The Crystal Mines

28 Faolan

I dreamed about a beautiful male with two different colored eyes. A smile that could brighten the room. Confidence perfectly balanced with humility. Of scars undeserved and unwavering drive to love in rebellion to a childhood lived in the depths of Hells.

I dreamed of a friend that took my breath away, every step of the way. Someone that burst into my life gloriously. She claimed me as her own and held on tight. My best friend. My family.

Consciousness came and went. Like waves against the shore. Crashing and violent. I would catch glimpses of figures white all over. Hair, eyes of ice, porcelain skin. An image so clean, it was filthy. Dreams once again.

Finally, after some time, I was able to hold my eyes open. I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep. The only indication of time was how sore my limbs were, chained to the stone table. I shifted my legs the best I could, my muscles screaming for relief.

"That's the longest I've seen you keep your eyes open."

I turned to the direction of the voice, regretting the small movement. My neck pulled at something pinching the side.

"Don't. You have one in your neck."

Footsteps and shuffling fell dead in the room. Reed appeared over me, looking solemn. When did he start seeming nice? I scrunch my nose in disgust.

"I know you don't like me. But I've already told your friend my story. You were out cold on the crystal. You four must survive."

I blinked at the red breaded man.

"You have crystals all over your body. They embedded them into the skin. It had to be done while you were all in your animal forms. You passed out after the seventh round."

"And Nik?"

"She lasted twelve rounds. The prince, fifteen. Sorin, withstood fourteen."

My mouth flopped open as I choked on words. They used us like soil, watering their crystals with our blood. And now we sat here, marinating the most recent batch. Gods. Sorin and the prince had been subject to this. For years.

"Most Fae don't make it past their third implantation. My wife could only handle two a day before her body would give out."

The guard's openness threw me off. Of all of the prison guards, he always seemed the most, alive. But he was always with Nik and Callion, so I never got to truly learn much about him. The man had a wife once.

I cleared my throat, the crystal brushing up against it. "What was her name?" I watched his face.

He went still, graven. "No one has asked that before. Her name was Dolta."

Dolta? Surely it was coincidental. It couldn't be the Electromancy Master. She didn't have a kind bone in her body and worked for Erix.

"What happened?" I asked.

"He bred her like a mare. In front of me. Like I said, I told your friend."

Not the same person then.

I closed my eyes in response, ending the conversation. When I heard him walk away, I stared at the ceiling. As time passed, I tried the mental speak that Nik taught us. I tried over and over, searching for her or Callion to answer. My attempts fell on the mental void. After a while, Sorin woke, his chains rattling against the stone as he fought the restraints. He didn't speak, just watched the ceiling. Waiting.

We didn't have to wait long.

Scylla appeared and undid the locks to our tables. Her twin, Izell, tended to Sorin. They checked their stock of crystals on our bodies. My throat filled with bile at the sight of my limbs and torso, covered in them, like gaudy baubles at a market. The skin around them was red and swollen, some caked with blood. They handed us a morsel of food. Food we knew would just come back up. We ate in a few bites, the food stale and tasteless. Scylla looked to her sister and together they helped us stand. We marched our way to The Pit.