Escape From The Darkness (continued)

8) violated

~ Azriel ~

I have watched her go through endless amounts of suffering. This girl- this woman- who has endured too many vile acts that anyone, let alone anyone as young as her, should have to go through. Bone extraction, carving, bone snapping, stabbing, whipping, burning. Hearing her thoughts throughout it all-

I really don't know how she isn't broken. Although maybe she is. It seems the more times she's asked for the same information, she more she sinks into herself. She puts forward a strong façade, and a pretty damn good one at that. One neither Maeve nor Cairn has been able to see through. All they see is the young woman, queen, who is unresponsive to their methods. Their brutal methods. But they aren't hearing her thoughts, her confusion when she wakes up from the healers unable to decipher what had happened, now I understood why she looked at her scars the way she did when they reappeared - she didn't think any of it had actually happened.

That would definitely take a toll on someone.

Now we're 4 months into her torture. Around the time something happened that made both Aelin and Fenrys cringe. I could feel my brothers tensing as we heard Fenrys warning growl and Cairn came through the door. Aelin was already laying on the altar, he didn't bother putting her back into the coffin after he smashed her knees, just like how they were when she arrived. I knew she had been through hell when her scars reappeared, but now- to be able to know exactly what she went through...

Cairn came to loom over her with that same possessive smile he always on. He allowed Fenrys to deal with his business then turned back to Aelin. He scanned her body up and down, but this time there was a different light shining in his eyes. I couldn't place what exactly it was.

Cairn loosened some of the chains on her, not being careful of her wounds whatsoever. Fenrys came back into the room and took his spot next to the door, letting out a vicious growl as he sat down, keeping his eyes on Cairn. Cairn started to run his hands over Aelin's body and she tried to move away from his touch but her wounds prevented it. He moved his hands up from her legs until they were touching her breasts.

She froze under his touch, unable to fight back.

Oh. Cauldron, no. No, he isn't about to do what I think he is, right?

Please, Gods no. No. Not this. Aelin clearly thought he was. That she was about to get violated even further.

"Why don't we try something new today." Cairn sneered. Aelin's breathing was ragged as he removed his hands from her body and began to fumble with his belt buckle.

"No," Aelin whispered, her voice breaking. This was the one time I had seen her beg. If that's what you could even call this. Cairn looked up at her.

"No? No to what? This? Oh come on, I think you'd rather enjoy it, Majesty." He said as he tossed his pants across the room and climbed over her.

Enjoy it? He can't be serious. Cairn moved her blood-soaked shift up above her hips and ran his hands down from her collarbone to her waist, again not caring about her open wounds as long as he got pleasure from it.

Who am I kidding, of course, he's serious. And he'd enjoy every moment of it.

I stopped breathing at this point.

Cairn dragged his gaze over her battered and bloody body once again, relishing in what he saw and laid over her fully, positioning himself. I've don't think I've ever wanted to kill anyone as much as I have right now.

Aelin started shaking and she looked over to Fenrys who was already looking at her wide-eyed. He blinked three times.

Are you alright?

No. 

No, I am most definitely not alright. Cairn didn't waste any time as he violently thrust into her, eliciting a pain-filled whimper from Aelin. That only drove him to move faster and harsher.

She started bleeding from his movements.

I am here. I am with you.

I know, Fenrys, I know. Thank you. Then she blacked out.

Aelin's POV -

Sitting here with my eyes closed trying to focus on the correct memories so they can understand, and hopefully trust us, is harder than I anticipated. I didn't want to relive these past months, but maybe I should have just so I could warn them about certain things. I was surprised when Fenrys agreed to continue, but then again maybe he wanted to see things from my point of view. I know he blamed himself for certain things, and not being able to get me out sooner. But I don't think he realized that he was the one that kept me sane, that kept me from breaking especially in the last months. That his steady presence, even if it was forced, helped more than he could possibly know.

Looking around the room, at all the people who were currently reliving my life, I could tell they were at a particularly bad part. The two females were on the verge of tears, and the males- well they looked just about ready to kill the next person who walked into the room. Now I wanted to know which part they were at so I closed my eyes and focused on pinpointing the presence in my mind.

Oh shit.

Yeah, that was the part I was dreading them seeing.

I could feel everyone's anger, not at me, no, at Cairn. They watched until I blacked out then they saw when I woke up in the coffin, confused again, not knowing if why of it had happened. That was the worst part. Not knowing if my memories were real or not. Not having any lingering pain so I could tell what was real and what wasn't. I exited my mind, not wanting to relive any of it again.

It was probably another 15 minutes of sitting in silence until I finally felt the lingering presence leave my mind.