How to Protect the Ones You Love

Claire

Her smell was still embedded in my nostrils as I walked towards Amarantha's throne.

"There was a girl there." I purred. "A human girl. Claire Beddor." The fake name clashed against the memory of the girl I had just met

I had found her.

I found the girl from my dreams.

And she was with him.

I suppressed a growl that had been forming in my throat. A cold chuckle resonated from the pair of bloodstained lips perched upon on the throne. "So he's found himself a human girl. Hmmmmm..."

I left her there lost in thoughts of the girl who could be her undoing while the same girl was in my mind for a different reason. Her eyes; blue and grey, slightly uptilted at the corners. The way her mouth had made a little "ooh" shape when the curtains were ripped back. The fear in her eyes... Her fear of me.

...

That night Amarantha made me service her for longer than usual. With Tamlin this close to breaking the curse, her nerves were on edge. I blocked out every ounce of me still left while I was in her bed. I blocked out every thought yet one kept finding its way back in. All I saw that night was blocked out brown hair, freckled skin, and a pair of startling grey eyes

That night I made myself a promise.

I would see her again.

I needed to see her again.

I would make it out of this nightmare if only to see those breathtaking eyes one last time.

Over the next month, thoughts of the Girl invaded every moment, waking or resting. I saw her in every nook and cranny of the mountain. I saw her face every time I closed my eyes. I played the moments I saw her over and over again until the whole event felt imagined. Eventually, I convinced myself that was the case. The Girl couldn't exist. No one could be that beautiful, that perfect. A week later, I was forced to face reality. A week later, I walked into the throne room to find Amarantha standing over a girl so human and utterly terrified. Then I realized.

Claire Beddor. Shit Shit Shit. The Girl must have used a real name.

Amarantha rose from her throne and stalked towards the girl, grabbing her chin.

"Oh! We are going to have so much fun together." She whispered into the human girl's ear. "Out! I need some time alone with our guest."

A few hours later, Amarantha emerged, her skin stained with blood. "Attor" The creature slithered forward. "I have grown tired of entertaining our guest myself. Will you see to it that she does not find our hospitality lacking?"

"Yes, my Lady." It replied, drawing out his vowels.

"Before you do, may I ask our guest a few questions My Lady?" I asked, the last part directed towards the red-headed bitch.

"That is a wonderful idea." purred Amarantha.

I strode past her and the creature and entered the throne room. The girl was lying at the foot of the throne in a pool of blood, and vomit.

As I approached, I saw the angry gashes beautifully carved into her skin. Before I could dwell too long on my guilt, I slipped into her mind and numbed her body to the pain. I instructed her to scream when they damaged her body, but the girl felt nothing.

Amarantha's torture lasted weeks. After nine days, I once again slipped into the girl's mind and released her soul from her body. Once the bitch realized she was dead, Amarantha strung up her body above her throne, a message, and a warning. If you try to defeat her, this is what happens, whether you were conscious of your "treason" or not.

Soon Tamlin's forty-nine years would be up and he would be joining us Under the Mountain. On the day of the deadline, Amarantha sent me to the spring court to collect Tamlin.

When I arrived, he didn't resist. When I found no sign of the Girl, I almost sighed with relief. She was safe. I blinked back tears as I silently thanked the cauldron that she would never fall into Amarantha's cruel claws.

I believed that for weeks, right until the moment the Attor dragged her to the foot of the throne.