The Awakening

Chapter Five

Hollow.

His heart had felt hollow, empty, and ruthless, as he stared into the lifeless eyes of the Fae laying before him. The boy had been young and afraid, unaware of what awaited him when he approached the experimental chamber. Only excitement had filled the boy at the idea of aiding the cause.

Fleetingly, he had searched for a shred of empathy for the death that he had caused. He did not find any. A darkness swirled inside of him, caressing him. Applauding at the progress he was making. Appraising the dominance he was establishing.

Through trial and error, he had successfully managed to pinpoint the exact method he would use to execute his experiments. They had not delivered the results he had hoped for, not yet. However, the progress he made gave him a sense of accomplishment.

The actual challenge had been finding a Fae from Uisce, the water continent, who had seen the logic behind his reasoning for the experiments. A Fae who had agreed with his methods and commended him for his efforts. He had needed a Fae with a water affinity, as no other affinity would be able to bend liquids the way he needed it to be bent.

The Fae was silent as she watched him and the lifeless body before her. Her eyes flitting between them, vigilant and wary. Her face was as pale as the dull blue that lined the lighter streaks of her hair, and her lips were cracked from the amount of effort she had used during the ordeal. The experiment had drained her body thoroughly. Effort wasted, but also not.

"You did good." He rasped, startling her. She had not expected him to speak.

"He's dead." She whispered, her voice straining and her eyes fixating on the body before her.

"Yes, he served his purpose." Her eyes widened a fraction of an inch, her throat tightening as she swallowed hard. Unnoticeable in most cases, however, noticeable to him. Her distaste towards him and the experiment was evident in her reaction.

"Elha, there is no room for regret or second guessing. If you doubt, you must leave." He snapped, despising the emotion that poured from her very essence. He had no tolerance for her weakness nor her emotions.

"I am fine." She raised her chin in defiance, "I am simply adjusting. When will we do the next experiment?" Her face had fallen back into casual neutrality.

Delight filled him at her request, a slow smile spreading on his face.

"Soon."

***

Several days passed since Avelon had been first chained. The chains had not been removed since they found her thin wrists. Balor did not trust that she would not try and run. After his initial overreaction, she had stopped trying to place the importance of her presence in the first place.

She was just a slave.

The entirety of the trek had consisted of uptight behaviour, unprovoked slaps from Balor or his men and then silence. She had since refused to move unless completely necessary, and she had hated every moment of it. She was a busy, fidgety person. Sitting utterly still was not her forte. However, no matter how hard she had tried, somehow anything she did upset Balor in some way, and she did not want to feed his sick fantasies of harming her. So instead, she remained as still as possible.

Ever since she had taken too long to do her business he had completely snapped, it had been as though someone entirely different had taken over his body. Not that she knew him, of course. Though he was not the same person that left her home with sly smugness.

Sometimes he would lose his temper for seemingly nothing at all. If her gaze had lingered too long, or if she was too silent, or if she made a noise that irritated someone. Balor lashed out, frequently. He had been using his affinity to manipulate her. He would choke her, steal the air right from her lungs until she felt like passing out, and sometimes she would. Most of the time she did not have to try to keep herself contained as Balor had insisted on doing it for her, wrapping his air affinity around her so tightly that she could not even breathe too deeply. She preferred that though, over trying to restrain herself and not rile up anybody unnecessarily.