HEIR | The Cursed Monarchy | Book 1

Regret: Part V - Chapter 27

Cecily shivered as she watched water cascading down the mossy stone wall of her cell. The tiny rivulets slithered downward, pulsing with each drop like veins rising and falling from a heartbeat. The drops collected at the edges of brick and crumbling mortar, swelling until they were large enough for gravity to pull them free. The transparent pearls fell and slapped the floor with a splat, splashing the floor and her feet. She watched the cycle over and over as her chin quivered and her teeth chattered.

Her phlegm-choked lungs wheezed and when she tried clearing them with a cough, she winced at the burning tightness. Cecily's torn garments were wet and smudged with mud. They clung to her frail form, offering no protection from the cold dampness of her cell. Her hair, also soaked through, lay flat against her skull. She didn't bother to pull it from her pale face as she peered through the tangled strands of black.

She suddenly grimaced, bringing her arms around her stomach and doubled over as hunger cramps seized her again. She lay on her side and groaned while tucking her legs into her chest to lessen the pain. She slapped away the chipped ceramic bowl holding the gruel responsible for her sickness and it splashed across the floor. Rats emerged from the shadows and began lapping up the mess and two of them played tug of war with the moldy crust of bread. The crust tore apart and the rats scrambled away, careful not to drop a crumb.

The last few months in the Delve's dungeons had become meaningless, devoid of the essence of separation into light and dark, and were simply one long, continuous nightmare from which she could not find release. Wet and shivering, thinking and crying intermittently, Cecily passed through the nights without sleep. Her head ached and she felt wretched, and she wondered whether this was the extent of the punishment Oril believed she deserved.

Shaking with misery, Cecily closed her eyes to squeeze away the images in her mind. She spared a brief moment for reflection. She was remorseful for being naive, such carelessness had wrought her ruin and, more than any other violent wrong her victims had suffered, caused her profound grief and shame.

Cecily was also full of regret for allowing herself to trust Daire and Rilien. Over the span of her confinement, she had come to learn of their true intentions and countless exploits from the snide remarks of her guards. She imagined the death and destruction that would come with the war they desired and over time, she had become blindly furious.

If only she could kill both of them! But how would she react if she were to lay eyes on Daire again? The main remaining fragment of her soul was the one that loved him so deeply. Even if she was somehow able to reach him, she might not be able to destroy him, because of that little bit of love that remained in her. Then he would finish her off, cleaning out the last bits and pieces of the remnants of her soul, leaving her entirely barren.

The sound of water dripping, rats squeaking, and the scratching of rodents' feet echoed in her head. She wanted to scream because she didn't know what else to do. She would die in this dreary dungeon and no one would ever know.

Her cramps slowly subsided, so she straightened her legs and sat up carefully. She leaned up against the cold stone and felt the damp rock pull heat from her body. She shivered, leaning forward, and encircled her legs before pulling them to her chest. She rested her head on her knees and started to cry. Her shoulders shook and her mouth opened with a silent scream of frustration and despair. Tears streamed from beneath her closed lids leaving warm trails across her chilled skin.

Cecily wept uncontrollably until she heard the metallic hum of a sword cutting through the air, an abrupt, yet muffled cry and the sound of a sword blade being withdrawn from a body. She blinked away the remaining tears and sniffed a few times to prevent her nose from dripping. She heard the sound of soft footsteps coming toward her.