Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that the other guardianswere forming a circle around us. Turning my attention back to Thalos, I was met with another explosion of pain across the left side of my face. Everything was spinning around me as I landed hard on the ground. My vision blurred in my right eye as laughter erupted around me. The buzzing of arcana within me was increasing, begging to be let out. I placed my arms underneath me and was trying to push myself up when I was kicked hard in the side. I flew across the ground and landed at the feet of another guardian, who picked me up and threw me back into the middle of the circle they had formed.
In the distance, Thea screamed threats at the unbothered guardians. I spat more blood onto the ground as another boot hit me across the back, pinning me to the dirt.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay down, you stupid whore,” Thalos threatened as he used his foot to flip me onto my back. “I’m sure this position is more comfortable for you, no?” He laughed.
I gave in to the increasing buildup of arcana and let myself fall into it. I looked up at Thalos and smiled. “I can’t wait to watch what Sterling does to you when he finds out about this.”
Uncontrollable laughter came out of me as Thalos reached down and picked me up off the ground with only one hand. He held me up, squeezing my throat harder and harder. “You think I give a shit what Prince Sterling thinks? He’ll be mad for a day and then get over it and find himself another human to fuck. You’re nothing special.”
My head spun as I fell in and out of consciousness. When I was on the verge of blacking out, the voice from earlier came back, whispering to me, “You are a child of the void and stars. You are meant for more than this. You dim their light.”
Thalos’s grip around my throat increased. My air supply was completely cut off. Everything around me went black as I lost consciousness. My mind was swimming in darkness. Weightless and free of pain. I saw Thalos alone in the dark, and I smiled at him.An unsettling energy all around me made my skin crawl. The aura and energy around Thalos were a hideous mucus green. Everything within me was telling me to get away from it, but the darkness I was floating in wanted nothing more than to put him out. I watched as a viscous black fluid enveloped the slimy energy of Thalos, suffocating it. Dimming its light.
Air rushed into my lungs, and I suddenly came to. Thalos’s grip on my neck had loosened, and I had dropped to the ground. Gasping for air, I clutched at my raw throat while the realm continued to spin. I looked over to see Thalos on the ground, unmoving.
Thea was standing over him, her arms outstretched to help me up. The other guardians were all standing around, shock etched deeply onto their faces.
“What happened?” I asked, voice raspy and raw.
Thea turned to the crowd of guardians, addressing them directly. “I knocked him out so he’d let go of you. Despite his personal feelings, you are a guest of Prince Sterling’s. Any harm that comes to you at the hands of any member of this court will be met with swift and horrible consequences. I will be surprised if any of these guardians live to see daylight tomorrow.” Thea turned back to me as she helped me up.
The guardians quickly dispersed at her threat of violence, leaving behind the five people they had attempted to abduct. Despite the bumps and bruises, it was a small win for the people of this quarter. I had stopped the fae from terrorizing them and saved a family from unnecessary heartbreak.
I looked around, trying to make out Nocturna and Astra with my good eye. “Where are the girls? Are they all right?”
Thea chuckled. “Even on death’s door, you worry about others more than yourself. The girls are fine. I had to use my arcana to coerce them to stay put. Otherwise, it would have been a bloodbath here today.”
I looked up at Thea weakly. “And they listened?”
Thea smiled and nodded. “Yes. Of course they did.” She waved her hand over to where Nocturna and Astra were sitting dutifully across from the healer’s shop. “No beast can withstand my charms.”
A pained cough escaped me as Thea assisted me off the ground. Every inhalation felt like I had swallowed broken glass. My ribs felt like someone had slid a searing blade in between them. I tried to concentrate on myself and my aura, by my mind was a raucous mess of thoughts.
“Take it slow,” Thea encouraged as she positioned herself underneath my arm. “Nocturna, Astra, and I will make sure you get back to the palace safely. You just focus on keeping upright. Can you handle that?”
I nodded weakly as a loudSNAP!echoed around me. The ground fell out from underneath my feet, and the realm went dark.
*
“Aurelia, I really wish you would let me heal these wounds for you. The ball is tonight, and you can’t go looking like you just went ten rounds with the captain of the royal guardians,” Thea pleaded as she tried to get me cleaned up after the public beating I had received from Thalos back in the human quarter.
I pulled away from Thea’s inspection of my facial injuries. “No. I want them to see this. I want them all to see this. I especially want Sterling to see what his guardians have done. What they are doing to the people of that community is not right, and someone needs to stand up and say something.”
I was beyond angry. I was livid, furious, burning with the fire of a thousand suns. I was pissed off, and I was about to make it everyone’s problem tonight.
“I understand, darling. I do. But there are other ways to get your message across that don’t involve you showing up to a celebration of a member of the royal family all bloodied and bruised.”
“I don’t care what it’s a celebration of, Thea. I said no.” I winced as my split lip throbbed. Every word caused it to hurt more.
“Can you at least let me give you something for your concussion, and heal your eye enough that you can see out of it?” Thea asked, exhausted.
“Fine. But you leave everything else alone. Promise?”
“Yes, I promise,” Thea said, holding up her hand.
In a matter of moments, Thea conjured up an elixir of some sort to help with the pain and headache I was experiencing from the concussion Thalos had given me. She then tended to my left eye, healing it just enough so that I could see out of it, while it still appeared sufficiently swollen and bruised.
Thea tucked me into bed, ordering me to rest for the remaining hours before it was time to get ready for the ball. She agreed to stay in the room with me, just in case Thalos decided to come back and finish the job. Although I didn’t feel it was necessary, I was thankful for the offer of help. With the fierceness of Nocturna and Astra, and Thea’s arcana abilities, I was easily the most protected person in this realm. A comforting thought as I lay down, allowing the pain relief Thea had given me to take over, lulling me into a deep, unmoving slumber.
