Chapter 33 #2
I groan and whip my head around the room, looking for an escape other than through the door that exits to the hallway.
Scanning the small space makes my heart flap like a frail bird in my chest. There’s nothing but the dresser, the bed, a tapestry of woven trees, and the window my ass is too small to fit out of.
Drawing my dagger again as the footfalls echo louder I move towards the door. They’re not going to ambush me.
A thought pelts my brain as I’m postured to attack.
My iludreer might save me yet. If I could channel my magic into a mask, perhaps I could make myself appear to blend into the surroundings.
“Fuck it,” I whisper. Anything is better than being a sitting target.
Closing my eyes, I focus on my breathing and try to conjure up any image of hope I can. Leeson and Caym being bonded, a life where Hanin would grow old, Kassiel embracing me in an intense kiss…but nothing works. Not a flicker of essence against my skin.
Frustration writhes against my soul, the familiar feelings of inadequacy etching their way into my marrow.
Fucking perfect timing.
I groan again and rock my forehead against the cool door.
I drum the fingers of my freehand on the wooded barrier in an effort to think.
My mind races between possibilities before settling on one. The tapestry. Maybe the gods will favor me and there will be a servant’s entrance behind the damned thing.
Pushing off the door with all my might, I spin on my heel and race to the large hanging.
With a huff I rip the fabric away from the wall, tearing a strip of fabric in the process.
The tapestry is so large that I can’t see anything that may be behind it.
Desperation fuels my urgency as I run my fingers along the stone wall, hoping to find the traces of a hidden door.
I stretch my arm as far as I can and curse the gods for being so short that I have to sneak behind the musty weighted fabric.
I’m enveloped in darkness, pressed against the rough stone wall as I continue to search for an escape as pounding slams against the locked door. It would be an act of gods to save me now.
A muffled yell bellows behind me, “In the name of the king, open this door!”
More fists hammer against the wooded entryway.
Fuck, fuck. “Fuck!” I curse, moving my hand over the stones again.
Unexpectedly, my fingers come across a small stone that’s slightly raised.
Instinctively, I utter a prayer and then press the cobble.
The door to my room crashes open with such a loud thud I’m sure the boards have been splintered.
I’m practically choking on fear, the prospect of being captured again making my throat close up.
To my surprise, the wall in front of me tilts open and I fall forward through the opened hatch.
My shoulder smacks against the hidden barrier as I tumble to the floor. Voices fill the room I just stood in and adrenaline surges through my veins.
I scurry on my knees, trying to put as much distance between me and the soldiers that have broken in.
It’s hopeless though. As I shuffle to go further down the hidden passageway, a vice—like grip grabs hold of my ankle.
It’s punishing.
I’m ripped backwards through the hidden entrance and the tapestry that covers it before another set of hands encircle around my limbs.
I’m caught, like a rabbit in a snare. Except I can’t chew my way free from this.
I snap my eyes shut as I’m blinded by the sudden change in light.
“Ahh, Alora,” the velvety voice crushes against my ear as I’m held from behind, “you wouldn’t be scurrying away now would you, mouse?”
Oh Haldir…
The grip around my arm turns more severe as dawning comes over me.
The only one who’s called me mouse, was The—
“Orlin.” The King’s voice booms from behind me and the vice around my arm loosens slightly.
“Yes, my king?” The Nightmare’s chagrin tone settles over my bones.
I roll my shoulder in an attempt to get his hands off me. The room blurs as he responds by jerking me to face him.
King Euron raises his voice again, this time it’s directed at me, “Enough with this foolishness.”
The Nightmare twists my arm, enough to cause me to wince and shoves me towards the king, forcing me to my knees.
Other soldiers push into the room, filling the emptiness with their clanking swords.
It should flatter me that the king has this many men to capture me, but instead my thoughts swim in a sea of concern. Is Jessamine safe? Rune? Gods forbid if they discovered Leeson and the rest of The Hidden.
I look from face to face, worry building as the silence grows.
Finally, I muster the only words I can as my voice threatens to crack,“How did you know?”
King Euron’s lips separate from one another and a chuckle leaves his mouth.
“You would be surprised, starshine, at how much I do know about you and your little group of friends.”
He tilts his head back and takes a step forward, his boots right in front of my aching knees. Lifting one of his feet, he presses the boot against my chest and holds it there.
With a raise of his brow he lets his gaze wander over my exerted form. My cheeks flush with anger and I want nothing more than to spit on him.
Between gritted teeth, I grind out the words, “Tell me how you knew.”
My thoughts return again to Kassiel and my friends though I dare not ask anything about them in the off chance that they’ve escaped.
King Euron’s eyes shift into something that can only be described as beast—like. His inhuman eyes are icy cold and it feels like the room has dropped a few degrees as he lets his charm fall away.
His boot twists into my chest and with a grunt he kicks me—hard.
I tumble backwards as my lungs seize and constrict with the force of the punt. I land on the hard floor with a crash and it’s enough to make my head bounce, causing my vision to dance with colors.
I sit there, trying to take small breaths even though it’s useless. My lungs riot against the constant pain in my chest and ribs. So much so that King Euron must have broken a rib.
“You think that I answer to you? To your filthy demands?”
King Euron steps until he’s hovering over me, looking down on my prone form.
Disgust laces his tone as he continues, “There’s been hundreds of others just like you. And there will be a hundred more after you. You think you’re significant just because you can make a bird out of some fucking mirage magic?”
He squats down onto his haunches..
His words are practically spat in my face.
“You want so badly to make a difference in this world, Alora Viren, Commander of The Hidden,” he kneels closer to my ear as he whispers, “but you can’t save yourself, let alone that little brother of yours. What was his name? Hanin?”
I close my eyes with the mention of Hanin. How dare this man use him in this way.
But it’s not enough for the king, no. He slowly grabs my chin and pinches it harshly between his fingers.
The next words are almost unforgivable, even for King Euron to say.
“I heard that he whimpered your name as my men shoved a sword through him repeatedly. He never did give up where you’d wandered off to.”
My eyes widen in horror, I don’t want to believe this. I can’t.
He continues to hold my face and my jaw begins to ache with the tight grip.
“He seemed like such a sweet boy, it’s a shame that he was ultimately useless to me. But you’re not useless, starshine. You have something I want. Something that’s been owed to me since the beginning of my pact with the oracles. You. Belong. To. Me.”
The way he speaks about owning me makes the contents of my stomach threaten to upturn.
An ache in my chest writhes like a vine that strangles out light. Creeping rage fills my veins with icy, hot hatred.
I force my eyes, heavy with tears, to look at the monster that stands before me. I learned long ago that the only monsters in this earthen realm are the beasts that would control us, strip away our freedom, cleave away our voices.
And for what? Because they believe they can.
But little does this man, this so—called king before me realize, I was birthed in rage.
Baptized in the sacred waters of retribution.
He may have forced me to my knees today, but that defiance can never be snuffed out as a flame would be.
A hot tear slides down the side of my cheek as I lay there, staring at true evil.
My voice trembles as I begin to speak, “You don’t own anyone. You’ll never break those of us that fight for humanity. Fight against you.”
The anger spills from my eyes in a constant stream.
“You will never win.” I lash the words out, letting the emotion coat the tips of my barbed tongue.
King Euron snickers at me and the room falls eerily silent. I don’t dare break eye contact with him, I can’t let him know that he has made me feel fragile.
“Alora, my dear,” he huffs the words out as amusement crosses his face, “you don’t realize I already have.”
Confusion distorts my face as he stands up and steps aside from the doorframe.
A form stands in the doorway, swathed in ebony black I couldn’t forget no matter how much I wanted to.
Green eyes look down upon me, lips twisted into a snarl of disgust. His hair is pulled back into a tight knot, not a hair out of place.
He looks like an angry god ready to deliver justice.
My voice sounds small, far away as I croak out his name.
“Kassiel?”
A chorus of laughter fills the room and it feels as if I’m falling through the very floor.
I sit up in an effort to see if this is a trick of my mind—if The Nightmare is using his magic on me.
He continues to stare through the door, unfeeling bemusement flowing off him in waves as he looks down upon me.
“Foolish, little warrior.” He scoffs, his words lined with mockery and turns towards King Euron.
They grasp arms and King Euron pulls him into an embrace.
“You’ve done well, Kassiel. All of the training you’ve endured, and it was all for this moment. I couldn’t be more proud of your loyalty.”
His words aren’t registering as I try to piece them together.
Glimpses of scenes unfolding with Kassiel, always eager to watch me, to study me.
The convenience that he was able to be taken in the first place when he’s had enough training to last lifetimes.
And the way that he seemed to find ways to be there for me when I was vulnerable.
The moments begin to all feel calculated.
Suddenly, the realization hits me. This was his plan the whole time. Dig under my skin and insert himself into the life of the lonely commander.
It was almost too easy, pretending to be the wounded animal I’d want to help.
He’d resorted to being captured so I’d feel empathy for him—so he could spend time with me and I’d eventually see familiarity within his dark crevices.
My heart fractures and numbness envelopes me starting in my limbs.
I utter with a sob, “Was any of it real?”
The Nightmare laughs in the background, clearly entertained by the scene unfolding.
The Devourer hardens his face to me before answering, “You have such determination to be different. It’s pitiful really, Alora. In the end, you were mere torment for me to endure.”
It feels as if I’ve been slapped. I can’t help it when my face snaps to the side, as if I could cower from the recoil of his words.
He continues, lancing me with another blow, “It’s sad that someone with your magic is so naive.”
With that, he turns from me, leaving me to lay there on the floor and pick up the broken pieces of myself.
It’s the last thing I remember before blinding terror seizes me into submission, locking me away inside my own mind—in the same loop of me trying to make Hanin breathe as I slam on his chest only to fail, again and again.