Page 89 of Through the Wicked Wood

“He’s calling for her. Looking for Elora,” Jarek says as Alaric lets out another howl. “The susi aren’t meant to be alone.” The three of us form a line, shoulder to shoulder, as we listen to the broken heart of a lone wolf cry out into the setting sun.

Chapter 44

Elora

The guards on either side of me grip my elbows as they drag me down a darkened stairway. The shackles on my wrists clink together as I reach the last step. The several days' ride to Valebridge with Cade was mostly silent, aside from his occasional chatter and prod of questions. When he realized I no longer possessed the Stones, his questions turned to anger. And that anger turned physical. But I gave him nothing, of course. As I never would again.

My eyes roam through the dark room, the push of magick against my skin has come back in full force over the last few days, but with the iron shackles Cade has placed on me since we left the mountain, I’m useless. My magick whips in a storm-like fury waiting to break through the threshold. Frustrated, it hasn't been unleashed. Hasn’t been used.

One of the guards lights an oil lantern on the wall. The flame flickers orange in the darkness and the shape of several other cells come into view. All of them empty. Marble walls encompass a small area blocked by a thick iron door. Inside the cell in front of me is a small cot on an iron frame. An empty bucket sits in the far corner. I swallow a lump in my throat and square my shoulders. Be strong, Elora.

The guards shove me in a cell so hard I lose my balance and topple to the ground. With my wrists bound, I’m unable to break my fall. “You should be ashamed of yourselves!” I shout, righting myself, turning to face the men.

“You’re lucky we’ve been given clear instructions to leave you unharmed,” one of the guards says, turning the lantern low so the flame extinguishes. “Enjoy the darkness.” He laughs as he makes his way up the stairs with his companion. Sitting myself down, I scoot backward until my back rests upon the cool marble wall behind me. Closing my eyes, I wait for the voices to come.

Magick thrums and pushes against my palms, the ache becoming more and more prominent, but still, the voices aren’t there. In the darkness of my cell, for the first time since my mother died, I sit in total silence. I’ve lived with my demons for so long, I’ve forgotten what life could be like without them. The voices have become a regular part of my daily life that I find myself uncomfortable in the silence that follows their absence. I think of Sorin. To his memory of our mothers. How confident they were that the Fates would bring Sorin and I together.

Then I think of Samaria and Jarek, and then Galen and Alaric. To the ink stinging and swirling up the back of my neck. Let them have my body, for in a short time, I’ll belong to the woods. As long as the Stones are safe, Sorin and Sam will work the rest out. I know it.

Finally, my mind settles on Ruse. How the shape of her too-still body laid on the ground. How her emerald eyes flickered with fear. The struggled breaths she took as I was pulled from the trench and away from her.

Snapping my eyes open, they adjust to the dark rather quickly. And then I picture Cade. And all the things I will do to him. The many ways I’ll rip him apart slowly for what he’s done. A kernel of anger sparks within me. Anger I’ve let fester far longer than tonight. An anger I fought so hard to swallow down and avoid. Never once giving the option of letting it grow.

How long had I stamped those voices out? Pushed them down until their words were smothered and broken? What if instead of fighting the voices in my head, I accepted that they are a part of who I am? Because what is more fearsome? The monster that stands before you? Or the one that lives within you? Tonight, I won’t fight that monster anymore. I’ll become it.

Eyes closed, I take a deep inhale of the stagnant air, then a long exhale before reaching out to the voices.

Where are you? My own internal voice echoes down into the depths of my soul. Trying desperately for the demons that have haunted and festered there.

Silence.

I know you’re still there. Help me.

I try again, furrowing my brow in concentration, coaxing those demons out like flint to a fire. Over and over I ask until I feel a shift within me. It’s subtle but it’s there. Like a beast rousing awake after a restful winter. My skin prickles, the hairs on my arms and neck raise and the moment I hear them, I let my shoulders loosen only slightly.

Hello, Enchantress.

Opening my eyes, I dart them around the cell to make sure the voices I hear are that of which reside in me. Nothing but inky black stares back and a smile curves across my lips. For so long I’ve feared the voices I hear in my head, but no more. If they are destined to be a part of me, so be it. I’ll let them speak, let them have their turn. Let them guide me the way the wolves have. I refuse to break for these people who see me as nothing more than a pawn in their games. As a means to their most ruthless desires. I deserve justice. My people deserve justice. And I will fight like hell to get it.

* * *

My head grows heavy and as much as I fight it, I can’t help the fatigue that plagues my bones. I’m lost in a feverish nightmare as the echoey creak of a door opens at the top of the stairs. Two sets of heavy boots make their descent down the stairs.

“Wake up, Enchantress. You’ve got yourself a meeting.” An unfamiliar voice sounds. The crackle of a fire fills the space as a lantern on the wall illuminates again. My eyes widen, adjusting to the light, then narrow in the guard’s direction. I can only make out their silhouettes in the dim candle light but there are definitely two men.

The kernel of anger I felt before erupts in a fury as I brace myself to meet the one responsible for all the loss. I twist my hands inside my shackles, but it’s no use. The iron burns cold against my skin.

“Hello, Elora.”

Pulling myself upright, I do my best not to put too much weight on my knee. Pressing myself up against the bars of the cell, I suck in a sharp breath as reality hits me square in the chest. I take a long look at the person before me and the voices within me growl in response. Only this time, they’re finally on my side.

Traitor.

Traitor.

Traitor.

A flood of nausea makes me waiver on my feet as Galen steps forward and into the light.

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