Chapter 46 Elaina
ELAINA
My cell is small…cold…damp.
The walls sweat in silence, and the floor is nothing but cracked stone beneath the thin woolen blanket I use for a bed. There’s no cot—no furniture at all, in fact. I suppose I’m lucky to get the blanket, as old and threadbare as it is.
There’s a narrow slit in the iron-bound door where food is passed through—cold and tasteless, like everything else in this place.
I wish they would have thrown me in a cell in the dungeons.
Then, at least, I might have cried out to Xaren and heard his voice in return. But no—I am alone here—utterly alone.
They’ve taken everything from me. My gowns, my combs, even the ribbon I used to tie back my hair. I am stripped down to the barest version of myself—the silent prisoner in the East Tower.
And yet, it’s not the cold or the hunger that gnaws at me.
It’s worry. Worry that coils around my ribs like a snake, tightening every hour.
Xaren. My Dark Prince. My husband. Are you still alive down there in the black?
I close my eyes and try to feel for him the way I have since we made love. There’s no magic in me—not that I know of—but ever since our time together, there’s been a thread…a strange invisible tether that hums beneath my skin and seems to connect us.
But the humming is faint now—so faint. And the glowing golden thread I see in my mind when I picture him is dull—like a fire reduced to embers.
Hold on, I beg him silently. Please—hold on for me.
The scrape of stone jolts me upright. My heart leaps, then stutters in excitement when a familiar form slips through the cell door.
“Tanzy!” I breathe, rushing to her.
She hurries in, cheeks flushed and breath fogging in the chill. Her hands are full—bread, cheese, and a flask of what smells like mulled wine.
“Oh, my Lady,” she says in a hushed voice, setting the food down on the floor. “Thank the stars you’re still in one piece. I had to bribe the guards and wait until the changing of the shift. I don’t have long.”
I kneel beside her, gripping her hands tightly.
“Tell me,” I whisper. “Tell me what’s happening out there. Is Xaren—?”
Tanzy’s face falls.
“The Dark Prince is still locked up—still collared as far as I know, my Lady. No one’s seen him. The Queen hasn’t said a word about him since the King passed.”
Passed. That’s what they’re calling it now—even though his own son murdered him in cold blood.
I grit my teeth.
“What’s going on in the Court?”
Tanzy sighs.
“Everything’s draped in black. Mourning silks on every pillar, black banners hanging in the halls. But no one’s truly sad—not for the King. He hasn’t ruled in years. Everyone’s just pretending—waiting.”
“Waiting for what?” I ask, frowning.
“Why, for the coronation of course,” she whispers, eyes darting toward the door. “They’re planning it now. Within a fortnight, Dorian will wear the Crown.”
My stomach turns to ice.
“Goddess of Mercy,” I murmur. “What will happen then?”
Tanzy leans in.
“I don’t know, my Lady but word has it, the Queen…
she’s not happy. Not like you’d expect. I heard her yelling at the steward yesterday.
She says Dorian is too young to rule—too hot-headed, she said.
” She shrugs. “But of course, there’s nothing she can do about it—the line of succession is unbreakable. She has no choice.”
I press a hand to my mouth, my thoughts racing.
Of course she doesn’t. A Prince inherits before a Queen reigns.
Which means Queen Virelda will be displaced—stripped of power. And Dorian… he’ll be free to do anything he wants.
And what he wants most is to destroy me.
“Tanzy…” My voice trembles. “The Crown Prince hates me. He won’t care if I’m pregnant or not. If anything, he’ll see the baby as a threat. A way for Xaren to regain influence.”
Tanzy nods grimly.
“That’s what I fear too, my Lady. And if he means to keep you locked away—or worse…”
I wrap my arms around myself. No. I can’t let that happen. I can’t let him kill me—or Xaren. Or the baby, if I carry one at all.
A lump rises in my throat at the thought. I still don’t know if I conceived. But something in me feels different. A soft thrumming warmth at the very core of me—like a seed curled in the earth, waiting.
Tanzy grips my hand.
“I don’t know what to do,” I whisper. “I’m trapped here and Xaren is dying down in the dungeons because of that awful collar. I can feel him fading. I don’t know if it’s real or just madness setting in but—”
“It’s real,” Tanzy says fiercely. “If your heart tells you so, it’s real, my Lady!” Her eyes fill with tears. “You have to hold on—please. I’ll do everything I can to help, but if the Crown Prince suspects me—”
“I know,” I say quickly. “I don’t want you to get hurt helping me. Just… come when you can. Let me know what’s happening.”
Tanzy nods and rises, brushing dust off her skirts.
“I’ll do that, my Lady—I swear I will.” She pauses by the door. “And my Lady, if you can find a way to break free, take it. Don’t wait—don’t trust anyone—just go. And don’t look back.”
Then she’s gone, my cell door closing with a hollow boom behind her.
And I’m alone again with nothing but shadows and silence… and the slow, pulsing fear that I’m running out of time.