A Court of Lightning and Shadows

Twenty-nine

Briar finally reached the top of the stairs she had been climbing for a while now. The hallway was empty and there were no guards to be seen.

She couldn't hear or smell anyone near. The only smell that filled her senses, was the smell of dirt.

She had been tugging on the bond like crazy, but Azriel hadn't answered.

Her hand was still pressed against her wound, which was closing slowly. Blood still came out. The pain was bad, but she couldn't wait. She had to escape now.

At the end of the hallway was one door. The rest of the hallway was made out of stone.

It took her longer to reach the door than she expected. She bit on her lip to keep the tears from falling. When she reached the door, it luckily opened. It wasn't locked. Briar let out a sigh of relief until she looked further.

There were more stairs.

A few minutes later she made it up the stairs. She panted heavily as she rounded a corner in de long hallway.

She carefully opened a door and was met by the sound and view of hundreds of Fae. Everyone stared at her as the sounds in the room slowly softened.

People moved backwards, looking scared. They were probably thinking she was an escaping prisoner.

Guards moved forward, but kept their distance.

Her eyes scanned the room. There was an exit on the other side of the room. It would take her some time to reach it.

Briar found Illyrian wings move towards her. She moved away from the door, keeping to the wall and trying to reach the exit before her father.

"What did you do?" he yelled. "You can't do anything, so don't bother causing a scene."

Her fathers footsteps closed in and she turned around.

Anger started taking over her fear. Her father and brother had abused her for years. No one had ever done anything to stop it.

Day after day, she got beaten. She only healed because of her Fae abilities. Sometimes she wouldn't heal at all. They had left more scars on her body than she could count. Her body and mental state were permanently scarred.

Her father gritted his teeth and repeated his words, "Don't cause a scene."

She stared at him as she realized what he had done to her.

She had finally managed to find happiness. She had found her mate and a family. They had tried to take it away from her, for their own pleasure.

"You know Faebane works off in a few hours." she said softly.

Her father's eyes grew wider, but he kept his face blank. Her brother's face showed fear. People started whispering and walking out of the room.

Briar kept her gaze on her father as he took a step forward. "Don't take another step." she said. Her father surprisingly stopped.

The familiar warmth tingled through her hands. Before she could progress what she was doing, she slammed her father against the wall, hard enough to make the room shudder.

His face now showed his emotions. Fear and pain. She loved to see the pain.

"You ruined my life." she yelled. Tears filled her eyes.

The room had turned quiet again.

"You abused me for years. My whole life. What did I do to deserve it?" she asked. He didn't answer. "What did I do?" she yelled the words in his face. "You took everything away from me. Even though I never had anything to start with. And you not only clipped my wings, you also took them." she yelled with tears streaming down her face.