Aelin couldn't hear anything, not as the words I'm coming rang through her head. She let out a shuddering gasp.
"Darling, it seems your friends have come to take you back," Maeve tsked.
Aelin's eyes shone with tears as she looked up at the Queen.
"But I can't very well let them have you can I? So what do you suggest I do?" She drawled.
"Kill me," Aelin snapped.
Maeve grabbed her throat and slammed her on the wall, the iron shackles on her clanging against the floor.
"You never gave me the Wyrdkeys, why should I do you a favor and kill you?" Maeve snarled. "You and your court have ruined everything for me, I won't rest until I ruin you."
Aelin just bared her teeth, now covered in blood.
"Cairn, why don't you give her her last whipping?" Maeve released her throat and Aelin fell back to the ground.
The sadist entered the room with the iron tipped whip once again.
"I won't ask you again, where are they?"
Aelin remained quiet.
"Cairn," Maeve snapped, and the whippings began.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Aelin had become used to passing out from the pain and waking up God knows how long later but this time, it felt like mere seconds had passed since she passed out.
"Why don't we play a game?" Maeve asked from her throne. "Since it is our last night together?"
Last night? She wouldn't accept defeat this easily.
"What," Aelin said.
"Guess where we are, and every wrong guess will get you one lashing?"
"Terrasen," Aelin had already started. Maeve only shook her head, the whip already down on her back making her jerk against the iron chains.
"Adarlan," Aelin said bracing herself for another one. This time the whip hit the back of her neck.
"Close."
But Aelin suspected she now knew where she was kneeling and didn't have the guts to guess again for fear her suspicion would be correct.
"Morath," Maeve said walking towards Aelin.
Morath, Gods. Why Morath?
"This is why," Aelin's gaze slowly lifted to Maeve's hands.
Where a black collar now glimmered in the nonexistent light.
"Where are the keys."
Aelin only took a deep breath and spat on the Queen's feet.
"Any last words, Princess?" Maeve said.
"You're going to have a long painful death, and not even the Devil will accept you in his realm."
"Poetic," Cairn said, Maeve chuckled at that.
And the last noise Aelin heard was the snap of the Wyrdstone collar around her neck before she was swept into oblivion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aelin couldn't speak, no, but she could still see and hear as the demon in her was talking to Maeve.
"What's your name?" Maeve asked.
"Zaiya," The demon gave her a wicked smile.
"Now Zaiya we have a dilemma," Maeve drawled.
"May I be of any help in the resolve Your Majesty?" Submission, complete utter submission was what Aelin was being forced to yield too.
"Yes, I have some people who didn't give me what I wanted. Now I want justice, will you help me?"
She was drowning on dry land.
"Yes," Zaiya responded.
"Help me kill whoever tries to take you, and I will make you royalty here in this world."
No, how? Aelin wondered.
But even her mind was forced to quiet down as the demon said, "Anything for the Valg queen."
Quiet hit her before Aelin was screaming through her body.
She could fight it, she had to, for the lives of her friends and world hung in the balance.
GET AWAY! Zaiya roared through, shoving her back down. Maeve sitting down on her throne.
Aelin was now sobbing in her nonexistent body. This was some new type of hell.
"My spies say they plan to attack tomorrow, you'll be unshackled then. I do not want to hear from the traitor again, keep her locked away." Zaiya just smiled, the Ashryver eyes glowing.
"Cairn, why don't you give Zaiya something to do in the meantime?"
Cairn just smiled and left the room, coming back with two people, one in each hand.
"Do your worst," Zaiya laughed at that.
Aelin didn't know what was happening before Zaiya took her hands and stabbed them each.
Right in the heart.