Page 78 of Oaths & Vengeance
“How much can you heal me?” I asked, knowing the damage was too severe to manage completely in one session. My entire back was ravaged. Every day, my uncle would tell me how I could end my suffering if only I told him where I went that night. Of course, I never answered him.
Briauna grimaced. “I can heal them most of the way, but they’ll still feel raw and tender. They’ve lingered long enough that I won’t be able to prevent scarring, though they’ll blend with the older ones before long anyway. We’ll have to give you a tonic to ease the pain and use glamour to cover them.”
The first time I’d been left with permanent lash marks, I’d been horrified. Since then, I’d stopped caring as much because there was no way to fix the mutilated skin on my back. Adding a few scars hardly made a difference at this point.
“Everyone there will be powerful and able to sense the level of magic we’ll need to hide the damage,” I said, thinking ahead. “We’ll have to add an outer spell, so no one suspects anything.” I didn't want anyone to know what happened this past week if I could help it, but I could only alter my looks in subtle ways. We needed someone who specialized in flashy glamour.
“I’ve already thought of that and have someone coming once you’re ready.”
I relaxed as she began the healing treatment, working from the top down. It hurt having my skin knitted back together, but knowing the worst of the pain would be gone soon helped me lay still. I’d barely been able toeat the one meal Ulmar brought daily. Though that likely had to do with him torturing me first before handing over the food.
Finally, Briauna finished. Her face was ashen from the power required, but I knew she’d done her best work. Nearly all the pain was gone, with only a lingering tenderness. I sat up for the first time in a week without nearly passing out in agony.
“Thank you,” I said.
She stood, hands trembling a little. “I’ll have the bath drawn for you now.”
I'd only attended the annual summer ball at the Court of Porrine a few times. Most years, my uncle didn’t bring me because he worried I’d find a suitor who wasn’t one of his approved allies, and this event was optional for the high fae. He preferred to keep me close within his sphere of influence and avoid me developing friendships outside Therress that might tempt me to visit other places. Little did he know how well-traveled I was anyway.
As we entered the ballroom, I looked up in awe. The dome ceiling swirled with a miasma of colors that constantly moved within the glass—an effect of some magic spell they’d crafted. A glance around the rest of the room revealed more than two hundred fae had shown up for the event, including elves, faeries, pixies, gnomes, and so much more. The walls were painted pale green at this time of year, with vines and yellow flowers growing along them. I appreciated the amount of nature the king and queen incorporated into the theme.
Our current monarchy was among the best we’d had since the formation of Zadrya. About a hundred and fifteen years ago, it had been far different. The king back then was a tyrant who held the entire realm at his mercy. All it took was looking at him the wrong way, and he would kill the offender. He’d come from a line of air wielders who could suck the oxygen from a room or a single pair of lungs. No one was safe from his wrath.
Those who lived during that time said it was terrible. Only after an uprising did the old king lose his position and life, along with most of his family. The few who survived fled. They only managed it because they were distant, weaker members who’d been at the bottom of the assassination list. No one bothered to track them down, as far as I knew.
Then, King Worden’s father took the crown with the resistance followers he’d spent years gathering. He’d had to be firm in the beginning to get rid of those who’d either supported the previous monarch or others who wanted to take the position instead.
Once he’d cleared out the worst of them, he began restructuring the realm to be a fairer, more prosperous place. It wasn’t perfect, such as him being unable to end the conflict between Therress and Veronna, but it was far better than what we’d had before.
He passed away of old age thirty-two years ago, not long after I was born. His son took his place and continued his father’s work, further improving Zadrya. I doubted we’d ever had a fairer king. With any law he enacted, he insisted on abiding by it himself because he asserted that a good ruler led by example and held themselves to a higher standard. It was why he wouldn’t stop my uncle until Lord Morgunn did something to instigate punishment.
Ahead, on the dais, the king and queen sat in their finery as they watched the dancers on the floor. Everyone wore vibrantly-colored garments that revealed as much as they hid. It was a tradition of the summer ball, as the heat could be quite intense.
I was in a royal blue strapless dress. The bodice ran straight across my chest, revealing a hint of cleavage. From just beneath my breasts, my skin was visible through intricately woven lace that hugged my stomach and lower back. It stretched to a few inches below my belly button. Then, sheer blue silk flowed downward to my ankles except for a slit on my left side that began at my hip. Every step revealed most of my leg, so I couldn’t wear undergarments.
The only other items I wore were matching slippers with a one-inch heel and two diamond and sapphire-studded combs that swept up my blonde hair. A maid had curled my locks so they cascaded nearly to my waist. Asa final touch, we’d glamoured every inch of my skin to sparkle. No one would suspect another spell covered the tender wounds on my back.
While Lord Morgunn despised spending more coins than necessary, he never skimped for royal balls. The fae adored fashion and style at these events, and my uncle wouldn’t have brought me in anything less than a stunning ensemble. He had to show off to the other lords and ladies that he was prosperous. I didn’t have a say in the garments I wore to such events. Despite that, I would have enjoyed wearing this particular dress and having countless eyes drawn to me, but not tonight. It all felt so superfluous after a week of pain and torture.
He clasped my arm now while Ulmar and Tadeus followed behind us. We worked our way toward the dais, stopping ten feet from the green carpet steps to bow and curtsy to the king and queen. I kept my head down until the king spoke.
“It is good of you to make it, Lord Morgunn.” He nodded at me and my cousins. “Lady Aella, my son has requested your first dance if you would be so kind.”
My gaze ran from the king to Prince Armin. He wore the standard style of all the other men for the summer ball, with fitted pants and an open vest that revealed hints of his muscular chest. The primary difference between his attire and others was the sheer amount of intricate gold embroidery along the front with a leafy design. While the garment colors varied among guests, I noted Armin was the only one in black.
As usual, his handsome features were serious, but I caught a glint of amusement in his azure eyes. One of his dark blonde locks had fallen across his brow, giving him an almost rakish look. When was the last time I saw him? He was usually away when I visited, so it occurred to me that our last meeting was when I attended his wife’s funeral pyre.
My uncle stiffened, but he let go of me, and we both bowed to Armin.
The prince stepped forward and took my hand. I’d never had a reason to dance with him, and we’d never spoken beyond the occasional greeting. The first time I even met him was almost twenty years ago at his older sister’s wedding, attended by all the high fae in Zadrya.
It was all I could do to keep my composure as he swept me toward the dance floor.
The tune was a moderate one that required us to clasp hands and move through intricate steps. I was grateful for the mild pain reliever tonic Briauna had given me before leaving, so I managed not to wince as I moved. There was some discomfort, but it was manageable.
Armin’s gaze never left mine until the dance called for us to move closer. He leaned toward me. “We were worried about you, Aella. Is all well?”
I blinked, shocked at his question. “Oh…yes. I’m fine now.”
