Page 52 of Eluvonia
“Sure, like we’d believe you,” Esra’s voice cuts through the clearing like a blade.
She steps into view, her eyes burning with hatred. “You betrayed us for a Dragon, and now you’re trying to playinnocent?” Her tone drips with contempt.
I sigh, frustration bubbling to the surface. “I tried to protect you, Esra! Why would I do that if I was the one who betrayed our clan? If Leynard were alive, he’d tell you to grow up and see what’s right in front of you!”
Her eyes widen, and for a split second, there’s something other than anger in her gaze. But it’s gone as quickly as it appeared.
“How dare you mention Leynard’s name!” she shrieks, slapping me hard across the face.
My head snaps to the side, the sting of Esra’s hand blooming across my cheek. For a moment, all I can see is red, my blood pounding like a war drum in my ears.
“How dare I?” I hiss, my voice trembling with barely-contained rage as I push myself to my feet. The ropes dig into my wrists, but I barely feel them over the fire roaring through my veins. My gaze locks on hers, unwavering.
“How dare I survive?” My words come out like venom, sharp and biting. “How dare I survive a brutal attack? How dare I get kidnapped and dragged into the middle of Dragon territory against my will? How dare I watch our clan get slaughtered in front of me and somehow keep fighting?”
Esra stumbles back a step, her eyes widening, but I don’t stop.
“How dare I care for you my whole damn life? How dare I fight to protect you, even when everything I had was stolen from me? How dare I watch as Leynard—” My voice cracks for the briefest moment, but I force the words out, my chest heaving. “How dare I let Leynard talk me into running from the carnage with his last breaths, forcing me to leave everyone behind, only to meet Kaida and seal my fate? How dare I?”
Esra stares at me, her lips parted, but no words come. Her face pales, but I’m past caring. The words come tumbling out, jagged and raw, tearing at my throat.
I freeze, my breath catching in my chest as a sickening realization hits me.
It was you, wasn’t it?
My heart races, my mind spinning. “Did you somehow plan all of this? Did you spread the information about the bonding?” My voice shakes with disbelief. “How did you find out? Why? I thought you were my friend!”
Esra doesn’t flinch. Instead, a cruel, small smile spreads across her face.
“Why?! I thought you were my friend!” I feel the hatred in the pit of my stomach twist harder.
“How dare you?!” I scream, the words ripping from my throat like a savage roar, the weight of all my pain and betrayal pouring out in that single, searing cry.
The edges of my vision blur again, but this time it’s different. A strange tingling sensation courses through my veins, it starts in my fingertips, spreading through my body like wildfire. The ground beneath me trembles, and the forest responds.
Vines burst from the ground, slithering like snakes toward the Fae around us. They lash out, whipping and wrapping around limbs. A scream pierces the air as one Fae is lifted by their feet and hurled across the clearing. Another is ensnared, the vines tightening around their chest until a sickening crack fills the air.
I can’t stop it.
One by one, the Fae fall. Some are tripped, dragged into the earth as vines coil around them, leaving nothing but a singlehand sticking out of the ground. Others are impaled, their blood staining the forest floor.
Esra stands frozen, her eyes shine with fear and disbelief.
The silver-haired male rises to his feet, looking around in awe. His grin is gone, replaced by something more primal.
“Magic,” he breathes, his voice barely audible over the chaos.
A branch snaps behind me, and I whirl to face the sound. But before I can react, a sharp pain explodes at the back of my head.
The world tilts, the edges of my vision darkening.
And then… nothing.
***
I wake to the sensation of swinging. My stomach lurches as my body sways back and forth, and for a fleeting moment, a desperate thought claws its way to the surface.Have I– am I rescued?
Panic surges through me as I force my eyes open, but the answer is immediate and merciless. No endless blue skies. No wind whipping through my hair. Instead, towering trees loom above, their gnarled branches twisting like skeletal fingers against the sky. Dense, emerald foliage presses in from every direction, suffocating, inescapable.
