Chapter 206: Episode 206.
Aire tasted blood.
The metallic taste sat heavily on her tongue, and a small trail of it had escaped the corner of her mouth and stained her chin.
She barely noticed.
The polished black floor beneath her felt cold against her cheek.
For several long seconds she simply remained there, drawing in shallow breaths.
The world spun. Not because she had run, but because they had caught her.
A bitter laugh almost escaped her. What had she expected? That she would outrun an entire dark fae estate?
That she would somehow find a hidden gate and simply walk back into the wolf realm?
The thought felt ridiculous now.
Aire slowly pushed herself onto her elbows. The effort made her vision blur, and the grand court hall stretched around her.
The towering black pillars rose toward a ceiling so high it vanished into darkness while silver flames burned within the enormous braziers.
The light reflected across the polished stone.
Dark faes filed the court hall, watching her as Vaelor punished her. Few minutes ago, she was running. The next thing, vines wrapped around her ankle, and drew her to the floor.
She had fallen face flat in the floor and when she had lifted her head, her eyes met with a shinny boot and when she looked up, Vaelor stood before her with burning calm eyes.
Aire’s chest tightened, then her gaze found him.
Vaelor.
He stood several feet away with his hands clasped behind his back, perfectly composed and calm as though this entire situation bored him, and he wasn’t the one who used the vines to drag her here.
Aire wiped the blood from her mouth.
Vaelor’s violet eyes settled on her. "You ran." He told her, like she wasn’t awake when she tried to run, and she was compelled to.
Aire hated him. Most of all she hated that she could not find a single trace of surprise in him. He looked almost as if he had expected this.
Aire slowly sat upright. The movement sent pain through her ribs, and she ignored it.
"Congratulations," she rasped.
A few dark fae frowned.
Vaelor didn’t.
"You found me." Aire’s lips curled after ger reply. The expression felt more tired than mocking. "You opened the cage. What should I have done?"
Vaelor nodded.
Aire stared at him, and a very ugly realization settled inside her stomach. The realization felt worse than being captured.
He had known. He had known from the beginning.
Aire suddenly felt foolish.
Vaelor studied her face, then he sighed softly. "Disappointing, right?"
Aire’s jaw tightened.
Vaelor began walking toward her, slowly, and unhurried. Every step he took echoed throughout the hall.
"I presented you with an opportunity." He smacked his lios together, and took another step towards her.
"And instead of thinking." He arranged his glasses properly on his nose. "You ran."
He stopped directly before her.
Aire refused to lower her gaze.
Vaelor looked down at her. His expression remained unreadable, then he crouched down to her eye level.
The movement drew immediate silence from everyone in the hall.
Aire noticed it. She realized that they might fear him paying attention.
Vaelor tilted his head slightly. "What exactly was your plan?"
Aire didn’t answer.
"What did you expect to happen after the corridor and the estate?"
Aire remained silent.
Vaelor nodded. "As expected."
Aire’s fingers curled against the floor.
The humiliation burned through her veins and her bloodstream. He wasn’t wrong. She hadn’t known, and she had simply run.
Vaelor rose again, and he turned away from her as though she no longer required his attention.
A path opened through the center of the hall.
Aire followed his gaze, and immediately understood why she no longer required his attention.
A second figure now sat upon an elevated throne of black stone.
His violet and red-streaked dark hair rested across his shoulders.
Power radiated from him. Aire recognised him as the ruler of the dark fae realm, who had asked her to bow the day she arrived her with Morrigan.
Aire stared at him deeeply, and the resemblance struck her instantly.
Vaelor’s father.
Even without the physical resembkance, the demeanor, stillness, patience, and unsettling calm he had mirrored Vaelor’s a lot.
Vaelor stopped before the throne. Aire watched him bow lightly. The older male rested one arm against the throne.
His eyes drifted lazily toward Aire. "That her?"
Vaelor nodded once. "Yes."
Vaelor’s father hummed.
Aire felt examined. The feeling made her skin crawl.
The older male looked amused. "She looks so dead. What are you and your sister doing to her?"
He sounded amused, as if whatever Morrigan and Vaelor desides to do with her would be no issue.
A brief smile appeared on is face. The brief smile looked disturbingly familiar, and Aire realized where Vaelor had learned it.
That small smile, cold amusement, and detached interest, she was looking at the source.
The older fae leaned forward slightly.
Vaelor looked toward Aire.
The hall became silent.
Completely silent. Vaelor lifted one hand, and dark magic gathered instantly.
The shadows beneath the pillars stirred.
Aire froze, and every instinct screamed at her to run.
There was nowhere to run.
The shadows stretched across the floor, thin at first. Then thicker, and countless as they coiled around her ankles.
Aire immediately tried to pull away.
The darkness tightened, and pain shot through her legs. They felt like invisible hands violently squeezing muscle and bone.
Aire gasped.
The shadows climbed higher to her calves, knees, and her thighs.
Every movement became difficult. The magic wasn’t injuring her. It was reminding her exactly how powerless she was.
Vaelor watched calmly, and so did every fae in the hall. They all looked unbothered, and entertained as she gasped for breath with horror.
Aire clenched her teeth.
The pressure increased, and her muscles trembled. The shadows forced her downward relentlessly until both knees struck the floor.
Aire’s breath escaped her at once in pain.
Vaelor folded his hands behind his back.
"Again." He ordered.
The pressure doubled.
Aire’s shoulders bowed as pain exploded through every exhausted muscle.
Her body shook, and she tried to resist. The attempt lasted only seconds as the shadows crushed the effort immediately.
The older fae laughed softly, simply entertained.
She lowered her head, breathing hard.
The shadows remained wrapped around her.
Vaelor’s voice echoed through the hall. "Shall I continue?"
The older fae settled deeper into his throne. A slow smile touched his face. "By all means." He gestured readily.
His gaze never left Aire. "I’d love to watch."