Page 202 of The Fae Girl 1

I sat there, staring at the room, reeling from every moment of the last day I remembered.

He had lied. Maybe not in the way Uther intended but he had nonetheless.

I slumped back into the pillows, feeling the hollow emptiness of where my magic was meant to be and, as my bitterness overtook me, I sobbed until I had no tears left.

Istood staring at myself in the mirror. I was dressed back in leathers, my skin looked its usual iridescent self and yet I could see it, behind the glow, my eyes looked dull.

No hint of magic. No hint of anything.

Like there was no spark left to them.

Like I was dead.

I dropped my gaze, instinctively pulling for my magic, and just like the countless times since I’d awoken, nothing answered.

Just silence.

I let out a whimper, biting my bottom lip hard, refusing to cry because today I had to be strong. Today I had to be defiant.

The High King had summoned me. Apparently I was sufficiently well enough to discover what I was. What the great secret of my magic was.

It felt a moot point considering my magic was all but gone. And yet still, my stomach was churning and I’d already thrown up the entirety of my breakfast.

Mira flitted around me, fixing my hair. Since I’d woken she’d barely left my side, trying to get me to eat, trying to get me to laugh, to play the stringlet, to do anything.

But what was the point? I had nothing without my magic.

I was nothing.

I didn’t even feel human.

I felt soulless. Lost.

I’d tried to play a tune and my fingers faltered, like even music was now barred to me. I’d tried to eat and the food turned to ash in my mouth.

In truth I wanted to curl up and die.

Only this world wouldn’t let me.

No, I was forced to continue, forced to keep playing their games and today was just another turn of the board.

A soft knock made us both pause.

Mira called out when she realised I wouldn’t.

“Well hello to you too.” Nela said smirking at me.

I gasped turning to see her. “Oh my god you’re okay.”

She let out a laugh. “You seriously think those old fuckers could have taken me out?”

I winced remembering back to how she’d been left. “They did.” I said.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah well I got a pretty mean couple of scars for my troubles.”

“How can you be so chipper?” I asked.

She shrugged in response. “Shall we go?”

---