Shadowseeker

chapter twenty-three

The next few hours were painful. The next few days brought Aelia close to death.

Immediately after Khalida had left, Aelia set about rubbing her wrists together, slowly breaking down each fibre in the rope that tied her down. Although it was slowly working, it was also cutting into her wrists with every movement. She could feel warm blood trickling down her hands, falling from her fingertips and dripping onto the floor, and she had to stop herself from crying out every so often.

After what felt like an age, the rope broke apart, peeling away from Aelia's raw skin and dropping to the floor. She almost stumbled forward but caught herself at the last second, her arms flying out as she desperately grabbed the chair. Coughing from the sudden movement, she slowly stood up. Her legs almost buckled under her, and her vision blurred. When was the last time she ate?

Her first instinct was to go to sleep and regain her energy, but Aelia wanted to see if there was anything hidden in the cell. As her vision became more focused, she raked her gaze across the walls, searching for any irregularities in the cold stone.

Nothing.

Aelia crouched down, wincing as her knees made contact with the floor, the cold seeping into her skin. She was still dressed in her shorts and t-shirt, and her jacket had been left at Kit's place. As she realised this, she shivered involuntarily.

She looked under the furniture, her gaze lingering on every empty space, but her search returned nothing. Getting to her feet, Aelia stared hopelessly at the door, almost willing it to open. Her powers would be useless, even when she did regain enough energy to use them. The concrete was too strong, and she suspected that it had been fortified for this purpose.

With a sigh, Aelia practically collapsed onto the bed, drawing her knees to her chest as she curled up on the thin mattress. A chill ran through her as a cold breeze blew in through the bars of the window. It enveloped her in the freezing air, forcing her to shiver.

As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered if she would ever get out of this prison alive.

The next few days seemed to drag on for a while as Aelia was left to her own devices. She had no way of telling the time apart from the natural cycle of day and night.

On the first morning, Aelia had regained enough energy to try and get the attention of anyone who might be sympathetic towards her. Even if the chances of someone actually helping her were incredibly slim.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Aelia yelled, hammering on the door and standing on her tiptoes to peer out of the tiny gap in the window.

She yelled and shouted until her voice grew hoarse, her throat burning as she stood by the door for what felt like hours. Eventually, when it was clear that nobody was coming to help her, she muttered a string of curses under her breath, stepping away from the door.

"Damn," Aelia said, frustration flooding her. "Damn it."

Aelia's power responded to her strong emotion, light and dark weaving in between each other as they jumped from her fingertips. Her skin crawled as the air crackled with energy, but she knew that she had to conserve her energy. It could be a while before anyone came. If they came at all. Khalida could have left her here to die.

As her frustration built up, Aelia couldn't help but release the energy, forming a swirling mass of it in front of her. It was made up of strands of sun and shadow, lashing out in various directions but staying connected to the centre of the shape. It was fascinating to see; instead of attacking each other, the opposing forces seemed to work together. They laced together as the mass grew to reflect Aelia's mounting anger.