Six
Song: Seven Devils - Florence + The Machine
(YEEEEES, CREEPIER VIBE FOR THIS STORY THIS TIME AROUND, I'M LOVING IT YOU SHOULD SEE THE NEW PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY! I'M SO EXCITED, CAN'T YOU TELL?)
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Several nights passed and I still couldn't get a full night's sleep.
Even spending the day building my power to the point of exhaustion with our exercises didn't help me sleep. I still had nightmares.
I found myself several nights later staring at the ceiling of the room like most nights.
I could never go back to sleep after my nightmares.
Instead, I spent most of the mornings tossing and turning in bed waiting for the sun to rise.
On this particular night, I took a cold shower and watched the back of the estate from my window.
Somehow, the night soothed me. The trilling of the sprites on the other side of the window was comforting.
It was almost as if I heard it before, a long time ago. Like I had fallen asleep to it before.
I knew it wasn't at the Keep. I didn't hear them from my lonely room when I stayed there. I didn't hear them in the mansion either. Maybe it was before then but couldn't remember.
Had I lived here, in the Underworld before? Or was it somewhere similar?
My parents weren't really my parents. They were human. I was not.
Had I been taken away for my safety to the Human world like Damien, but then forgotten?
Did they forget? Maybe it was much worse than that. Maybe they were dead.
If what Robyn said was true...then it was a real possibility. Any family I had were dead.
I swallowed, pushing the thought aside. I couldn't think of it.
I didn't want to focus on what he told me while I was with him. But I couldn't ignore it. I was the last of my kind.
And Robyn had been responsible. He killed everyone like me and now, he had everyone I loved in his hands. They were puppets on strings that he controlled.
The thought of it alone felt like a crushing weight on my shoulders and heart.
I felt a hot tear roll down and I roughly pressed my palm against my cheek to brush it away.
I wouldn't cry anymore.
I wouldn't be a victim anymore.
I'd kill him for what he did to me. For taking my power, and making me defenseless. For making me think I was weak and helpless. For what he did to Damien.
At the thought of Damien, my heart skipped a beat. I would tell him I loved him as soon as I had him back. When I saved him, I'd tell him exactly how I felt. Robyn wouldn't be the one to hear those words come from me ever again.
Even if it killed me, I'd make everything right.
I'd be damned if I let him get away with what he did to us.
I had to get stronger. Julian was right. I'd been locked in a cell and in a small room for weeks. I had to build my strength again.
Julian briefly mentioned he had an indoor gym when he showed me around the house earlier in the day. He'd wave in the direction of some doors downstairs. I wondered if I could find it again. I needed to be able to do something other than just waiting for the sun to rise.
If I couldn't leave the house, I could at the very minimum walk around the house or find a treadmill.
I couldn't just do nothing on my own and only wait for Julian to train me when he was awake. If I was awake and able, I would train.
Damien and Kymra needed me.
I grabbed what I could find that seemed comfortable in the dresser and closet. Julian's sister either trained herself or was a runner. I found everything I needed in her dresser. Careful to make the least amount of noise as possible as I left my room.
The only staircase in Julian's home was a grand staircase.
The second floor of his home had two large wings, each with multiple rooms. The wing where I was staying and Julian's.
The staircase was between the two and led to the front entrance of the estate.
The halls, despite it being the dead of night, lit my way to the stairs by magic.
As I neared each light fixture affixed to the wall, they would slowly come to life then extinguish as soon as I was no longer near it.
The next one would slowly come to life and then the one after. The magic still puzzled me.
I kept my feet light as I made my way downstairs but paused as I reached the front entrance.
Something was...off. There was a strangeness in the air. It was heavy, dangerous. It made the hair on my arm stand on end. I hadn't felt anything like that since I was in Skryen. Everything in Skryen seemed to be the opposite of what I was feeling.
But it wasn't danger I was sensing. It wasn't an instant alarm. It was just different.
Just darkness.
Like I was being pulled into a pit of despair again.
I swallowed. My tongue felt heavy.
I closed my eyes and let out a long deep breath. I tried to feel the air around me with my other senses. I reached out and felt exactly where it was coming from.
One of the doors near the closed front door was slightly ajar. I reached for the doorknob, my fingers lightly resting on the lever before I pushed it slightly.
Glancing around the room, nothing seemed amiss.
The study was full of books on its large walls.
The centerpiece of the room was a large fireplace with two tall upholstered chairs in front of it.
I could imagine Julian and a guest sitting in them and talking in front of the fire.
The fireplace had a small fire going that barely lit the space but a lamp behind the chairs lit the space enough for me to see the room was empty.
Or so I thought.
"Well," an unfamiliar deep voice spoke from inside the room. "Are you going to stand there the entire time or are you coming in?"
I froze. Julian didn't mention anyone else being in the house.
And he certainly didn't sound like an Oona.
"Come in, darling," the silky voice said. I could hear him stifling a laugh. "I promise I won't bite."
I panicked. "Julian!"
The voice in the room laughed. "Julian isn't here. He sent me here to protect you while he's gone."
He had to be lying. I had to protect myself.
Grasping at what I could, I concentrated just as I had when I burned Robyn's arm. My hand began to tingle as I felt my power begin to build and concentrate in the palm of my hand.
I heard him give a small laugh. "Are you really going to fight me, Light Fae?" He sighed, as if bored. "Fine."
Before I could blink, I was pushed to the other side of the room, my back colliding painfully against the wall.
Something heavy pushed me against me and pushed my arm painfully away and over my head.
My arm twisted in an unnatural position making me groan in pain, effectively making me stop my attack.
"I apologize," the man's breath hot in my ear. I still couldn't see him. "I had to stop you from killing me."
"Get off!" I tried to move my leg away to knee him as hard as possible but he only laughed.
"Please don't," he sighed, annoyed. "I really don't want to hurt you."
"Then get off."
"If you promise not to attack me again."
"How do I know you're not really here to trick me?"
"Emylin, if I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it nights ago while you were sleeping. I'm not here to hurt you." His hand relaxed slightly on mine. "I'm going to let you go but if you try to attack me again, I will have to defend myself."
I exhaled loudly, letting him know how I really felt. "Fine."
As he slowly stepped back, I could finally see his features.
It was the man from the party. The one that had disappeared when I turned fae.
And now that I was fae, I could see him differently.
It was no surprise to me that he was handsome.
It was hard to find a fae that wasn't. Damien once said it was to lure unsuspecting humans and he was right.
I could easily imagine the girls in college throwing themselves at the man before me.
He could have easily walked out of a high fashion runway with his rugged good looks and dark hair.
But his eyes. They were as dark as coals and sent an unpleasant shiver through me though I didn't show it. His look alone was leaving me bare. And that darkness I felt in the hall, it only magnified around him.
He walked away and went to the chair near the fireplace. "You interrupted me from this boring read, I suppose I have to thank you."
"Where is Julian?"
"He's been called away. As Lord, he must answer. He asked me to be here in his stead since no one else knows of our plan." He looked over his shoulder. "I suppose he doesn't trust you to be by yourself in his home."
I watched him as he spoke. I couldn't remember the conversation we had before.
But I couldn't remember what was said. "Who are you?"
"An ally," he said turning back to me. "Like you, I'm here to stop Robyn." He scoffed. "Somehow. Your form is weak, your magic is weak. You are still weak. If you are the only one that can help us, then gods save us all."
Dick, I wanted to say. Julian's powerful ally, then. He also had a very colorful word for him.
"But Julian is the best trainer in the Underworld, or so I've been lead to believe.
I suppose I don't have any say in the matter.
Now that the plan has advanced to where it is.
" He looked at me again. "Well, since I'm invested so far.
What was today's lesson? What did the General teach you today?
Please don't tell me it's all been meditation and power building exercises.
" He rolled his eyes. "With power likes yours, that would be a massive waste of time. "
I blinked. Was that what Julian was doing? Wasting time? Was he procrastinating? Was he taking it too easy on me?
He continued to watch me with his intense eyes. "He is, isn't he?" He let out a string of curses.
I walked towards him. "What should he be teaching me then?"
His anger was visible as he watched the fire in front of him in the fireplace. He clenched his jaw tightly. His nose flared. "Barriers, spectering, manifesting blasts of power, ripping Robyn's soul into pieces for a start." He shook his head. "I knew he'd take it easy on you."
I swallowed. "Ripping his soul to pieces?"
"Denying him an afterlife as well for what he's done."
"I can do that?" I whispered so low I was surprised he even heard me.
He looked at me again. "As a light fae, yes, that power belongs to you alone. But you can do so much more. You can manipulate emotions--bend everyone to your will. Make them hang on to your every word, fae and human alike. You don't even have to be a Silvertongue like Robyn was."
The thought terrified me. Could I really do all those things? Could all fae? Was there any free will?
"Very few can do this and it's only Dark or Light faes.
Elemental faes are not as powerful as us.
Some in the Royal family can, for example, since they are the most powerful in the Underworld.
That kind of manipulation can work on lower fae if they're not protected.
It's more complicated for higher fae but I don't doubt you can do it.
" He tilted his head with a wicked smile. "Would you like me to teach you?"
I shook my head. "N-No. I'm not interested to know. Anyways, Julian will teach me."
He scoffed. "I know he won't. It's forbidden for that power to be used. So much so that it's died off due to lack of use. Those that can do this, don't know how or do it unwillingly." He smiled again. "Are you sure?"
I nodded. "Yes, I'm sure," I said with resolution.
"Even if it will help you be rid of Robyn?"
I bit my lip in thought. He was right. Knowing how to do that with Robyn would help me.
The man's dark eyebrows rose. "Promise me you will think about this.
" He looked to the door. "For now, why don't we keep this between us?
" He nodded towards the open door behind me.
"Go on, please don't let me keep you from your morning exercise.
Judging from your clothes, I will assume you were going for a run?
" He smiled again. He reminded me of the Cheshire cat.
"I'm sure you'll need all the running exercises you can get at this pace. "