Fae Lord's Betrothed - Book One

14. The Nostalgic Air

I woke up to an incessant chatter in the distance.

"... Stupid. I expected better from you. How can you let her fight alone -"

"I had him under my spell-"

"Until he was no longer under it. He would've killed her in a second."

The voice overlapped each other as they argued.

But something else grabbed my attention. My nose inhaled a familiar smell. Of dust and cold walls. I knew this smell. Grew up surrounded by it.

I opened my heavy eyes. My head throbbed with pain. It seemed as if my muscles had no energy. The fight had drained me.

But the familiarity of the place, the bed I sat upon soothed me and scared me at the same time. Even if the room was dark, I knew where was I. The slightly ajar door gave me a view of what was outside the room - a dimly lit sitting hall crowded by white, red, and black wings.

I was at my house. The only home I had ever known. The place where I grew up.

Sitting up, I eyed my surroundings and let the familiarity, the nostalgia dawn upon me. My father, the childhood, the absence of a mother, all of it made my eyes teary. I wanted to crouch into a bundle and cry the night.

But the voices interrupted again. Louder and angrier this time.

"... you saw what she did there? No matter how trained a human is, it cannot do that." A familiar voice said.

"She is your responsibility. Regardless of what your father wishes, you are aware that she is helpless- like every other in this land. They all need your help."

I stood up and walked towards the door even though I could barely move and my mind screamed a hundred questions.

Alcor and Miza stood against Cayold, his back was towards me.

Cayold shook his head, "She is not helpless. Definitely not. I've seen her doing that before. That's how that bastard, Marmot's son ran away. Her speed had surprised me. She was fast as she sliced my skin by the steel blade. I stood there amazed when he flew away. And now, she did that again. That speed... She isn't normal."

"If we hadn't stepped in, that would have been the last time she did anything."

Alcor was disappointed while Miza didn't seem to care. She aimlessly gazed around the room.

"I'm sorry. I thought I had him under control." It was a different side of Cayold. He was trying to convince Alcor, whose relation with Cayold was still unknown.

"She cannot die. Not yet-" Alcor's words pierced through my tired body. At the same moment, Miza noticed me.

"Oh, you're up!" She waved as if happy and relieved to see me alive. Regardless of their discussion, it was because of them I was alive. I wasn't dead, yet.

Cayold and his companion jerked their head in my direction as if they got caught doing something illicit. I didn't try to act as if I didn't hear anything.

Scratching the throbbing inked mark beneath my ear, I asked. "What are we doing here?"

I looked straight into Cayold's emotionless eyes as I stepped out of the room. He stayed quiet.

Alcor tipped his head and observed Cayold as if trying to fish out the emotions that boiled under his skin. Unlike the lord, Alcor's eyes were sharp, always observing - always judging, his violet eyeballs gazing curiously. He was a witty man and his poised posture and patience said so. He weighed his words before spilling them out.

He did the same before replying with a brief smile, "We thought you'd like some peaceful rest. The castle is too noisy and if the healers learned about your health, they won't leave you alone."

There was a warning behind it. They didn't want the healers or anyone from the castle to know of my condition. They wanted to keep everything that happened today hidden. Especially how dangerously close I was to my demise.

"Are you doing OK?" Asked his sister, walking towards me in long strides. "Great skills you showed there. Didn't know a human could do that."

She said 'human' as if it was some disease. However, her motive behind that was innocent as if she really expect that.

Before I could answer, Cayold called my name followed by a firm order, "Come."

The siblings froze and looked at Cayold as if they didn't know him. But we had things to talk about.

And I did what he said.

He led me out of the house through the main hallway. I wanted to look around, feel nostalgic about my childhood, and just breathe in the bittersweet memories that were buried underneath. But I couldn't.

My attention had been glued to Cayold's back, where his wings disappeared into his shirt near his shoulder blades. His stride stiff, oozing of power and pride - far from commoner's reach.

I squeezed my fists tight, readying myself to hear his scolding, his hopelessness with humans, and how great of a fae lord he was.

When we reached the courtyard, a lantern burned near the gates against the pitch black surroundings. The shadow of his hair covered most of his face. But I knew he looked at me. His stare pierced me as he accessed my body, looking for something - looking if I was hurt.

My stomach dipped and I turned away, unable to meet his stare.

I waited for him to speak. But all I got was silence. Awkward and heavy silence.

"Why are we here?" I asked, at last, still looking away from him.

Silence.

I had to lift my gaze and check whether he was still there. He stood like a statue, biting the inside of his cheeks.

My brows raised as I tried to muffle the desire to shake him up. Fortunately, for my own safety, he spoke. His words were barely audible, "What are you?"

I tipped my head and looked up at him, contemplating whether to reply with a straight face or demand another question.

"How did you do that, Allura?" I hated the way his tongue softly rolled as he spoke my name.

"Do what?" I scorned, placing my hands on my hips, "Are you going to ignore the fact that you almost killed me?"

It was his turn to act surprised. And the emotions brimmed over his face, one of those rare moments.

He spoke with a half smile, "If it weren't for me, he would've taken you to his place. And trust me, you'd rather wish death."

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- Poetry ❤️