Escape From The Darkness (continued)

1) escape

~ Aelin ~

She couldn't feel anything. She couldn't feel anything other than constant thrumming in her head reminding her she was still alive. That sound has been the only constant throughout the months alongside Fenrys who still lies in his wolf form near the entrance. Well, there were other constants, but they weren't nearly as peaceful.

She could always count on Cairn's daily visits for 'playtime' as he liked to call it. She could always count on the healers erasing any mark that was ever visible, making her skin as flawless as Maeve's. Oh - there's another constant, Maeve. She could always count on Maeve's visits. Maeve's illusions. Maeve's attempt to break her. She's been getting increasingly closer these past few weeks, not that she realizes that. Her illusions getting easier and easier to fall into, to give herself to.

Aelin was lost in her thoughts as she heard Fenrys whine through the iron coffin. The only reminder she needed that Cairn was coming, whatever that entailed for the day. He'd already violated her in the worst ways imaginable. He'd cut her into ribbons again and again. Then he apparently got bored of that and wanted to see how flexible bones could be. Not very - was the answer. Then he wanted to test how the famous fire-bringer would react to open flame. That experiment took the healers 2 weeks to get her hands back to normal. He forced himself onto her, not that she could put up much of a fight. That was his favorite thing now.

The heavy footsteps finally paused to open the heavy door leading to where she was kept.

"Fenrys, go relieve yourself then come back in and sit and watch" a pause "You won't want to miss what I have in store for today," she would have shuddered at the sheer violence and disgust lacing his words, but she stopped to reacting to his verbal threats 2 months ago.

The coffin opened, and she squinted at the difference in light. All-consuming darkness to dim candlelight. Cairn pulled her out of the coffin with the help of a guard just as Fenrys came back in the room, head hung low, and took his seat by the door. She felt bad for him, being forced to sit there and not able to do anything just as he wasn't able to do anything when Connall drove the blade through his own heart.

She was set down harshly on the ice-cold alter. The guard returned to his post outside the door while Cairn came to hover over her.

"Well, well, let's not delay the fun any longer, shall we?" he said as a wicked grin appeared on his face. He placed his velvet tool wrap next to her on the altar. Picking up a wicked-looking tool, he scanned her from head to toe and moved down to her stomach. He still had that grin on his face while he put one hand on her hip to keep her still and moved the other closer to her stomach with the tool in tow.

She looked over to Fenrys, meeting his gaze. he blinked four times

I am here, I am with you.

Over and over again until Cairn finally started to tear into her and she was swept into sweet oblivion.

~ Fenrys ~

He had been forced to awful things over the years since becoming Maeve's blood-sworn but none were quite as awful as watching the young queen being ripped into, taunted, fed false realities, raped, then healed and watching her wake up having no idea what was real and what wasn't.

Even through the 6 months he has been forced to watch this, the young queen still hasn't given in. Still hasn't said one word, even if it meant bringing a temporary ease to her suffering. Nothing. Not one word. Except the occasional fuck you or go to hell.

He only swore the blood-oath to Maeve to protect his twin, but now he's dead. So what exactly is keeping him from leaving? Besides the blood-oath itself of course. Maeve was never a person worthy of crown, a throne, a kingdom. But Aelin - If there was anyone ever worthy of such a thing, it was her. She's been through hell and back for her people time and time again only to end up right back in hell. For 6 months.