Page 18 of Owned By the Fae
‘Youcarefor me? Impossible,’ I sneer. ‘You aren’t capable.’
‘That was true once, but over the years, I’ve found that I enjoy,’ it sniffs derisively, ‘a range ofemotions. I feel the need to save you from pain, to help you when you need me.’
‘I won't use you,’ I say.
It chuckles. ‘You exert more control over me than Varrik and the others believe a human capable of having. But youwilluse me, Lia. He’ll make you. You know that. You should try to come to terms with it before he does.’ It side-eyes me. ‘Or at least make sure Kallum is close by to make you feel better.’
I wince. ‘Don’t talk about them,’ I whisper. ‘They’re dead to me.’
It shifts, acquiescing with a nod. ‘Soon, you’ll wake. I will try to speak to you again, but you need to let me in. You need to allow me to help you when I can, or you’re right, we’re both going to die down here.’
‘I can’t do that,’ I whisper. ‘What if this is a trick to seize control, to take over my mind? Maybe it’s better if we did die.’
It ignores my words. ‘Put away your pride. Don't you want to destroy Varrik for all he made you do, all those fae and Dark Realm residents he tricked you into killing for his personal gains? And what about his other Skilled? They were but children when he brought them to his fold. They can’t be blamed for his crimes. Don’t you want to save them?’
‘My goal was always to kill Varrik.’ I grit my teeth. ‘I just thought it was done. As for his Skilled ... they don’t want my help, and they wouldn’t trust me to give them any.’
It makes a noncommittal noise. ‘The Dark Realms knows what he’s been doing, using its power to make his Skilled. It’s a perversion, you know. One that comes with consequences.’
I look up at it sharply. ‘I thought you didn’t remember anything.’
‘It’s not memory that tells me this. I’m still a part of the Dark Realms. I can tell when it’s not ... right. He’s meddled where he ought not to have, and he’s been marked. This entire fold will be destroyed when it comes for him. Would you let all the creatures here die just so that I do?’
‘What do you care for them?’ I snort. ‘They despise us both.’
It sniffs. ‘What about your enslaved kind stuck in the Dark Realms, bred for the gains of others with no way of getting back to their own realm?’
I close my eyes, remembering poor Gwennie in Rondorai. How many more like her are there?
‘I can do nothing for them,’ I say. ‘How can I? I’m just a human with a piece of the Dark Realms inside me that’s bound securely by magick. We’re both useless.’
‘Enough,’ it murmurs. ‘I’ll try to remember something of myself so that I can help you. You'll see soon enough that, together, we're far from useless. The next time they come to hurt you, retreat and let me take over.’ Its lip curls. ‘I won't be able to kill them even though they deserve it. Don’t worry. But I will try to endure the pain for you. I can stop you from feeling the worst of it if you let me.’
‘And what do you want in return?’ I ask suspiciously.
‘I've told you. I want to survive. I want us both to. There is no going back for me. Inside you is where I reside and where I will until you're dead. It's in my best interests to keep you alive as long as possible. And I wasn’t lying before. I care about you. I’myourHarbinger, and you’remyhuman. Like it or not, you and I are bound together. We can be friends, or we can be enemies. It makes no difference in the end, but we’ll be happier if we are on the same side. Perhaps we can even do some good together and allay that guilty conscience that plagues you so incessantly,’ it snarks.
It moves its head slightly. ‘But you need to wake up now. They're coming, and Varrik wants you broken.’
I'm hauledout of the cell by my ankle and thrust into a chair.
They tie my wrists to the sturdy wooden arms and my legs to the feet. There's a light on one side of the room, but it doesn't illuminate much at all. There are two figures that I can’t see properly. Whether they’re Varrik’s elite or his guards, I don'tknow. I vaguely realize that what was left of my dress is gone and I try not to panic about that as well.
‘So, this is the Harbinger?’ One of them chuckles.
I don’t recognize the voice, but I commit it to memory. I’ll want revenge.
I’m not sure if the desire is mine or the Harbingers.
I look past him and realize that the glow in the room is from a grate in the corner filled to the brim with hot coals. So that’s their game. I close my eyes, waiting for the torture to begin.
‘Varrik is letting us punish you all day,’ the other says, grasping my chin in a punishing grip to add to the bruises I already have. ‘We’re going to make you regret burning the keep and hurting Varrik!’
The first sizzle against my skin makes my body tense, and I scream as the flesh on my shoulder is burned by a thin metal object that looks like a tiny fire poker with a bauble on the end. The next one is pushed into the flesh beside it. They slowly form a line down my arm, and my loud cries echo through the dungeon. I pull at the restraints, I plead, and I beg them to stop, and I scream until I can’t anymore.
Where is the Harbinger to take away this pain as promised?
Empty words.
