A Court of Lies and Liars

Chapter 2

Alyssia walked in silence as she was lead through the twisting corridors of Hybern. Her mind was still numb with the realisation that her mate's life was on the line. She swallowed hard as she entered the room. The first thing that hit her was the scent that clung to the room. Her mates scent; the scent that she had taken for granted ever since that the mating bond had snapped into place.

Sinking down to the ground, her arms wrapped around herself tightly as she wept as if she could keep herself from falling apart. Her body was shaking with uncontrolled sobs, that so familiar scent that was normally so comforting just teasing her, reminding her of what would happen if she failed. Time lost its meaning as she crouched there, leaning against the grey wall. It could have been hours or minutes for all that she knew.

When she finally pushed herself up from the floor, forced herself to stand and think. She knew that the King, she refused to call him her father, wouldn't have her go yet. Not when she knew what the High Lord of the Night Court was. If she went in now, unprepared and not even a feeble mental shield in place, the male she had been told her entire life was a monster, would kill her where she stood.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Alyssia stood in silence, trying to get her mind to settle. The High Lord couldn't do anything worse than she'd already endured, she thought with no amount of bitterness. Her mate's life was already on the line; what more torture could there be than being forced to watch your mate die in front of you.

Shuddering at the mere thought of it, Alyssia looked up as she heard footsteps approach her room. Two steps of footsteps, she noticed. Probably the twins, she thought to herself. She wasn't sure why she was surprised, her cousins were very powerful daemati. Of course, the king would have them prepare her to hide what her true plans were from the High Lord. She sighed through her nose, looking up as the two twins entered the room.

As usual, she was struck by how much they looked like the King. Even though his sister had been the opposite of him with blonde hair and blue eyes, they had both inherited the same dark eyes and dark hair. As well as the King's streak of cruelty. Pity they couldn't have taken after their mother, who Alyssia had heard been executed for her kindness. For what, exactly, she wasn't sure, but part of her wished she hadn't given birth to twins who seemed to delight in making her life a living hell.

She loosed a sigh through her nose as the two daemati twins began to walk her through the process. She followed along as best as she could; she hadn't expected them to make it easy before. Another hour passed, and the two twins apparently decided that her shield was good enough. Though she thought to herself, it would be very like them to have her poorly trained so that she would be killed.

Alyssia sighed again as she watched the two royals leave the room, running a hand through her hair. Sinking back down to the floor again, she wrapped her arms around herself, staring at the wall. Once again losing track of how long she sat there for, she looked up once again when she heard footsteps walking down the hallway outside.

Sighing, she slowly stood up, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. She wasn't surprised when she saw the two daemati walk inside again, beckoning her to follow. She let loose another sigh, hesitating for a brief moment before following them out of the room. Briefly wondering where they were taking her, before deciding she didn't particularly want to know. Not that it stopped her thoughts from narrowing down the options.

There was no chance that the King would let her see Cecelia. Not that it stopped Alyssia from wishing that she could see her mate if only to say goodbye. No, the king wouldn't let her see her mate. A long sigh left her lips, a thought coming to the front of her mind, no matter how hard she tried to shove it back. If she failed, then she would never get to see her mate again. She swallowed hard, looking up, face paling when she saw where she was.

The two twins turned to face her and from the matching smirks on their faces, she knew that the next few hours were not going to be pleasant. Not when she looked behind them and saw the assorted instruments of torture.