Chapter 56 #2
Rell said nothing. Despite the risk his attachment was creating, a simple “It’ll be alright, Sunshine,” would have grounded her. She stepped inside without resistance, the door closing behind her.
Elora paced the length of her cell, five steps one way, five steps back.
Her hands pressed into her eyes, her head, her hair, trying to keep everything that Thorn had said from tearing through her on repeat.
The walls that had held her emotions in check during the confrontation with Thorn began to splinter and crack.
Everything was wrong. Everything was falling apart. They had prepared for a monster. Not this. How could they have thought this would work? How could she have agreed to put herself back in Thorn’s grasp?
She moved faster across the cell, each footfall harder than the last, lungs struggling to keep pace with her racing heart.
Deep in her chest, the nightglider essence twisted and coiled, awakened by her panic—a tempting escape into instinct and power.
No. She pressed her consciousness against it like a hand on a wound trapping the blood inside.
This moment demanded human clarity, not animal reaction.
How could anyone do that to their own brother? To violate not just his body but his mind, his memories—the very essence of who he was. To extract his most private thoughts and experiences like ingredients for a potion. To use his brain like... like just another specimen.
A wave of revulsion crashed through her, so powerful it made her dizzy. She stumbled to a halt, pressing her palms against the wall to steady herself. The anger that had been simmering beneath her shock boiled over, vibrating under her skin like lightning seeking ground.
Thorn wasn’t just a threat or a monster—he was the embodiment of evil, a corruption that needed to be purged from the world. Not just for her sake or the wards’, but for everyone who might fall victim to him.
Something snapped inside her. Elora’s vision narrowed to a pinpoint as she lunged for the metal cot frame.
The steel bit cold against her palms. She heaved it upward and crashed it into the wall with such force that her teeth rattled.
The sound—hollow and final like a death knell—echoed through the cell.
She gripped the frame tighter, her fingers bloodless, and for a moment considered ripping it from its moorings to swing it again and again until something, anything, broke apart like she was breaking.
A wheeze escaped her throat as she struggled to breathe through the overwhelming betrayal.
Hot tears blurred her vision. She sank to her knees, one hand still clutching the bed frame as though it were the only solid thing left in her collapsing world.
Her other hand flew to her mouth, pressing hard against her lips to muffle the sobs.
She didn’t need to see the memory in that vial. Thorn’s words had rung true, resonating with doubts she’d buried deep within herself. Tehvan had chosen her for her resemblance to Florence. Had raised her just out of Thorn’s reach. Had used her as the ultimate taunt against his brother.
And now, here she was, exactly where Tehvan’s choices had led—locked in Thorn’s cell, destined to produce his brother’s offspring, maybe even his heir. The bitter irony of it crushed what remained of her composure.
Elora tried to inhale deeply, searching for some steady rhythm to calm the storm inside her.
It seemed impossible at first, each attempt interrupted by another hiccupping sob.
But gradually, painstakingly, her ragged gasps evened out.
The sobs faded into deep, deliberate breaths that echoed through the silence of her cell.
Her fingers uncurled from the bed frame, muscles aching from the strain. She let herself sit completely on the floor, legs folding beneath her. The chill seeped through her robe but offered no relief from the burning ache in her chest.
“Elora…”
She swiveled her head towards the door.
Rell stood inside her cell, his back pressed against the wall beside the closed door—the one spot invisible to anyone peering through the window.
She hadn’t realized he had stayed. But of course he had. Still not having learned that his need to protect her caused consequences for both of them. She wanted to scream at him, to tell him what a fool he was being, tell him that she never should have agreed to let him come along.
She stayed silent, took two deep breaths then rose.
She didn’t wipe the tears trailing down her face, didn’t hide the way her upper lip twitched.
“Why are you here?” she whispered, praying no one was in the corridor. “Did you learn nothing—”
“I know, I’m sorry.” He lifted his arms in surrender. “After everything Thorn just did, everything he said—” Rell almost took a step toward her then thought better of it. “I couldn’t just leave you in here and walk away.”
Elora took two steps toward him, not close enough that he could reach her without stepping in front of the window. “That’s exactly what you’re supposed to do,” she said through clenched teeth. “Why can’t you understand that?”
He didn’t answer her, only stared, his eyes drifting from her face to some distant point inside him. She knew the answer. Despite him saying before that he wanted to know the person she was now, he couldn’t not see the young girl he failed to save.
“We need to leave. Thorn has Tehvan’s brain in a jar. He’s dissecting his memories like—” He broke off, shaking his head. “This is beyond what any of us anticipated. We don’t know what he could learn about Florence through those memories. If he suspects deceit then we’re all fucked.”
Elora held her fist against her mouth, suppressing the words she so desperately wanted to yell at him. He already suspects deceit! Because of you!
She took a breath. “You’re right.” Rell’s shoulders lowered. “If Thorn learns the truth, then who knows if we will ever make it out of here.”
Rell took two steps toward her, arm outstretched. Elora took two steps back.
“I think it’ll be safest if you leave.”
“No.” His nostrils flared. “I’m not leaving you here. I promised to protect you—”
“Leaving would protect me!” Elora’s words bounced off the walls. They both stood silently, waiting, watching the door to see if anyone was going to investigate.
When no one did, Rell left his hidden spot against the wall and stood before her.
His voice cracked. “I just—I care about you. I can’t wait on the outside, not knowing what that monster is doing.
” His hand lifted toward her face before pausing, like he expected her to pull away again.
When she didn’t, his thumb brushed beneath her eyes, smudging away tears.
She wanted to shove him away and lean into that touch.
She did neither. “I don’t want you trapped here again. ”
Elora sighed.
“There is one more week before Thorn starts his experiments on me again,” She grabbed both his hands, squeezing tight. “I can’t make you leave but stay away from my cell.” He began to interject, but she cut him off. “Rell— please. Thorn doesn’t want his vessel damaged. I will be fine.”
Rell started to shake his head, then stopped, jaw grinding against the refusal he wanted to voice. “Okay.” He spoke so quietly she almost didn’t hear him. “I just don’t understand—”
Her hand rested against his cheek, her touch bringing his attention back to her. The gesture was a risk she didn’t want to take, but she needed him to hear her. “Leaving him alive means that all I’ll be is what he and Tehvan decided for me to be. His indictment. His Tool. His experiment.”
She searched his storm-gray eyes. “Killing him ends that. Killing him makes me what I choose for myself. And I choose to be his undoing.”