Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
Senara
We had been escorted from the throne room, but then at the top of a flight of stairs, Thorn’s guards turned in a different direction and panic clawed at my throat. "No! Don't take him!" I cried, lunging forward. Strong hands gripped my shoulders, holding me back.
Thorn's eyes locked onto mine. The Sun Kissed mark a steady warm glow that should have been reassuring. "It's alright, Senara," he said, his voice steady despite the fear I saw flickering in his gaze. "Stay calm. They won't hurt you if you don't fight them."
I struggled against the guard's grip. "But we can't let them separate us! We have to?—"
The guards holding Thorn gave a tug at his arms, but he didn’t budge. "Look at them," Thorn interrupted, nodding at the warriors surrounding us. "They're powerful, skilled. We don't stand a chance against them in a fight."
I opened my mouth to argue, after all there were only four of them, but something in Thorn's expression made me pause. His eyes were intense, meaningful. A slight shake of his head.
Play along , I realized. Whether he truly believed we couldn't escape or not, he wanted me to act compliant. For now.
I forced myself to relax, though every fiber of my being screamed to fight. "You're right," I said, my voice shaking. "I'll...I'll be good."
Thorn's shoulders loosened slightly. "That's my girl," he murmured.
As they led him away, I clenched my fists at my sides, willing myself not to cry out again. My mind raced. What would they do to him? To me? How long before we'd see each other again?
The guard behind me gave me a rough shove. "Move," he ordered.
I stumbled forward, my legs trembling. Play along , I reminded myself. But how long could I keep up the act? And what would happen when I couldn't anymore?
The guard shoved me into a dank, dimly lit cell. The stench of unwashed bodies and despair hit me like a physical blow.
It took longer than I expected for my eyesight to adjust to the gloom, and I wasn’t sure how long I stood there, waiting. Eventually, I began to be able to make out figures in the darkness.
They were huddled together in groups, scattered around the cramped space. The more my eyes adjusted, the more I wished they hadn’t. The prisoners were all women, which wasn’t a surprise, but their gaunt faces and sunken eyes spoke of prolonged captivity and near-starvation. Then there were the bruises, swollen eyes, noses that had clearly been broken at some point and not allowed to heal properly. They weren’t just starved, they were abused.
I took a tentative step forward. "Hello?" I whispered.
The prisoners recoiled, pressing themselves against the far wall and into the corners, putting as much distance between us as possible. The two skeletal women that were closest to me exchanged furtive glances, then pointed at me.
Others murmured, reassured that I hadn’t pressed further forward into the cell. Still, they could sense that I was different, if it wasn’t already obvious by my lack of elven ears. In this place, it seemed that different was shunned.
"Disease," one of them hissed. "Look at her skin."
I glanced down at myself, confused. My clothes were filthy, true, caked with mud and blood from our battles. But disease? Then it hit me–they meant my moon mark.
"No, wait," I started to explain. "It's not?—"
The cell door clanged open and another woman hushed me urgently. A different guard, taller and broader than the last, stomped in. "You. Come."
Before I could protest, he seized my arm, yanking me out of the cell. His grip was bruising as he dragged me through winding stone corridors.
"Where are you taking me?" I demanded, struggling to keep my footing.
He remained silent. The only sound was the echo of our footsteps against the stone floor, until we reached our apparent destination and I could hear the faint sounds of muffled screams from neighboring cells.
The air was filled with the stench of fear and the tension was palpable. All of it made my stomach churn.
The guard shoved me forward through the open door and I stumbled, barely catching myself before falling to my knees. Torches flickered against the stone walls, casting dancing shadows in the chamber. The elf that had been waiting for me raised an eyebrow at the display but said nothing.
This one had a regal air, with finely woven clothes that contrasted the rough surroundings. His eyes were like chips of cold jade and calculating, taking in every detail of my appearance.
The scent of blood and fear was even heavier inside the room than it had been in the hallway and I knew what was coming. Questions. Answers. More questions. Violence. This was an interrogation.
"So," he drawled, looking me up and down as though examining a product, "this is one of our would-be conquerors." He picked at some imaginary lint on his tunic sleeve.
I blinked. "What?"
The elf's eyes narrowed as he looked back up at me. "Don't play coy. We know you and your companion were sent to seize control of our kingdom. Now, tell me–what were your specific tasks in this plan? What role was the brute to play? Were you supposed to, uh, seduce the king?"
My mind reeled. "There's been a terrible misunderstanding," I insisted with a shake of my head. "We came seeking aid, not to conquer anyone!"
"Aid?" The elf's laugh was harsh. "The fae would never stoop to asking help from 'savage elves', as you call us."
I shook my head again, even more frantically. "That's exactly why we came without royal permission! Please, you have to believe me. The fae lands are dying, we're desperate?—"
"Enough!" he roared. "I tire of your lies. Tell me, what does this takeover have to do with the blight destroying fae lands? Answer me!"
I slumped against the floor, despair washing over me. How could I convince them of the truth when they were so determined to believe the worst? Why would the fae courts only send two people?
“The blight is what we seek aid for, not conquering. It’s destroying us, we need help.”
The elf's face contorted with frustration. He strode towards me, his eyes burning with barely contained rage.
The elf sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before looking at me once more with those jade eyes. “We do know how the fae work, believe it or not. Your mark, your partner’s? They indicated that you are some of the most powerful warriors the courts have to offer. Why else would they send you here when you should be fighting this so-called blight?”
“So-called? Your border guards knew all about it. And we already told you we came without permission!” I exclaimed, exasperation edging my words.
He fell silent, and for a moment I thought he was actually considering my words but then the elf let out a dramatic sigh. "Very well," he hissed. "If you won't talk willingly, we have other methods." He turned to the guard who had been blocking the door this whole time. "Bring her companion. Let's see how she responds when we make him watch her suffer, or maybe she’ll give up the information if we make him bleed."
My heart leapt into my throat. "No! Please, don't hurt Thorn!"
The elf's lip curled in satisfaction. He had just proved that Thorn was an easy way to manipulate me. "It's just a threat...for now. But we will follow through if you continue to be uncooperative."
I trembled, torn between fear and indignation. How could I make them understand when they refused to listen?
Before I could say anything, try to convince them, yet again that we just wanted help, the elf waved a hand dismissively. "The stench coming off her is positively nauseating. Take her to be cleaned, and make sure she doesn’t have any of that blight on her. Even our head interrogator doesn't touch such filth."
As the guard dragged me away, my mind raced. What would they do to Thorn? How could I protect him? The thought of him being forced to watch me endure torture made me feel sick, as did the idea of me having to watch them hurt him. He was my weakness, that was the truth.
The massive guard shoved me into a bath chamber, where two maids were waiting. Without preamble I was stripped of my leathers before I was pushed under a steady stream of freezing cold water.
I tried to move out of the water, just for a moment but was roughly shoved back underneath where they scrubbed me from head to toe and inspected every inch in between. The water ran through a hole in the floor as it sped away, taking all the dirt and blood that had turned it a murky brown color with it. When they finished, they threw a coarse sack-like dress at me.
"Put this on," a female attendant ordered, her mousy brown hair pulled back in a severe bun and her tired eyes watching me as though she was just looking for an excuse to unload her own frustrations on someone.
I stared at the shapeless garment. "What happened to my leathers?"
"Those rags? Burned," she replied coldly.
To be honest, I was surprised she’d responded at all. Swallowing my pride, I donned the scratchy dress. It hung loosely on my frame, a far cry from my fitted travel clothes. With no underwear or breast bindings to wear I felt completely exposed.
When the maid shoved me out of the door of the bathing area it was back into the arms of the guard who had been dragging me around before. He led me back through the maze-like fortress, but this time we descended deeper, the air growing dank and musty.
"Where are you taking me now?" I asked, dread pooling in my stomach.
He remained silent as we approached a heavy wooden door. With a creak, it swung open, revealing a cell unlike any I'd ever seen.
My jaw dropped as I took in the occupants. Inside were three women – no, not women. Creatures I'd only heard of in legends. Demihumans.
One had long, floppy rabbit ears sprouting from her head. Another sported wolf-like ears and whiskers. But it was the third that made me gasp. Multiple jointed limbs protruded from her back, and long fangs extended past her lower lip, reminding me unnervingly of a spider.
"What is this place?" I whispered, unable to tear my eyes away from the impossible sight before me.
The wolf-eared woman snorted, her golden eyes glinting with the reflective back animal so often had before they narrowed as she looked me up and down. "Oi, guard! You've mixed up your prisoners. This one doesn't belong here."
The guard's lips curled into a sneer. "Filth belongs with filth," he said before he literally shoved me roughly into the cell and spat at me. "Enjoy your new accommodations."
The heavy door slammed shut, leaving me alone with the demihumans. My heart raced as I pressed my back against the cold stone wall, unsure what to expect.
The wolf woman approached, her movements fluid and predatory. "Well, well," she growled, "what manner of creature are you?"
I swallowed hard, weighing my options. There seemed little point in lying. "I'm fae," I said, lifting my chin defiantly.
Gasps echoed through the cell. The rabbit-eared woman's eyes widened to impossible proportions. "Fae?" she squeaked. "But...that's impossible!"
"We thought your kind were merely legends," the spider-woman added, her voice surprisingly melodic despite her fearsome appearance, though her fangs gave her a slight lisp. "Wiped out by humans ages ago."
I blinked in surprise. "Wiped out? No, the fae are very much alive. Hidden, yes, but alive."
The wolf woman circled me, sniffing the air. "She doesn't smell like a liar," she announced. "But if the fae still exist, why haven't we seen any of you before now?"
I hesitated, unsure how much to reveal. These demihumans were strangers, fellow prisoners, but still unknown. And yet, what did I have to lose?
"The fae have been isolated," I explained, "living in their own realm, separate from the rest of the world. But now..." I trailed off, the weight of our mission settling heavily on my shoulders. "Now the fae need help."
“Why do you keep referring to the fae like you aren’t one of them?” the rabbit woman asked.
“That’s a long story,” I hedged, not particularly wanting to share. “Does it look like we’re going somewhere?” The other woman said with a snort, and the term wolf-like grin came to mind as she watched me. I felt like prey, which made me look at the woman with the rabbit ears. Her nose twitched, which made me grin, which turned into a giggle, which devolved into hysterical laughter that had the three of them backing away from me. Maybe there was something wrong with me after all?