Creatures of The Dark

Chapter XVI

"Lucius..."

The warmth from the hearth warmed me. The cushions were plush beneath me. Maybe...maybe if I tried really hard I could disappear into them, let the velvet sofa swallow me whole and eat me alive. I stared at the flames, wild and caged as I was. I curled my legs against me, gripping them hard when I felt his hands around my neck.

"Come here, Lucius."

I woke with a start, bile rising. He gripped my hair, pulling me against him–no. No! Breathe, Lucius. I took a deep breath and stood up. I was here. I was in my chambers. Alexandra was here. I was safe. I was in Neulight. But for how long–stop! I shook my head, taking another deep breath. I looked at Alexandra who had slept through my nightmare. They had gotten better in the years after my rescue. They were less frequent and often no longer ended in screaming. I was alright.

I walked over to the bathing chamber and stooped to splash water on my face. I had a strong urge to dump my entire head in the bucket. Would it drown out the thoughts? I stared at the ripples, watched my reflection waver. My hair had grown and now dangled just above my shoulders. My face wasn't the guant caricature I knew in the Dark Palace but would never be the childish face I knew previously. I had changed.

My cheekbones had sharpened but were flushed with life. I was muscled now, scarred also. The whip cracked like embers in the fire along my spine and burned like the hot coals left behind. Again the whip came down, drawing blood and forming welts. I dumped my head in the water; the excess sloshed over the edges, soaking my knees. The cold burned my skin but it was refreshing compared to the fiery bite of the whip. I opened my eyes and stared at the murky wood bottom of the pail and watched my hair floating around me. I exhaled. Bubbles clung to my face and my lungs began to burn. I pulled away, my lungs screaming.

I lay on the cold tile, shaking as water dripped down my neck. I was alive. I was alive. A cold hand pressed against my chest. I flinched and opened my eyes. Bright green eyes met mine. Without a word, Alexandra lowered herself next to me, not caring as the water soaked her satin shift and made her hair damp. Once again we lay next to each other, the stars replaced by the distant burn of candlelight.

"When he had me..." I took a breath, watching the shadows waver as my voice did now. I had opened up to Alexandra about what I had experienced in the palace, but it never got easier. "When he had me after he had beaten and...and raped me, he would fall asleep. He would fall asleep with his hand around my neck. His whole body would be turned away from me, as if I wasn't a threat, but his hand would remain. I would spend hours slowly prying each finger off and shifting so he wouldn't wake.

I wasn't...I wasn't always successful. 'How dare you wake your king,' he would tell me. 'How will you make it up to me," he would ask."

Alexandra was silent a long time before speaking, "I was in the palace for weeks while he did that to you." We had spoken of her role in the Dark Palace before. I had always told her that it wasn't her fault, that there was nothing she could have done. And it was true. Truthfully, Alexandra's presence in the Dark Palace had kept me going. I didn't know it until she had left and the lack of will to live had dropped dramatically.

"You remember the day we first met?"

"Of course, Adromere had brought you to his–"

I shook my head, "No. No, the day you first saw me."

"Oh...yes, I remember."

"I couldn't take my eyes off you. I thought you were the most beautiful fae I had ever laid my eyes on. A dark fae that managed to light up the entire palace."