Avelon's body hit the water like a rock.

She sank into the waters depths at an unnatural speed, causing instant panic to flood her thoughts. The relentless onslaught of cold, piercing water surrounded her completely, knocking the air she had right from her lungs.

With how abrupt the shove into the lake was, Avelon had no time to consider gulping down air. Water enveloped her body, its icy grip squeezing her lungs until they burned with the desperate need for air. The feeling was akin to someone wrapping their hands around her neck and squeezing.

The temperature of the water seemed to plummet even further as she sank.

Despite her frantic attempts to scream and swim, the raging current seemed to thwart every effort- resisting her attempts and pushing her further into its suffocating embrace with each thrash.

She fought hard against the pull of the current, her mouth opening involuntarily as she moved, allowing more water to invade her throat. She was choking slowly.

The sensation of drowning was not just physical. She realized the feeling altogether was a deeper more primal terror. It was a realization that her body was failing and betraying her despite her will to survive.

Her mouth opened in another terrified scream as she shot her arms upward in an attempt to try and swim- her body seemed to be immobile.

The stream, ominously named "Liquid Death" by Brianne, lived up to its menacing name with cruel accuracy. Avelon could almost feel the dark irony of the name as her body convulsed in agony, every muscle screaming with exhaustion and pain from her struggle against the current. Fleeting glimpses of the clear sky shimmered through the turbulent water, a tantalizing reminder of life just out of reach. Her body convulsed again, her chest igniting with the desperate need to take a breath. Her face twisted in despair mixed with agonizing anger as she reached once more for the surface, silently pleading for someone, anyone, to save her.

Breathe.

The faint whisper grabbed Avelon's attention, momentarily stalling her internal panic. Her body froze. The voice was familiar and yet, not. Glancing around frantically she realized that her mind must have been playing tricks on her. She shook her head in despair as her lungs ached. Death had to be calling her- who else would tell her to breath underwater? Her chest tightened once more as she hesitated, the urge to inhale and take a breath becoming almost unbearable.

Breathe!

The whisper escalated to a panicked shout just as water surged into Avelon's mouth. She choked, her hands wrapping around her neck as she felt her body almost completely succumbing to the dark embrace that death promised.

Oxygen- she needed air.

Her body grew limp as the oxygen deprivation began to take hold. Her arms were weighed down by the crushing pressure of the water. The effort it took to swim and try to save herself became unbearable. Her eyes fluttered, and a sense of resignation washed over her as she felt herself sinking further into the enveloping darkness. Within the murky depths, she could almost make out a pair of glowing golden eyes watching her with an unsettling calm. Golden eyes. Her eyes widened in realization.

Lugh?

BREATHE!

Suddenly, the water that barrelled into her mouth became tangible- as though the voice carried a power toward her so that she could mould it to her will. As she gasped in finality, the water poured into her mouth, but this time, it brought no suffocation but a strange form of reprieve. The sensation was baffling yet relieving—she was breathing water. Her eyes widened slightly as she took in the liquid deeply. No burning, no suffocation, no choking— this time the water offered the reprieve her aching lungs sought.

Breath, as clear and easy as above water, came flowing into her body. Not air, she realized, but water- she was breathing water.

She. Was. Breathing. Water.

Her tired eyes widened slightly as she sucked in deeply. Relief and release flowed freely through her body.

She had no time to ponder the strange voice or her underwater breathing abilities, as she was yanked upward. The transition from water to air was blissful. Breath, this time from air and not water, greeted her like an old friend as her body was dragged to shore by invisible hands. Avelon's chest heaved with each grateful inhale, her heavy eyelids struggling to open against the exhaustion.

She could breath- had given her body exactly what it needed, but the fight against death had worn her to the bone.

"Well, you did not die, but it does not seem that any abilities favour you yet." Elha's voice dripped with disappointment as she clicked her tongue in disapproval.

Avelon's entire being ignited at her words, but she was too drained to act on it. No matter how badly she wanted to pick herself up and fight Elha, she could not. She lay on the ground, utterly spent, her strength depleted by the ordeal. Fatigue weighed her down threatening to pull her under once more.

Elha did not know that Avelon somehow, suddenly, had the ability to breathe underwater. Avelon was keen on keeping that secret for herself.

"You should take her to Balor." Elha commanded sharply.

Needles of anxiety pricked at her body as her awareness rose to attention- someone else was with Elha. She had to identify this new presence, who she suspected was the faceless male who had drugged her during the initial experiment.

A sweet, familiar smell teased her senses, stronger and more pronounced than before. Thanks to Brianne she knew the scent was not intended to harm, but to experience it this strongly was because they wanted to silence her body and mind altogether. Not death, but utter unconsciousness. Darkness advanced swiftly as the ciorra began to take hold

No!

She tried to cry out, but her voice was swallowed by the overpowering silence. Avelon did not recall Brianne mentioning anything about mixing ciorra with something to induce unconsciousness in fae.

"Don't you think she's too weak for the next one?" The faceless fae's whisper was a soft caress against her fading consciousness, his voice unsettlingly intimate.

Before she could ponder the faceless fae any further, endless darkness and comforting silence closed in, pulling her into a void where thought and awareness slowly faded away.

***

Water splashed onto Avelon's, jolting her awake with a startled shock.

Immediate flashbacks of drowning and not drowning flooded her mind. She gasped and blinked several times to clear her vision, her hands flinching to reach for her throat, but remaining immobile. Avelon's gaze shot down, taking note of her bound body. The room was disturbingly familiar- it was arranged just as it had been during her first visit. Elha and Balor were even stationed the same way. Elha sat fidgeting to her right, while Balor stood at her feet, watching her with a wry smile.

"She's awake, we should resume, sir." Elha's voice was devoid of emotion.

Avelon rolled her lips inward. She was somehow parched despite her earlier encounter. Her anger flared as she shifted her gaze from her restraints to Elha.

Her throat burned as she spoke, "You tried to kill me."

Elha's body twitched at the directed confrontation, "I did what had to be done."

"You will remember, dear Avelon," Balor's voice caressed her, raising goosebumps in its wake, "that you have no right to question our actions."

In response to Balor's words, faint, almost inaudible screaming echoed outside of the room- Fallon. Avelon's head snapped back to Balor.

"What are you doing to her?" Panic surged within her, focused solely on her friend. What were they doing to Fallon?

Balor's wry smile turned wicked, "What has to be done."

"You promised you'd keep her alive as long as I cooperated." Avelon balled her fists, struggling and failing to control her temper.

"And she is alive and well. What we do beyond that is of no concern to you."

Avelon's heart pounded in her chest at Balor's words. The room seemed to close in on her, the walls pressing in with the weight of her dread. The echoes of Fallon's faint screams continued amidst their silence. Avelon struggled against her restraints, her attempts futile against the tight bonds.

Desperation and anger clashed within her. "Please, just tell me you're doing to her!" Her voice was raw, strained with the strain of her emotions and her earlier ordeal.

Elha's eyes flickered with a momentary glimmer of something—perhaps empathy or irritation—but she quickly masked it with her usual neutrality. She rose from her seat, walking over to a cart laden with various instruments and vials. Each item gleamed under the harsh lighting, the metallic glint promising both precision and pain.

Avelon knew that for the purpose of the experiment Elha did not require any of those instruments as she, herself, was the only instrument required. The blood flowed where Elha willed it, and that was all they needed.

"Am I getting Fallon's blood again?" Avelon's voice was tight as she considered the possibility, though she knew that Fallon was merely used for her water ability. A new experiment required a new affinity.

"No." Elha snapped as she crossed the small area to approach Balor with a small blade.

Her eyes flickered again, this time Avelon noted it to be sympathy. Balor's eyes darkened as he held out his forearm.

Avelon's eyes widened as she witnessed Elha drawing a deep line across one of Balor's arteries, "Oh gods, no." She whispered as blood began to rush from the wound.

Balor's expression remained unreadable as he addressed Avelon. "You have a right to know only what we deem necessary for you to understand. The specifics of the experiment are irrelevant. What matters is your cooperation." Balor intended to redirect Avelon's thoughts from his blood, but it was useless.

Avelon's gaze darted between Elha and Balor. Fear clenched her stomach as Elha directed the steady flow of blood toward Avelon. Avelon's hands tightened on the sides of the table in fear, but she fought to maintain a semblance of composure. "You can't do this to me."

Balor's gaze was cold, unfeeling. "I can do whatever I please, you are my slave."

Avelon's breath hitched as Elha drew a sharp, harsh line across her forearm. Balor's dark, swirling blood bordered her own as Elha directed it. His blood as dark as his lingering gaze and the looming darkness that surrounded him. She had faced many trials, but she was sure that this would kill her.

Avelon's eyes were locked on the dark liquid, the knowledge of what it might do to her sent chills down her spine. She took a deep breath, attempting to brace herself against the impending agony. She had felt torched from the inside out with the first experiment- there was no telling what the reaction would be from Balor's blood.

Balor stepped closer, his gaze piercing as he observed her with a mix of curiosity and satisfaction. "Remember, Avelon, this is for a greater purpose. Your suffering will be a part of something much larger. With success, we might change the very essence of Vexar."

The glint in Balor's eyes had Avelon shivering.

"I'll kill you before then." The hateful whisper slipped past Avelon before she could stop herself.

Elha pursed her lips, continuing her actions by directing Balor's blood into Avelon's- not allowing Avelon's words to linger. At the first rush of Balor's blood entering her system, Avelon felt nothing and tried to steady her breathing. It was possible that her first encounter had prepared her body for how many other may follow. Her thoughts were short-lived as the room started spinning a few seconds later. The pressure and sensation of suffocating air began to take hold the moment Balor's blood took full control.

Elha's face was a mask of clear detachment as she manipulated the blood through a series of sweeping gestures, guiding it through Avelon's veins with uncanny trained precision. Each movement of Elha's hands seemed to amplify the pressure inside Avelon, causing her to writhe against her bonds, her breaths coming in ragged gasps. Somewhere between her gasps, muted screams fell from her lips- all the sound in the room seemed to vanish. Avelon's entire body felt like it was on fire, as before- but instead of flames, it was as if she were trapped in a storm of suffocating air.

The unsettling sensation of drowning overtook all of her senses. She was back in the water, but this time there was no voice guiding her – urging her to breathe.

Avelon's lungs felt as though they were expanding to their limits, struggling to draw in breath that was non-existent. Her throat was raw, and every inhalation felt like she was sucking in shards of glass. Her earlier near-death drowning experience had wrung out her body and soul- pushed it to its limits. She feared it would not be able to take much more. In all the battles she had to face, Balor had made her felt weaker than she had ever felt before.

Her aching body was wracked with convulsions, the air pressure inside her causing her muscles to spasm uncontrollably. Her skin was clammy, and her breath came in shuddering gasps that barely provided relief. She felt as though she were on the edge of consciousness, teetering between the physical world and some nightmarish void.

Unlike before she did not detach herself from her body, although the experience would have provided a relief she desperately sought. Elha swept her hands over Avelon's chest and sound came rushing through her like a flood. Her screams danced within the room, bouncing from one wall to the other. Fleetingly, sadly- she wondered if Fallon could hear her too as she had heard her.

Elha's gestures slowed, suddenly, and the pressure inside Avelon instantaneously began to ease. As quickly as the burning and drowning sensation had started- it subsided, though her body felt limp and weak. She continued to gasp for breath, her chest heaving with each inhale, her mind reeling.

Avelon whimpered, hating the fact that she sounded vulnerable, and hating that she portrayed the look of a feeble, weak fae. Balor and Elha had witnessed her screaming, convulsing and pleading for mercy. Avelon's teary eyes opened shamefully, witnessing Elha and Balor exchanging a brief, satisfied look. Avelon's vision cleared after a few blinks- Elha's face was impassive, but there was a glint of triumph in Balor's eyes.

Her mind struggled to piece together the fragments of her shattered and aching body as she lay utterly still. She sighed pitifully and willed her body into comforting silence as she closed her eyes again.

She hoped that death would not find her before she could shatter Elha and Balor's plans. They had witnessed her at her weakest, and she could not wait to have them witness her at her strongest.