A Court of Lies and Secrets | ACOTAR fanfic [Girl x Girl]

Hopeless

~Alirra~

Fear is powerful. It results in varies impulses. For me: my hands sweat, my entire body shakes and the shadows of every corner and crevice creep closer until it's filling my lungs and suffocating each drop of life from my body.

Ginerva loves to play many games, her favourite, I've recently learned, is creating visions to push me over the edge. When I'm alone in the darkness of this tight space and my hands tremble in the thick shackles, the illusions add to the show for her. Watching me sweat out of fear isn't enough, she feels the need to make me pass out from pure terror.

"Rise and shine!" The menacing sounds of her voice is not the first thing I want to hear after passing out.

I refuse to open my eyes, to look at hers. I don't want to risk meeting the gaze of another illusion she conjured.

Her hand flashes to my face- my jaw- each slender finger digging into my cheeks. The pressure applied to persuade me to open my eyes.

"Fuck off." I mutter and try to rise from the floor, only to collapse in a helpless pile. I imagine Ginerva crouched before me, smirking at the frail figure at her feet. Another reason for me to shut her out. Seeing the pride in her eyes- the glistening stars, that should only belong to Ren, sparkling with malicious satisfaction.

"Now, now, play nice." Her laugh is more like a lengthy exhale.

"I'll let you off, no doubt you're exhausted," she continues to mutter to herself, "did you enjoy the show?"

My face scrunches involuntarily into a sneer and I instantly regret the spit I directed at her, landing on her shoe.

Her hand once again meets my face- this time taking ahold of my throat. Her nails are forced into my flesh. I whimper from the surprise of her action. The weight of the metal around my hands drag down on my muscles and I feel an instant burn along my arms and neck as she lifts me off the ground.

She shows no signs of struggle, no resistance, as she lifts my frail body higher into the air. Looking up at my darkening face and hopeless features as I gasp for air and scrape at her hands. I've never felt this much power in such a thin figure. I swear I feel a gentle tickle of blood creep down my neck from the impact of her fingernails against my throat. I can't imagine how pathetic I look, in her grasp, as I struggle to keep myself together.

I genuinely think this might be it for me, her plan gone to shit as she decides to take the easy route- killing me now. As much as she enjoys watching my endless suffering, the anger in her burning stare shows no hesitation to ending everything for me.

I reach out to Renae once more, completely lost in the maze of our mating bond. Fumbling around the darkness for a hint of her. Renae..

~Renae~

"She's alive! I heard her voice!" I gasp for air as I run frantically through the pine forrest- as if I'd find her climbing up a tree with a big, happy smile on her face.

Alirra!

"I thought you hadn't been able to reach her?" Azriel reminds me, and he's supposed to be the helpful one.

"Something must've happened to Ginerva's spell or-"

"We don't even know she cast a spell." He mutters again and I imagine my hands around his throat.

Ali..

"Az, if I knew why I haven't been able to reach her or how all of a sudden I heard her voice, do you think I'd tell you?" He shrugs a single shoulder with minimal effort and leans against the bark of a tree. I look around at the rest of them, leant against other pines, crouched over boulders.

"I understand you're all tired- fuck, I am too- but- I- thank you." I leave it at that. I could give each of them a speech for my gratitude but I could also drag them through the pine branches for the half-hearted effort. So I'll settle with the 'thank you'.

I scream down the bond over and over asking for any clues as to where she is- begging for a response. A mumble, a whisper- anything.

"What if Ginerva is just messing with you." Rhysand pitches in and I stop my frantic search to turn to him, frowning so he'll continue.

"Say she has used her powers to stop you both from contacting- maybe she put a damper on the barrier enough so Alirra could reach you just once."

"Why-"

"False hope?" Cassian questions. Still, what benefit does Ginerva have on my false hope of getting to Ali... entertainment. I have no doubt whatsoever that the queen is rolling in the enjoyment of Alirra's and my suffering. She's probably laughing to herself as we scramble around and pick at straws to find each other. She's playing around with our hope ; draining it.

"That makes sense.." I mutter to myself.

"We need to get to Iagan before anymore interferences. We don't want a round two with his soldiers." Rhys says what everyone is thinking. Another battle like the last one, so soon, would take the last spark of energy from us and the result wouldn't be pretty. We can't think of such things right now. Another battle, Alirra's voice- it's all wasting our time.

Rhys and Feyre leads us all up the steep stone steps before Montesere's door. The power of the king and queen practically engraved in the very stone and wood of the building and my instincts tell me he's here, waiting for us. Ginerva and Ali, however-

The door opens slowly before Rhys can make a next move or turn to give us his next speech. There are no guards in Montesere clothing at the door's handles, no people lining the halls and shielding the many doors leading to the Cauldron knows how many rooms filled with riches.

We don't know exactly where we're going but I can feel the pull of Iagan's presence, calling out to us and I know the others feel it too. We walk through the halls and go through doors and archways as if they also grew up here.

My memory is clear and I have a slight idea where Iagan is leading us.

Once again, a door creaks open and reveals a dimly lit space- a normal sized room for anybody else, but small compared to the other sizeable rooms in the Montesere house. A waft of Montesere's signature pine scent fills our nostrils once the door opens and we get to see the entire space laid out before us. Eleven chairs are positioned around the room in a circle. The chairs a large enough to fit two fae comfortably and are padded with dark green leather, the wood carved with pine tree patterns and no doubt made from the very trees themselves.

In front of the only window- which is again small for the king and queen- the largest chair faces the group and sat atop the wood and leather is the king himself. His eyes are too dark ; they blend into the room. His features as a whole are impossible to make out in the poor lighting- but his figure is firm and assertive. There are exactly enough chairs for everyone here and I have no doubt that isn't a coincidence. He's been waiting patiently, sensing our arrival was nearing and now he sits before us, presented as the dark and mysterious King of Montesere.

The shadows practically hiss the words 'come in' and we all take steps into the room before the door creaks shut, just as slow as it opened. As much as this entire space feels like a trick with its intimidating darkness and enigmatic feel, nobody hesitates to take their seats- as if we each know where we're assigned.

Cassian and Azriel sit beside the king, I choose the chair opposite him, the light from the sunset hitting my spot, illuminating it perfectly for him to see whilst he cowers in the dark. Rhysand and Feyre beside me. Jurian walks right up to the king's chair, gifts him a snarl and sits beside Azriel- I wonder if Iagan even paid him any attention probably retorted to muttering an insult like 'human filth'.

We never remove our eyes from him, watching every move of his eyes- his hands. Assessing each movement. I daren't look at the others, despite the burning questions for each of them. I realise- through the darkening shadows on his face- Iagan is waiting for me to speak first. Not Rhysand, not Feyre or himself- me.

"You know why we're here."

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