The Forbidden Compass Trilogy: Book One- Caged
Chapter 12

Mahna

Mahna watches Irelle, crying in a ball on her cot. Mahna has tried talking to her, tried comforting her. But Irelle doesn’t seem to notice or care. Krade is playing with his fire, and Fenn is occupied with his own thoughts.

Mahna turns her attention to making figures out of the dust, her own thoughts occupied with memories. She remembers her time in the cage. Despite that she had been imprisoned by a pack of wolf-men, that had been the best time of her life.

She thinks of her uncle, locking her in a tower. She has always assumed he had locked her there so she couldn’t take his place on the throne, locking her away until he could marry her off. She thinks of her betrothed, Prince Gormand, hunting for her. She never wants to marry him, no matter what.

She remembers her father, who had died when she was five of poisoning. Rumor was that his brother killed him, though nobody ever dared publicly accuse him. Mahna wouldn’t put it past him. She misses her father, he had always been kind, making her feel special because of her personality, not her beauty. She wishes she had been able to meet her mother, who had disappeared when she was a baby.

The stories say her mother had had Mahna far away, in her homeland, and on her journey back, she had disappeared. Her father had found Mahna tied to a branch of a tree, crying loud enough for the world to hear. She doesn’t know if they’re true, her father never talked about it. Her father had always treated her like a breakable glass, never letting her do anything dangerous. He probably hadn’t wanted to lose her like he had lost her mother.

Mahna stands up at the sound of cell doors opening. Guards are chaining Krade and Fenn. She feels her heart drop. They are being forced to fight each other! She hates the arena keepers even more, which she hadn’t imagined possible. She looks at Irelle, who is sitting up, her blue eyes wide and scared. Mahna follows her gaze. She’s looking at Fenn’s eyes. Mahna stares too, her heart beginning to race. Instead of their usual enchanting green, his eyes are blood red.