4. Evanee #3
“Your loss.” If she was embarrassed or angry, she certainly didn’t show it. Which made her little show all the more irritating.
I tracked her methodical steps until she stood in front of me, her red eyes meeting mine.
“This might hurt,” she said with a feline smile. She reached out, and I jerked back.
“Don’t touch me.”
An iron grip clamped around my arms.
“Let go!”
Aiden said nothing as he held me there.
The Witch bitch began muttering under her breath, instantly dragging me back to the dark, cold loneliness of the dungeons below.
And the pain—thoughts of the river distracted me from the memories as she continued her incantation, grabbing a fistful of my hair, some tearing from my scalp.
My mouth hardened as pale blonde streaks snaked through the strands in her hand, then spread over my head, until no black remained. When she was done, Aiden released me.
Then came the pain.
An intense burn built in my wrists and ankles, hotter and hotter—similar to when I tried to escape.
Only this time, the sensation of flesh melting from bone spread from my head to my toes.
Sweat dripped down my brow. My body shook with the effort to hide my discomfort, but it was too much—a ragged cry was ripped from my throat as I fell to the floor, my body convulsing several times before the pain ebbed.
My limbs were too heavy, my breath shallow as I dragged my gaze to meet hers with as much defiance in my expression that I could muster.
Cressida stared down at me with that fucking smile plastered on, reeking of satisfaction.
“Be a good girl, Evanee. Enjoy your small freedom. While you may not be chained to these walls as you travel, you’re now tethered to the delicious captain, here. Get too far from him, and you’ll die from sheer agony.”
Her green skirts swished across the floor, pausing as she put a hand to Aiden’s chest. “And Aiden, if you change your mind, I can promise I’ll make it worth your while.” She winked before vanishing into black smoke.
The moment she was gone, strong hands hauled me to my feet.
“Are you okay?”
“What do you care?” I croaked, pushing him away and throwing his jacket at him. Pain still throbbed everywhere.
His jaw worked. “No one will enter this room. I’ll be guarding you myself tonight.” He cleared his throat, and when I didn’t respond, he turned and left, shutting and locking the door behind him.
From the outside.
I inhaled deeply, stripped off my nightdress, and padded over to the waiting tub. Cool air clung to my skin before I let the steam swallow me whole. The water was hot enough to sting—I welcomed it.
Basking in the slicing heat and enjoying the distraction from my back, I replayed all that had happened.
These grounds were all I’ve known for three years.
I didn’t even know who I was. I felt like a ghost; I was here, but I wasn’t.
As if I were foreign to the realm and it had never accepted me.
It'd be easier if I were a ghost. Ghosts didn’t feel pain.
Right? At least I didn’t think they did.
Did ghosts even exist? Kind of wish I knew, seeing as I might be joining them—depending on what fate awaited me with the cruel King.
I'd always looked at myself as having no pain to ground me.
But that wasn't true. Wasn't this constant feeling of abandonment pain?
Not knowing whether my family lived or not saddened me.
The truth of how I'd ended up here plagued me.
Had they truly abandoned me here, or had they been forced away?
What if they were trying to find me? Grief seeped in time and time again, but then another thought slammed through my head:
You can’t grieve what you can’t remember.
And yet I have. Every damn day.
I reached for the soap and rubbed it between my palms.
Lavender.
It made me cringe. A scent meant to be calming, yet I was anything but calm.
I washed my hair abrasively, the golden strands foreign between my fingers. Then my body, until it felt like I’d scrubbed off the past three years, leaving every inch raw and red.
Escape crossed my mind once more, and the hypothetical of how I would achieve that.
I’d need to get a hold of a map since I wouldn’t know any of the land.
I’d need supplies, coins, a horse, maybe even a weapon.
But where would I get these things? And how the hell am I going to get away from Aiden if I’m magically bound to him now?
Breath escaped past my lips, weary and tired.
To be this helpless pissed me off.
I stood, water running down my flushed body, and studied my reflection in the gold-framed mirror across from the tub. From my pale eyes, past the mysterious band around my bicep, to the black ink on my wrists, down where my thighs disappeared beneath the water.
I had no plan. No map. No past. That didn’t mean I didn’t have anything left—I still had fight in me.
If I wanted a chance at a future free from servitude, free from the Fae, I’d have to fight with everything I had.