Page 40 of Of Night and Blood: Special Edition

I thought back to the instances of pain that ended in me bent over this same way, with an awful taste in my mouth and a weakened body. But it was not only in times of great hurt. I remembered that every instance in which I expended too much power in the last few months I was left feeling drained, bilious.

“Lately it has happened often. I believe I have just been overexerting my power. A reminder to keep to my own thoughts I think,” I hoarsely chuckled. Neither male was particularly interested in the joke though. When I tried to sit upright, I was met with a second wave of queasiness, this time also feeling off center.

“A well of power like yours is more likely to punish you for not using enough rather than using too much. I have not seen you exert the amount needed to even slightly quench the thirst that is probably building inside of you,” the Healer stated, leaving no room for questions. Beside him, Bellamy’s face was cold, calculating.

He looked over to Henry, and the two held a silent conversation that left me on edge. Sweat ran down my back, and black spots filled my vision. Noe whispered something to me that I could not quite make out, and Bellamy’s cool hands grabbed onto my cheeks just as a thunderous pounding began in my ears, matching the erratic beat of my heart.

When Ranbir’s fingers met my temples, some of the fog lifted, and suddenly sound came flooding back. Then the pain started, my veins feeling as though they might burst.

“It had to have been regularly administered to her if she is experiencing withdrawal like this,” Bellamy said, his voice cold as ice. The Healer grunted with what sounded like effort as he continued to somehow pull the pain out of me.

“It tastes strong. By the way her body clings to it, I would say she has been taking it for decades, if not her entire life. This last dose must have been large, because it is still in her system. I can feel her heart straining against it,” Ranbir said, his voice full of concern.

Their pity aggravated me, giving back some of the energy I felt deprived of. I shoved his hands away, grumbling to let go. He let out a small chuckle, but his fingertips went straight back to my temples. I refrained from arguing and opted to focus on staying upright.

“This would explain why it took her so long to wake up,” Lian mentioned.

I tried to recall how long I had been asleep, or to think of how often I felt sick any time I used my powers throughout the years. I knew one thing for sure, I had gotten worse since Sterling arrived. Briefly, I considered yelling at them to stop discussing me as if I were not there, but my body and head felt heavy, my mind somewhat fuzzy.

“As well as why the mortal was capable of incapacitating her,” Winona pointed out. “And based on what Luca and Cyprus told Noe, she received quite the beating the night before her wedding, which was followed by a Healer coming in and placing a blocker on her. She could have been injected with enough to make her complacent during the ceremony rather than to staunch her magic. Luca said she left the prince in tears with very little effort, I imagine the royals did not want to risk her lashing out.”

The names of the two guards who pledged their loyalty to me days ago caught my attention. Were they spies for the demons? How had they been able to infiltrate the castle guards? I thought through the information they might have gleaned, trying to catalogue it all so that I could inform Xavier later. I would allow them the courtesy of getting free of course, but the Fae Realm would suffer if we did not protect our secrets.

Each second that Ranbir’s power worked through my body left me more cognizant of the accusations these beings were throwing around. They continued back and forth, always coming to the conclusion that Xavier and Mia had been the ones to poison me, never including me in the conversation. Lian discussed wards and different defensive options. Henry addressed details his spies had come across recently. Apparently, they were no longer afraid to share information in my presence. Noe stayed silent, stroking my head and rubbing my back.

I realized quickly that they spoke of the times I was punished or beaten with no surprise. I loathed the idea of each of them being privy to my private life. It was Bellamy though that my eyes darted to as the last of the pain left my body, which now felt lighter than I ever remembered.

The demon prince was shaking with rage, his fists glowing an orange hue as the flames tried to fight their way free.

“We need to get Asher to the king as soon as possible. They will come for her,” he spoke through clenched teeth. My fear rose at the reference to the demon king. If they were planning to move me, then I would need to escape sooner than I thought.

As their conversation ensued—arguments erupting here and there—and someone came to clean my mess, I detailed out everything I had learned so far. I knew we were near the sea, maybe the same beach Bellamy had taken me to just two weeks ago. The portals were a ruse, so I would not be able to steal one and run, though it was entirely possible that they left boats on the shore for quick leave. Going by water was the only way I could get back, but if I was in the Demon Realm then I would have to make it past The Mist.

No one who attempted to penetrate the thick fog had ever lived to tell the tale, but we knew that it was too thick to see through and seemed to behave as if it were sentient, reaching out towards boats in attempts to drag them in. Xavier himself was nearly snatched when the fog-like substance first appeared hundreds of years ago. He divulged that it felt as though it sucked all of the life out of one’s body.

It was possible that my power might aid me. If it had even the smallest bit of conscious thought, then I could manipulate it. If not, well I would rather suffer The Mist than be at the mercy of the demon king. Especially now that Bellamy and his strange friends were assuming that Mia and Xavier had been the ones poisoning me.

I knew in my heart it had been Sterling, who had the most to gain from me being weak, but the others were inclined to believe the fae king and queen were guilty as well. If King Adbeel thought I was of little use to him, then he would sooner off me than return me to his sworn enemies. Or worse, attempt to force me to join his side.

I spent the rest of breakfast listening intently as the group made plans to prepare for the journey to where they called Dunamis, their form of a capital. Ever the observer, I also did not miss them address what I believed to be the Demon Realm as Eoforhild, which they suggested would take weeks to cross merely half of.

When the discussions ended, I told Noe I wanted to go to sleep. Bellamy seemed poised to argue that he take me, but Noe shot a wave of darkness at him that sent him toppling backward in his chair. If my mood had been better, I might have laughed along with the others or been surprised at how these beings treated royalty. Instead, I watched him fall, then turned and followed a smiling Noe through the maze of a home.

Noe took me up a set of grand stairs that looped in a spiral, appearing endless from the view below. This must have been the center tower, which had been slightly different than the others, thinner. We climbed them slowly, my eyes fixed on the sleek black marble below my feet. I nearly missed the break in steps and tripped, but Noe’s strong grip held me upright.

I gave her a slight nod, an assurance that I was okay. Noe smiled widely at me as she opened the only set of doors ahead, which revealed what had to be the most beautiful room I had ever seen.

These chambers were vastly different from the majority of the home. Greenery hung from above and rested in large tan pots on the floor, which was a gorgeous raw wood. Windows made up the entirety of the walls, giving me a perfect view of the sea where the sun was beginning its slow descent, though it would be hours before it met the horizon. It almost reminded me of my chambers at the palace.

A large, round bed with sage green sheets and more pillows than I could count was pushed against the windows across from the entrance, the wooden headboard curving with the walls. Also in front of the windows was a piece of cream fabric hanging from the ceiling, making a sort of seat with a small pillow that matched the bedding.

As I turned to my left, I gasped. I had been wrong before, the room was not a perfect circle. A wall made up entirely of shelving sat there, holding enough books to be considered a small library. There was an assortment of colors and styles and sizes, each book a new tale. When I finally pulled my stare away, I noted the wardrobe and the vanity that sat against the windows as well.

I was amazed at the beauty of the space, which felt so unmistakably me, somehow. There was a distinctly earthy aura to the chambers, and it seemed to call to me. Noe walked up, a smile still on her face.

“Whose chambers are these?” I asked her, still awestruck.

“They are yours, Asher, for as long as you would like them to be.” Noe’s choice of words brought me out of the trance.

---