A Court of Sun and Flame

CHAPTER FOUR

"They've promised that dreams can come true - but forgot to mention that nightmares are dreams, too."
~Oscar Wilde.

TRIGGER WARNING: TRAUMA

I watch as the high fae female walks up the steps of the spring manor with a confidence that I wouldn't have expected from someone who has just been taken away from her mate. I went to follow her up the stairs but I felt a hand gently grab my arm, making me stop short and turn to meet my brother's eyes. The eyes of a family I always longed to be part of, a home where I could have been accepted, could have lived with my mum and father and brothers. I always wanted a big family. When i was younger i would constantly nag mum, asking her why i didn't have any sisters and brothers. Of course I was unaware of how hard it was for a fae and Illyrian to get pregnant, and that mum would never be intimate with someone else, not after my father rejected the mating bond and as a result, almost killed mum.

Now as I look into the golden ocean of my brother's eye, I wonder if I will be able to meet my brothers, maybe even have a relationship with them. But that's just another dream that will never be blessed by the sun. I stopped believing in dreams a while ago.

"Aurelia?" my brother asks with uncertainty. I don't blame him, seeing as within the past hour he just found out that he had a long-lost sister. Today has definitely been eventful.

"Hello.'' I whisper, unable to speak too loud because of the hoarseness of my voice, strained from today's events.

"Umm, i-i dont kn-"

"Listen, i know we need to talk but i haven't had a bath in however long i have been kept in his dungeons, and i am very close to collapsing due to malnourishment and dehydration, oh, and of course i can't forget the good old' faebane that i have been drugged with for cauldron's knows how long. But yes, I am your sister, you are my brother. All in all, we have the same father." I interrupted, knowing I didn't have long until I collapsed.

"What's your name?" I question, just realising that I had no idea what my brother was called. Great start.

"Lucien", he says, with the corner of his mouth turning up ever so slightly into a small loving smirk, however as soon as it comes, it goes as he notices the swaying of my body. My body surrenders itself to exhaustion as my vision blurs.

Just as I expect to hit the courtyard floor, I feel arms wrap around my body, cradling me to their chest.

Lucien.

My brother.

"Aurelia? I've got you, it's okay, you'll be okay."

His voice is the last thing I hear before I let the darkness encompass me, holding onto hope that when I wake up, I won't be back in that cell.

***

Feeling sunlight, warm against my fair skin, I just about force my eyes open before I realise that I have no idea where I am. Feeling the overbearing panic that has already started flowing through my body, I try controlling my breathing which thankfully, gives my brain enough time to come back to the present and remember where I am.

The spring court, I am in the spring court.

Lovely.

I don't have anything against the spring court but i must admit, in the early days of my capture when I would think about where the first place i would go to after escaping would be, I can confidently say that the night court is where i would have gone. But anywhere away from that cell, that mattress, and Him, is better than I could have hoped for.

Forcing myself up onto my elbows, I take in the room around me. The ceiling is covered in wallpaper covered in small wildflowers symbolising the court. There are ornate chest draws, a dressing table, and wardrobe. The bed that I'm currently lying on has woodland animals carved into the headboard, making the room a representation of the spring forests in this court.