Page 85 of Hidden Kingdoms

They didn’t talk, didn’t askmeto talk, and I was grateful for the comfortable silence I felt around these two women who I barely knew.

When all the blankets were tucked in around me, Alouette scooped up the clothes I had kicked into a corner and silently left the room. The slight smell of burning reached under the door as she did what she said she would.

The tall woman—I should probably ask her name one of these days—had brought my lunch over to the bedside table, stroked my head once then left, leaving me alone with only the ticking of my clock as company. My chest ached with the care they had shown me, and it made my thoughts drift to the family I had left behind.

What I would give to have Titan’s warm body in the bed next to me, to have Nanna fussing and Briar telling me stories. To have Polly ready to fight the world beside me.

I cried for them then. Today had broken a barrier inside me I didn’t want to rebuild yet. I wanted to feel the pain of their absence, their loss. It mixed with the guilt I felt at the part of me that didn’t want to leave yet, the anger at what that guard had tried to take from me. The loneliness I felt being in this room,my frustration at having no idea why I was even here in the first place.

The tears mixed together, each one for a different reason, and yet all the same. Magik was swirling within me just as the emotions that were pouring down my face.

As the tears slowed and my face dried, I built that barrier back up brick by brick. At the top, next to the love for my family, was the need to master this power that I knew was within me.

I would never let it slip through my grasp again.

33

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

ELODIE

Within the warmth of the blankets, my tender body ached, face tight from the flow of salty tears it had absorbed yesterday. The sunlight that filtered through the gap in the grey curtains stung my eyes as I realised that, again, I had slept through the night.

Wrapped in the safety of the covers and reluctant to leave its comfort, I forced myself to process the events of yesterday, bringing a crushing weight of emotion as the memories pressed into me.

The fear that had squeezed my chest, the way my magik had felt stuck inside me. The wet trail of his tongue on my cheek, his fingers groping my skin.

The crack of his body hitting the wall, his life’s blood spreading across the floor.

Marcellus’ hands tight on my hips, his magik swirling around us.

I traced the parts of my body where Marcellus had held me, wondering if I would have the evidence of his fingertips bruised into my skin. I could feel the pain that bloomed in spots across my back and the residual headache from having my head slammed into the wall, but for whatever reason—that I didn’twant to look into—I wanted his mark on me. Something to prove it was real.

There was still a tightness in my chest that I rubbed at in an attempt to alleviate the strain, fingers bumping against Kaius’ pendant.

My eyes hadn’t lingered long yesterday on the black lily that had been placed on the table by my bed, but I reached out for it now, fingers running over the waxy petals as the faint remains of the magik that made it run across my skin.

Stomach growling, I sat up, stretching out on the bed and put the lily back on the table. Yesterday's lunch had been removed at some point while I was asleep. I hadn’t eaten much and judging by the noises coming from it, my body was angry with that.

I checked the time on the clock I had now grown to resent and knew it wouldn’t be long before breakfast arrived. Deciding to stay in the warmth, I pulled at the blankets like they were another layer of protection I could armour myself with.

After what I had done last night, I wasn’t sure I was the one who needed protection. My magik was dangerous; something about being here fuelled it in a way I never thought possible. It wasn’t the soft buzz that flowed through me back home. Here, it was a torrent of power that I didn’t know how to contain, let alone direct. Not properly.

I couldn’t help but stare at the door, the only real barrier I had and even that was an illusion of safety. I didn’t know who was outside at any given time, waiting to slip inside.

Alouette had said she was one of the few people, or Fae, who could open my door. I would need to see that list before that gave me any sense of security. Was she still outside like she said she would be?

Soon enough, the door knocked, and I climbed out of bed, legs wobbling slightly after however many hours lying down. The door opened to a warm smile, and I found I had a smallone of my own to offer back. I glanced outside and sure enough, there was Alouette leant against the wall, arms folded and feet crossed at the ankles.

The scent of warm pastries on the tray she carried had my stomach grumbling loudly to earn me a light chuckle from the lady who had tended to me so gently the day before.

“Did you sleep well?” The tall woman’s voice was gentle, like I was a skittish animal at risk of flight if she wasn’t careful.

Maybe I was.

I nodded, unsure how to express the gratitude I felt at her kindness, but her smile told me she knew the words I couldn’t find. Clearing the tightness in my throat, I looked away, eyes landing on the red outfit she had brought that was folded next to a bowl of colourful berries.

“The Prince has called for you.”

---