A Court of Magnolias and Ash

Three

Nesta:

"You stole something precious. Something sacred," his gravelly voice made my skin crawl. Darkness surrounded me, blocking my view but I knew that voice. We had only come face-to-face a couple of times yet he was forever burned into my memory...my nightmares.

I could feel his breath on the back of my neck, tiny hairs pulling away from me. "You're dead," I shuddered, turning only to face nothing but an unending blackhole. "I took off your head. I watched you die." I almost stuttered, not out of complete fear, but outrage. I killed him, I twisted and twisted until his head tore off. It was a nightmare that I couldn't outrun.

The king of Hybern's unnerving laughter echoed around me, I couldn't tell where he positioned himself. "Nesta Archeron, the Cauldron thief." Spit left his lips—hitting me on the neck. The smell of rot made my nose wrinkle with distaste. "The cauldron wants your gift back. It wants more than what you received and what you stole...it wants you."

"I have nothing, I took nothing," I hissed as I felt his decomposing hand tightly grip my left shoulder.

"You do and you did," he waved his hands, revealing a dim lit sandstone cave.

Several iron sconces lined the rocky tanned walls, loose sand beneath my bare feet. My hands instinctively flung upwards to defend myself, hoping that I could handle his counter attack while my eyes adjusted.

"No, no, no Nesta. I don't need to fight you in physical combat. It's much more rewarding breaking spirits than bones." Hybern's head was reattached to his body, his decaying skin had a pale sheen to it. There were areas where flesh and bone no longer connected.

Chunks of vomit raced up my throat but I swallowed hard, hoping he didn't notice.

With a reverberating snap of his fingers, my father appeared in his grasp. Terror overtook me, smothering my breath. Not only was Hybern alive, but so was my father.

My trembling hands reached for him only to be blocked. One by one, they all appeared. Feyre, in her battle gear, was already assessing the situation as Elain cried beside her. Their arms heavily chained with a turquoise glow.

"Release them," I demanded, a pungent cold chill blasted towards me as he laughed.

"I forgot how fun you were to play with." Hybern lifted his nose, what remained of his mouth lifted into an unsettling grin, "when you give back what I want, they'll be released."

"Burn in hell," I shot back, patience thinning.

Feyre struggled against her chains, I could see her attempting to use her power—nothing.

Hybern's smile fell, a grimace lining his rotten face. "Let's try a different tactic, shall we?" He reached around my father's neck, slowly squeezing the life out of him.

Father gasped, his strained voice professing his love for us. The harder Hybern gripped, the more our father's eyes bulged.

"No..." I whispered, my heart cracking as I watched him die in front of me. Our father's hands gripped around the death hold on his frail neck. Gasping for oxygen as I stood frozen in place.

"Let him go!" I reached for him but it was too late, I was too late.

Hybern snapped his neck, the bone crushing sounds my father's neck made twisted inside me.

My hands ignited, flames roaring into talons while my stomach recoiled. I moved a step forward only to be pulled back into place. Again, and again, I tried and failed to move.

He released father's body, letting the thud reverberate against the cave walls. Hybern's already cold stature turned to ice, "now, let's try this again, give back what you stole." His decomposing fingers clutched Elain's bicep, digging into her flesh as he forced her to the other side of the cave, flames fighting against the wall above the sconces.