The Awakening

Chapter Thirty Six

~ Brianne ~

Brianne stared blankly at the wall in front of her, her gaze fixed but unseeing, as if the cracks in the plaster might offer some kind of solace. The dim light from the window barely touched the room, casting long shadows over the bed where she lay. She had her back deliberately turned to the door.

Avelon had left her behind.

Hurt and anger surged through her like a wildfire.

Avelon had left her to save her but instead allowed Elha to take her back to Balor. Balor- who she so ruthlessly tried to escape.

Brianne closed her eyes briefly as an all-consuming storm of emotions overwhelmed her. It was a familiar feeling, one that she had only felt once before in her life, when the world had first betrayed her. The raw intensity of it shook her to her core, each wave more relentless than the last.

She had rolled over, hoping to disguise the fact that she was awake, hoping to hide the turmoil storming inside her. She had not been asleep—not even close. She had pretended to drift into dreamland for Avelon's sake, masking the restless churn of thoughts and emotions beneath the illusion of sleep. The moment the door to their room opened, all her senses came alive. She was ready to fight, but somehow managed to keep herself still until Avelon's whispers startled her.

Avelon would leave her, Brianne had known it all along, had expected it from the moment they had left the palace. She also knew, with a certainty that made her stomach churn, that Avelon knew she was not truly asleep.

Avelon had always been protective, had always placed others' well-being above her own. Especially Fallon's. It was one of the many things Brianne admired about her. But that did not make the hurt of leaving her behind any easier to bear.

The anger which she felt growing inside her, however, was something else entirely. It was the kind of anger that burned hot and fierce, rooted in helplessness and the twisted injustice of it all. She felt it for Avelon, for the way her loyalty and sacrifice had been twisted by forces beyond her control. Her hand had been automatically dealt, and Brianne hated that reality.

Because of Balor and his insane ideas—Avelon had to suffer.

Avelon had to endure whatever nightmare Elha had in store for her now that she was back in the Fae's grasp. Brianne's jaw clenched as her mind replayed the moment when Elha had taken Avelon back to Balor—back to whatever cruel experiments awaited her there.

Avelon had begged Elha to leave Brianne behind, to not drag her back into that hell. Brianne frowned, recalling the intense emotion in Avelon's voice. She had only heard her that desperate before when speaking about Fallon.

Avelon had cared more than she let on.

Sighing, she reluctantly stood from the bed. She had only met Elha a few times, but every encounter had left a bitter taste in her mouth, and an unsettling feeling inside her that made her skin crawl.

The thought of her face, pale and sharp, sent a jolt through Brianne's chest. Her heart thudded painfully as the image flashed in her mind—a reminder of just how out of control this all was.

Her hands trembled slightly, but she swiped them over her face, exhaling sharply as if trying to push away all her feelings and the helplessness that had built up inside her since Avelon had left the room.

She could not stand by and let Balor continue with whatever his plans were. He was blood bending and experimenting on Avelon. He needed her, and Brianne needed to get her away. She could not let Avelon suffer any longer. Determination sparked within her, stronger than the hurt and fiercer than her anger.