23. Chapter 23
Chapter twenty-three
A whole day had passed, and nothing. We found nothing. The guard that had allowed her to be taken barely saw the creatures, so he was unable to give us anything of use. King Drezmore sent more alfar to help with the search. We spread out, searching every inch of our kingdom. There was no sign of her or the creatures the guard spoke of.
I tried to stay focused, but my worry was beginning to undo me. My mind raced with a million different ways she could be suffering at this very moment. I couldn’t stop thinking the worst. Otar was a psychotic mess. Thankfully, Gen’s order still held, and he couldn’t kill any of us, but that didn’t stop him from destroying everything he encountered.
At the end of the second night, Gaelin followed me as I retired to my tent. We scoured the map, trying to find any other piece of land we might have overlooked. We hadn’t traveled into The Frey, but that was protected land. The creatures couldn’t cross the border that we knew of.
“What if they took her into the rift?” asked Gaelin .
“We have no record of the creatures that cross ever returning into the rift. What do they want with her? That’s what we should be asking. Yes, she is an heir, but what do they want in return? Killing her would get them nothing. They must want something. They’re holding her as a bargaining chip,” I said.
“Ask the creature, Otar. See if he remembers re-entering the rift or what they might want with her,” suggested Gaelin. I nodded.
“Otar!” I yelled. Nothing. “Otar!” Still, nothing. “Guard!” I demand. One appeared in the doorway. “Find Otar and bring him to me immediately.”
“I have all of Urial looking as well. They are fanning out from the center of the castle to see if they can catch anything we might have missed,” said Gaelin.
“I’m sure your wife is just thrilled with this turn of events,” I said with hatred.
“I don’t care what she is thrilled about. All I care about is finding Gen.”
“Another thing we can agree on,” I said.
The guard came back into the tent holding Otar’s limp body in his arms. “What in Azeer’s name happened?” I said, throwing my arms out.
“We aren’t sure, Ambassador. We found him like this behind one of the tents. I believe he is … dead,” said the guard.
I walked over, taking note of the creature. He had no wounds that I could see. His breath smelled rancid, but no signs of poison. His talons were retracted, which meant he didn’t die fighting.
“Of course, you go and get yourself killed when I actually need you, you worthless creature,” I said, shaking my head. “Put him over there in the corner for now. The princess will want to revive him once we find her.” I turned back to Gaelin with exhaustion.
“We should get a few hours of sleep before heading out again,” he suggested.
I rubbed my hands through my hair. “I don’t think I could sleep, even if I tried.”
“Well, at least rest. We will find her,” he said, his face stoic.
“We have to,” I added.
I scoured the maps again after he left. I looked through the documented creatures for any similarities to the description the guard gave. I had to be missing something. I knew these lands better than anyone and yet, I still couldn’t find her. I pushed the papers off the table in frustration. It was late and most of the camp was asleep. I placed my thumbs along the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes.
“Where are you, princess? Where are you, Gen?” I whispered.
“I can help with that,” said a female voice.
I snapped my eyes to the opening of my tent. A beautiful humanoid with snow-like skin, long blue hair, and dark eyes stood tall before me. Ivory leather hugged her very desirable figure tightly. I stood slowly, trying to act natural.
“And who are you?” I asked .
“Doesn’t matter. Do you want to find your princess or not?” she asked with a smile.
I tensed my jaw. “I’m listening.”
“There’s an underground cave you and your little rats missed. It’s in your territory, not too far from here. Head northeast and you should stumble upon it. The entrance is at the base of a mountain. It is covered in poppies. She is there,” she said with a nod.
“And why should I believe you?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Have you had any luck with your search yet? No, I didn’t think so,” she said.
“Why are you helping us? What do you want in return?”
“Nothing. I owe the half-breed a life debt. I am just repaying that debt.”
“Then why not help her yourself? Why waste time coming to me?”
She raised her eyes slowly to me, as if I had hit a nerve. “I can’t interfere with the creatures, but I can send in the cavalry,” she said with a smile before disappearing into thin air.
I took a deep breath, rushing out of the tent. “Everyone, we move now!” I demanded. I gave directions and we headed northeast. My heart raced with anticipation. I’m coming, princess .
We found the entrance to the underground cave at the base of the mountain covered in poppies, just like the mysterious female had described. The entrance was small and well hidden. Easy to miss. Easy to hide. I made my way in, followed closely by Zerrial, Evinee, and Gaelin. It was dark and damp, but we continued down into the ground, following a single path.
The cave eventually opened into a small room, lit only by the small crack in the ceiling that allowed the moon and stars to squeeze their way through. We lowered our torches, searching for anything, but we were barely able to see. As we walked in, we spread out.
“Whoo,” yelled Evinee, stumbling back towards me. “Watch it, everyone, we’re on some type of cliff.”
“Do you smell that?” asked Zerrial.
“It’s oil,” said Gaelin, bending down towards something wet that lined the walls of the cave. “It looks like it travels the length of the cave, like a lighting system maybe.” I looked at the others; they nodded. I touched my torch to the oil. The flame spread along the path streaming through the cavern.
The light swirled around a ramp that we stood at the top of. The whole cave lit up in seconds. As it reached the bottom of the cave, the flame zigzagged and turned to outline an inverted pentagram. In the center of the pentagram was a body. It was female. My heart stopped. I misted to the center of the symbol as the others followed behind me.
Her hands and feet were bound with ulyrium cuffs. She was naked. Completely exposed. Her face was not beaten. Still as beautiful and flawless as always. From the neck down, her figure was almost unrecognizable. Long strips were gouged out of her skin. She was missing fingers and toes. Bitemarks covered every inch of her. Some were clean and others looked like an animal had torn through her flesh.
I fell to my knees beside her, taking in the nightmare in front of me. This was more brutal than I had ever seen the fairies or any other creature do to another. I felt myself shaking as I swallowed, trying to hold it together. Under her beautiful sun-kissed skin, an orange substance colored her veins. Gaelin moved towards her.
“Don’t touch her!” I yelled.
He stopped, backing away, as did the others. I took my black blade, cutting her hands and feet free from the chains. I cradled her perfect face in my arms, covering her body with my jacket. Her skin was cold and didn’t respond to my touch. I moved the stiff, blood-streaked hair from her face. “Princess, please wake up. I’m here. Come on, time to go home now.” Nothing. “Gen, it’s time to wake up. Please say something, please.” I waited to hear her insult me or come back with a witty response, but there was just silence.
I sat there, numb as I looked down at her. This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t real. It was a dream. A nightmare Icici had constructed. This can’t be real. I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“Eren,” said Evinee behind me. “She’s gone.”
I swallowed, realizing she wasn’t going to open her eyes. She wasn’t going to smile. I would never see her nose wrinkle as she laughed again. I would never get the chance to dance with her one last time. I would never get the chance to talk or tease her. I would never get the chance to make her happy.
I gently slid my arm under her legs and cradled her against my body. Without a word I stood and walked up the ramp and out of the cave with her in my arms. I called Eeri and took off, not waiting for the others to catch up. Her hair tickled my face, just like it had on our first flight together when I brought her to Doonak, but this time she smelled different. There was no lavender, no sandalwood. Only blood.
I landed at the entrance still holding her close to my body. I made my way to the king’s private chambers, where Firel informed me he was waiting. The crowds of alfar stared at us in silence, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t look. The doors of his chambers opened. The king and his brother stood by the fireplace in the middle of a conversation. They turned to me and their faces dropped in despair.
I walked towards them, not daring to let go of her. The king slowly approached, moving her hair from her face. He traced the smooth lines of her jaw as tears silently began to fall from his eyes. He went to remove the jacket, but I stopped him, having to close my eyes to keep the memory of her tortured body out of my own head.
“Don’t. You don’t want to see, my king,” I said slowly, almost unable to speak.
He took her hand in his. He looked at the three fingers she was missing on her right hand. He broke, collapsing to the ground as he sobbed more violently than I thought him capable of. His brother rushed to kneel beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder for comfort. It took all I had to keep it together. I stood still, waiting for my orders.
“Take her to Vena in the medical wing. Tell her to do a full examination,” ordered Prince Rythlayn.
I nodded, heading out of the room.
I got to the medical wing, where Vena was laughing with another healer. She turned to look at me and her face fell. Her eyes scanned my arms, taking in the body of her dead cousin. She walked over, trying to figure out if it was really her. She shook her head as tears fell from her eyes. She covered her face to hide her emotion.
“No, no, please tell me this is some type of sick joke,” she said, taking a step away from me.
I swallowed, wishing it was. “Your father has requested that you do a full examination of her … of the body. Will you be able to do this?” I asked coldly.
“No, no I can’t. I can’t do that to her,” she said, as her friend wrapped her arms around her shoulders.
“I will help,” said the other healer. “You can do this. We have to. We have to, so we can figure out what did this to her.”
Vena took a few deep breaths to calm herself. “Put her on the table,” she said.
I walked over to the cold metal table and laid her body down, unable to remove my arms from her. I squeezed my eyes together and willed myself to pull away from her, but I couldn’t. My grip tightened on her body as I felt my heart convulsively beating in my chest. Vena’s hand ran along my shoulder.
“I’ll take good care of her, I promise,” she whispered.
I slowly removed my hands from her, taking another look at her beautiful face. I ran my fingers along her jaw and then lips as I finally pulled away. Telling myself not to look back, I marched out of the medical wing and headed for my room. Other alfar called for my attention. I ignored them, not able to think of anything but her.
I entered my room, slamming the door behind me. I felt like I was going to explode. I shook uncontrollably as I looked down at my hands, still covered in her blood. The same blood that made her warm. The same blood that rushed to her cheeks as she blushed. The same blood that pumped through her beautiful heart.
At that moment, I lost complete control. I screamed as I moved through my rooms, smashing and destroying everything. I threw tables against walls, broke every piece of glass and pottery. I ripped at the fabrics and pillows that were scattered throughout my quarters. I started on my books, tearing the bindings and pages out of each of them, until I stumbled across my drawings of her.
I slid down against the wall as I held them in my hands. This was all I had left of the female who completely captivated me. Her smile and happiness. Eventually, my memories of her would fade, but these drawings were forever. I flipped to the one of her sleeping. The night I had put her to bed, after she had entrusted me with her deepest torments. She looked so peaceful that night. I couldn’t help but draw her.
I held the pages, trying to commit every detail to memory. I kept breathing, trying to hold back my emotions. Those same emotions I thought I was incapable of feeling. Knocks continued to come at my door, but I ignored them. I couldn’t let them see me like this: so weak and affected by her death. I just needed a moment. Just a fucking moment.