Page 123 of Wrath of the Fae

But the human keeps the cup at my lips, urging me to drink more and more.

‘I said that’s enough!’ The guard throws the human towards the door, and the cup drops to the floor, spilling the last little bit. The soldier looks up at me and spits at my feet.

‘He’s human-’

He cuts me off with a punch.

The human looks so sorry as he returns the gag and iron hood. I whimper as the agony of it returns.

The door closes.

I look out to El. No one offers her a drink. No one comes to give her food or let her down.

And that’s all I see for the rest of the day. Jonah doesn’t come. No more soldiers.

El’s eyes close. Her body goes limp.

The sun sets.

Darkness claims the city and me. And I greet it as an old friend.

I dream of that pool in the underground palace. The crystal blue water. The trickling waterfall. The tranquillity of it as I floated with them.

Reid, one side. Cyrus, the other. My friends linger at the pool's edge, chatting and laughing together. My sister and El. Lucca and Brennan. We’re all there. Together. So happy. Reid and Cyrus take my hands in theirs, smiling so warmly at me as we float together. Rhea’s giggle echoes around the room. Lucca’s telling a joke. El is playfully tutting, and Brennan makes all the vines and flowers covering the walls bloom.

I’ve slipped into heaven. A memory reforged into perfection.

But as I float, the water gets thicker and turns red like syrup. My feet won’t reach the bottom of the pool.

No. Blood.

Thick and congealing blood.

Everyone lies slaughtered around me. Their bodies carved up and hacked open. Their insides spill out. Their eyes are wide, and their final look of anguish and agony is etched permanently on their faces.

I scream and try to swim to them. The blood is too thick. Too dense. I taste it. I smell it.

And it pulls me down. No matter how hard I kick and struggle, I sink below the surface.

Down and down I go. Their blood fills my mouth and forces its way down my nose.

Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!

Those words hit me like a hammer in my mind.

This is a dream.

Wake up!

I stop struggling in the pool.

Wake up! It’s a dream! It’s not real!

I rest my fingers on my face.

WAKE THE FUCK UP!

I claw my nails down my face with every bit of strength I have, and the nightmare slips away in a second.

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