Dance of Fate

Chapter Six

FOURTEEN YEARS LATER

-Under the Mountain-

There is only one day left until the seven times seven years are over, and all hope to save Prythian is lost. 

I do my best not to let myself hope, because the chances that Tamlin's human will save us is little, but after the vision I had of her, I cannot help but think that maybe she somehow will. 

When Rhysand was allowed to attend the Calanmai festival, to spy on Tamlin, according to him, he told me he had met a human woman. He told me everything, how he had seen her before, how he'd seen her dreams. When he showed her to me through his memory, I couldn't believe it.

The one who I had seen would be our savior was Tamlin's human lover. Not to mention she had some sort of connection to my brother. But she did not save us in the way she was meant to, by telling Tamlin that she loved him, because when I had seen her she'd been on the verge of death at Amarantha's hands. Then she'd said a few words, and the curse had broken. I still remembered what it felt like to have my power return to me, the force of it even greater than I had recalled. 

I never told Rhysand about the vision, even now. He didn't even know I had them. And I didn't want to give him false hope, either. So I kept it to myself, and prayed every night that this girl would be our salvation. 

Rhysand had gone back to see Tamlin a few days ago, at Amarantha's request. The girl had given him a fake name, which Rhys had given to Amarantha. I had been sent to take the human girl and bring her back with me. And murder her entire family. I was told to torture her, but Rhysand offered to do it. This is my doing, he'd said. I knew she had felt no pain, but it was still horrifying to watch. The image of the family's burnt bodies flashed across my mind every time I closed my eyes.

Part of me knew I was being selfish, wanting my vision to become reality. The girl had died in it, died to save us. I knew it had hurt Rhysand, because I'd heard him screaming for her, screaming in a way I had never heard before. It was another reason why I didn't want to tell him about what I had seen. He wanted to protect her, to make sure she did not come anywhere near here. That's why he'd threatened Tamlin, and why he had given Amarantha the other girls name. 

I supposed Rhysand was better than me in that way. He was better than me in a lot of ways. While I hoped that she would come and save us, Rhys wanted anything but. It made me hate myself just a little bit more.

"I suppose I should add another throne." Amarantha announced. Her blood red lips hadn't rested since the human girl's heart had stopped beating, always curled up in that horrible smile. She waved her hand, and a throne identical to her own appeared next to her. "There." She said. 

I kept my face expressionless as I stared at the empty throne. Perhaps I had been a fool to have hope. 

Perhaps we would never be freed.

...

-Velaris-

"Azriel," A voice whispered in his ear, the heat of soft breath caressing his skin. The voice made his heart beat faster, made his chest ache. The soft tingling on his ear sent a shiver running down his spine. 

He hesitated before opening his eyes. Azriel knew he was dreaming. He knew she wasn't actually laying next to him, whispering his name in his ear. It happened every single night. He heard her, sometimes saw her, and some nights, he could even touch her. She would always whisper soothing words, telling him she was alright. It made him want to scream, knowing that she would be gone by the time he awoke. 

Azriel finally forced himself to pry his eyelids open. The image of her never failed to rid his lungs of air, never failed to make him forget everything, even his own name. He looked her over, taking in every detail, savoring every curve of her face, the way the moonlight illuminated her face and made her pale skin glow. He immediately realized there was something different, though he didn't know what it was. He didn't care, either. Seeing her every night was enough. Just enough to urge him to keep going, so that every night he would be able to reminisce over the nights they'd spent together, all those years ago. So he could remember what life was like before he'd lost the one real thing he had ever known.

"Oh, my dear Azriel." Asteria said, holding out her hand and pressing it to his face. She wiped away a tear that rolled down his cheek, softly stroking his skin. Azriel had never dreamt of her so vividly. He'd never felt her touch this much, like she was actually holding her palm against his cheek. He could even smell her.

"This is all your doing." She murmured, her comforting tone contrasting the harshness of her words. Azriel's eyes snapped open, only to see her smiling sweetly at him. He then realized there truly was something off about her. Her violet eyes, the ones that were usually filled with light, were empty. Mocking. Evil, even.

"What?" Azriel muttered, his voice cracking. Asteria only chuckled, pushing away a strand of hair from his face. "We both know that I was taken because of you. Because you made me go to that ball." She said, her words laced with venom. She took a step back, her black gown rustling. The same gown she had been wearing when she had worn to the ball. "Do you remember what you said to me that day?"

Of course he remembered. His own words haunted him every minute of every day, the hatred he felt for himself so enraging that it consumed his every thought. "You said I was a coward. Do you remember, Azriel?" She urged.

"Stop." He begged. Azriel felt his body begin to tremble, his palms sweating. He struggled to breathe, Asteria's haunting voice ringing in his ears. "Don't you see, Azriel? You ruin everything. I could never love you." She lulled. The room began to spin, Asteria's eyes pinned on him, anger and accusation swimming through them. 

"I-I'm sorry." He gasped, desperate for it to stop. He silently prayed that she would just kill him. What she was doing to him was far worse than any kind of torture, far worse than death. 

Asteria only laughed, a horrifying sound that echoed through his head, growing louder and louder. Azriel grasped his head, screaming, begging her to stop. Asteria only laughed and laughed, shadows dancing around her frame.

...