Purest Corruption - The Darkling [General Kirigan]

• Chapter 25 •

Song of the chapter: Carry You by Ruelle

Play when you see the **

⋆------- ○° ❃ᔝ❀ᔝ❁ᔝ❀ᔝ❃ °○ -------⋆

Kirigan stood in the doorway, eyes widening as he saw I was awake. My body went numb at the sight of him, memories of his face as he tortured me flashing through my mind. I knew it wasn't truly him that had done those things, but it felt real enough as it had happened. 

Even though I'd only been able to physically feel him once, all the other times, my heart had taken the beating. The words that had spilled out of his mouth and the looks on his face broke me every time; no other form of torture necessary.

Stomach twisting in knots and heart beating rapidly, I felt the overwhelming need to lie down. My eyes rolled back in their sockets as the floor became my resting place; the last thing I heard was the sound of boots rushing across wood.

**

I was back in captivity, being tortured over and over again as soon I had passed out. This time, I felt everything being done to me as if it were real. Usually, my dreams were full of longing to feel something, but now I felt too much. Maybe it's because they were nightmares instead.

Elijah wore Kirigan's face as he broke my skin while doing the same to my spirit. I screamed for anyone's help, but no one ever came to my aid. The only hope I saw was to wake up, though I didn't know how to. How long I'd been in my trauma-induced coma, I didn't know, and there was no end in sight.

Finally, something pulled me out of the constant pain, but even as my eyes fluttered open, I knew it wasn't over. As I stared up at the ceiling, I realized someone had put me back into the bed I had woken up in the first time. The second thing I noticed was the healer standing to my right, speaking in a hushed tone to Kirigan.

"I've done what I can to wake her up, but I'm not sure it was enough." The healer said, her voice holding a solemn tone.

Did she not see that I was awake?

I tried to alert them to my current state, but no words made it through my closed lips. I couldn't even move my head to catch their attention. It was then I realized I couldn't move any part of my body. A tear rolled down my cheek as I kept trying to break through whatever kept me like this.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kirigan's head snap to look at me. He rushed to my side, grabbing my hand with a smile. But, unfortunately, the grin only lasted until he realized my catatonic state, then it fell.

"Ana?" His eyebrows furrowed together as he searched my eyes for any sign of life. Another tear escaped, which was the only thing to tell him I was alive.

"You're okay now, Ana. We're on our way back to the Little Palace," He sounded so hopeful, and I wanted so badly to tell him how grateful I was. But, of course, I wasn't able to.

"Why isn't she speaking?" His question was directed at the healer, who then came over to me. A look of confusion crossed her face as she studied me.

"I...I don't know. I don't think she can," Her response wasn't received well by the general who wanted real answers.

"Why don't you know? You're a healer, so fix whatever is wrong!" His sentence came out more aggressively than I think he meant because he immediately apologized.

"I'm sorry. But she was Elijah's captive long enough, and she doesn't need to be a prisoner of her own mind now that I-we finally have her back." He changed the last part of his statement when he realized what he'd almost said.