The Prophecy - ACOTAR

Chapter 33

Astrid's eyes opened, a damp chill coated her aching body, her heartbeat picked up at the familiar feelings. Her body shuddered with panic as she stared at the bone white walls from Hybern's dungeon. She looked down at her body, the red tinge of angry scars stood stark against the sickly pale white of her skin. The weight of her wings was still gone, Astrid tried glancing over her shoulder, but her body ached at the movement and her arms blocked the way.

Her wrists ached and dripped with blood as the ice-cold shackles held her up, her back hurting more than it had before at the position. The pain told her that her wings were still gone. Tears streaked down her face, she was too tired to try and hold them back, she was too tired to care who saw or heard her pain.

She had been free, she had gotten away, she was safe. But it had all been a dream, a pain and illness driven dream. Brannagh had never helped her escape, she must have stitched her up enough to keep her alive and dragged her back down here.

Click, Click, Click.

Astrid's body froze, that sound, he was coming.

"No, no, no no..." Astrid whispered to herself.

"I see you are awake cousin." Dagdan taunted.

"I was home... I can't be here... I got out..." She whispered, refusing to believe this was real.

"Did someone have a dream they got out? The best kind of torture." Dagdan chuckled.

+

Mor, Wren, and Cassian had gone off to Rita's, Feyre had stayed at the townhouse, Rhys had gone back to his palace, and Astrid and Az had gone back to the House of Wind. Astrid had wanted to relax and get some rest; it had been a long day for her, and she was still recovering. Az had been invited to go to Rita's, they both had, but he didn't want to leave Astrid alone. It was only her second day being awake, and he knew what came with emotionally healing.

Az sat in the chair by the fire in his room, plucking a melody on a guitar. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, but he needed to wait until Astrid came to him. So, he sat awake, quietly singing to himself.

Az had just been about to set his guitar down and head to bed when Astrid's crying echoed down the hall. He bolted up, heading for the door, Ryn directly on his heels. Camryn had decided to split themselves tonight, Cam went with Astrid and Ryn with Az. While Astrid had been gone, Cam had dozed in the armchair most of the time and Ryn had taken a liking to him, always choosing to sleep by him when he was in the room.

The closer he got to the room, the more he could understand her cries, she kept repeating 'no' over and over. He felt a tightness in his chest at the cried words, he could only imagine what she was reliving tonight.

Az knocked on the door as he opened it, he didn't want to startle her, but he also needed her to wake up. She stayed asleep, the muttered and cried words still repeating, her black hair sticking to her sweaty face. Tears were slowly dripping down her cheeks. He wanted to hold her, but he needed her to wake up first, he wouldn't hold her until she asked.

Az knelt by her bed, closer to the end near her hips so he wasn't directly in front of her face as Ryn hopped up on the bed next to Cam, both staring at Az. He didn't need her Daemati powers to know they were asking him to help.

"Astrid." He quietly called to her; he didn't want to touch her to wake her up just yet in case it frightened her more. Astrid shifted slightly in bed, her muttering calming down slightly. Az sighed, reaching over to grab her hand, hoping it wouldn't cause more problems, but he needed to ground her to reality. "Astrid, it's Az, I need you to wake up now."