Page 81 of Oaths & Vengeance (Realm of Zadrya #1)

Aella

I lay in a puddle of misery on the floor.

My left arm was broken in multiple places, and both my ankles looked like large melons from when they’d thrown me against the wall while I was still chained to the floor.

When the swelling became so bad that my feet and left hand changed colors, they’d taken all the shackles off.

I was so weak from injuries, dehydration, and blood loss that I couldn’t have escaped if they left the cell door wide open.

“I’m running out of patience, Aella. If you don’t tell me how you’re involved with the Veronnians, I will have no choice except to kill you,” he said, glaring down at me.

The horrible image of Darrow freezing to death ran across my mind. Did he survive?

My voice came out in a croak as I returned to the present. “We’ve been searching…for a way…to get the Naforya Fountain back.”

My mind was so hazy from repeated blows to the head, but I stayed with that point no matter what my uncle or others did to me. I was beyond giving clever answers at this point.

“Yes, yes. You’ve said that already. Do you really think I’m so foolish as to believe that’s all you’ve been doing?” he asked.

I weakly lifted my head to meet his gaze. “Is it really so bad…if some of us are willing…to work together…to get the fountain back?” I asked, wishing for water to soothe my aching throat. “Our world…is dying.”

“Have you considered there might be a better solution, and the fountain’s return would jeopardize that,” he replied .

He was selfish, so damn selfish. How could he condemn the rest of this world for whatever plans only benefited him? Considering his alliance with the dark elves, I had to presume they were part of this as well. If I could think more clearly, I’d try asking him some pointed questions.

Instead, I gave him the most defiant look I could manage. “If you don’t want the fountain returned…then we have nothing to discuss.”

He crouched and picked up a lock of my matted blonde hair from my face, twisting it between his fingers.

“Dear Aella, I must assume Darrow wants your assistance because he believes you are strong enough to channel to its location. Until recently, I hadn’t thought you were powerful enough, but now I see why he’d seek you out.

Your magic is far beyond my expectations and could easily bring us back to the fae home world. Wouldn’t you like that better?”

“Faelaria…is lost to us,” I said. Was he delusional? Seelie couldn’t even inhabit most of it with all the changes to the planet after we left.

“No.” My uncle dropped my hair and brushed my cheek gently with the back of his hand as if he really cared, but I knew he was only employing a new strategy on me.

“There is a way back for some of us, but it requires sacrifice. They would certainly love to have someone like you, but only if we can be certain of your loyalty.”

“I’m not betraying Darrow,” I croaked.

Lord Morgunn snorted. “Do you think his intentions are pure? Someone like him will use and discard you once you’ve served your purpose. He plays dangerous games. I’ve done my best to shield you from fae court politics, but he would put you directly in the middle of them.”

He paused, giving me a pitying look. “If you tell me what you’ve been doing with him and what he’s told you, I am certain I could resolve the matter so you will be safe from his manipulations.”

My uncle must have thought I was gullible. Regardless, if he found out I was married to Darrow, he’d surely kill me. Nothing I said was going to improve my fate.

Drawing a deep breath, I spoke the words that would condemn me. “It doesn’t matter…what Darrow was doing…because I will never support you again. You hurt…innocent people. ”

“You foolish girl,” he growled, grabbing my throat to lift me and slam me into the stone wall. “Such powerful, unmatched magic, yet you’d rather die than be loyal to your family.”

Stars danced in my vision from the latest blow to my head, and I was unable to breathe.

“If that’s how you truly feel, then I’ll end you now!” he shouted, mottled rage worse than I’d ever seen before written on his face.

This was it—my time to die. I only wished I could have retrieved the fountain first. Lord Morgunn jerked me forward and slammed me hard into the stone a second time, and agonizing pain exploded as my skull cracked.

My vision darkened. Something sticky ran down the back of my neck.

I thought for sure one more blow would finish me, and I waited for it with no energy left to resist.

The room suddenly went quiet.

“You are going to gently lower Aella to the floor and let go of her,” a familiar voice I hadn’t heard in months said. It was so omnipotent and deep that it almost hurt my ears.

“Of course,” Lord Morgunn replied.

I wished I could see, but the blows to my head had been too hard. In the next moment, I was carefully deposited on the stone floor. As soon as my uncle let go of my neck, I tried to suck in a breath, but barely any air made it to my lungs. He’d squeezed my throat so hard that it had swelled.

“Now, you are going to leave your niece alone and harm her no more. If anyone asks, you will tell them you’re giving her quiet and solitude to consider her choices.”

Lord Morgunn didn’t reply to that, but I listened to his footsteps as he retreated and shut the cell door behind him. I lay there, unable to rise and barely able to suck in a tiny thread of air.

“Oh, sweet Aella.” The nameless god pressed his hand to my cheek. “I’d truly hoped you’d be sensible and string him along with unimportant information until your husband rescued you, but you’ve really been letting that defiant streak out lately.”

Warmth and magic came from his touch. First, the pain in my throat eased, then the back of my head.

It only took the powerful being moments to repair the damage.

Finally, I could breathe and see again. He stopped after that, though, not touching the rest of my injuries.

The swelling around my eyes meant I still had narrower vision than normal, but I would take what I could get.

A flask appeared next, which he opened and pressed to my lips.

I took small sips for the next few minutes until he removed it from my reach.

“My apologies, but to do more would violate the rules and get me into trouble,” he said, pulling away. “I could only help you enough to keep you alive.”

Using my good arm, I slowly sat up and leaned against the wall. My numerous broken ribs protested, making me wince and whimper. The nameless god hadn’t healed my other injuries, but at least I could think more clearly. That was something.

“How did you make my uncle leave?” I asked.

His silver eyes showed amusement. “I ordered him. He won’t remember me or what I said, but he will comply.”

“Have you ever done that to me?”

The nameless god cocked his head, and I noted he’d shaven off his black hair since I last saw him. His shiny scalp was the same almond color as the rest of him, contrasting with his pearly-white robe.

“You wouldn’t know if I had tampered with your mind, would you?”

I sighed. “Why save me at all?”

“You are important and necessary to the future,” he replied as if that wouldn’t spark my curiosity. “The rules normally state I can’t save any fae’s life, but you are an exception.”

His vague answers were annoying. “How so?”

“I’ve told you all I can.” He rose to his full height, which had to be several inches more than anyone I knew. “Stay strong, Aella. Your husband will be on his way soon, so your time in this place won’t be for much longer.”

“Darrow is alive?” I asked, hope filling me for the first time in days.

The god nodded. “With all his parts intact—in case you were worried. He only needed some time to heal before his first thought was of you. I told you he was the better choice. ”

Then he disappeared, his light vanishing with him. I hadn’t realized he’d emitted a glow until he left. My uncle must have taken his lantern with him as well. Now, I was left broken and alone in the dark, but at least my future didn’t look quite as grim.