Hidden In Shadows, A Fae and Vampire Romance: Shadow Court Chronicles, Book 1

Chapter 5.2: Begging For Release

She swallowed hard and gathered her courage. She had come this far, and there was no use turning back now. She looked at the goddess from the corner of her eyes and found that it was easier as the forms stopped overlapping themselves. She was standing with Lyss as the mother.

"What is the price you require?"

"I believe that the price is something that you can easily afford." She linked her arm through Lyssandra's and began to stroll casually around the circle. "I require life, battle, and knowledge. Are these things you are willing to give to me?"

The words were simple, but their meaning was more complex. The goddess could be asking for several things as each word had multiple meanings within the culture. To ask for further insight would be asking for wrath to be rained down upon her head. She would have to take a leap of faith, agree, and hope that it did not backfire on her.

"I accept the price."

"Excellent. I shall appear before you three times and each time, you will give me what I demand. Should you break your word, you will pay with your life."

"I understand."

"You may ask your questions."

"What information do you hold that is so valuable that I need it to claim my birthright?"

Her laughter filled the clearing. It was rich, dark, and bitter like that of dark chocolate. "That is an easy one, and if your parents were still alive, you would never know it. The death of your parents has started a chain reaction that the foolish Seelie Prince has no control over. You, Bound One, are not of the Winter Court. You are from a much an older and darker court. You are from the Shadow Court that is neither Seelie nor Unseelie."

Her knees became liquid, and if it weren't for the queen having a tight hold on her, she would have collapsed to the ground in shock. The Shadow Court was whispered about and feared even in the Unseelie Court. There was very little information that was shared, remembered, or written about the court that laid in between. No one talked about them because no one wanted to call forth their attention, just like the Queen of Air and Darkness.

"The-the Shadow Court? How? I don't understand."

"Are you willing to use that as your second question?"

She wanted to desperately but caution had her shaking her head. "No. Changelings are common in our culture. I am sure that is what I am."

"You are correct. You were left on your adopted father's throne with a rather threatening letter warning against any mistreatment. You were loved enough that your parents sent you away for safety reasons, and your adoptive family was told what your expected treatment should be. Your birth parents bound you even before you were left in a rather expensive chest that was sat on the king's throne."

"How do I remove the binding?"

"Is that your second question?"

"It is." She needed to know how to remove it. If she had talents that were just beyond a barrier that would help her save her brother and wipe Maguis off the face of the planes, she would use them. The cost was no longer important in her quest of justice.

"You, nor no one inhabiting this plane, or that of the Fae lands can remove the binding."

Her hope was crushed as quickly as it had appeared. Once again, she had hope dangled right in front of her, only to be snatched away seconds later. She was growing frustrated with this constant imbalance.

"Shit," she muttered.

"I, however, can undo such an easy binding, but there will be a price."

"Name it." Caution was completely thrown to the wind now. She would no longer be on the losing side if she could help it. She would damn herself for all eternity if that were what was required of her.

"You will serve me."

Serve a Goddess and in return, she would become unbound. It wasn't a fair trade, but she hadn't expected it to be. "I will never take the life of an innocent in your name, nor will I ever hurt the ones I love for you."

Her laughter was filled with amusement. "No, dear child, I would never require that from you, but I do expect you to sacrifice your life to my services for a gift of this magnitude."

"I will serve."

She clapped her hands together enthusiastically. "Excellent. Now I feel that I must warn you," she warned, walking around Lyss until she was in front of her. "This is going to hurt." She wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "A lot," she stated the words casually as she plunged her hands into her back.

Lyss screamed and screamed and screamed some more until her voice was hoarse from the strain. The pain was horrific. It was the worst that she had ever experienced in her life, and she had gone through physical torture before at the hands of a sadist. Every nerve in her body was on fire with pain. She was sure that her bones were being shattered within her skin. The light breeze blowing against her heated skin was agony, and the sensation of it caused her to believe that her skin was being slowly peeled from her muscles. There wasn't one place in or on her body that wasn't in excruciating pain. She wanted to black out, but something was holding her rooted in her body to experience every second of it.

She begged and pleaded to be let go, but a soothing voice refused. It told her that she was so close to her goal. She didn't care. She wanted it all to end, but it continued and stretched out to the end of time. As suddenly as the pain had hit her, it left. She collapsed on to the ground, groaning in pain from the blades of grass touching her oversensitive skin.

"You're a fucking fool," a cold voice shouted right beside her head or at least that was how she was hearing him.

"Ow. Don't yell. I can hear you just fine without you screaming in my ear."

"I'm tempted to leave your ass out here. The mere thought of touching you is repulsive."

She may have been in physical agony, but she was still perfectly capable of being sarcastic. "Gods forbid I offend your delicate sensibility. Just leave me out here, I'll crawl back to the cabin if I repulse you so much."

"And I thought I was stubborn," Vincent muttered darkly. "This is the only time I will do this," he declared as he scooped her up in his arms.

"I appreciate your mind-blowing generosity." Those were her last words as she fell into the blissful darkness of unconsciousness.  

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