𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕆𝕗 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕃𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 ¦ 𝔽𝕖𝕟𝕣𝕪𝕤 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟𝕓𝕖𝕒𝕞

Souls be Damned

 Every nerve, muscle, tendon and ligament in her body hurt as she propelled herself to run faster. Further. Sweat clung to every inch of her skin, the clothes were snug across her whole frame. She kept going, not stopping as she raced through the courtyard, pumping her arms to sprint that final few feet, 

Brielle needed to build back every muscle that had diminished, going back to base one if she had to. She was going to keep fighting. The females voice run deep within her, roaring out a yell Brielle finally slowed to a jogging pace before stopping at the steps of the palace.

Resting forward, supporting her hands atop her knees Brielle panted out, blinking past the mist of emotion which had driven her to keep running. She had awoken this morning with a similar flashback from the city she had long since left behind, almost eighty years to the day and still the event of Vallen haunted her.

The scars littering her flesh screamed in protest when she began to stretch out her muscles, releasing the build up energy inside them. 

There was a clapping from above her, rising up Brielle scanned the area, the clapping continued. She swiveled to watch Cairn approach, descending the steps of the castle at a leisurely pace, Isaiah behind him.

"Is the Kitty enjoying her freedom?" Cairn crooned, slowing in his strides towards her, 

Brielle tried to still her hammering heart, the adrenaline coursing through every vein under the skin. At her side, she couldn't help the twitch of her finger to draw the dagger from her hip, Cairn pouted an expression that looked so out of place on his demeanour that Brielle nearly grabbed the blade in that second from pure discomfort alone.

"It's a pity your friends can't join you today." Cairn stopped at her side, inches from touching her body, a hand coming up to curl a strand of her hair around his finger, letting it drop to her shoulder he met her stare  "I however will be keeping them company of course" 

The sincerity of his tone, made her want to throw a punch in his direction, but Cairn sensing the rise of her power in the air around them, continue to prowl around her. Isaiah didn't meet her eyes as he followed past. Their presence fading into the distance.

Brielle took a hanging second to breath through the power that erupted in response to answer her anger. She needed to keep her shit intact, need to keep calm. If Cairn reported back to Maeve of any misdemeanour, Brielle didn't want to think of what she might be made to do next.

As she mounted the steps to the palace entrance Brielle couldn't help but worry for her friends, locked up right below her feet. What might Aelin do if their positions were switched? 

Swallowing guilt never got any easier no matter how old she became. Perhaps she should simply kill Cairn and Maeve, the gods only knew she could do it.

but the timing wasn't right. All the planning would go to waste if Brielle killed them now. She had to wait. 

☽⋆❈⋆☾

The air around their small camp was cool, tucked into a pocket of the woods Teyra sat sharpening the tip of her daggers, laying them across a felt in an organised line of size order.

The group had spent over a month travelling, interrogating commanders from Maeve's rank. Nothing had eased the guilt nagging deep in her gut. She had helped the males while Elide watched, Brielle had trained them to read between the lines of a person's body language, unspoken secrets were always the most difficult to obtain, but not impossible. Brielle had ensured they knew how to tell the difference.

At the memory of her friend, her chest seized. Not just for Brielle but for the others as well. They had to see to it that Brielle's letter was adhered to, so Teyra was the only available spy to travel in this group in search of The Queen and their Lioness.