Chapter Thirty-One
Serafina
Blood caked every inch of me and the pain had become so excruciating that my passing out was a blessing. They had taken my only hope for escape.
Tears streamed profusely when I tried to manipulate the energy around me to take some of the pain away and was met with nothing. I was forced to lay in my own puddle of filth and grime.
Time had become an illusion. The cell was so dark all the time that my meals were the only indicator of how much time had passed since I arrived. Although I had passed out so many times that trying to pinpoint how many days had gone by was impossible. Maybe three? Or four?
Clinking rang through the walls and I knew he was back. I didn’t know which one I despised more. The one who held me down or the one who hacked into me like a roasted pig carcass.
“I was told you haven’t been eating.” Kellen said, laying a metal tray beside my head. Just thinking about food made me nauseous.
“After all your cruelty towards me thus far, it wouldn’t surprise me if it were some sort of poison. Then you can hand me off to your little friend.” I gritted through the pain to speak but moved nothing else.
“I would never hand you over to Morana, alive or dead. You deserve better than that.”
A chuckle vibrated through me, causing every fiber in me to protest at the movement.
“So that’s where you draw the line? You maim me, torture me, imprison me, and allow your disgusting brother to prowl on in here only to interfere when his hand reaches for my clothes; but killing me and giving me to your necromancer is where the line is drawn? How gratuitous of you.”
The crimson eyed girl had been to see me a couple of times, probably more when I was not conscious. When I saw her the first time I noticed her flaunting my ring around and bragging how Oberron gifted it to her. She always left in the same manner, staring at me with hungry eyes. She couldn’t wait for me to die, stating that it would be amusing to watch my corpse slay the Dragon Prince.
Because of those words I refused to die, at least not in the cell.
“There are things more humiliating and worse than torture.” Kellen said softly as he raised a fruit filled fork to my lips.
Reluctantly, I turned my head away.
“You need to eat. It’s not our intention to kill you.” His voice pleaded.
“Then what is your intention?” I spat.
“Only to keep you close. Everything will get better after the wedding ceremony.”
I wanted to scoff, though the quick movement would cause more pain than it was worth.
“I’m not marrying you. I’m already bound to Elek Drakonis and that’s as good as a marriage in the eyes of the gods.”
“The Dragon Prince is hiding away somewhere on a soiled cot and will be taking his final breaths before this day ends. Morana has already set it into motion. Even someone as fierce as him cannot fight off certain poisons. Once he is extinguished your bond will fade and you will be married to me.”
Veins chilled as I reached for Elek through the bond. Hardly even a strand of a connection could be felt.
“Who is this Morana?”
I turned to look at him, his eyes darkening.
“My half sister.”
“So being sadistic runs in the family.” I muttered.
A heavy sigh fell towards me. He almost sounded defeated.
“Unfortunately it does, and in more ways than you could understand.”
“Try me.”
I didn’t want to talk with him, not really. But I had nothing else to fill up my time. Not being able to heal had made me useless.
“My mother was an elf servant for the palace. More specifically, she was the queen’s maid. And she was very beautiful.” His tone dropped.
“My father, despite being married to a fairly young bride, had yet to produce any offspring with her. He blamed the queen and demanded that her family relinquish her dowry to him and to take her back. They refused, stating that he could have been the one at fault.
“In a rage, he stalked blindly through the palace until he laid eyes on the first woman to pass him. She was small, meek, and a lowly elf. Elves are not worth much in Silvania. So he took her right there, for all to see. She screamed and pleaded with him, but he continued his assault. When he was done he declared that if the woman should become pregnant then he would have his heir and be free of his barren wife.”
“That’s disgusting.” I murmured.
Kellen nodded his head at my words before continuing.
“Unfortunately, my mother wasn’t the only one to fall victim to him that day, as he went after another elf that served the queen. There were rumors that she was a witch. When he was done with her she cursed him, saying that his end would be in fire. She died in childbirth nine months later, a week after I was born, and it was then that the queen finally became pregnant with the king’s son. But she also died in childbirth.”
“And you all took after your beloved father, I see. Even to the point of kidnapping me and your disgusting brother trying to force himself on me.” My throat began to run dry, causing the words to come out in rasps.
“He won’t be coming here anymore, and neither will Morana. From now on you will reside in my room and recover from your injuries.”
“I would rather die here in my own blood.”
I just wanted him to leave. Then I may be able to concentrate harder on Elek’s location. However, it wasn’t meant to be as Kellen lifted me out of the muck and grime to ascend the staircase.
“You’re too valuable to let die.”
Fairy lights floated about when we entered a large room with walls heavily matted with tangled vines. Ivy canopies spread across the ceiling. If it were under different circumstances, I would have stared in awe at the majesty of it all. Out of the large singular window, the sun had only just begun to lower, signaling that I had been out for most of the day, and if Kellen was correct in Elek’s decline I was running out of time to escape.
Walking into the washroom, he stared down at me expectantly. Steam wafted off the walk-in bath and I knew what he was silently asking. At this point I was practically naked anyways.
“Do what you want. It’s not as if I have the strength to stop you.”
“I’ll leave my undergarments on if that’ll be more comfortable for you.” He offered.
I let out a huff of amusement.
“How chivalrous of you.”
Streams of red and brown mingled with the floral scented water. Every stroke against my skin from the sponge rippled nauseating waves of pain. It was a miracle I didn’t pass out while being washed. To Kellen’s credit, he was being gentle. Although that would only elevate his death from slow and torturous to quick and semi-painless.
After pulling a large white nightshirt on me, his I presumed, he laid me down onto his soft feathered bed. Taking a seat beside me, he stared intently into my eyes and tugged a stray hair that had fallen into my face.
“Rest and forget all about the black dragon. He’s tyrannical and ruthless. He is unworthy of the daughter of the gods.”
“And what makes you so worthy of my affection after you maimed and imprisoned me?” I started to fight myself to remain awake, my eyelids growing heavier.
“I never said that I was. Now rest and I’ll bring up your dinner later.” He hushed.
