33. Aniah
Aniah
I hadn’t been to Castle Lawryn in close to fifty years. The last time I came here, my sisters and the Coven had come for a royal wedding. I thought it odd we were all invited. Even stranger when the Council said we were required to be here, no exceptions.
Now I understood.
The Council has long worked with the Fae, using them as muscle since before I was selected as one of the Four. I was just too young and foolish to see it.
It was just as dreary as I remembered. Malachai led me through cold, stone corridors, my hands still bound.
No love filled these halls. No joy. Everything was cold and calculating.
Devoid of color. Even the throne room, as we walked in, had minimal furnishings.
Old paintings of past Fae monarchs hung on the walls, sneering at all who entered.
No warmth streamed in through the windows as the sun hid behind endless snow clouds.
The rugs were muted browns, much like the wooden throne upon which the king sat, his long brown hair hanging past his shoulders.
Cruel, dark eyes lit up as they looked down at me.
I buried my trepidation beneath a mask of indifference.
“Well, if it isn’t the little Witch bitch that stole the payment I was owed,” he crooned. Fae stood stiffly throughout the room with bored interest, as they drank from their silver chalices and whispered to one another.
“WHERE IS IT?!” His voice boomed, bouncing off the stone walls, as he shoved out of his throne. A few Fae flinched nearby, holding a hand to their pointed ears.
“I don’t have it,” I said calmly with a tight-lipped smile.
He sat back down, narrowed gaze burning straight through me.
His nails dug into the wood as he looked past me. “And the female?” he said through clenched teeth.
“Gone, sire.”
I startled as Aiden’s footsteps stomped past until he came in front of the king, kneeling quickly, then climbed the dais to take a stance off to the side. Malachai didn’t move from his position behind me.
Venom dripped from the king’s smile.
“No matter,” he preened. As if on cue, five plumes of shadows appeared.
My throat worked as tension grew.
Cressida and the Council stood before me, red eyes staring into me. Through me, as they all smiled in unison.
“Hello again,” Laverna sneered before shadows enveloped both Malachai and me.
I woke to a severe headache.
Nerissa and Breena had clawed at my mind for the majority of the night, trying to find the location of the Orb and Evanee.
Thankfully, Thaddeus had helped with that, too, by putting protections in place.
It was like having all of these little rooms, and I could pick and choose which rooms I locked up.
A rather complicated spell which, in truth, had me questioning how Thaddeus could weave it.
They’d taken the amplifier he’d given me, laughing when they realized I had little magic remaining. Nonetheless, they forced a magic-blocking potion down my throat.
As I tried to push past the nausea flaring, it wasn’t myself I was concerned about—it was Malachai.
He was hunched over on all fours, blood dripping from his nose and mouth.
The Council had taken turns inflicting pain on him with different spells and curses, in hopes it would get me to reveal where the orb was hidden.
I told them I didn’t know—screamed and begged. They persisted.
Cressida stayed close, healing me just enough for them to delve into my mind again. But I was impenetrable.
Breena turned toward Laverna.
“Maybe we have done this wrong—restore the male’s free will. Let him see her,” she said with a wicked smile. My stomach dropped.
“Yessss,” Laverna agreed. “Cressida, remove it. Let him see,” she hissed with delight.
Cressida’s mouth curved as she started chanting.
With full power at her disposal, she needed no herbs, as I had with Evanee.
She chanted, and as she released him from the curse, a tattoo on the shaved side of her head of a melted rose dripped down her neck, disappearing beneath the collar of her black dress.
Malachai inhaled sharply.
“Aniah?” he breathed, his breath ragged, fresh blood still running down his face.
“Yes, it’s me.” Tears burned my eyes as he blinked, taking in his surroundings.
“How sweet,” Cressida chirped. “The lovers reunited.”
“An abominable union,” spat Ondine. Malachai’s sharp gaze shot to her.
Laverna cackled low as a viscous smile curled, exposing her yellowed, cracked teeth. “Tell us where the Orb is, and we’ll set your lover free.”
Malachai looked to me, brows drawn.
“I can’t. I don’t know. Please, just let him go,” I begged. Cressida cocked her head to the side, then snapped her gaze to the window. Within seconds, she shadowtraveled out of the room.
“Aniah, say nothing.” Chains clinked as Malachai lurched forward.
Nerissa cackled, the sound reverberating off the stone.
“Very well,” Laverna hissed.
She flicked her wrist toward Malachai, and his back arched, followed by a cry of pain as his red wings were pulled from beneath his skin and snapped.