A Court of Shadows and Pain

Thirty-one

Valery groaned as she pulled herself up to her feet. The guards always did this.

She had just won a fight against another one of Amarantha's creatures, having no idea what the hell it had been.

She had shredded it to pieces, that was all she needed to remember.

Even though she had won, she had left the pit with a broken wrist and badly bruised ribs, blood staining all over her.

It was always the same; the guards throw her back into the cell, she gets left in pain for a bit until they shove a tray of food inside.

It always took her a while to reach it, but when she did, she shoved it inside. She could definitely survive without eating. The Faebane in it wasn't her biggest problem.

It was the feeling of hunger that bothered her. She already was weak, so a bit of Faebane wouldn't really change anything.

The last time she had seen Rhys was one week ago. She had obviously seen him watching her minutes ago, the feeling of him trying to enter her mind never leaving her.

Amarantha had allowed her to stay with Rhys for two days. Two days of sleeping in a normal bed.

She hadn't seen Rhys much during those two days. Amarantha had made sure to put his services to use during the two nights she stayed in his room.

He was a mess when he returned both days. They had both cried until they finally fell asleep.

Amarantha was slowly breaking them. Not only physically, but mostly mentally.

The familiar sound of a metal door slamming shut caught Valery's attention. It usually meant that someone was coming for her.

There weren't many cells in her row. They were almost always empty, just like now. So this could mean two things: someone was coming to heal her, or someone was going to put her back in the pit again.

She prayed for the first one.

The tray of food was long forgotten as she struggled to make her way back to the furthest corner of the cell, the shackles that attached her wrists to the wall clinking loudly.

Soon, the cell door opened.

It didn't take long for her to recognize the figure standing in front of her. He had come to full fill his promise.

And no one was here to stop him.

The male smirked up to her. Valery's shadows curled over her shoulders, but they didn't attack. She was too weak for that.

"Why don't you come forward so that I can see your pretty little face." Arwyn said with his disgusting voice.

"Fuck you." she spat to him, which only made him chuckle.

"Amarantha send me here to do a job. And if I may be honest, I will be enjoying this so much." he said.

Valery cringed at his words. She didn't want to know what he meant by that.

He yanked at the shackles, making her fall forward. Valery hissed in pain as she couldn't catch herself in time. Her broken wrist also didn't help.

He pulled her up, attaching the shackles to the ceiling of her cell.

Blinding pain shot through her as he forced her to her feet by her wrists. She was able to reach the ground with her feet, but she was still hanging.

She swallowed a scream as Arwyn walked around her, inspecting every inch of her body. The nauseous feeling in her stomach started growing.

"You surely have some information about your High Lord." he said from behind her.

Valery let out a wet laugh. "I would rather die than tell you anything."

He moved to stand in front of her and threw his fist against her jaw. Valery let out a cry, but she returned her gaze to the male.

"Oh, you'll be telling me anything in time." he said.

Valery laughed again, blood trickling from her mouth. "I won't."

Apparently, he took that as a challenge. He had tried almost everything at this point.

Valery didn't know if it had been minutes, or hours, or even days. He had broken enough fingers and toes to make her lose her voice from all the screaming.

There was blood everywhere, cuts lining her entire skin. All the cuts were deep enough to make her bleed and leave a scar, but not deep enough to make her die.

Her body was screaming in pain. Everything fucking hurt.

And yet there he was, still smiling down at her, admiring what he had done to her.

"You're not an easy one to break." he stated.

Valery bit down on her already bleeding lip. She couldn't cry. She wouldn't cry.

He put a finger under her chin, forcing her face upwards. Valery looked at him with so much hate.

He moved his fingers over her throat. It felt so disgusting. "I think I am going to have some pleasure from you now." he said.

Valery's face fell.

"But I am going to keep you from screaming or making any sound. I don't like that." he said, wrapping his fingers around her throat.

Valery panicked as he blocked the air from her leaving her body.

She could only panic. She was struggling more and more as she heard him unbuckle his pants with his free hand.

There was no way to reach him. She was defenseless.

Her shadows couldn't help her. If she hadn't been too weak before she would be now.

The pain took over again as he released her throat a bit, before he...

Valery shot up in the bed, her entire body shaking and sweating.

She breathed in and out, continuing until her breaths calmed down.

Once the panic had settled down, she let her eyes fall on Azriel.

He was sleeping on his back, soft breaths leaving his mouth.

A shadow curled around her arm, checking in on her. To her luck, she hadn't woken Azriel.

"I'm okay." she told the shadow softly.

Her eyes fell on the sky outside. It was already nearing dawn.

Valery looked at Azriel one more time before she leaned down and put a kiss against his head.

She then gathered her clothes and left the room silently. Leaving Azriel to get some well deserved rest on his own.

She had a lot to prepare for. Today was the day she would return to the place she once called home.