'t know. Those collars have many versions. Father has an entire book about them."

"There are, exactly," the words were full of unspoken threats. "Lightning, heat, needles, acid… There are many ways to hurt a person. But yours is the least harmful. Just pure pain that burrows straight under your skin."

Cael paled a little. There was a heavy weight in Ginevra\'s words… Something that made him feel like she had seen each of those ways, and maybe used them herself. Something that made Cael himself imagine them being used on him in vivid detail.

Ginevra nodded. "And next time, better talk only when you are asked, Oliveira. Hey, someone, bring our prisoner some food!"

Cael\'s portion came from the same cauldron as everyone else\'s, and was paired with a cup of water. But before he went to eat them, Cael was permitted to go visit the nearest bush. One of Ginevra\'s soldiers watched him there.

It was more attention than Cael hoped for, but little enough of it that he could move his amulet from his mouth to his boot. Ginevra had taken away everything else from him that was magical or could be used as a weapon—which, at the point of kidnapping, was only a small knife.

And after Cael ate, came the part he was inwardly dreading. Interrogation.