Thirteen
CHAPTER
Iunderstood why the Realm of Nightmares had the name it did far quicker than I would have liked to. In fact, it was an understatement. I couldn’t sleep anymore, and when I did, there was no rest, only suffering.
I couldn’t tell the difference between whether I was awake or asleep, or whether my nightmares were truly just nightmares or if they were warped illusions clouding my reality.
I had barely slept, and when sleep was forcefully brought upon me, I found no rest. I found my worst fears haunting me, only to awaken to a situation that was just as torturous.
I was exhausted, and on the brink of madness.
I wasn’t sure what was worse. Reliving my death, my father’s decapitation, my kidnapping, or this. Whatever this was. I was so tired.
My suffering was endless and had been for the past five and a half days that I had been a prisoner. Or at least, I think it had been that long. It was hard to keep track of time.
The room was dark. Pitch black to the extent that I couldn’t tell if I was truly seeing shadowy figures lurking in the corner or if my mind was playing tricks against me. I felt like I was losing my mind, like I was slipping further and further away from reality.
Caked in blood, sweat, and tears, I was unsure if this nightmare truly would ever end.
Casimir had his finest general torturing me since the moment I was thrown into the cell.
A man with black hair, red, fiery eyes, and pointed ears.
Kyrell. I loathed him with a passion. He told me his name as he tore my pinky nail off to ensure I wouldn’t forget.
I wasn’t afraid of most people, but Gods above, I was afraid of him and the lack of remorse he had.
His ability to take one’s fears and use them against them was unspeakable.
He was a cruel, cruel man.
There were so many lashes on my back that even the smallest brush of air on my bare, severed skin caused me to hiss in pain.
Blood stained the back of my tattered dress.
I could feel it. Every movement I made, along with the pain that throbbed from merely the rise and fall of each breath I took, was excruciating.
Even the weight of my head became too much upon my neck.
My arms were chained to the ceiling, my wrists bloodied and bound together, and I struggled to stand due to being forced on my tiptoes.
My muscles ached and my body was desperate for relief, to stand flat footed, yet I was unable to.
I wasn’t strong. I had never been strong. Not mentally, emotionally, or physically. I had always been frail and helpless and now they were wearing me down. I couldn’t take it anymore. No one was coming to save me. I wished that wasn’t true, but I knew that it was.
I wondered why Neil hadn’t come for me, why he hadn’t stopped Casimir, why he was letting them do this to me. Was he punishing me again? Had I done something wrong?
Neil. Where are you? Please, I beg you. Save me.
The Realm of Nightmares had closed its borders to the other Realms long ago. There was no way in or out except for those permitted to do so, none of whom were allies with Neil. That is what Kyrell told me the moment Casimir gave him free reign over my body.
I was going to die here.
I wanted to go home. A home I no longer had.
“You’re awake.” Kyrell’s arms were crossed, standing in a dark corner of the room. The one with orders to ‘do whatever means necessary’ to get me to talk, yet the questions asked did not make sense.
I glared at him in silence.
“Not very talkative today, are we?” He pushed raven-colored curls out of his piercing red eyes. Each step he took echoed beneath him as he closed the distance between us.
I attempted to pull away, jerking my head back, but he grabbed my chin, forcing my gaze back onto his. His eyes momentarily softened, and I had half a mind to spit in his face, except my mouth was dry and parched.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Aerilyn,” he said in a softer tone, soft enough that his words only just reached my ears.
His grip on my chin loosened slightly, and he leaned in closer to my face, his breath tickling my skin.
“I can’t go against my orders, but if you just caved in and showed us your magic and the power you possess, I wouldn’t have to do this.
Please don’t make me do this. I don’t have to hurt you.
If you just cooperated with us, we could release you from your chains. You could freely join the Court.”
I jerked away from his touch again, the chains clinking together from the sudden movement. “I told you I don’t have any magic or powers!” I spat.
“But you do.” He pulled away. “You aren’t like the others.
It’s in there, I can see it in your eyes…
” he circled me, “and I can smell it on you.” A sigh parted from his lips as he stood behind me.
I winced, clenching my jaw. I braced for the impact of his sharp shadowy tendrils to lash out at my back again, and they did.
Again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
The smell of iron and sweat filled the room once more. Tears welled in my eyes, and I felt my blood drip down my back and onto the floor beneath me. Tears pooled down my cheeks.
My eyes met Javaid’s, who stood on the opposite side of the room.
He never spoke much, but I knew his name from overhearing Kyrell and Casimir speak it from time to time.
Casimir stood beside him, watching while Kyrell continued to strike my back.
My body jerked forward, putting more pressure on my chains and causing me to lose my footing.
The pain was excruciating. The agonizing screams that parted from my lips spoke of the undeniable and unbearable pain I was in.
“Please,” I begged him to stop.
“Harder,” High Lord Casimir commanded.
Javaid cringed.
Kyrell used all the force he had behind the next strike.
Again.
All the air in my lungs was stolen from me. I gasped for air, and that’s when it happened.
My eyes shot open, wide and bright with a fierce intensity they never had before. A wave of raw energy erupted from my body. I screamed, and shadows emerged from within me, shattering the chains that bound me and cracking the walls of my cell.
I collapsed, trembling and panting, unable to grasp what was happening to me.
Casimir belted out into a fit of laughter as he proceeded to clap. “Ah! I told you it would work!” he said smugly.
Apparently, I did have magic. From both the Realm of Stars and the Realm of Seasons, the district I should have been reborn in. It didn’t make any sense. The pain was unbearable, making it hard to think straight.
Kyrell approached me, but before he could lay another finger on me, a cloud of darkness shielded me from him. I didn’t know how I was doing it. I had no control. It was as if my magic had a mind of its own. Magic seeped from my pores, and by the grace of the Gods, that darkness kept Kyrell away.
Magic like theirs, too? How is this possible?
“There is much to celebrate and even more to be done. Our hypothesis is right, she is one of them…” Casimir said.
What did he mean by that? “Tend to her wounds and make her comfortable for now. We are only just getting started. She will need her rest.” His voice was deep and ominous as his plans were finally coming into play.
Javaid reached for me within the darkness somehow, cradling me in his arms, and Casimir knelt down. “Surrender your mind to me,” he said, his fiery eyes staring into mine amid the darkness pouring out of me.
Suddenly, my vision fogged over. While I knew I was in my cell in the Realm of Nightmares, my vision took me to the Realm of Stars, to—
My body gave up on me.
Everything went black.
“This is your fault,” Neil’s voice echoed, his severed head held inches away from my face.
I awoke in a cold sweat. Panting heavily, I pushed myself into the corner of my cell, tightly wrapping my arms around my middle and pulling my knees up to my chest. The chain wrapped around my ankle scraped against the ground.
It’s just a nightmare. It’s just a nightmare… I’m okay. I’m okay.
The door to my cell opened, and despite my vision still being blurry, I made out the crimson flames of Javaid. His red curls were tied back into tight braids, and he was adorned in black and red.
He was the only one within this Realm who showed an ounce of mercy, and I couldn’t seem to figure out why. Pity, perhaps?
“Hey,” he whispered, kneeling down to my height. His knees hit the soot-covered flooring, and he reached out to tenderly push my curls from my face in the way Samael used to. Brotherly, almost. “I’m going to get you out of here. You just need to hold on a bit longer, okay?”
Just a bit longer…
Too tired to process if this was real or not, I nodded ever so slightly at his words.
Why would he want to help me? Am I dreaming this?
My body was exhausted, far past its breaking point.
I no longer had control, and with my newfound abilities unlocked, I was subject to their desire.
They locked me down here, caging me away, making me think of Zathrian and how he believed Neil had clipped my metaphorical wings.
They were right, I was different, and truthfully, I wish I wasn’t.
All my life, I was desperate to be seen and now I wanted nothing more than to become invisible again.
Why am I even here?
He frowned, turning back toward the door, and then to me again.
“Rest your eyes.” He swiped his hand across my face and the moment he did so I found sleep once more.
Except this time, it wasn’t nightmares of that day, or my father’s death, but I dreamed of clouds, Neil’s cotton candy kisses, and sweet potato pie.