Chapter 23

Elanor

Abreeze pulls my broken body into its frozen embrace once more as my awareness surfaces.

Footsteps echo around me, but I don’t open my eyes. As always, I cling to the mental haze as long as possible. Airdan or Nylren can rot in hell for all I care.

A snarl tears from my throat when my shoulders are pulled back, the muscles protesting the aggression.

“Shh.” Hot air is blown against my neck.

The fucking nerve of these entitled bastards. Now they want me silent?

I stir in my bonds, slowly coming to my senses as a retort forms on my tongue.

“What the—”

The insult never leaves my lips.

My visitor rattles the restraints on my wrists, each movement chafing atrociously against my reddened skin.

My eyes snap open when the shackles unlatch and my arms fall idly against me. My breath hitches in my throat as I try to calm my racing heart. This is not real. It can’t be.

The room is as I left it, dark, bare, and freezing. My dried blood still coats the ground.

“Elanor.”

Another whisper fills the air.

My eyes widen as a tall figure steps out of the shadows to face me. Before I can process what’s happening, Azran kneels before me to undo the ropes tying me to the chair.

The remainder of my strength leaves me as I collapse onto him. He catches me before I hit the ground, my head resting on his chest. Needles drill into my brain as his strong arms hold me tightly.

Warmth returns to my body at his contact and my hands respond as I grip his shirt, needing to make sure he’s there with me. Water fills my eyes as I choke on my sobs, burying my face in his neck and holding onto him like my life depends on it.

Strands of his hair brush my cheek as he pulls back. “We have to go.”

I can hardly discern his features in the shadows, only his eyes darting around the room. Tears roll down my face as relief floods my body. He’s getting me out of this hell.

I stand on wobbly legs as he helps me up, holding me by the arm. He motions towards the door with a sign of his head, but I pull him back and point at my collar.

A chuckle escapes his throat as he turns to face me, and my brows furrow. I need out of this collar if we’re to make it out of here alive. I need my power and strength back.

I stare at him as he meets my gaze for the first time. A smile is plastered on his handsome face, though it doesn’t reach his eyes. His eyes. They’re different.

Calm and calculating, their usual fiery gleam is absent. I find no trace of fury in them.

His hand shoots towards me and closes around the collar, and fear floods my system.

“Az—”

Laughter fills the room before his name leaves my lips and his face distorts in a sick rictus.

He’s completely lost his mind. The High Lord is gone, his mind obliterated. That’s the only explanation.

My hands go to his as I try to undo his death grip around my neck, in vain. He only tightens his hold and brings his face an inch from mine, forcing me to stare into his eyes. His warm breath caresses my skin and I stand there, frozen in horror, as his irises change color, from crimson red to emerald green.

With his terrifying giggle in my ears, his face transforms until it’s replaced by an all too familiar one.

My body doesn’t belong to me anymore. I can’t move or escape Airdan’s grip as he laughs in my face like a lunatic.

My eyelids refuse to close and all I can do is watch the King of Zetrea mock me, shredding the illusion with a snap of his fingers.

I’m back in the chair I never really left, and my heart breaks into a million pieces.

“You make it so easy.” Airdan manages a few words between bursts of laughter. “Beautiful. Truly marvelous.”

Tears roll down my cheeks of their own accord as the dream shatters and so does my body. Pain flares in my nerve endings, taking over once more. It felt so real.

“This might be my best work yet.”

My lips part as my mind explodes. Each second of lucidity I’ve managed to steal, I spent racking my brain for a way out, searching for a crack in the magical net cast around my power.

Physical pain I can endure. I can build tolerance. I can lose myself in it, become a shell of myself, and survive until an opportunity presents itself. That’s what I was holding onto. Faith in my resilience and ability to endure any horrible thing life throws at me. Just like I’ve always done.

But this?

My resolve shatters. He can take my body, scar it, burn it to shreds, but not my mind.

A hole opens up before me and swallows me whole. He’s going to take everything. My mind, body, and soul. Incoherent thoughts twirl in my head, mixing with images of Azran and Death, drowning out Airdan’s voice. His mouth is still moving, but I can’t make out the words.

None of it matters. A fire is raging in my soul, destroying everything in its path, tearing me apart from the inside out.

My heart pounds in my ears as I topple over the edge of sanity.

Screams reach my ears and it takes me a moment to realize they’re coming from my mouth. Airdan looks at me with pride in his eyes and I thrash in my bonds. Pain flares in my shoulder but I barely feel it.

Pure rage is filling me. I will kill him or die trying. Nothing else matters anymore. He tainted the one safe space I had left with his sick magic. My own mind.

And he came after Azran.

Amusement twinkles in the corner of Airdan’s emerald eyes and my vision blurs, filling with dark spots.

A liquid drips from my fingers, confirming the shackles are digging into my wrists, drawing blood, and I release a shattering scream.

I pour all my rage and madness into it, willing my power to break free of its restraints with everything I’ve got. I scream until darkness fills my vision, until I can’t see Airdan anymore, until an image flashes in my mind.

A willow tree overlooking a flowerbed.

The cry dies on my lips, leaving my throat raw, and my heart stops. The picture overlays the dark cell, taking over my mind.

A garden of onyx and ivory flowers, their petals blowing in the wind, coming alive under the caress of the sun. With that image, my mind crosses an ocean.

I’m back in Averion, walking the palace grounds, Savage on my heels.

I hold on to the memories, ragged breaths escaping my lungs as I try to focus on that mental image.

Little by little, madness retreats.

Memories flash before my eyes, bringing me back from the edge as sensation returns to my body in waves of pain.

I can’t remember what the sun feels like on my face, nor the grass under my boots. But I can picture the willow tree in the palace gardens and the strong Fae waiting for me there.

Airdan hasn’t stolen everything from me yet. I still have one thing. A reason to hold on.

The hope that Azran is still alive.

Airdan walks in, his usual charming smile adorning his lips, a glass vial in hand.

At first, I debated who was worse, the King or the Prince, but now I know. Airdan’s spirit is fucked beyond measure, the mind games, deceit, and false charm his most prized skill set.

Each of his visits carries unbearable suspense. I never know which side of him I get to see until it’s too late. Until he’s knee-deep in my blood or my mind. The crazy motherfucker is obsessed with inflicting the most pain my body can sustain and enchanting his way into my head.

His son is more methodical, impersonal, cold. Although torture could be considered the tool of mad men, he doesn’t get sick and twisted enjoyment out of the task.

“Elanor.” Airdan walks past me. “A pleasure to see you, as always.”

He takes his sweet time digging into the stack of torture devices displayed behind me. It’s part of his routine to give my mind time to run wild picturing the cruelest instruments, trying to guess which weapon he will select, which technique will inflict pain next, his words or his hands.

Airdan steps in front of me with an assortment of knives in hand. Ah, there we go. We’re getting into knife play today.

I keep my snarky comment to myself, holding onto my promise not to utter a word in front of him. He’s taken enough from me.

“Let’s switch things up today, shall we, Unifier?”

Silence is my only response, and his eye twitches in annoyance.

I cock a brow in challenge, waiting for his next move.

The cold breeze subsides and a semblance of warmth returns to my body as I ready myself to endure the pain to come. Comfort is an illusion here. It doesn’t exist, and I know not to hold on to its false promise, even for mere seconds.

My stomach drops when the poison retreats and my blood stops boiling. I’ve gotten so used to it, I forgot what it’s like not to feel its constant ache. I almost don’t believe, at first.

I’m convinced it’s another one of his ruses until the acid dissolves in my veins, leaving only a dull throb, and my power awakens. My eyes widen as I feel the dark energy coursing through my system, eagerly reclaiming its rightful place. With it, a familiar numbness takes over. My eyes roll back as I taste the shadow world again, flirting beneath my skin, begging to get out and show him what we can do together.

“Show me.” Airdan’s voice trembles with excitement, barely containing himself.

The corner of my lips curve into a smirk as I tame the energy, locking it down inside me.

Over my dead body, asshole.

The first blow lands on my chest, slicing through rosy skin barely mended from his last visit. I welcome the sharp sting of the blade with a hiss, blowing air out of my nose.

“I said show me.”

I clench my jaw, set on not showing him shit, and earn new cuts in the process. I smile when blood splashes on his pristine white shirt. Erasing the smug look on his face is worth all the pain in the world.

I fucking hate how he looks at me, like he owns me, like I belong to him.

“So, you want to play games.” He pulls out a small knife from his set and rests the tip on my bare leg. The cold surprises me, and goosebumps erupt all over my skin.

Airdan slowly drags the blade over my thigh, almost caressing me with it.

My breath hitches in my throat when a piece of my skin peels off with the knife, revealing the bloodied flesh underneath. I stare at my leg, not feeling a thing until the pain flares and explodes.

I tremble, my hands closed in fists and my knuckles whitening as I repress a scream.

My power responds instantly, jumping to the surface, begging me to release it and fight back. A rush of energy fills my head, but I don’t let it show. I won’t play his game. Instead, I infuse the tiniest sliver of power to numb the pain and push it away.

Airdan and I lock eyes as he slides the small blade beneath my index finger nail next. Oh, this is going to hurt like a motherfucker.

As promised, he rips off several of my nails, leaving my hands dripping blood, but I don’t utter a word. Misery is part of me now. Pain is my new normal. I can’t remember what it feels like to not suffer every second of every day. Part of me thinks I never will, but it’s fine. It means I’m learning to survive with it.

“Tell me, Elanor.” He wipes his hands on his dark pants. “What did you see in Azran?” A growl forms in my throat at the mention of my mate. “Why you picked a Fae who fails to match your true worth and potential is beyond me. Help me understand why you would settle for someone utterly beneath you.”

My power thrashes inside me. I can barely contain it.

“He’s merely a puppy trying to take on wolves. A harmless and insignificant being.”

The last thread that was holding me back snaps, and my vision darkens. Dark energy leaps from my chest before I can call it back. The shards of shadows go right through him before disappearing.

Panting, I screw my eyes closed to try and rein in the fury fueling my power.

“Beautiful.” My eyes snap open as Airdan licks his lips and extends a hand to caress my face. I bare my teeth with a snarl, but he pulls away before I get the chance to bite his finger off. “My murderous creature.”

I stare back into his eyes and my blood freezes. A knot forms in my stomach as shame and disgust fight for the front row seat. My power shuts down instantly, retreating to the hidden corners of my soul, hiding from his lewd gaze.

My chest caves in as cold sweat trickles down my back. He wins this round, and I’m left grappling with what’s left of myself, feeling soiled and tainted. But Airdan, his emerald eyes shine with lust.