Dark Magic

Chapter 27

Rei's POV

       Jagged towers pierced the bleeding sky, the sun casting deep wine-colored rays on the castle. Its aura was ominous, dark and full of unheard secrets. Vines snaked up the sides, even over a few windows. Despite the fact that everything was dead and decaying, there was an odd beauty to all of it that I couldn't quite describe, making my head spin. I could only stand frozen to the barren ground in awe; I was surely to be noticed by a predator sooner or later, for I was just standing out in the open, and yet, I just couldn't seem to bring myself to move again.
       The structure itself was very similar to the Seelie castle, made from glittering crystal; only, the crystal here was a deep, luminous black that reflected the light eerily. There was only one answer to what this was: the Unseelie palace. My eyes were drawn to  the trio I had followed here and I willed myself to follow, the only thing driving me being a compelling urge to see Kiaran, though I pushed the thought from my mind. Keeping to the trees, I drew closer, closer, until I was but twenty feet away from where they stood at the formidable gates.
Guards stood watch everywhere it seemed, their cold, brutal gazes sinister as they carried out their duties. Suppressing a shiver, I scanned the area for any way I could get inside the gates, any way to help that helpless human girl escape her inevitable fate, but more so to sate my curiosity. I was so absorbed in this that when the dark haired faery spoke, I nearly jumped from my skin.
"We have another one." Tamaghna's grip on the human tightened, looking hard enough to bruise. I gritted my teeth; despite what he said earlier, he was still fae, still the cruel and unfeeling creature he was made to be.
Before allowing the them to pass through, one of the guards laughed bitterly. "Good luck with that. You'll have to speak with Cerin first; who knows what mood the king is in, and I've got no clue what Fahyim's doing." With that, the gates opened up, seemingly on their own; no doubt someone was using their abilities to do so. The three walked in, still latched onto the girl, dragging her with them. It was then that I did the most stupid thing I'd ever done in my entire life.
I walked right out into the open, where I was perfectly visible. I could feel all of the fae's sharp gazes on me, an electric buzz rippling through the air. A lightbulb going on in my head, I smiled sweetly. "Aren't you going to capture me or something? Take me to the king to await my gruesome end? I would have assumed the Unseelie were smarter than simply gawking at a threat." Several of them snarled, their eyes gleaming dangerously. I simply laughed. "Well, what are you waiting for?"
The faery nearest me lunged, fangs bared. Drawing my sword, I slashed at his torso, blood leaking from the wound. Before I could blink, more of them surrounded me, the same hunger in each pair of eyes. I swung my blade at my attackers, slashing away, until I felt hands tightly grip my arms. I didn't struggle much; this was exactly what I'd wanted.
"Feisty, are we? Why don't you come with us?" It was the other faery that had brought in the human girl, Blaecleah. A slow grin full of malice spread across his face, but I dared not flinch as he dug his nails into the soft flesh of my arm. "Maybe I'll take this one for myself. She smells divine." He leaned into my hair, and I leaned away, barely controlling the rage burning within me.
"Blaecleah, enough nonsense. We have business to take care of." Tamaghna paused, then approached the both of us. "Why don't you hang on to this one, and I'll take her? I think that'd be better for everyone." As soon as I was out of Bleacleah's death grip, I felt more at ease, though I could hear the other girl's whimpers and immediately felt a pang of guilt; I should be the one enduring that, not her.
We were led through the daunting crystalline doors, met with a massive room with deep black walls, the floor a glittering gold. Torches were mounted on the walls, a few paintings here and there of what looked to be past battles, probably thousands of years ago. Up above, chandeliers hung from the ceiling, the teardrop crystals red as candied blood. In the very front of the room was a large throne, made from the same black crystal as the palace exterior, and decorated with shimmering jewels of ruby and topaz. Several guards stood watch near the doors that led to the rest of the palace, expressionless, motionless.
Tamaghna led the way, still holding onto me, though his grip was somewhat gentle; it was off putting, how much he resembled the Seelie fae. I couldn't help but believe that maybe he once belonged to the Seelie court, but my thoughts were interrupted by Tamaghna's voice before I could think any further.
"We've been instructed to speak with Cerin."
The faery by the door- female, to my surprise- opened the door, gesturing for us to follow. "Right this way." I cringed at her voice; it was sharp, powerful.
She led us down a long hall, dimly lit and a bit chilly. After a few turns, the faery stopped us at a wooden door. "He's in there." She turned on her heel gracefully, head held high as she passed; I momentarily caught her hard gaze, not able to watch her go. Suppressing a shiver, I turned my head back to the door.
With a pale hand, Tamaghna knocked once, softly. It was just seconds after that the door swung open, revealing a dimly lit room and a faery with glowing bronze skin. "Ah, I see you've got quite the trouble on your hands. Wait inside while I fetch Fahyim; he's bound to be in an agreeable mood this time of day." We all watched him ascend the back stairwell.
"I'm assuming that's Cerin?"
"I never said you were allowed to speak." Tamaghna jerked me closer to him, eyes narrowed at me. "As he said; we'll wait." I was dragged into the room. It was small, with only a cot, table, and several wooden chairs occupying the space. The floorboards creaked beneath my feet, the air musty.
Mere seconds later, Cerin had returned, black hair messier than it had been just moments before. Another figure followed him into the room, an irritated expression on his flawless face. "I've heard we have a bit of a debacle here. Get it over with." Fahyim's eyes roved over us, lingering on my face a bit too long for my comfort.
"This one," Blaecleah nodded his head toward my human companion, "Was roaming the woods, so we picked her up. Didn't seem to know where she was, so she won't spill anything. And this one," he glared at me, "Had the nerve to announce herself at the gate. Even took a few of our men. She'll cause trouble if we don't lock her up."
Fahyim pursed his lips. "Alright. Go ahead and lock them up; I'll tell the king later. Just don't cause a scene or he'll rip all of our throats out."
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I'm finally back! With finals and not having the motivation to write, I haven't been on here for a while, and I'm so sorry! (It doesn't help that I left it on a cliffhanger, which I did the last time I took a break as well).
Don't worry, I actually have the inspiration to write again, so definitely expect more chapters! (Plus, I'll be writing my side story Girl of the Ice too, so go ahead and check that out 😉)
Anyways, I hope you like this chapter, and feel free to tell me what you think! (And yes, I know this chapter isn't great, I haven't written in a while ;-;)