Brianne

Brianne stared blankly at the wall in front of her, her gaze fixed but unseeing, as if the cracks in the plaster might offer some kind of solace. The dim light from the window barely touched the room, casting long shadows over the bed where she lay. She had her back deliberately turned to the door.

Avelon had left her behind.

Hurt and anger surged through Brianne like a wildfire.

Avelon had left her to save her, but instead allowed Elha to take her back to Balor. Balor- who she so ruthlessly tried to hurt.

Brianne closed her eyes briefly as an all-consuming storm of emotions overwhelmed her. It was a familiar feeling, one that she had only felt once before in her life, when the world had first betrayed her. The raw intensity of it shook her to her core, each wave more relentless than the last.

She had rolled over, hoping to disguise the fact that she was awake, hoping to hide the turmoil storming inside her. She had not been asleep—not even close. She had pretended to drift into dreamland for Avelon's sake, masking the restless churn of thoughts and emotions beneath the illusion of sleep. The moment the door to their room opened, all her senses came alive. She was ready to fight, but somehow managed to keep herself still until Avelon's whispers startled her.

Avelon would leave her, Brianne had known it all along, had expected it from the moment they had left the palace. She also knew, with a certainty that made her stomach churn, that Avelon knew she was not truly asleep.

Avelon had always been protective, had always placed others' well-being above her own. Especially Fallon's. It was one of the many things Brianne admired about her. But that did not make the hurt of leaving her behind any easier to bear.

The anger which she felt growing inside her, however, was something else entirely. It was the kind of anger that burned hot and fierce, rooted in helplessness and the twisted injustice of it all. She felt it for Avelon, for the way her loyalty and sacrifice had been twisted by forces beyond her control. Her hand had been automatically dealt, and Brianne hated that reality.

Because of Balor and his insane ideas—Avelon had to suffer.

Avelon had to endure whatever nightmare Elha had in store for her now that she was back in the Fae's grasp. Brianne's jaw clenched as her mind replayed the moment when Elha had taken Avelon back to Balor—back to whatever cruel experiments awaited her there.

Avelon had begged Elha to leave Brianne behind, to not drag her back into that hell. Brianne frowned, recalling the intense emotion in Avelon's voice. She had only heard her that desperate before when speaking about Fallon.

Avelon had cared more than she let on.

Sighing, Brianne reluctantly stood from the bed. She had only met Elha a few times, but every encounter had left a bitter taste in her mouth, and an unsettling feeling inside her that made her skin crawl.

The thought of her face, pale and sharp, sent a jolt through Brianne's chest. Her heart thudded painfully as the image flashed in her mind—a reminder of just how out of control this all was.

Her hands trembled slightly, but she swiped them over her face, exhaling sharply as if trying to push away all her feelings and the helplessness that had built up inside her since Avelon had left the room.

She could not stand by and let Balor continue with whatever his plans were. He was blood bending and experimenting on Avelon. He needed her, and Brianne needed to get her away. She could not let Avelon suffer any longer. Determination sparked within her, stronger than the hurt and fiercer than her anger.

She would find a way. She would do whatever it took to help Avelon, to free her from Elha's grasp.

She had to.

Avelon

Elha was silent beside her, as were the guards in front of them. Avelon's eyes were trained on her chained hands, but her mind was elsewhere—flying back through the series of missteps that had led to this.

She had failed, again.

Gods, she was failing to many times to count. She was disappointing herself. The sense of helplessness gnawed at her, but she buried it beneath layers of frustration. A rookie mistake- Too many of them. And now she had to find a way to fix it. Again

Fuck. Her nostrils flared as she breathed deeply. The humid air made her already frowning features deepen.

She hated Teine.

A sharp gust of wind cut through the trees, making her shiver. The wind was not cold- but the oddity of it sent her reeling. She had controlled it- again. Just as she had in the library. She had not been paying attention to much, lately- clearly. If she had been she would have noticed the changes she felt earlier. She knew something had changed, that she had changed, but she shrugged it off.

She shook her head in disappointment at herself. She had reprimanded herself for being careless but had done nothing to act on it.

Get a grip Avelon.

"You will have to go to the dungeon once we're back at the palace," Elha whispered, tearing Avelon's attention away from her inner rantings.

Avelon swallowed hard.

Dungeon.

A place she had hoped never to return to. Her mind flicked to the time she spent in that dark cell, the memories of the damp stone walls and the smell of rot. But she could not afford to show weakness—not now. Instead, she smiled.

"It's not like the room I was living in was any better," she muttered, shrugging nonchalantly, even though the words felt hollow.

Vivid images blurred her vision. Helpless Avelon, barely ten. She should have known then that her parents had not carried a fraction of love for her.

She was not their blood.

In shadows deep, where secrets lie, A heir stepped, heart awry.

Her body stiffened as she struggled to accept the truth within the statement.

She could feel Elha's gaze on her, but she refused to look up. Her chains jingled with the movement of her arms, louder than she would have liked.

"Balor let you go to find out what information you retrieved from the library," Elha's voice broke through the silence once more, intended just for Avelon's ears. But there was something sharp in her tone that made Avelon's heart skip a beat.

Avelon's thoughts instantly turned to the tome she had taken from the stables before fleeing with Brianne. It was useless, but Elha did not know that. The riddle within its pages, however, could not be ignored. It felt too personal, too connected to her own fate.

"I have nothing to offer you," Avelon said flatly, meeting Elha's eyes for the first time. A faint pout curled at her lips, though it felt more like a mask than an expression.

Elha's gaze flickered. Surprise, then something else—relief? It was gone almost immediately, replaced with a hint of frustration. Her shoulders dropped a fraction, though her voice remained steady.

"That's disappointing."

Avelon tilted her head, studying Elha more closely. There was something in her reaction that did not sit right. It was not just disappointment—there was fear there, or something akin to it.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Balor will demand answers. He will draw information out of you." Elha continued, her voice cold now. Avelon whistled low, heart racing as she knew exactly what Balor would do, but then Avelon smirked.

"I wonder if the guards are interested in offering Balor information that—"

She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a teasing whisper. "—His right hand was aiding his prized possession in betraying him."

For a split second, Elha stiffened, and Avelon saw the flicker of panic in her eyes, quickly masked by anger.

Elha straightened her back, her jaw tightening. "I don't owe you anything."

"Oh," Avelon chuckled, leaning back with a casual air, though her insides twisted with the power she felt in the moment. "I do believe there's some explanation there that proves you owe me a lot. You don't hide your emotions as well as you think you do."

It was time Avleon got back into the game.

Elha froze, the tension between them crackling in the air.

"What do you know?" she demanded, her voice a dangerous whisper.

Avelon shrugged, feigning indifference. "Nothing really. Just that you're easy to manipulate. And that you just proved you've got a few things you're not sharing. I reckon I have some leverage."

Elha's eyes narrowed, a flash of rage filling them, but beneath it, Avelon caught something else—something far more unsettling.

Worry. Or was it guilt? The emotion had her back straightening.

"What aren't you telling me?" Avelon pressed, her voice suddenly serious. Her previous smugness was gone, replaced with suspicion. Her gut was telling her Elha was hiding something. Something big.

"I don't owe you anything," Elha spat again, her eyes flashing with a dangerous intensity. She quickly turned her gaze to the guards, her body tense as if hoping to redirect the focus.

"On the contrary," Avelon started but cast her eyes towards the silent guards in front of them. They were leaned in, trying to act casual but clearly, they had been listening in on their discussion.

Avelon raised her chains mockingly to gain their attention. Their heads turned as they analysed the sound to make sure she was not trying to escape.

"Oh boys, nothing to hear here but topics surrounding monthly cycles and lined undergarments. Do you reckon wool?" Avelon called out, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

The guards' faces turned a shade of crimson at her words, and one of them nearly choked on his spit, hastily ushering his horse forward.

Avelon nearly burst out laughing at the sight.

Elha clicked her tongue, spurring her horse forward. Her face was blank- withdrawn, signalling the end of their conversation. But Avelon was not done. Not by a long shot. She would find a way to break through to Elha. There was something she was withholding. A key piece of information- Avelon could feel it.

Elha had her secrets—and Avelon was determined to expose them. There was a reason that Elha kept aiding her. She would have shrugged it off as empathy, but Elha's repeated actions roused her suspicion.

There had to be more. She would not accept anything else.

Avelon's fingers twitched beneath the weight of the chains, a slow, almost subconscious movement that carried with it an idea—one that had been lingering at the back of her mind.

She had called air to aid her. Intentionally and unintentionally.

Could she use it to her will, when and where she wanted? She had done so in the library.

Her gaze flickered to Elha, who was riding just ahead, eyes fixed on the path. Avelon narrowed her focus, drawing a subtle breath and willing her senses to sharpen. She was not certain what she was capable of yet, but she knew she could feel it—the faint pull of power inside her, always there, waiting. She had ignored it when Elha had tried to deliberately drown her and she had ignored it in the library and paid no attention to it. She even ignored the blast she sent unknowingly toward the guards who had tried to hurt Pepper and Wren, but she could not ignore it further.

She had power. The blood bending had worked and somehow sparked Avelon's affinity to life. She could use air.

Avelon took a deep breath, willing her mind to reach out to the air around her. An immediate answer came, as if by instinct. She could almost taste the thread of energy in the air, like a wire humming with potential. Carefully, she closed her fingers around each other, the chains around her wrists clinking with the smallest of sounds.

Blow. She whispered within her mind as her eyes fell on Elha's back.

Elha flinched as a breeze ruffled her hair.

The moment was so brief that Avelon nearly questioned if she had imagined it. But there was no mistaking the flicker of unease in Elha's expression, the tension in her posture. The subtle shift that suggested Elha had noticed the change in the air.

A small smile played on Avelon's lips as she pressed on, testing herself further. She willed the air to move—just a touch, just enough to make a difference.

Again.

She imagined the sensation of a breeze, the kind that ruffled the hair at the nape of your neck, but this was sharper, more controlled, like a pulse that could reach beyond her own body. Air swirled around Avelon- small gusts that seemed to sing in answer to her will.

And then it happened.

The air around Elha shifted almost as quickly as it left. Her hair fluttered lightly, before stilling. Her eyes darted to the side, sharp and wary as she regarded Avelon. She could not hide the slight change in her breathing and the way her shoulders tensed.

Avelon's smile widened, almost imperceptibly. A small success.

Later, she would wrap her head around the fact that she could use air.

Elha shot Avelon a look, her face contorted in worry and caution. Avelon's face portrayed malice as she lowered her gaze.

There was more to this game than testing limits.

Elha's eyes lingered on her, but she said nothing, pressing her horse forward, her pace quickening. She knew Avelon wielded power, and that revelation was dangerous, though Avelon knew Elha had betrayed Balor and that information would kill her.

Her secret would be safe.

Avelon leaned forward slightly, using the motion to strengthen her hold on the air around Elha. Not enough to be noticed—just enough to nudge, to tease. There was a spark of something more beneath her touch, an energy that made Avelon's skin prickle.

"Tell me, Elha," Avelon murmured, her voice low but cutting through the air like a blade as she willed it across the air. "What's your angle? You're not this kind to just anyone. What's really going on here?"

Elha gasped, her fingers gripping the reins hard enough that her knuckles whitened. But still, she did not answer and did not dare cast her eyes toward Avelon.

Avelon was not sure what the next step would be.

She let go of the air that she sent after Elha, sighing as the weight of the power eased out of her body. She was not ready to wield any type of power for more than a few seconds. The draining effect it had on her body was proof of that.