A Court of Dark Mystery

Chapter 1

     I stared up at the rocky ceiling, shivering against the cold. It might've been winter for how the frost coated the chains that held me against the sacred stone, were it not for the fact that frost coated them all of the time. I heard the wind whistling at the small opening at the top corner of my chamber, a small bat flying in. It hung from the stalactites, staring at me through the darkness. I shifted a bit, the ashwood coating the chains burning me. I hissed through my teeth, working my way through the pain as always. My stomach rolled in hunger, aches eating away at me. The bat flew off, my eyes adjusting gingerly as it flew away. I told myself not to cry, but hot tears leaked down my face. I hadn't seen anyone in what seemed like years, and my mother had stopped visiting long ago. No guards came, nobody remembered me. My sobs filled the cave, echoing around in a spiral and out of the hole in the wall. I tried to breathe, tried to calm myself. Another sob crashed it's way out of me, into the world. The smell of citrus stuffed itself up my nostrils, and I inhaled, savoring it. 
     "Hello?" A deep, strong voice rumbled through the mountain. The shadows seemed to move by themselves. I must have finally gone crazy. "Hello?" The person said again. I swallowed, opening my mouth and speaking for the first time in years. 
     "I'm here." I rasped, my voice shaky throughout the cavern. The shadows shifted again, rolling and shifting. "My name is Rhysand." The voice said softly. "My brother, Azriel, is working on finding you a way out. He's a shadowsinger, and he won't hurt you." Fresh tears welled. "I..I don't remember my name, but I remember that there are wards against winnowing..and th-the chains are ash-ashwood coated.."
     Rhysand cursed, before muttering. "Close your eyes and try to cover yourself, okay?" I nodded quietly, closing my eyes tightly. I heard a rumble, and a huge boom. Rocks and rubble crumbled down on top of me, and I coughed. Bright light made my eyelids shutter, and wind hit me as someone landed next to me. I gingerly opened my eyes, wincing at the brightness. A tall male stood over me. His black hair reached his shoulders, and he wore some sort of armor that I didn't recognize. His brown eyes met my stare, and they were soft. "I'm Cassian, Rhysand's General of Armies." I shied away from him a bit, before another male landed next to him, his wings folding in. This one had short black hair and hazel eyes, his hands extremely scarred as I kept my gaze from meeting his. Cassian introduced the male, a bit of horror in his eyes. "That's Azriel, but I call him Az." Azriel studied the chains covering my body. 
     "We may need Amren, maybe even Helion to break the wards on these chains." Cassian nodded. "Alright kid, we're gonna get you out of here." Azriel took off, leaving. "Az and Rhys are gonna go get Helion here so we can get these chains off you, alright? I'm gonna get you some water, I'll be right back." I reached for his arm, shaking my head. "Please don't leave me alone…" I rasped, glancing at my hand. My skin was so pale, like paper. He paused. "I...alright. I'll get someone else to get you some water." I nodded as Cassian sat, staring at the sky.
     Maybe an hour later Az and two other males landed next to me, the glass of water in Cassian's hand. One looked similar to Azriel and Cassian, while the other was a dark-skinned, black haired male. Both were gorgeous, and both looked furious at the chains on me. Cassian whispered to me. "The purple eyed one is Rhysand, our High Lord. The other is Helion." Helion's eyes were filled with a slight horror, but he seemed to have pushed it down as he laid a hand on my chains. White magic flared, and the chains on my legs fell. More magic flared as the chains were burnt off me, before all of the ashwood was on the ground. Calloused hands gripped under my shoulders, careful of the burns that lined my arms and chest. They tugged me into a sitting position, helping me stay upright. I felt dizzy, staring down at the ash burns that covered my pale thighs. My hair covered most of my body, dust coating what used to be cocoa brown. A cloak was draped over my shoulders, and I quietly wrapped myself in it, shakily sliding my legs off the altar. I tried to get up myself, but firm hands quickly grabbed me before I hit the rocky floor. I turned my head, looking up at Az.
     I was short compared to him, his voice gentle as he spoke to me. "May I pick you up? We don't want you to fall before we get out of here." I nodded, letting his arms slide behind my back and knees. He swept me off the cold stone, and took to the air. I looked at that stone altar over his shoulder, that place I had rested for Mother knows how long. Dried blood crusted the stone, and the floor around it. I stared at it for a second more, before turning and letting Az take me out of the tomb.
     He flapped the powerful wings on his back, and we emerged from my cavern prison. My eyes watered as the wind hit my face, the sun warming my feet and hands. "I...I haven't seen the sun in..so long.." I whispered, my arms wrapped around Azriel's neck. Rhysand flew down next to us, flapping in place. "Do you know how long you were in there? Or maybe your name?" I shook my head, feeling like I might be sick. Night-soaked claws climbed into my head. Rhysand's eyes glazed over, before the claws retreated and he stared at me. "You really have no idea how long you were in there?" I shook my head, before speaking a bit. "I was about to turn two hundred and fifty one years old when I went in. It was about a month away from my birthday." Cassian glanced between my concerned face and Rhysand, before leading us to a flat part of the mountain. Lands and snow rolled beneath us and I shivered, the cold finally hitting me. Azriel let me stand but supported my body, quiet. "Rhys, what's wrong?"
     Rhys mumbled a bit. "Az, get her to Madja and get her taken care of. I'm going to research a bit with Cas, we'll let you know if we find anything." Azriel nodded, picking me up again and taking off, leaving Rhysand and Cassian to disappear without a trace.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed this first chapter! The next will be up soon!