Breath of Mist

E I G H T - Ariana

The day dragged by incredibly slowly after Erik's brief visit, leaving me with a lot of time to sit and think. Thoughts swirled around my mind, jumbling together as if they were stuck in a vortex that I had no way of controlling.

The events of the past several days were in many ways inconceivable. A Lysian king sat in a Bavadrin prison cell, unknown to those who captured him. He then allowed himself to be tortured by the Bavadrin leader superior, tolerating a lashing that would forever leave his body marked of that day. All of it was a sacrifice to break an ancient treaty, ensuring the wrath of the spirit fell on the Bavadrins and luck smiled on the Lysians. The events were entirely propagated by a belief that Lysians were smuggled into the Sidhe territory through the Bavadrin lands. It was a story no one could have dreamt of, for it sounded incredibly farfetched, yet there was a possibility that it was the truth, at least partially.

And I was now a prisoner of the Lysians, the roles reversed.

What was more was that Erik was a conjuror and a powerful one at that, capable of wielding fire. I could have laughed at the irony. The Bavadrins unknowingly held a gifted, and now the Lysians did the same with me by assuming I was just a Bavadrin. Though there was irony in the situation, it was far from the same.

I used to think myself powerful, though after seeing Erik, I no longer felt as confident. Were I to ever stand toe to toe with him, then I was uncertain who would have been the one victorious. It took far less time to burn someone than it took to choke the breath out of them. Erik carried an ease to his conjuring which made it appear completely effortless, almost second nature. He also had an entire army coming to help him take control of the Bavadrin capital. I on the other hand, had no army coming to my aid. All I had were Edda's fortunes.

The events of the past few days were weighing on me and when the Lysian King arrived, I felt that weight ten times over. It was intensely crushing. All the Bavadrin lives were at stake while I betrayed the sacred oath of protecting the leader superior. Technically, it was not an oath I ever made myself. It was one I was born into. Did that make my actions any more forgivable?

I was grasping at straws.

My thoughts turned back to the Lysians.

Even when held in our prison, Erik evoked predatory confidence. Yet that now seemed like nothing compared to him in his home. Here he was comfortable enough to train his entire focus on me. The weight of that attention was extraordinary. It was so intense that it nearly froze me in place. His comfort made him seem that much more lethal. The hairs on my neck stood on their ends in his presence while I worked at forcing myself to breathe steadily, to keep my heart from racing in alarm. The relief felt when Erik left after his brief visit was incredible, for I could finally fill my lungs freely.