Page 57 of Whispers of the Elderoak

She barely felt her mother’s touch, but it was there. Like a phantom stroke of air, brushing down her face. “I miss you so much,” Ava said.

“I know, little bird. But I’ll always be with you.” The figure began to fade, as if her time here was cut short.

“Mom,” Ava said, voice breaking again. “Don’t go yet. Wait.”

“I love you, sweet girl. Remember what I used to tell you when you were scared.” Her face was becoming more distant, body wavering. “If anyone stands in your way. Crush them.Crush. Them.”

20

Time was lost to Ava as the days and nights blended, rendering her completely ignorant of how long she had been imprisoned. Days? Weeks? Months?

How she had survived each session, endured the pain, she had no idea.

But she took strength from her mother’s visit and those parting words. Her belief and faith in her. It had awoken something in her that had been dormant for years. Her perseverance, fervor and passion. Her wrath.

Crush them.

It became her mantra. A song in her head.

She would. At the first opportunity, she would.

The healing tonics and magic performed on her after every torture session prevented the horrific pain from lasting, erasing most of the injuries. Only leaving bruises and soreness behind that was bearable. Still painful, but manageable.

But her strength was waning, toned muscles breaking down with the minimal movement and her body was wasting away from the meager nutrition. She couldn’t hold out forever. At some point her body would give out.

And she needed to be long gone before it did.

She had accepted the fact that she was fae, though she didn’t look or feel like it. But for some reason, knowing that she wasn’t completely human, comforted her. She had always felt so different, so abnormal, and now she knew why. There wasn’t something wrong with her. She wasn’t ‘weird,’ like the other kids called her growing up. She was just in the wrong world.

Ava would try to find this capital city her mother spoke of. With nothing left for her back on the farm, she hoped somehow she could find her place in this world. She focused on the anger that was starting to bubble up inside of her, using it to fuel her determination to get out of this camp and as far away as possible.

When she wasn’t being tormented every few days, she either slept or spent time sharing stories with Remy though they always made sure to speak quietly and never in front of any guards.

She asked Remy as many questions as she thought of, begging for any information she could gather about Eorhan, learning about its peoples and cultures.

He told her about the five kingdoms which ruled and their different magics and abilities. There was her home kingdom, Monterre, where the fae communed with nature and had abilities revolving around plants and animals. Remy explained they used vines and other earth magic in battle and even made golems, creatures created from mud or stone, to use as they fought.

They were the most peaceful and welcoming kingdom, however, the general of their armies was known to be harsh. Powerful yet honorable, he would do anything to protect his people and eliminate anyone he considered a threat. He had been nicknamed The Bear due to his strength and the giant bear who often accompanied him during battle, Remy explained with an equal mix of fear and awe. He informed herthe most powerful fae in the earth kingdom each had an animal companion. One they were bonded to and could communicate with telepathically, being able to utilize them in battle or for other tasks such as spying. They were one of the few who were able to stand against the daemons due to their strong armies and mountain range that surrounded most of their kingdom.

He told her about Igneothenia, the province set among valleys of active volcanoes and rivers of lava, its residents having some natural immunity to the heat. The fae there were not as welcoming, Remy said, and sadly their lava magic was not strong enough to fend off Deidamia’s armies. It was currently being ruled by one of her many terrible commanders, the daemon army seemingly unbothered by the environment, and the king and queen had disappeared and gone into hiding along with as many of their citizens as possible. The other kingdom that had been taken over was Frosthaven. Set in the snowy bitter mountains, they allowed the daemons in rather eagerly, hungry for the power that was promised as the ice fae had long wanted to rule all Eorhan.

The two other territories that had successfully made a stand against Deidamia were Saxumdale, home of the stone fae, and Caelestia, where the astral fae resided. Geography helped these two kingdoms win in the wars as the astral fae lived high in the sky and clouds, a floating magical place whose residents harnessed the power of the stars. Ava thought it sounded beautiful as Remy described a floating ethereal palace ruled by beings with pale skin and various shades of golden hair. Saxumdale was secluded on rocky islands and through their powerful stone magic, they were able to raise new jagged mountains, blocking the path of the daemon armies attempting to invade.

Ava took it all in, committing it to memory should she need the information later. She told Remy all about the humanworld and her life and he listened with fascination. She tried to explain phones and technology to him, but he just laughed and told her he did not understand at all what she was trying to say.

The scream torefrom Ava’s lips as the Scourge burned her leg for what felt like the thousandth time, another session in the books with no result save for her pain.

Andras leaned over, inches from her face. “Had enough, Ava dear? Just show us a little magic and this all goes away.”

“Fuck you,” she seethed through her clenched jaw.

“Oh, my dear. You already did that,” he crooned as he cupped her face. “And youlovedit.” She turned her head and bit his hand as hard as she could, eliciting a furious scream from the daemon.

His fist hit her so hard along her jaw she saw stars, and everything went fuzzy. Nausea rose as her head pounded and she moaned while she lay on the table. Turning her head, she tried to look at Remy but she couldn’t focus on him, could barely keep her eyes open.

Through her fog, she heard Andras and Deidamia whispering desperately across the tent, assuming she was too out of it to overhear. She allowed her eyes to close, but focused through the throbbing in her skull as she listened in on their conversation, attempting to piece together the snippets she could make out.

“We must raise the stakes and bring her closer to death,” Deidamia seethed through her teeth.

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