Page 7

Chapter Seven

A elia

“Prepare for his arrival?” The question came out in a high-pitched squeal, in a voice I could barely recognize as my own, the sound too sharp and abrasive.

At my words, the eerie crimson runes burned brighter, illuminating the cell in a surge of the infernal hue. I blinked quickly, my pupils adjusting to the most light I’d seen in over a month. Every shadowed corner of the cell appeared now in great sharpness. The jagged black stone floor, the rivulets of murky fluid streaming down the walls, the chamber pot…

I held my hands out in front of me, my skin coated in that unnatural blood-red glow. The mystical shackles were still there, encircling my wrists and siphoning the power from my veins. Dirt encrusted my fingernails, lined the creases in my palms, dusted over every inch of my flesh. My cream tunic was filthy, now a dull gray streaked in mud, and only the gods knew what else.

How had I become this?

Once my pupils had adjusted to the light, I crept forward, moving toward the creature on the other side of the twisted bars. The blanket of darkness surrounding him dissipated and slivers of his form appeared for the first time beneath the deep ruby glow.

I reached for the metal bars, but an unfamiliar energy pulsated from the red runes, increasing in intensity as I loomed closer.

I wouldn’t touch those if I were you . Another voice, the one that had starred in my nightmares for weeks upon my arrival at Luce, shouted across my mind. Worse, his image appeared a moment later, that Raysa-cursed ethereal glow emanating from his form. Lucian. He plopped down onto the cot along the wall, folding his long legs, scrutinizing green eyes locked on mine.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t keep my gaze from tracing the dark circles around his eyes, nose and mouth, then dropping lower, to his neck where deep purple bruises marred his pale skin. Where Ruhl’s shadows had penetrated before brutally stealing the light from his eyes. Had he deserved it? Yes. But it didn’t make watching his gruesome death any easier.

It won’t be pleasant, little Kin .

“What do you care?” I barked.

Lucian shrugged, leaning back against the wall of obsidian. Streams of black dripped along his pristine white uniform, that of a Royal Guardian. One he would never truly wear because Ruhl had killed him. I don’t care. Not really . But you must, or I wouldn’t be here .

Dropping my hands before they reached the bars, I tangled my fingers together, embarrassed by the filth crusting every inch of my body.

You should probably stop speaking to me out loud. I believe you are scaring the guard . Lucian ticked his chin at the Night Fae on the other side of the cell.

The male’s hood had fallen back, revealing the outline of his rough features. Not a beast, as I’d imagined, but a mortal-like form with sharply pointed ears and hair the color of ripe currants. Beneath the haze of the burgundy light, I couldn’t quite determine if his skin also held that ruddy hue, or if it was merely a reflection of the unearthly glow. Those citrine orbs of his were locked on me, dark brows knitted together as they razed over every inch of my disheveled form.

“If I’m to see the king, perhaps a bath would be in order?” I spat.

“No bath,” he growled.

“Why not?”

“The king has not given that command.”

“Then what order has he given?” I stepped closer, emboldened by the first conversation I’d had with a real being in thirty-seven days.

I’m hurt, little Kin. I am real .

“You are not real!” I gritted out, whipping my head over my shoulder at Lucian. A wicked smirk tipped up the corner of his lips.

Pivoting to face the Night guard once more, I found those iridescent yellow eyes wide. Ignoring his expression, I pressed on. “What’s your name?”

“What does it matter?”

“I wish to know who is holding me prisoner.”

“It is not I who hold you prisoner. You are now the property of the King of the Court of Infernal Night.”

“And what does he want with me?”

“How should I know? I am nothing more than his humble servant.”

I nearly snorted on a laugh. Clearly, Helroth ran his realm with a much tighter fist than those of the other royals. There was nothing humble about a single Light or Shadow Fae.

Gods, my fingers itched for the comforting hilt of my dagger. My dagger ! I’d had it when the king had dragged me into this hellhole. “Where is my dagger?”

A sinister chuckle curled his lips. “How would I know? You were relieved of all weapons upon your arrival to Helspire Keep.”

“That’s where we are?”

He nodded. “In a manner of speaking.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’ve said enough. The king will be here shortly.” The guard folded his arms across his chest, clearly signaling the end of the conversation, the dark fabric of the cloak a painful reminder of Reign’s.

My heart staggered for an instant before continuing to trudge along sullenly. Now was not the time for weakness, mental or otherwise. I must sharpen my wits if I wished to survive this. I was once Aelia, carved of stone, was I not?

Hardly . Lucian’s chuckle grated on my nerves. You are nothing but a weak little Kin .

Biting my tongue to keep the contemptuous retort from flying out, I attempted to continue the interrogation of my guard. “At least tell me your name?”

“Why?”

“So that I may know for whom to call.”

“I am not your servant to be summoned.”

“But you are the one who has been bringing my food?”

His head dipped. “At my lord’s orders.”

“So at least give me your name so that I may thank you.”

He huffed out a breath, shaking his head so tendrils of dark, wine-stained locks brushed over his prominent nose. “Kaelith, that is my name.”

“A pleasure.” I offered my most convincing smile. “I am Aelia Ravenwood.”

A sinister chuckle bubbled out. “I know who you are, Light Fae—or should I say infantum od twilit. ”

The tiny hairs along my arms rose as that eerie chanting the day the Night Fae had appeared along the border of the Wilds infiltrated my thoughts. Infantum od twilit . The call had filled the air moments before King Helroth had emerged from the pits of hell to capture me.

“What does it mean?” Even before the question popped out, I knew the answer. It was the reason for everything that had happened from the moment Raysa had taken it upon herself to bless me with this cursed Light mark. The child of twilight .

Stars, it always came down to the gods’ damned prophecy.

“King Helroth will be here shortly, I suggest you prepare.”

“How should I prepare? You offer me no bath, no clean clothes. What is it you’d like me to do, exactly?”

“Patience, Light Fae.” His dark brows furrowed in concentration as he brought his hands together. A velvety orb appeared between his palms, and the now familiar scent of zar reached my nostrils. It slowly expanded, growing ever larger until it seeped through the space between the bars holding me captive.

The icy bubble of darkness swept over me, and a surge of frost rushed through my veins. All the air siphoned from my lungs at the swell of power. It was altogether exhilarating and frightening in the same moment.

My tattered clothes disintegrated before my eyes, replaced by a sumptuous gown that flowed and glittered like a starlit ebony sky. The lustrous, silky material caressed my skin, bathing my body in a surge of undiluted energy. The zar prickled my flesh, awakening something dark and ancient within.

Our visit to Mysthallia surged to the surface, followed by Melisara’s foretelling words: “… whoever bound you... their magic is powerful and dark. Very dark .” Not only had my abilities been bound by rais and nox , but they’d also been spelled by zar , the mysterious third power gifted to the Night Fae by the banished god, Zaroth.

The brush of silky hair across my bare shoulders tore me from my thoughts of the past back to the present, to the gloomy cell surrounding me. Glancing down, I took in the exquisite gown and elaborate slippers which Kaelith had summoned from thin air. Not only were my clothes extravagant, but my hair had been brushed and styled, and every speck of dirt that had marred my body, removed.

Blinking quickly, I swiveled toward my guard, my wavy, raven locks bouncing across my shoulders with the movement. “How did you do that?”

“Cursed illusions. Are you not familiar with the abilities of the Night Fae?”

“I cannot say I am. Until a month ago, I had been assured you were all extinct.”

Kaelith wagged a long finger, nail filed to a pointed tip in my direction. “That will teach you never to trust Light Fae.”

“I don’t,” I blurted.

“Good. Then perhaps you’ll one day see the outside of this cell.”

I opened my mouth to ask more when Kaelith’s citrine eyes grew ominously wide. “He’s here,” he hissed, before disappearing once again into his cloak of velvety night.