A Court Of Nightmares

Chapter Eighteen Trapped

Rhys teleported us to the very place he and Azriel snatched me from. Glancing at the manor I realized that I've never been so thankful to see the color navy in my whole life. The sun was fully up at this point beating down on us. I guessed that it was early afternoon at best since I had no idea how long I was stuck in the Court of Nightmares. My eyes squinted from the flood of light suddenly blinding my vision since I was in the dark for hours.

I stepped forward as Rhys cleared his throat from beside me, making me pause.

"Tell no one what had happened in the Court of Nightmares, not even Ignes. I expect you to accept Jalen's proposal by tonight." Rhys said casually, leaning on the same tree I tried to take Azriel out on earlier.

I sighed, I couldn't even step into the house without being reminded. You would think I could breathe for a second after getting threatened and thrown around. My body still ached from it. Whatever Rhys did to numb it down in the cells was slowly going away by the minute. I nodded deeply towards him and kept walking. Before I could head to the door I spun my heel towards him remembering a slight detail.

"I would like my clothes back. Ignes made me those and I wouldn't want to lose them."

Rhys chuckled at the innocent demand I made. Then dipped his head slightly disappearing in front of my eyes with a grin on his face.

My eyes glared at the spot he was occupying, making sure he was truly gone. Relieved, I clutched the handle to the stairs leading into the kitchen and kept walking. The door was wide open yet everything was abandoned. It didn't even have a lingering scent of Mia's morning homemade bread. I took off the slippers Rhys had put on me and left them at the door. Not wanting to let anything from the Court of Nightmares linger in the house. Even though I still wore the revealing black dress.

"Hello?" I yelled, my voice echoing into the manor.

How odd, normally there would be at least one person that always liked to stay behind. Maybe they were out looking for me? Yet I doubt that Andrei would care if I was alive or dead in a ditch somewhere. Unless Ignes forced him to look for me. That could be the only reason it could be empty. I called out again hoping to get an answerback, yet nothing. I was only able to hear the wind going through the open windows.

I went out to the foyer and scaled up the stairs. My body aching at every step, but I continued only to hear a slight sniffing nearby. Which made me shuffle my way up the stairs faster as I recognized the cries.

"Ignes!" I yelled anxiously, tracking the weeping to my room, which was cracked open as I pushed the door further. I saw something that I thought I would never see in my whole life.

Ignes was on the dark wooden floor crying bunched up into a ball. She was out of her normal colorful dresses and in my black training clothes. Her pin-straight hair was out of her face into a ponytail as if she was ready to fight if necessary. Yet her swollen eyes and damp cheeks said otherwise. I didn't even say a word nor did she look up at me from the sound. I wrapped my arms around her tightly even though she hated physical touch. I knew she needed this.

"Nyx," Ignes whimpered, putting one lazy arm around my shoulder. "What in caldron's name are you wearing?"

I laughed despite the pain in my body as I let go of her. Ignes took my hands as she whipped her tears from her face. I smiled slightly at her. "If that is the first thing you ask me, you seriously need to set your priorities straight."

She chuckled.

"You might be right, but I'm glad you're okay," Ignes said, slowing her breathing a bit.

It went silent for a moment as she squeezed my hands. I had so many questions and I bet I wasn't the only one. Ignes seemed to notice without speaking and sighed, aggressively letting go of my hands.