Sandstorm [ACOTOR series side story]

Thirty-five

Nashira grabbed her sword and a few other weapons in her chambers before winnowing back to Under the Mountain through the mirror realm. She saw the chaos that was the room that had been a lively ball earlier that evening. Half of the denizens of the Night court were dead and Amaranthe was grinning towards Tamlin, High Lord of Spring, who seemed a bit nonplussed at the display. The Day court's denizens stuck close to each other knowing there might be some safety in numbers, but others realized staying hidden and forgotten would benefit them. 

"I've killed them for your father who was a dear friend of mine and to cause the bastard who did it some suffering."

Rhysand did look a bit pale and frazzled but Nashira didn't care about them. 

She went straight up to her father and opened a tiny space near his head so he could hear her. She was lucky that the other Scorpions were also around because then they would be able to act along with the plan.

"What happened?" Asim stiffened slightly but kept a casual, but worried demeanour. 

"Steam and hissing."

So, she had talked a lot and vented out against them for all the oppression and blah blah blah. Or at least that was what Nashira thought it would have been like. The only big thing was the obvious corpses and blood on the tiles which weren't so bad, at least not for them. 

"What do I do?"

"214."

Okay, the two was obviously him wanting her to repeat or double backstab her, which she was happy to do. Then the one was Helion, so he must want her to protect him while four of them go and finish Amaranthe off. A solid plan and one she would execute perfectly. She didn't bother trying to hide as she popped out right behind Amaranthe's "throne" as she seemed intent on crowning herself High Lady of Prythian. Before she could, Nashira went to stab her sword through both the wood and Amaranthe.

But the sword seemed to be sucked in by the wood and then there was a blinding pain as she was stabbed in the back. She dropped her sword and it clanged to the ground as she shakily got up only to be grabbed by the Attor and brought to kneel in front of Amaranthe. It pulled her hair roughly and tilted her head to face the red witch in the face.

"Backstabber, how I've been wanting to meet you since you stabbed me in the back without me knowing you were there. You think I would let you do it again Nashira Gamal?"

Asim growled lowly but was helpless against Amaranthe who could kill her with a snap of her fingers. Kaimuzu was pale along with Samila and Nashira's heart broke that she would never be able to love him as she'd wanted. She had wanted to take it slow and feel sure before she gave her whole heart and soul to him and in that second it snapped between them, a bond that could never be broken. Kaimuzu was crying along with Samila by then and his eyes went vacant as he felt that the bond had snapped in place.

"I have been dreaming what I'd do to you and I thought what better than extreme pain for the pain that you had caused me. It seems only fair now doesn't it?"

Amaranthe laugh rang in the silent room and Nashira willed herself not to start crying because she'd just found her mate and she would be ripped away from him too soon. 

"I raised a nasty beasty while I was gone just for you Backstabber," she crooned, "it has tentacles that rip whatever flesh it meets to feed on. Oh, and did I mention it causes anyone immeasurable when it comes in contact with your flesh?"

Nashira gulped at the thought of facing the beast since it reminded her of the Seaclum and she had barely survived a slight brush against it. She still had the scar on her right hand no matter how many times Shala demanded she tries and heals it. Amaranthe waved a hand towards the Attor like she was bored at the lack of reaction she'd gotten out of Nashira who had gone into shock.

It dragged her out from Under the Mountain and flew for hours as she just dangled limply from its arms as she could feel her heart shut down the farther away she got from Kaimuzu. They finally set down in a cave in the unknown mountains they were in and he quickly chained her up to the wall before the beast awoke at night. The Attor hissed a laugh before he took off and left her there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain.

That was all she knew.

Night had finally fallen and the pain that the beast caused her was too much as it slowly ate her while she was still alive. When she was close to blacking out, she got a vision from some entity that thought it brought her a gift, it hadn't.

"Warrior child, I had said I would leave a gift for you and now is the time for me to bestow it upon you. The gift is that you will never die by that beast or to starvation and dehydration, you shall remain alive until this ordeal is over."

Oh, the cruelty of that gift knew no bounds as she regenerated somehow the next day and she didn't feel parched even though she had been out in the sun the whole day. She didn't know how many days it had been, but suddenly like she was peering through water at her reflection, she saw Under the Mountain and a frowning red witch looking at her.

"How is it that you still live? You should have been eaten alive days ago with no remains," Amaranthe demanded.

Nashira could only weakly chuckle.

"I am High Fae like you, I guess immortality can go a long way," she rasped.

Amaranthe frowned even more and shut the window off in anger but Nashira had caught sight of Kaimuzu for a few brief seconds and her heart warmed. If she could continue seeing his face, maybe even hear his voice, she might survive this intact.

She might just survive.