Page 76 of Wrath of the Fae

‘What happened when we arrived back in the Fae Realm is a bit of a blur. I remember a field and fire. Men on horses were shouting. Then I got struck over the head, and everything went black.’ She continues to shuffle. ‘I woke up alone in a cell. I was kept there for a few days until soldiers came and took me away. I was shoved in a carriage and taken to a house at the edge of the First Kingdom.’ She swallows. ‘To Ezra’s home.’

I wait, giving her time to gather her thoughts and courage.

‘Apparently, I was a gift from his father. My powers were valuable, and it seemed that Ezra had taken a liking to me whilst living in the palace back in the human world.’ She speaks with disgust and a sneer on her face. ‘So I was permitted to keep my power if I agreed to be his wife.’

‘You agreed to marry him?’

‘No. Of course not. I told him he could have my power. I begged him to take it and let me go. But he refused and became determined to “break me”. His words, not mine.’ She takes a deep breath. ‘I was there for eight weeks before Lucca got me out.’

‘Ezra hurt you.’

I don’t need to ask. I see it in her eyes. I hear it in her voice.

‘He raped me. He was rather unimaginative. There are a million ways to break a woman. But that was all he could think of. I took it and held my head high, refusing to show him any kindness or affection. I think he thought I would be grateful for the chance of living as royalty. And I think he hoped Elias would be enraged that he had me. Neither of those things happened. Obviously, it didn’t matter to Elias as he never came looking for me, and Ezra grew increasingly frustrated with me. One night he returned from a night of drinking with a load of his vile little friends. He started yelling at me about Elias. He kept saying his father was ungrateful for all he had done. That he had sacrificed years of his life in the human world for his father’s vision and should be given more than a frigid bitch and a house as a thank you. That he hated always being in his brother’s shadow. That he should be the one living in the palace. Not Elias. He was completely unhinged and the friends he came back with were encouraging him. Making him angrier and riling him up. I was scared. I kept trying to leave the room, but Ezra wouldn’t let me. He kept trying to make me drink wine. Kept trying to make me sit on his lap. He then put his hand up my skirt in front of everyone.’ Her voice breaks a little. She clears her throat. ‘I slapped him and grabbed his hand before dumping my fear into him. I thought if he knew how he was making me feel, he would stop.’ Her lip trembles. ‘He cried for a second, but he was livid as soon as I let go. Worse. His friends laughed at him, so he got embarrassed. A bit like Darius, I suppose. He started to beat me. But that wasn’t enough. His friends said that he needed to get me under control. That I needed to be broken in. Learn my place the hard way.’

I can’t find my breath as I sit and listen. I never thought I could ever feel sorry for this woman. But fuck… I feel bad for her now.

‘I was tied down on a table with iron,’ she whimpers. ‘They ripped my clothes. And they all laughed as… as…’ Her voice breaks completely as she slams her hand over her mouth. Tears stream down her face as she trembles. I take her hand in mine and squeeze tightly. She clings to it like a lifeline thrown in the darkness. It takes her a couple of minutes to get enough strength to resume. ‘They laughed as they all took turns on me. That’s what I remember the most. Not the pain or humiliation. But how they laughed at me. I hear it in my sleep. Such cruel enjoyment. One would finish, and the next would start.’

‘Tessa.’ I rest my other hand on our entwined hands. ‘I am so so sorry.‘

‘I just fell limp after a while and stopped struggling.’ She swallows what I think is a sob. ‘Ezra let me go and told me to go to bed. That I was done and he was bored. I stood up and staggered out of the room. I got to the bottom of the stairs and I started bleeding.’ Her hands rest on her belly, and I go as cold as ice. ‘Turns out I was pregnant with his child. He blamed me, of course, and locked me up. Left me bleeding out. I don’t know how long I was down there before Lucca came. He carried me out of there and burnt the house down, along with the men sleeping inside. Unfortunately, Ezra was out. Or I would have killed him myself.’

She takes a deep breath in and exhales a long exhale before facing me.

‘You think I got what I deserve,’ she states. ‘I hated you. Called you a whore. Risked your life out of spite.’

‘No. No, I would never wish that on anyone, Tessa. Never.’

‘Don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell Lucca.’

‘He doesn’t know?’

‘Not about the end of it. About… them all… and the baby… no. And I don’t want him to know. He swore not to read my mind, so I hope he’s kept that promise.’

‘I’ll never tell a soul. I swear it.’

We still hold hands as we look into the darkness.

‘I would like to be friends, Tessa.’

‘I think I could tolerate that,’ she replies.

When she feels me move my hand, she tightens her grip.

‘Don’t let go,’ she whispers. ‘Not yet.’

I sit back. My shoulder to hers. Our hands entwined.

‘I’m glad they’re prisoners,’ she says. ‘I know that’s weird to say, but at least they're not there through choice.’

‘I’m glad too,’ I admit. ‘At least now we don’t have to hate them for choosing the King.’

‘Are you still going to hate them for all the other things they’ve done?’

‘I’ll let you know when I figure that out. I just hope they will come out of this relatively unharmed so I can kick their arses into next week.’

‘They will. They always do. Your sister and the others are nothing if not survivors. We all are. Elias especially. He’ll keep them safe.’

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