AVA
I didnât know where I was⦠and I had no idea how long I had been trapped there. Hours? Days?
There was no sun, there was no moon⦠just darkness.
Those damned walls without windows, that suffocating darkness.
The floor was cold, but at least it soothed the burning of my skin. Every move was torture.
I wished Mana was there⦠or Beijou. They would take the pain away. All of the pain.
I tried to pull my knees up to my chest, seeking support in my own embrace. But even that hurt.
The tears on my cheeks had long since dried; only the dirt remained, encrusted, as if it had become part of my skin. I wished I were dead.
Death would be salvation. Something other than those images, those horrible memories that haunted me as soon as I closed my eyes.
Too much had happened⦠way too much. And yet I didnât know how long Iâd been languishing there.
It felt like an eternity in hell.
The last thing I remembered was the night of the festival. I was running to the young animals of our amicus when I heard screams and desperate whinnying.
When I got there, I realized⦠it was an attack. But when I recognized my fatherâs friend⦠I knew it was betrayal.
And then⦠the nightmare began.
I only managed to save the amicus, but then Silak overpowered me and took me away.
I knew Portus Mali only from horror stories, the home of all evil beings. And now I was there myself, in the middle of that nightmare.
As Silak dragged me through the portal, I saw itâa world of darkness and freezing breath. Creatures lurked everywhere, feeding off fear and death.
The sky was a black maw, no moon, no stars, only the shrieks of winged monsters, like giant lizards, circling above the black castle.
Their screams pierced me like knives, making my blood run cold.
Outside the castle gates, creatures swarmed, cowering like animals in the dirt, covered in blood and mud.
Witches with rotten flesh, demons with glowing eyes, vampires greedily licking their lips.
Ghouls gnawed on images, werewolves with their mouths torn open, ghosts slinking between them like smoke.
Among them I recognized ruined elves with empty eyes and sirens whose songs reeked of decay. They all glared at me.
That place was the exact opposite of Antarisânot light and life, but darkness, decay, and an endless hunger for torment. And I was in the middle of them.
I wasnât home anymore⦠I wasnât safe anymore and⦠I was alone.
Silak brought me before the princes of darkness, who looked at me with disgust. Their eyes pierced me as they observed me from their thrones.
The chairs looked as if they had been formed from the bones of long-forgotten beings, their backrests crooked like spines, the wood black and cracked as if it had been soaking up blood for centuries.
The upholstery was made of torn leather, reminiscent of stripped skin, and when the wind whistled through the cracks, it sounded like a stifled moan.
Abbadon was particularly curious, his eyes sliding over me. He even rose to his feet, standing in front of me.
He was much taller than I was, much stronger.
I swallowed hard as he leaned toward me, his fingers sliding under my chin before capturing my gaze with his.
I flinched at the touch, turning my face to the side.
âWhat do you want from me?â I asked.
Abbadon didnât answer. His index finger hovered over his lips, motioning me to be quiet.
I winced again as he leaned closer to me. His face hovered over mine, his lips almost touching mine.
âYou smell so pure⦠it makes me sick,â he whispered.
His dark gaze glided over my face, lingering briefly on my lips before glancing down at me. The dress I wore for the party was torn, dirty.
His lips pressed together before he looked at Silak.
âWhat is this?â he asked, referring to the handcuffs that had been placed on me.
âItâs to restrain her powers,â Silak replied.
I turned to him, rage in my eyes. I despised him so much, hatred seething inside meâa feeling I did not know.
Abbadon turned my face toward him again, his fingertips gripping my chin tightly. I could see a smirk on his lips.
âTake her to Bana,â he ordered.
The woman I was taken to was very powerful. She looked down on me as if I were unworthy to be in her presence.
As she walked through the hallways, the other creatures bowed their heads to her. So much power⦠so palpable that my insides shook.
She brought me to a cell without allowing me to raise my head. I watched my feet as I walked, each step a heavy burden.
I only looked up briefly as she grabbed my upper arm, a grim smile on her lips.
âHave fun.â She pushed me inside.
The door slammed behind me, and darkness engulfed me.
I had been sitting on the hard, cold dungeon floor for hours. Some guards came by to check on me, but nobody spoke to me, not a single word.
They didnât give me water or food. They just checked on me to see if I was still there.
After a while, they didnât just come to check. They kicked me, scratched and bit me, leaving wounds and a bloody aftertaste in my mouth.
They held my elven powers in check, and so I was defenseless, at their mercy. The creatures laughed.
A sneering, ugly sound that vibrated in my bones. Every punch, every kick made them whoop like children at a cruel game.
I felt my bones trembling under their fists, my blood running over their claws, and they laughed. They laughed as I choked.
They laughed when I begged. They laughed as I lay there in my own vomit.
And then⦠then it all went black.
But even fainting wasnât salvation. Again and again I snapped back to consciousness only to realize that the torture continued.
That their laughter never stopped. Until I was nothing but a twitching, bloody bundle and their laughter was the only thing echoing in my skull.
âWhat have you done?â I heard an angry voice say.
I could feel the weight being lifted off of me. The bodies of my attackers were being dragged from me, thrown away.
I tried to gasp for air with as much force as I could until I felt my body floating. I was sure I was dead, but then my head rested against something hard.
I struggled to open my eyes, only to see Abbadon holding me. His eyes stared at me, almost scared.
âI didnât order that,â he said.
I was sure thatâs what he said⦠before I lost consciousness again.
Who knew how long Iâd been there? But when I came back again, I felt Abbadonâs body.
He was still holding me, sitting on the floor, and in the darkness a faint, reddish light flickered beside him, soft, almost comforting.
âDoes my father know that Iâm here?â I asked softly.
My voice broke under the weight of pain, rusty and shattered. He looked at me, his eyes slowly sweeping over my face.
Completely different than usual. Almost... concerned.
âHe knows,â he replied curtly.
âWhy are you doing this?â I asked.
I wasnât just talking about the prison. I meant the way he held me, like he was seeking my closeness.
I meant the way he looked at me, which used to be all hate and now showed something I didnât understand.
âI donât know,â he admitted, and his voice was quiet, like he was struggling with himself.
I wanted to go home... Father...
~Youâve noticed by now that I am missing, havenât you, Father?~
My tears rolled down my cheeks and I couldnât keep the sigh inside me. Was this how I was going to die?
Locked in a cage like an animal, starved and forgotten?
Abbadon turned me to face him. My legs slid down his muscular body until I was sitting on his lap, thighs spread, trapped but not resisting.
His hands dug into my hips, pulling me closer until our bodies pressed against each other. So close, I could taste his breath.
He didnât smell of rot, not of this corrupted world. His scent was numbing... like dark honey and smoky wood mixed with something unfamiliar, primeval.
A poison that confused my senses and melted my knees.
I dared to study his face. The darkness that usually enveloped him had disappeared; he had switched off his powers.
No black abysses in his eye sockets. Instead, eyes gazed at me, deep as onyx nights, imbued with a faint reddish glow.
His skin was flawless, almost translucent, as if he had been chiseled from moonlight. High cheekbones, a narrow mouth with full, sensually curving lips.
Too beautiful. Too seductive.
His thumb brushed over my lower lip, a barely noticeable contact that sent a shiver down my spine. I hated myself for how my body was reacting, for forgetting where I was.
Forgetting who he was.
âCan you explain,â he whispered, his voice suddenly soft, vulnerable, âwhat you are doing to meâ¦â