Chapter 4
There was a commotion in the hall and Lucien pushed through the other fae who were gathering, his heart sunk to the bowels of his belly as he saw Feyra standing Infront of Amarantha and Tamlin, the damned foolish girl he swore to himself. The poor thing was trembling and to no surprise, he wanted to close his eyes and deafen his ears as the attor beat her, Lucien felt his body react he urged forward unsure what he could possibly do but he couldn't just watch what was happening Infront of everyone. A strong hand gripped his elbow holding him into place, he shot his head back to see who had grabbed him, the tall handsome dark skinned high lord of the day court had stopped him from helping Feyra " don't be foolish, you can't help her by running to her like that, wait" he said to him through gritted teeth. Lucien wasn't familiar with the high lord of the day court but he knew he was a good male, his mother long ago had told him if he ever needed sanctuary the day court would take him, back when his father Barron would beat him senseless as well as his brothers, he always through after his mother stayed by his fathers side maybe she wasn't the best judge of character but maybe with Hellion she was. Lucien turned his gaze to Tamlin who just watched, how can he just sit there? He felt sick, he wasn't sure what disturbed him more, what was happening to Feyra or the way Tamlin just watched.
Elain was plagued by the worst dreams she'd ever had, an evil witch sat on a throne with a demon on one side of her and that beast of the other all three looking down on Feyra as if they were going to feast on her flesh any moment, she seemed to see everything through the eyes of her dream visitor. Was this happening or was it just a dream? She would wake feeling sick and cold and would have to reinsure herself she was safe in her bed, she became fearful to sleep unsure what she would find when she did, she would spend her nights looking through books about the fae and how to protect ones self from them, a lot of what she found where what the family tried before Feyra was taken and clearly didn't work. She felt lost and hopeless, she would research until she feels asleep at her desk.
Lucien watched in terror as he witnessed Feyra run from the middenguard wyrm, he yells to her where the wyrm is and ultimately saves her life, for the time being anyway. His heart pounds as she slays the creature, and he watches in awe that this tinny human girl could do such a thing practically bear handed and without magic. He would smirk at the look Amarantha gave that the first trail didn't kill her, but he knew Feyra was in danger, the thing that took him by surprise the most was how intent Rhysand was watching Feyra, as if somehow, he was glad, she had won, he supposed Rhysands magic and future also rested on the girl shoders like the rest of them.
Elain was bound facing a crowd of fae, a group of red-haired males watched in amusement as she felt the first lash across her back, the hit stung and she could tell it had broken the fabric of her shirt and skin, then another and another, she collapsed and withered, the pain unimaginable. Her eyes shot open and she was in her room still sat at her desk, she ran to the bathroom and exited her guts, she gasped for air and placed her hands on her back where she could reach as if she would find the wounds from the whipping she had just witnessed, her skin was normal if not coated in sweat, it was just a dream but she could feel the pain of each strike. She splashed cold water onto her face and tried to bring her breathing under control to ground herself to where she was.
Lucien was dumped in his room and left, Amarantha ordered no one to aid him with his healing, he knew his wounds would become infected, he knew Feyra was grievously injured as well and he wasn't able to reach her she would most likely die, however he knew his own life was dangling by a string, if he was able to heal himself he knew he would survive but Amarantha had dulled his healings so drastically there was no chance he could, if he could rest then maybe he would survive. He felt a presence on the edge of his bed, he peered his eyes open to see Feyra's sister looking down at him, he must be dreaming but he was so sure he was awake, was he having a fever dream? " don't give up" her voice was as soft as when he had visited her family, she placed a hand on his forehead, " you must not give up Lucien" her voice was sterner and her hair turned long and silken black, her eyes onyx and he knew that face "Nuan?" his voice was raspy, how long had it been? He didn't even know she was down here; he prayed to the gods that she had managed to hide away somewhere but even someone as intelligent as her could get caught by Amarantha and her evil made him shudder. " I've tended to your wounds with a slive I've managed to put together, its not strong enough to heal you completely but it should be enough to keep you from deaths door" if she got caught she would be executed, as if she could tell what he was thinking she clicked her tongue at him " don't insult me Lucien, of course I took every procedure" he didn't have the energy to argue with her so he just frowned and she rolled her eyes " ill be back later with some food, she said we cant heal you not feed you" she smirked then placed a cool towel on his forehead " rest" and with that she stood and left his room. He felt selfish for being joyous to see a friendly face in this hell hole.
" You are to stay in bed!" Nesta demanded Elain, as she shut the front door on Graysen. " Nesta please, I'm fine" she tried to protest but she knew she looked like death and felt it, from the moment Nesta saw Elain this morning she knew her sister was going to be difficult to handle, but she needed to keep Graysen interest in her and they had already had a week apart, any longer and Elain was certain he would lose interest. Nesta raised her eyebrows at Elain as an unspoken invitation to argue knowing full well Elain didn't have the strength, every inch of her body ached and she was so exhausted, weeks of terrible nightmares and nights spent researching had certainly taken a toll on her and Nesta clearly had the perfect excuse to keep Graysen away from her sister, Elain knew Nesta didn't like him and the only reason she gave Elain was that he's not good enough and right for her. " Back upstairs and Marion will bring you a sleeping tonic" Elain was about to protest when Nesta cut her off " you think I don't hear you screaming during the night?" Elain didn't know what to say, how could she explain to her sister when she herself had no idea what was going on, she turned and walked back to her room, she heard Nesta open the door and tell Graysen to leave, she had already informed him once that Elain was sick, but she supposed he still wanted to see her. As Elain climbed into her bed Marion appeared with an tonic like Nesta told her, Elain got along with their house maid pretty well, the middle aged plump dark haired woman was like a mother figure to her always treated Elain like a daughter " she's just worried about you my lady" her calming voice lulled to Elain " we all are" her hazel eyes signed as she took her in " just try and rest, this tonic will help". The tonic tased like honey and warm milk with something else Elain couldn't detect from taste, she felt her eyelids become heavy and she soon was asleep, for the first time in months Elain didn't dream, she simply rested.
Lucien was horrified once he managed to make it down to the cell and visited Feyra, the tattoo on her arm and hand was so striking there was no hiding it and when she told his about the bargain that came with it he wanted to kill Rhysand more than he ever had, he knew this was another slap at Tamlins face but on the other hand if the bastard hadn't of saved Feyra she would certainly be dead from the poison from the wyrm. Rhysand clearly needed Feyra to save him from Amarantha too, Lucien would tuck that piece of knowledge away, it made him sick to think that since she had been here Rhysand had done more for her than Tamlin had and apart of him started to question Tamlin. After he left Feyra he made his way to see Tamlin to inform him of what had happened between Feyra and Rhysand, he felt telling him would be better then him finding out from Rhysand, not once did Tamlin visit him about how he was doing from the whipping he had given him, he suspected it was due to him being used as weapon against him but the wound to his heart that his friend possibly didn't care enough stung Lucien still. Lucien managed to get Tamlin alone for a few moments as he told Tamlin about Feyra and Rhysands bargain, rage flickered through his friends eyes " how could she be so stupid" he growled and Lucien had to hold his tongue from reminding him that she is human and considering the amount of times she had gotten herself in harms way and the fact that there freedom and future depended on her what did he truly expect and to consider what had he done for her since either of them got her yet he knew that would not be smart to anger his friend further. Amarantha appeared in the hall and Tamlin took his place on the throne next to her once again but what caught Lucien's eye the most was when Rhysand appeared with Feyra next to him, Lucien would have been happy to see her out of the cell if for the fact Rhysand had his hand on the small of her back and the thing she was wearing, her body was covered in ink which matched her bargain tattoo and baring covering her private areas were sheer strips, he couldn't consider it a dress or even under garments, he then knew for definite this was to anger Tamlin even more, Feyra couldn't hide her discomfort, the amount of eyes that were watching her body just waiting for the slips of fabric to move an inch to expose her, it made him sick to see him friend used in such a way, Rhysand was truly a monster. He tried to approach them, he wanted to give her his own tunic just to cover the poor girl but as soon as he approached Rhysand gave him a death glare, if he took another step he would end him, Lucien told himself as long as he wasn't physically hurting her he wouldn't move closer but if he raised a hand to her… He watched as glass after glass of wine was handed to his human friend and watched as her pain and worry vanished, he wanted to vomit as he watched her move her body for Rhysand and anyone else watching, as she sat on his knee as if she was his prize, however he didn't fail to notice where Rhysands hands went on her body, they never went past her wait or touched anywhere too undecadent, he didn't know if he was grateful she would have no knowledge of the humiliation and for the night she would be free from the horrors that were happening, he didn't fail to also notice how Rhysand didn't let anyone else approach her, a blessing or simply an arrogant bastard protecting his property. Tamlin barely kept his eyes off her and Rhysand, Lucien waited and waited for Tamlin to react, but he never did, how was it Lucien was more angered by this than the male who loves her?
For the last few weeks Elain had managed to sleep peacefully, she continued to take the tonic before bed due to still feeling dread, as if sensing Elain still wasn't herself Nesta forbid Elain from seeing Greyson until she was well again, this however did not stop his efforts from trying to visit her which only made Nesta more angry and would result a door slammed in his face. No matter how much sleep she seemed to have she always awoke exhausted as if she had none, this would often cause her to fall asleep through the day and end up in bed early each night, she barely had any strength to work in her garden or help ot in the kitchen, Nesta had called for doctors to visit which would only cause confusion as to what her ailment was. Elain awoke to rough arms grabbing her and pulling her from bed, she opened her eyes and aw three men, not men male fae, all three of them looked evil, all three of them had their hands on her pulling her from her bed, stood in front was a monster, a towering creature with leather wings and clawed hands, it gave her a toothy grin and exposed its silver sharp fangs, she tried to fight the males off her as she was dragged away, she felt weak and ill, she tried to make her body as heavy as possible to make the drag more difficult for her capturers. She was thrown onto a hand floor and shackles tied around her wrists, she looked up to see many faces looking down at her, she recognised none, pulling at her restraints she tried to break free but her body was too weak. A noise next to her caught her attention and she had to blink a few times as Feyra was standing looking at her, horror written on her face. " Lucien" she called her Lucien? It then daunts on her that she was once again dreaming, this wasn't her body, this was the fae male from her dreams, he knew Feyra, Feyra was in danger. A women voice broke through that wasn't Feyra's or one Elain recognised, there was a creak and a giant spike started to decent down upon them both, panic settled in and Feyra was panicking, the man…..Lucien was shouting for her to pull a leaver, people were laughing above, the spike was inches from penetrating them both, the males eyes closed for impact when another creak sounded and the spike rose back up. Elains eyes sprung open and jumped out of bed and ran for the bathroom she tried to vomit but nothing can up, her bladder gave way, and she wet herself, she gripped hold of the bowl of the toilet as she violently wept.
Lucien couldn't believe he somehow managed to survive the second task, every time he slept he dreamt of the task, seeing the spikes inches from his body, Feyra panicking, every time he looked back on what happened he couldn't figure out how she solved the puzzle, he swore she was going to pull a different leaver but acted like something or someone stopped her and guide her to the right one, he hated that the only explanation he could muster was that Rhysand had somehow helped but why? He truly felt like a puppet in Amarantha's games of torturing Tamlin and Feyra but why did it seem Feyra was the only one out of the two suffering from his torture? He began to watch Rhysand more closely, each night he would make Feyra drink into oblivion, force her to dance for him while he kept anyone else from getting close to her, his hands on her body but not touching areas most males would given the chance, if anything it could be seen as the male taking care of her, Lucien knew better then Rhysand would do Feyra a kindness. One evening Rhysand seemed to leave her alone long enough for her to leave the hall, he witnessed as Tamlin followed after her, was he a fool? If Lucien witnessed this then surely others would too, maybe this were the two lovers' chance to escape together, part of him was relieved that she was free but part of him felt hopeless if she did run then the curse would never be broken. His eyes shot to Rhysand who looked to be waiting for something, had he noticed too? If so why wasn't he moving to stop them, something seemed to flash in Rhysands eyes, he couldn't tell if it was rage or disappointment, the male made his way to the exit Feyra and Tamlin has escaped, Lucien prayed to any gods that would listen that she had escaped. Lucien's eyes were glued to the exit as Tamlin appeared, had he given Feyra time to escape, seeing Rhysand wasn't with him had he somehow managed to incapacitate him? Lucien's heart shuddered just as Amarantha sauntered towards Tamlin and then with him to the exit, they disappeared, and his heart sank to his stomach as Rhysand and Feyra appeared moments later, the markings on her body were smudged and Rhysands hands were covered in the ink, Lucien knew he hadn't been the one who originally smudged the markings. The look in Tamlin's face was enough to solidify Lucien's suspicions. He could of helped her escape but instead he tried to bed her, he felt sick with rage, how could his friend be so selfish and arrogant.
Everything seemed to happen so fast, Elain through the males eyes watched in horror s Feyra was forced to plummet a knife through the heart of three fae, then watched as Feyra was beaten and broken until her sister neck was snapped, the horror was too much, through the male and her own feelings she felt guilt, disgust and rage go through there body, the ability to do nothing to save her and just watch on in horror, a fae male in black was screaming for her repeatedly, Elain didn't recognise this male but he clearly knew Feyra and cared for her deeply, no one else tried to stop the cruelty that was happening to her body apart from him, another male brutally killed the evil witch who had broken Feyra's neck, he held her in his arms as other males approached, she had no idea what was happening then everything went black. Elain screamed her lungs out and ran for Nesta, she must of sounded like an banshee as Nesta ran down the hall, her face pale. Nesta grabbed Elain by the shoulders demanding what was wrong, Elain could barely get any words out through the sobs "F-Feyra" she stuttered her sisters name out " what of her?" Nesta searched Elains face "dead" she didn't know how but she knew what she witnessed was true, everything she witnessed through the males eyes were happening and there was nothing either of them could do, Elain felt the world spin as she went limp in her sisters arms and her vision went black as she passed out.