Azriel | Lux Ex Tenebris ✓

Chapter 1: Debts & Marriages

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.

✧Misma POV✧

"Marriage?...You cannot be serious..." I breathed out, bracing my hands on the cold glass table in front of me and staring into the stern, emotionless face of my father. A muscle in his jaw flexed when his gaze locked with mine.

"Yes, marriage. But not only a marriage, also an alliance with the Autumn Court," my father, Lord Thanatos, proudly said, smirking and the blond man next to him, Keir, patted his shoulder.

Keir narrowed his eyes at me, slowly letting them run over me. The distaste towards me, displayed on his face, made the back of my mouth taste bitter.

"How dare you be so ungrateful?....Our daughters, huh? How did they become such failures and disappointments?" Keir spat out, shaking his head at me. "But don't even get me started on Morrigan, she has brought enough shame to this family. Good that you never let your Misma out of sight in the past years, she might have gone whoring around like the disgrace I call my daughter," Keir coldly chuckled, turning to my father and raising his brows.

I barred my teeth, inhaling sharply. How dare he speak of his own daughter like that?

His utterances earned himself laughters not only from my father, but also from Lord Beron and his second eldest son, Fillias.

Fillias, who I should marry.

I did not even now him, only what everyone knew, that he was cruel and mean. Never had I ever heard one good word about him.

My mother tensed her jaw, blinking away tears while my father's grip on her thigh tightened. It broke her.

It broke her seeing me like that and knowing that I would be sold off to the Autumn Court and her not being able to do anything about it.

But she could not say anything, she wasn't allowed to and so she rather kept silent than endure more pain and punishment for saying the wrong things. She had already gone through enough...

My father cared for her, yes he did, but he did not love her. The bond snapped and he married her, even though she was not High Fae. The mating bond promised powerful offsprings and here I was, fumbling with my fingers, trying to hold back my tears and not at all feeling powerful at all, but rather at my weakest.

"You can't be serious? You are selling me to him? You are selling your own daughter!" I shouted, right into the face of my father and Lord Beron. It took me some time to process everything and quite some strength to push away the pain and the tears. Anger overcame me, fury coated my insides and I was burning, burning with anger and rage.

"And you. How dare you think you can buy me?" I snarled at Fillias, anger boiling in my blood, but the idiot just smirked at me, a disgusting look on his face. His brow jerked up, amusement lacing his features.

"A powerful alliance," was all he said, still smirking and I really had to hold myself back from attacking him and ripping that stupid smirk out of his face. Disgusting idiot.

"With that alliance you are not only providing an amazing life for yourself but also for your parents. They will be debt-free and can enjoy a life in fortune while you come with me and my son. There is nothing to worry about anymore. You parents will live a fortunate and healthy life and you will too. You have no idea what an alliance like that actually means for someone like you. Someone with your heritage. You should be lucky that someone like my son wants someone like you, someone of your kind, as his wife," Lord Beron stated, the same gross smirk on his face while eyeing me up and down. Anguish washed over me making the breath hitch in my throat.