Potent

Emperor Benedict and the Masterminds gathered around the golden throne, all talking in hushed tones.

“Carlisle, do you think she’s lying?” the Emperor asked.

“No, Your Imperial Majesty. It seems that Valentine was smart enough to not clue her in on his plans,” Carlisle replied, smirking wryly.

“Aye, we’ve no choice but to use her as bait,” Malcolm said.

“Bait?” Tala hissed, her long, auburn ponytail falling over her shoulder. She was the Mastermind of Combat. “How is she going to bait Valentine into coming to the throne room?”

“Perhaps he has a soft spot for his accomplice.” Malcolm glanced at Gemini standing between her guards, a smirk spreading across his lips. “Who wouldn’t?”

“Malcolm, we all know Valentine. How likely is it that he cares about this girl?” The Emperor crossed his arms, clearly doubtful of the plan.

“What other options do we have? Valentine can’t be tracked. It’s impossible to find him, especially in the palace,” Malcolm pointed out. “The only way we’re going to catch him is to bring him to us.”

Emperor Benedict and the others sighed. They all knew those facts too well. Valentine had evaded them for so long, they were almost desperate for a victory.

“Very well. We use the girl as bait. Tala, make an announcement. Tell our guests… that they must leave the palace for their own safety and that we are trying to apprehend a criminal. We’ve found his accomplice but we are still looking for him.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.”

Valentine could barely make out what Tala was saying but he heard enough to mutter a few colorful words.

“I told her to not get caught,” he hissed, magicking his supplies back to Nebel Manor. Except for a small vial of a light blue liquid, which he stowed away in his pocket.

As he sauntered towards the throne room, the memory of his kiss with Gemini came unbidden to his mind. He let himself dwell on it for a moment before shaking his head and forcing himself to focus on the task ahead of him. “If it’s an appearance they want,” he murmured with a gleam in his eyes. “I’ll give it to them.”

“All the guests have left, Your Imperial Majesty,” Tala announced.

“Thank you, Tala.” The Emperor tapped his fingers on the armrest. Malcolm cleared his throat and knelt next the throne.

“Your Imperial Majesty, Valentine always honors his deals. He made one with this girl and it’s not complete. So even if he doesn’t care about her, there’s a very high chance that he’ll come.”

Emperor Benedict smiled tightly and looked at Malcolm.

“Thank you but I already knew that. How do we know he won’t surprise us and not come?” Emperor Benedict replied. Malcolm gave no reply, seeing as he himself didn’t know.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

The sound of three knocks echoed on the throne room doors. The Emperor nodded to his guards and they opened the door.

Mastermind Valentine sauntered inside.

Instantly, the room was filled with tension and unease. Everyone watched him glide up to the base of the platform where the Emperor sat. He was grinning and he winked in Gemini and Malcolm’s general direction.

Gemini refused to look at him again as Malcolm knelt on one knee next to her on the floor. Malcolm turned to her.

“Just out of curiosity, are you his--”

“No.”

“I didn’t even finish.”

“I know what you were going to say,” Gemini hissed, not looking at him. “And I know what you’re trying to do. What makes you think I’ll come crying to you after he refuses your little deal?”

“You won’t have a choice, my dear,” Malcolm whispered. Gemini felt a horrible chill go over her. Maybe going back with Valentine would be the better outcome to hope for…

“Well, you wanted me here,” Valentine announced. He crossed his arms with a smile. “Here I am.” He eyed each on of the Masterminds and the Emperor as if analyzing them.

“Valentine, enough with the witty words. You know why you’re here,” the Emperor said.

“Ah, yes. You have my maid.” Valentine chuckled. The atmosphere in the room seemed to drop further. Everyone seemed to be wondering why he wasn’t nervous or panicking. “Did you think I would fall on my knees and beg you to give her back? You all know me. Has that ever been my way?”

The Emperor shot a look at Malcolm as if to say, You were wrong, you idiot. “But I am curious. What do you want from me?”

Gemini shifted on the floor. Valentine was being cocky. That could only mean he had something up his sleeve.

“A sworn oath that you’ll never cross the board of the Trenn Mountains and you’ll never leave the Finsternis Stürtzen,” Emperor Benedict fired back, keeping his composure.

Valentine laughed again.

“You’re in a pathetic excuse of a position of power over me. What on earth made you think I would take that deal?”

“Maybe you’ve grown soft in your old age,” Carlisle suggested, smirking. Valentine tilted his head.

“And Benedict doesn’t know a thing about the history of Dunstorria,” Valentine quipped.

“But here you are, Valentine. If you’re not going to take our deal, then why did you come?” Tala asked, her hand on her sword at her side.

“To make a different one.”

The Emperor slowly sat up, narrowing his eyes.

“No. This is non-negotiable,” Emperor Benedict stated, firmly.

“Oh, I think you’ll make an exception.” Valentine held up a vial of blue liquid.

“And what’s that?” Carlisle asked.

“An antidote,” Valentine said, simply.

“For what?” Emperor Benedict crossed his arms.

“The poison in your wife’s veins.”

Gemini could almost feel the waves of panic, disbelief, and hatred flowing through the room. She herself was in shock. The Emperor was frozen in a look of horror that was rapidly turning into anger.

“You…” Emperor Benedict breathed.

No one seemed to be able to find the words to say anything. “That’s why you came to Kalt…”

“You got me,” Valentine said, shrugging innocently.

The Masterminds surged forward, weapons drawn, determined to make Valentine pay for what he had done. With a flick of his hand, Valentine stopped them from taking another step. Except for the Emperor, Gemini, and Malcolm. They found that they could still move freely.

Valentine chuckled, walking around the room, looking at all the helpless Masterminds. His face said it all. “Magic trumps everything. That is why you’ve never defeated me and why you never will. Your dogs can’t attack me, much less come near me. So unless you want me to crush this vial and its contents be lost… ”

Emperor Benedict clenched the armrests of his throne but he did not waver.

“And what is it that you ask for?”

Valentine approached the throne and walked right up to him. He tilted his head at the Emperor, as if he were thinking.

“Oh, I just want my maid back.”

The Emperor blinked at him. Gemini clenched her teeth. He wants me back just to torture me. He wants to finish our deals.

“With such a bargaining chip, you would ask for a servant?”

Valentine smirked at him.

“I have everything I want now. So yes. I would.” Valentine tossed the vial to Emperor Benedict, who caught it. Valentine sauntered over to Malcolm and Gemini.

Gemini felt Malcolm dig his fingernails into her arms. She gave a small cry, desperately hoping that Valentine wouldn’t notice. “You may be returning back with your master but make no mistake--I’ll be coming for you. And when I do, you’ll be begging me to send you back to Valentine,” Malcolm hissed in her ear.

Sheer panic took her over. Suddenly, she felt too frightened to move.

Suddenly, Malcolm gasped and clutched his right arm. Valentine had curled his fingers into a fist. Malcolm moaned in pain.

As soon as Malcolm let go of her, Gemini ran to Valentine’s side and hid behind him with tears in her eyes.

Malcolm glared at her with shocking wildness. “He will treat you no better than I will!”

Valentine clenched his fingers tighter and Malcolm cried out.

“We will see,” Valentine replied. He opened his palm and Malcolm heaved a gasp of relief.

They turned away, with Gemini still following Valentine closer as they walked through the frozen Masterminds.

Valentine turned around, giving the Emperor one last smug wink before waving his hand.

Gemini and Valentine disappeared into smoke and the Masterminds were finally released from his spell.

Gemini bit her tongue and tried to hold back her tears as Valentine silently examined her arms. Five cuts covered each arm like small snake bites, bleeding slowly. Malcolm must have dug his fingernails in deep. She peeked up at Valentine’s face to see if he was angered by this. His face was stone, expressionless. He briefly glanced at her and Gemini quickly glanced away, trying to stay still. Did he not care if she was in pain?

Valentine held out one of her arms. He ran his index finger over a cut. As he did, the blood vanished and there was no mark. He did the same to each cut on her arm. As he did her other arm, Gemini studied her arm in disbelief.

“It has been a long evening for both of us. We are in no shape to visit your family. We’ll wait until morning,” Valentine said, curtly. He walked behind his desk.

“Are you not… angry, my lord?” Gemini asked. Valentine turned around.

“Why should I be angry?”

“Because… I was caught and you didn’t get what you wanted--”

“Oh, I got what I wanted.” Valentine said, slightly gleeful. Gemini blinked at him.

“What, my lord?”

“The Emperor and his petty Masterminds now know they can’t overpower me or trick me. I simply showed them they have no chance against me. Because if I could sneak into Kalt, our capital, and poison the Emperor’s wife without them knowing… how can they possibly hope to stop me?”

Gemini gaped at him. He set all of this up just to flaunt his power over them… “Call it a power play, if you will. I did it all, just because I could.”

“But you could’ve asked for the throne, a mountain of gold, or the heads of all the Masterminds, or a dozen other things, my lord!”

“You think I want the throne?” Valentine chuckled, shaking his head. “Do I look like a king? Being a king is dull. Why sit back and play politics when you can sit back in the shadows knowing that everyone fears you? All I want is their fear. I don’t need a throne to get it. They fear me more than they fear the Dark Creatures.”

“And what if they start to lose their fear of you?” Gemini took an unconscious step back.

Valentine smiled coldly, as if he’d been waiting for her to ask.

“Then I will remind them. There will always been a little rebellion; it’ll keep me from growing bored.”

Seeing him smiling at the thought of spreading fear and forcing down rebellion after rebellion gave her chills and a growing emptiness in her stomach.

“You’re either insane… or… or brilliant,” Gemini breathed.

“Why not both?” Valentine grinned.

“My lord, they will not fear you for long.”

“And why is that?”

“Because they will see you for who you are and they won’t be afraid.”

“Oh? And just who am I?” Valentine looked extremely amused.

“A man who wants revenge on everyone because of what he has suffered and for the fear he has felt.”

Valentine’s smile melted. Gemini knew what she was doing was dangerous but he had to see that fear never lasts. “And once they see that… they will not be afraid of you.”

“Do tell me: Are afraid of me?” Valentine asked, his tone clipped. Gemini was thrown off guard. “Well? Are you?”

“I--”

Valentine snapped his fingers and she was thrown into the wall, pinned to it like a tapestry. He tapped his fingers on his leg and Gemini’s head suddenly ached. “I’m… not afraid of you! I’m afraid of… of what you can do!”

“Are those not the same?” He retorted.

“No! If you had no magic--I would not fear you!”

“Really? As a Mastermind, I was trained in the art of the combat--we all are. There are almost a hundred different ways I can kill you right now. Without magic.”

Gemini opened her mouth to reply but her headache got so intense, she let out a cry of pain instead. Valentine snapped his fingers again. The pain shut off and she fell to the ground. “You lie to yourself. You are afraid of me but you don’t want to admit that.”

“No…” Gemini moaned on the floor. “I… I think understand you.”

“You understand nothing.”

“Then make me.”

Valentine paused.

“Make you?” He asked, suspiciously.

“Yes. If you’re so sure I don’t, then make me understand.” Gemini slowly rose from the floor, glaring at him. Valentine narrowed his eyes. “Make me understand you.”

“I don’t think you’re in any condition to do that.”

“So you care about me now?”

Valentine stormed towards her, looming over, fuming with anger.

“I. Don’t. Care. Get that through your little head. Stop trying to find good in me. It’s not there, Gemini,” Valentine snarled.

“So you bargained for me at Kalt just to torture me again?” Gemini murmured.

“Yes. I thought you understood me,” He said, snarkily.

The following silence was tense. But he started walking away, as if he had already won.

“You were wrong, you know. The Emperor and his Masterminds could defeat you. You’re not as strong and powerful as you think you are, Valentine Eames’-son.” Gemini waited, hoping those words hurt or angered him.

Valentine tensed. His expression was like something Gemini had never seen before. In that moment, she knew she never wanted to see it again.

Valentine clenched his teeth and his mouth twitched. He started to move to do something.

“Valentine, stop!” Daniel-Kane stood in the doorway. Valentine froze long enough for Daniel-Kane to walked over and whisper in his ear: “Valentine. Let her go. Don’t do something you will regret.” He lowered his voice more. “Don’t become what you worked so hard to destroy.”

Those last words softened the hatred on the Valentine’s face. Almost with a sneer, he turned away. Daniel-Kane motioned for her to leave.

Gemini quickly walked to her room, horrified at what she had just done. Valentine had been on the verge of giving her a punishment she would never forget. She had insulted his pride. She had mocked him, even though what she said was right. As she sat on her bed with her hands over her mouth, she decided that she would never do that again. And to think that several hours ago we had kissed…