24. TWENTY FOUR
TWENTY FOUR
POWERLESS
“ B reathe!” a voice demanded from a far distance. “You must wake up now. We have searched far too long for you!
I gasped as arms gripped me and held me firmly. A sensation of energy flowed through my body as if the universe itself poured it’s life force into my body.
“Tilly! Listen to me!” the voice persisted. “I won't let you die like this!”
The energy infused me like a drug, and I felt a strength and sensation I'd never experienced before.
“Since first setting my eyes upon you,” the voice continued softly, “my soul has become a restless wanderer. What is worse, if you die, my spirit will continue to suffer in infinite darkness for eternity.”
If you die. The words buzzed furiously in my mind.
Then I felt myself being frantically shaken with strong hands. “Wake up, now, I demand it!”
My eyes flew open. Shivering, yet damp with sweat, I gulped down air.
“What happened? “I croaked.
Cillian quickly gathered me into his arms. “What are you doing?” I tried to shrug free, but I was too weak.” I looked at his hands, the same hands that had gripped the Elorium with such violence in the cellar and wondered how they could feel so gentle now.
“Tilly, It's all right! You’re safe. Just breathe.”
Panting for breath, I stared wildly at him, at first without recognition until my pounding heartbeat settled and the confusion in my mind began to clear.
I stared into Cillian’s warm eyes, before sagging against his chest. Gently, he stroked my hair.
“Don’t worry,” he said softly. “No one’s going to harm you. ”
Still feeling dazed, I looked down at the cream brocade divan I sat on.
At first, it was unfamiliar until I gazed around and realised, we were in the opulent room of paintings.
Seeing all those masked faces in the portraits sent a shiver through me.
I hadn’t set foot into this room since my experience with the voices and the chamber, and I had no desire to be there now.
I tried to rise but Cillian held me firmly in his arms.
“Easy, Tilly, you’re still in shock. There’s nowhere you've to rush off to. You’re safe now.”
I looked at him and wondered at his words. Yes, I was safe...for the moment.
Cillian placed his hands over mine and briefly closed his eyes.
Comforting warmth emanated from his fingers and coursed into my flesh.
His fingers tightened slightly, as though he were afraid that if he let go, I might slip away again.
I didn’t want to feel anything for him, but his touch was gently comforting, and it gradually diminished the pain.
“What happened to me?” I asked barely able to speak because of the pain that still resonated from my lungs. “How did I get here?”
Cillian hesitated before answering, his jaw tightened as though the memory unsettled him. “You don’t remember?”
Images from the cellar emerged from the fog of my mind, growing clearer as I recalled the Elorium and the terrifying events I witnessed until I lost consciousness.
“The Elorium fed on your energy,” he said with a genuine concern. “Even though Seraphina’s spells should have controlled the creature, she still found a way to drain you.”
“Drain me?”
“We took you to your room after the Elorium fed on your energy, but you didn’t want to stay there.”
I looked around uneasily. “Why am I in this room? Did you bring me here?”
“You were sleeping. All night you’ve been drifting in and out of consciousness. When I went to check on you earlier, I found you wandering in the hallway staring at the tapestries. I tried to take you back to your room, but you refused and insisted you wanted to come here.”
A humourless smile tugged at my lips.
“Of course I did. Why wouldn’t I wander into the one room that terrifies me the most in this place?”
Cillian’s brows frown.
“At least you’re smiling,” he murmured, a soft warmth in his voice. “There’s nothing to fear in this room, Tilly.”
If only he knew. I already felt uneasy and wanted desperately to get away from the faces in the portraits. What would compel me to come here? My mind whirled with too many questions.
“You said I was...unconscious?”
“Yes, for a while we weren’t even sure if we could bring you back. I’ve been channelling healing energy into you, but the Elorium managed to severely drain you even in the short time you were exposed to her.”
I shuddered at the thought of the creature.
That she possessed such power to even challenge Seraphina and the brothers concerned me and caused me to feel more helpless than ever.
Still… a tiny, treacherous spark of satisfaction flickered through me.
At least it had been worth it to see their faces squirm, even if it had nearly killed me.
“Tell me about that creature, the one you call the Elorium,” I said, not wanting to dwell on the slightly shifting images in the portraits, their painted eyes following me as if aware.
“Tilly, the Elorium isn’t like anything from your world,” he said quietly.
“She’s from one of the higher Orders, her kind are closer to the Divine than most in my world.
Their kind were born with gifts that can drain or restore life.
It’s said their power is granted from Vareth himself.
That’s why she was able to take so much from you so quickly. ”
He hesitated, jaw tightening. “And why she’s dangerous even to us.”
To think that a week ago, I believed the mystical creatures filling the pages of my sketchbook were products of my imagination.
Now, as I sat in a manor with Cillian, trapped in another country with paintings that spoke, spells that confined me, and the Eloreum draining my life’s energy.
It seemed that my mystical creations had come to life.
I was becoming confused between what was real and what wasn’t.
Fionn’s voice rose in my mind. Once again, I’d acted without thinking. I had to learn that if I was to survive this frightening world, I had to keep my wits about me.
“You know, Fionn was right to say what he did,” I said. “I acted foolishly in the cellar. I let my emotions about Donte and being left alone here dictate my behaviour. I didn’t know if you were coming back. “Cillian squeezed my hand reassuringly but gave me a stern look.
“Of course we were coming back, Tilly. Do you really think we brought you here simply to abandon you?”
I looked at him apologetically. “I realise now I could have died or I could have caused the Elorium’s death.” I hesitated. “Did Fionn have to…?”
“No, Fionn didn’t have to use the dagger, but because of the energy the Elorium drained from you, she regained her strength. It was close for all of us. Torin is watching her now.”
“Will I be safe even from a distance?” I asked with concern.
“She’s regained some strength, but her damaged wing curtailed her power, and without the ability to take the energy of others, she’ll eventually weaken and lose her ability to transform.”
“Why did you bring this creature here? What purpose could she possibly serve to you?”
Cillian regarded me with the indulgence of someone dealing with a charming but persistent puppy.
“All you need to know for now, Tilly, is that we need her.”
“Why can’t you just tell me the truth?” I asked a little sharply. “I’m so tired of these games. Where can I go? Who can I speak to? I’m hardly any threat to you or your plans.”
I glimpsed a challenge on Cillian’s face. “I could debate that. Look what happened with the Elorium. Besides, like her, you need to recover. As do I, since I drained my own energy restoring you.”
Only now did I notice how exhausted Cillian looked.
“Are you all right? You don’t look well.”
“Tilly, you’ve been drifting in and out of consciousness all night. I’ve been using my energy to sustain you.”
A fleeting whisper drifted to my ear, but it wasn’t Cillian's voice. Unnerved, I glanced at the portraits and felt eyes watching me.
A voice whispered then I felt a soft breath move against my neck:
“Do not trust the hands that hold you.”
Not now. Not again. I thought as I looked from mysterious face to face, the room blurred. The whispers became voices, and then laughter. Immersed in the golden glow of flickering candlelight, figures danced around me to phantom music.
I blinked and stared at the masked women in the portrait pirouetting around me in the arms of faceless men, their gorgeous gowns swishing in swirls of brilliant colour. Their glittering eyes watched me, and my name rose above the tune of the harp casting enchantment in the air.
Frightened by the spectral images and the enchanting sound of the harp, I reached for Cillian.
“Please, I don’t want to stay here.”
The moment I turned around, the room was silent, the portraits still.
“Tilly, I told you, the Elorium...”
“This has nothing to do with the Elorium! Can’t you sense it? All these portraits...the images, it feels like they are watching me. Each face is a reflection of how I'll look if I choose incorrectly.”
“Is that what you believe?”
“Aren’t these the women that have been Marked? I can see they are affected by it.”
Cillian paused to glance at the portraits.
“None of these women bore the mark,” he said, turning to me.
“But they’re all like Seraphina,” I said. “Older women, bearing masks to hide their mature faces, trapped by a choice they were forced to make.”
“Tilly, we don’t hang the marked on the wall like some trophies of a fate we failed to prevent. These are the women of Elora, our mothers, our sisters, our history.”
***
He looked toward the woman I had seen throughout the house. “This is a portrait of our mother. Can’t you see the resemblance? I assure you that her youth and beauty have not been affected by any choice she made.”
Despite my reluctance, I steeled myself and moved closer to Cillian. As I Gazed at the portrait, I could see that even through the mask, her lovely features mirrored his.
“Fine,” I said, a small, reluctant smile tugging at my lips. “Maybe on this one occasion, I’ll believe you.”
His warm gaze met mine, and my chest tightened. What was I doing? Why did being near him feel like standing too close to a fire I couldn't step away from? I should have stepped back and said something sharp, but my body refused to move.
Whatever the Elorium had done to my energy was clearly messing with my mind. It had to be because the alternative, that these feelings were genuinely mine was far more concerning.
The smile faded as quickly as it had come.
“How have these women been affected if it wasn't due to an incorrect choice?”
His expression changed; the light in his eyes dimmed. “If you are finally ready to start believing what we say, I’ll tell you.”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore.” Worse still, I didn’t have the energy to argue the way I usually would.
“My mother and the women of our realm lived harmoniously before it all changed. Her beauty is no longer what you see in this portrait.”
I leaned back against the cushions, suddenly aware of how close he was. His warmth pressed against my side, and I hated how much comfort I took from it. I should have pulled away. I knew that. But my traitorous body disobeyed.
“I can hear how much it hurts you,” I said, feeling the pain of each of his words so intensely that I had to stifle the emotion rising in my throat. At this moment, he looked so genuine. Caring. He wasn’t like the others.
He was drained because he had been trying to keep me alive. That was a comfort in some strange way.
How could his voice be so gentle, almost coaxing? And Gods help me, I wanted to lean into it. He wasn’t supposed to be this soft. He wasn’t supposed to look at me like that, and he certainly wasn’t supposed to make me feel safe. But he did. And that terrified me more than the Elorium ever could.
“You talk about your world like it’s… beautiful,” I murmured. “Even with everything that is happening.”
A faint smile touched his lips. It didn’t feel misleading or fake. It was genuine.
“Our people sought answers from our council, but none were found.” His voice cracked slightly. “My mother used to say the stars were kinder before Vareth rose and unleashed chaos on every corner of Elora.”
The way he spoke about his mother with grief tugged at the humanity inside me. I didn’t want to feel comfortable in his presence, but somehow, I was too tired to keep pretending.
“You miss her,” I said softly.
“She wasn’t spared,” he whispered. “No woman was.”
“Is she dead” I said. Did Vareth kill your Mum and your women?”
His eyes flicked to mine, surprised.
“No, she lives. What she lives with is far worse than death.”
There it was the humanity and vulnerability the people in my world possess. It almost made my heart ache for him. Perhaps he was as mysterious as the constellations he spoke of. I blinked and refocused my thoughts. What was wrong with me?
I shifted, only then realising how close we were sitting. My knee brushed against his, the fabric tickling my leg and startling me.
“I shouldn’t be this close,” I said, trying to move. I couldn’t. My body stayed rooted, heavy with exhaustion.
“You’re safe and need to rest.” The sincerity in his voice made my heart pound. “I won’t let anything harm you again.”
His words sounded promising, but I had learned not to trust him after what happened with Donte. I forced myself to look away. He noticed my distraction, and something in his expression dimmed. “We’ve lived under Vareth and his blood moon’s shadow for a long time,” he said.
A chill ripped through me.
“Tilly, you’re connected to Vareth, just like the rest of us,” he continued. His fingers brushed against mine, gentle yet different. “Because of this, time isn’t on our side.”
Even as he said it, something in his eyes told me that time was the one thing neither of us truly had.
“Our lives have been cursed since the day we were born. If only you could see how we could change this curse into a blessing.”
I struggled to contain my emotions. I felt a connection, one stronger than I should have allowed, but deep within me, a voice of caution whispered.
“I want to believe you, but I need time to think.” For a moment, he simply watched me.”
“I will be honest with you, Tilly.
“You see the light in me now, but when the blood moon rises in Elora, so do I, and what wakes in my blood is not something you can love safely”
He took a slow breath.
Not when Vareth’s mark stirs within me.”
“You must make a choice sooner rather than later.
We cannot wait until Vareth’s blood moon rises”
“What do you mean?”
“Tilly, wait here a moment.”
“Where are you going?” I asked, curious about why he seemed so suddenly in a rush to leave.
“I need to get something,” he replied.
For a moment, it looked as though he might say more before he got up quickly. Cillian closed the door in a way that conveyed a clear message not to follow him.