Page 85 of Cages and Crowns
“You have to.”
Chapter Forty-Six
TheCaged
I don’t know where anything stands. My new marriage. My mental stability. Everything is strange and foreign, and nothing fails to make me feel broken.
Like an outsider.
After our argument, Nithe left. I heard him in the library with Erik, Enzo, and Emery. The three E’s I’m going to call them now, since they seem to all be joined at the hip. I fall asleep quickly for once, a luxury I never knew.
The air is damp, humid, as I stare at the trees. They are packed in tight, but they look different, foreign. Instead of thick pine trees, the ones in front of me are tall with thin trunks that seem to stretch into the sky. A thick canopy of leaves spreads out at the very top of those trunks, blanketing the woods in a dark shadow.
These trees feel…alive.
I spin around, the moss beneath my feet soft. I take a few steps and I don’tfeel a single thing stabbing into my bare feet. It’s as if the woods were made so that you could be close to the ground.
Close to the magic that brewed underneath.
A giggle escapes my lips as I continue to spin, my thin dress twirling around me. My icy hair falls in front of my face, and I brush it back as I stop. Something rustles behind me, and I turn, expecting a person, but that’s not what is behind me.
A beautiful feline of some sort with silky tan fur dotted with black rosettes, prowls through the trees. Its eyes are a deep green, almost as dark as the trees. Its body is long and sleek, its paws big—nearly the size of my head. The animal steps in between the tree trunks, its rounded head low as it gets close.
Fear should be consuming my mind, adrenaline pumping through my veins, but it isn’t.
I know that the creature in front of me isn’t a threat.
“Hello,” I say softly and slowly fall to my knees. Its nose gets close enough that I feel its breath on my cheek, and I close my eyes. I smile as whiskers tickle my face, as it smells me, as it figures out who I am.
Silence blankets the woods, and a low growl vibrates through the air. I hesitantly open my eyes to see the feline is no longer there.
In its place is a white wolf, huge and daunting. It’s standing over me, drool dripping out of its open mouth as it bares its teeth at me. I fall back on my arms as it leans down, close enough to bite.
“Please don’t hurt me.” I whisper, staring into its white eyes. They soften for just a second before the beast lunges.
It’s quiet when I wake. The moon is still high, keeping the room bright enough with its silver glow.
I sit up, expecting to see Nithe on the couch, asleep, but he’s not there.
I sigh as I slip out from under the thin sheet, my feet meeting the warm floor. I pad over to the bathing room and splash water on my face. I glance up into the mirror and groan. My skin is pale, lifeless.
Nothing new.
I step back into the bedroom and slip a dressing gown over my shorts and tunic. The hallway is dark, the torches burned out, but I make my way over to the sitting room on the upper floor, but as I near the small room, I find that it’s empty. I frown as I turn back to the hallway. I almost give up, questioning why I am even looking for him while heading back to the room, but I hear a small laugh. A giggle. It’s coming from the room across from mine.
The one belonging to Emery.
I tiptoe over to her door and press my ear up against it. I hear the laugh again and then the sound of something falling over. It’s quiet for a second before I hear another voice.
“Just this once.” A deep, smooth voice echoes throughout my head.
“Shh.” She shushes him and then I can hear shoes hitting the floor. “Hurry up.” She whispers and then it’s quiet. My hand flies to my mouth and I step back.
Nithe.
He’s in there with Emery? My heart skips a beat and I step back again, my shoulder blades slam into one of the paintings hanging on the wall, causing a loud noise. I spin around and try to make it back through my door before Emery’s opens, but I don’t.
“Elaenor?” His voice is soft, silken and I freeze. My nails dig into my palms, and I turn back around. He’s shirtless, his hair mussed, his feet bare. All of that was enough to tell me what was happening, but it’s his swollen lips my eyes are fixed on. “What are you doing up?” His voice is quiet, but accusatory. As if I was the one doing something wrong.
