Marked By The Unseelie

Chapter 32 Prisoner

Chapter 32 

The glow in his eyes is making it obvious that he is furious with me, but he is keeping his temper in check with his closed fists.

"Livia, I am waiting for your answer." The harshness of his tone shakes me out of my panic.

"It was...I was just..." Of all the times my brain decides to shut down it has to be now! With everything that I have learned and that has happened today, I guess that it would be normal. "I was getting some fresh air. Jade also wanted to go out for a stroll. Right, Jade?"
Unfortunately, Jade doesn't seem to be in a cooperative mood. He's snarling at Zhier and taking a defensive stance by placing one of his massive paws slightly in front of me. They say that animals can sense danger, and right now, Jade is probably seeing Zhier as a threat, which troubles me even more. The situation could go any worse from here, I hope.

"A stroll, you say?" I return my attention to Zhier, who is now crossing his arms. He's smiling, but it's the type of smile that seems to hide something dark. "Are you sneaking out every night?"

"No, I'm not."

"No?" Zhier starts to question me, his smile growing strained. "I was watching you dismount Jade with ease, like you have done it a lot of times. I don't see you riding Jade in the morning for you to get your confidence like that." He lets out a short breath. "Livia, there are times when I let it slide whenever you lie to me, and right now, this isn't one of those. Don't make me repeat my question. Are you doing this every night?"

"I'm telling you the truth when I said no." Fortunately, it's the truth as there's a scheduled time for me to head to the Unseelie Court.

"How often do you go out then?" When Zhier attempts to take a step closer to me, Jade starts to move like he is going to bite him. I quickly pulled him back while letting out an irritated sigh.

"Lay off, Zhier. It's already late, and I want to sleep. I'm tired." Hopefully, by acting this way, Zhier will drop the subject and forget about it.

"You wouldn't have been tired if you didn't go out."

"What else do you want me to do here, Zhier!?" I can't believe that I just yelled at him like that, but I could not help it. I'm angry, scared, and confused. I know that I am not in the best place for an argument right now, but I just can't help but explode. "You already have me locked up in this place. It's so suffocating. I just wanted some air and I can't even get that without being questioned."

"If you wanted to take a stroll, you could have told me and I would have accompanied you."

"You want to accompany me to make sure that I do not run away, right?" Zhier suddenly turns mute at my question, making me scoff. "I knew it. I'm not your guest, Zhier. To you, I am your prisoner." I shake my head, not even bothering to look at him because of my disgust. "Goodnight, Zhier." I start to lead Jade and walk past Zhier from my balcony and back into my room. My earlier fears have been completely replaced by anger. I was really just saying all of those things to stir up some drama and get an excuse not to talk to him, but after some thinking, I realized that my words were true. I really am his prisoner in this realm.

I was going to head for my bed when Zhier suddenly laughed, sending chills crawling up my arms. I return my gaze to him as he continues to bark up those maniacal laughs of his. "A prisoner?" He wheezes like it was some sort of funny joke that only he could understand.

What is wrong with him?

I watch and cling onto Jade because the fear that has been previously pushed back by anger suddenly returns.

"You call yourself a prisoner when you are free to roam around the palace. You were even fed with good food and were permitted to learn our language!" Zhier lets out a long breath, composing himself before turning towards me. I used to enjoy seeing Zhier smile, but right now, his smile seems to be some sort of mask to hide his true intentions. "It seems like you do not know the true meaning of the word prisoner, which is why I am going to treat you like one from now on."

"What are you talking about?"

Zhier starts to step out of my room as he stayed at my balcony wearing a cold expression. "Until you tell me where you've been and how often you leave for the night, you will not be leaving this room." The moment I saw Zhier start to spread his hands and close them into fists, I knew that he was using his magic. The doors, both from my room and to the balcony door, are starting to disappear like they are being swallowed by the walls.

"Zhier, no!" At my outburst, Jade begins to rush to attack Zhier, but the doors have fully disappeared before he could even reach him. Jade collides with the wall and crumples to the floor with a whimper. I ran after Jade, trying to see the extent of his injuries. Fortunately, it is just a small bump on the head. I gritted my teeth and glared at the wall that soon started to become so glass-like that I could see Zhier looking down on me. "Stop this, Zhier!" I scream and pound on the thick glass wall that's separating us.

"Be a reliable bethroted and tell me the truth, Livia."

"Bethroted!?" I screamed and got up from my feet. I glare hatefully at Zhier. "That title is fake! You and I have nothing to do with each other. We are not lovers, and, just now, we're no longer even friends!" I removed the earring that he gave me for the sole purpose of protecting me and threw it at him. It hits the wall and falls to the floor.

Somehow, it feels so long ago that he was someone that I considered an ally who would protect me. But now, it seems like I need to be protected from someone like him.

"Get some help because you are clearly having the delusion that you and I have something to do with each other."

Zhier's expression starts to become blank before a shadow casts over his eyes. I could not tell what he's thinking at that moment because he quickly turned his back.

"You said you were tired. Get some sleep. I will come back tomorrow. Hopefully, you would be calmer to talk to by then."

"We're not finished yet, Zhier! Come back here!"

Zhier's wings begin to protrude from his back. He didn't even spare me a glance before he flew off, leaving me screaming and yelling for him to return.

*~*~*~END OF CHAPTER~*~*~*