𝔸 ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕎𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕙 (Book 2)

Twenty-one

"Yes, High Lord?" I said as I stood in Tamlin's office once more.

    I'd stopped short as I entered, noticing how all traces of the accident had been covered up. The floors had been swept, the windows replaced, the book placed back on the walls, and the furniture that had flown everywhere had been neatly placed back where it once was.

    All evidence that anything happened had vanished. Sealed beneath a mask of power.

    Tamlin lifted his chin in front of me, "How many warnings have I given you, Danika?" His tone dripped with silent venom.

    It was the same every time. The intimidation. The need to instill fear in me. I hated that it all worked.

    "I've lost count," I answered him. The last few months have been full of ominous warnings to stay away from Feyre. And Be the best sister to Feyre.

    If you don't wear this dress I'll lock you up.

    Stay away from the people, they didn't do anything.

    I'd heard it all. It had started with a few a week, then it turned into every conversation we had.

I wondered if another explosion would happen this time. Maybe this time he'd finally kill me.

    "I've had enough," Tamlin said as he looked down and sifted through a few papers on his desk. There was a moment of silence, "Your sister needs to be protected." he stated, not bothering to look up at me, "Wards have been placed around the house, ensuring that she stays put."

    Panic coursed through my veins, "What?"

    "I will not repeat myself."

    "You can't do that to her." I nearly exclaimed. "It's a prison, not a safe house!"

    Tamlin looked up then, his eyes shone with a quiet fire that silenced me. "I don't need to explain myself to you." Amusement danced across his features and he leaned back in his chair. "You have been walking on thin ice for months. And I think you've finally broken it." a quiet smile. "Care to tell me why you've been sneaking out at night?"

My blood turned to ice in my veins. The world seemed to stop for a moment, and even the air around me seemed to chill. Careful. I'd been so careful.

"I-" I began, but came up short.

"Don't bother. I already know."

I didn't think I could feel worse. But I thought I might just pass out then and there. It was a small miracle I managed to keep myself upright.

    Tamlin's face went from amused to seething, I could have sworn the walls around me were itching to be released into the air, "How long have you been reporting to the Night Court?"

    Relief. So much relief. Then confusion. So much confusion.

    "What are you talking about?" I asked.

    "Do you believe me so stupid?" He nearly yelled, but his next words were lethally calm, "I've had enough of your insolence."

    He looked behind me, "Take her back." The guards approached, two grabbed my arms and began leading me back to my room. I couldn't help but feel like I was back Under the Mountain, being dragged back to my dark cell.

Suddenly the walls looked like stone, and the halls were lit by dim torches. I couldn't breathe. I needed the guards to let me go. I needed to remember what the feeling of air in my lungs felt like.

    Through my memories, I vaguely registered the guards pulling me past the hall to my room and down a different hall. I could feel the leering stares of the people Under the Mountain as their prying eyes watched me.

    I couldn't be back there. I wouldn't make it out this time.

    Through my blurred vision, I saw that the guards that bound me like chains had come to a stop at a door. The worst part was that I wasn't sure the stone on the walls was entirely my imagination anymore.

    The door was metal, with a small slot in the middle for food.

Mother spare me.

"Please," I whimpered as I shook my head vigorously. I couldn't.

No.

    I wouldn't make it.

    The guards opened the door with a pair of jingling keys. The room was stone, and I prayed to every god I knew that this was just some panicked vision from my imagination. The guards threw me in and I fell to my knees.

    The sound of clanking metal sounded behind me as the doors shut. I was consumed by unending darkness.

    I couldn't breathe.

    I couldn't feel.

    I couldn't see.

    I couldn't do anything.

    I collapsed on the dark and dirty floors. Too many times I'd been locked away. Too many times.

    The shadows surrounded me. Suffocated me. I so barely registered the familiar itch under my skin that I knew as my own power. My own power had turned against me.

Oxygen escaped me. I forgot how to breathe.

    Darkness claimed me.

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

A/N: sorry I didn't update, I had some stuff going on and wasn't in the right headspace to write.

love youuuuuu