A Court of Love and Healing {ACOTAR}

Trapping and Training

Elain pants hard and looks around, this realm or plane of existence is very blue and green-hued. A giant, watery figure looms in front of her from an expanse of water that lies in front of her feet. Something within her seems to feed off of her magic, a steady pulsing in her chest.

"Ooh, you are my pretty little soldier, aren't you? Such a pretty face." The figure purrs at her as it moves to her side, its face and body still a blurry blob, moving fluidly as she shivers in fear at the chilling voice.

"I am not your anything", she snaps.

The figure laughs—a deep, bone-quivering thing. "You will quickly learn that it is foolish to deny it. You will do as you are told, or you may find that your witty mate doesn't make it out of his next life-threatening encounter. Even the luckiest people find that their luck has an expiration date. Pity too, that he would perish before knowing the truth. Before realizing that his oh-so-sweet mate has lied to him this entire time."

Elain tears up. "Get out of my head!"

"Ah, but I don't need to be in your head to know all about you, little belle of the land. You are a part of me, which makes me inherently part of you. You can thank your father for that. A gift to me for lengthening the leash of the other pretty Queen, my spicy firebird."

Tears fall down Elain's face "I won't help you."

"You have no choice but to help me, sweetheart."

Suddenly the thumping in her chest gets louder—it presses at her skin as a glow illuminates her from the inside. She groans and clutches her chest. "No!"

"Here is what you will do. You will go to the Lord of Bloodshed and tell him that if he does not go to Illyria, I will make sure his children are never born."

Elain shakes and sobs. "What will happen to him?"

The figure grins broadly, a disgusting, evil grin of stark white teeth, his face hidden in shadows. "He will pledge himself to fight on my side. If he does not, there are ways to make sure he complies."

The voice pauses. "Much like his shadowed brother."

"No! I won't! You can't make me! No!"

"Have no fear, pretty. You will be in your rightful place, ruling alongside me when the Dawn of the new Prythian comes to light. Once all those pesky people holding you back are taken care of."

"Y-You already hurt Azriel? Who else??"

"Hurt him? No, my Cauldron-blessed friends simply made him much more subservient. And that mate of his...well, let's just say my rusty ally would be extremely interested in knowing he has a bastard lesser fae in his bloodline. Or that his traitorous eldest isn't quite as...indisposed as he believes."

Another feral grin.

"Please...everyone has been through enough. Please. Leave them alone. Leave me alone."

"I don't think so, darling. But I promise the new age will be much more promising once we wipe out this cesspool."

"We will find a way to kill you!", she screams at him. "We will all find a way. You won't win!"

"Ohhh but Elain, my sweet Queen, the only way to kill me is to be rid of my soul. Now, we all know I am not foolish enough to leave it laying around whole. I have scattered the pieces. In fact, the most important part of my soul has been feeding back to me the most pertinent information from the biggest defensive weapon the Night Court has."