Azriel | Lux Ex Tenebris ✓

Chapter 63: Torture Master

✧Misma POV✧

"Here you go," Helion mumbled, helping Lucien to sit down on a chair, Elain closely trailing behind them. "Fetch some water for my son! And blankets."

A moment after appearing here Rhysand had left to reunite Vassa with Jurian. Before that she had given me the onyx box I since then held tightly in my trembling hand. Gods, I clung to it like my life depended on it. Even when Azriel nudged my side and wanted to take the box from me, I shook him off.

Nuala and Cerridwen immediately brought all the requested things, covering a shivering Lucien in blankets. Then the High Lord's son obviously had to explain how everything  had happened. Like Elain saw in her vision, he stopped at a lake to fetch some water to drink. Koschei who could winnow people managed to somehow appear in this lake, his power fueled by the anger that we were looking for his soul. He had found out about it. Had found out that the parts had been put together. Sucking Lucien into the water, he bound him to it and dragged or rather winnowed him to his own lake on the continent. That was where he had held him captive until we arrived. His power, the power he still had after having been bound to a lake for centuries, still sent a bolt of terror through my chest. When thinking about all of it again, the terror collided with dread and sent a icy fire throughout my whole body.

Moving behind him, Elain brushed her hands through Lucien's tangled and wet strands of hair, leaning down and placing her chin on top of his head, a loud sigh slipping through her lips.

"He showed you something, didn't he? He showed you a vision?"

Turning towards me, Nesta examined my face, running her eyes over my whole trembling figure. One hand I removed form the box and held onto another chair, my fingers curling around the back of it. Slowly I dipped my chin, my gaze not leaving Lucien.

"What did he show you?" Cassian then asked, and I felt an arm curl around my waist, the scent of night-chilled mist and cedar filling enveloping me. I drew in a shuddering breath.

"Mostly him and I as a couple. And we ruled over...over the world I think and then...then there were those dead bodies and you all—"

"Among them? Among the dead bodies?" Cassian interrupted me but I shook my head. "No. You were in a dungeon, held captive, chained and stuff." Cassian sighed in relief, still a bitter expression lacing his features.

"But what now? Now that he is escaped. We have no idea where he is. We have no idea what to do with him. How we can get back to him. How to destroy him. Or how to stop him from what he is about to do."

Rhys clapped Cassian' shoulders tightly, shifting past him and leaning his hip against the table. He slid his hands into the pockets of his pants and then exhaled loudly. "It probably won't be hard to find him. He won't waste a lot of time before going into war with us. And there is anyways no stopping him anymore. From what I saw when I shortly got an insight into his mind," —he paused, moving his jaw left and right— "Koschei will go into war with us and has Vallahan and Rask behind him. They have been readying for war and his return for months now. In absolute secrecy, there was no way for us, for Azriel's spies or for Mor to figure it out." I had no idea if anyone was screaming of if is was just the blood ringing in my ears but my knees gave out and a sharp pain erupted in my heart when Azriel held tightly onto me, stopping me from falling. The blood was heavily pumping through my veins, my stomach twisted and churned and I sagged back against my mate. It made no sense to me—nothing made sense to me."Why would Vallahan and Rask support him?" I quite dumbfounded asked no one in particular.

"Because the continent stands behind him. They always did. Always continued believing in the old gods and hoping for their return. Hoping for the world to be as it once used to be," Cassian mumbled.