Page 84 of Journey to the Elderoak
“Are you ready to go back to the meeting?” asked Thorne.
“Yes.”
Thorne led the way. Casimir took her hand, interlockingtheir fingers, and squeezed before bringing it to his lips and kissing her knuckles.
They returned to the dining hall and took their seats, Casimir placing a hand on her leg. Ever since they unleashed themselves on each other earlier, he couldn’t not touch her. As if he was scared if he stopped it would all disappear. She reveled in it and let it steady her, keeping her calm as she prepared to face this insurmountable task.
“Are you alright?” Raine asked from across the table.
“No.” She looked at him, steel in her eyes. “But I will be.”
Pride flashed on Raine’s face as he nodded.
“So, let’s say I pass.”
“Youwillpass,” said Casimir.
“WhenI pass. What happens next? Will I be different? Will I suddenly have magic? What will it feel like?”
“We don’t know,” Jorrar said. “In our records we’ve never had a fae born in the human world before. Therefore, a human has never attempted the journey.”
“We can only assume,” said Thorne. “I’m positive you will feel different. And you may even look different, more fae. You’ll have magic but probably not a significant amount.”
“Because I still have to go through my great tribulation, huh?”
It was the ordeal the strongest fae often went through, causing the well of their magic to increase. It was what Deidamia was trying to induce during Ava’s weeks of torture.
“Yes,” Thorne responded. “When your blood opened the portal, you obviously had enough magic in your lineage to do so. But it wasn’t enough for anything else.”
Ava shook her head and rambled, words spilling out as the memories of her imprisonment assaulted her. “They tried everything to get my magic to erupt. Burning me, pulling out my fingernails, slicing me with knives. They even rubbed sometype of acidic powder into my wounds once—” she stopped when she saw everyone staring at her. “Sorry.”
“How did you not die?” asked Quinn.
Casimir snapped at her, “What an insensitive question.”
“Sorry. I worded that poorly. What I meant was, even though you’re technically fae, your body is still human. I don’t think most humans would survive torture like that. Some fae would even succumb.”
“I’m not sure, but they never took it far enough to kill me, I guess. Most of the time I passed out from the pain. She had healers come in and patch me up enough to make it to the next. Though one time…the worst time…she had the healers give me something to ensure I wouldn’t pass out. To prolong it to see if that would work. That was when she whipped me over and over.” She paused, taking a breath. “I gave up that day. I was hoping she would go ahead and kill me.”
Casimir was shaking, wary eyes watching him around the table. She rubbed his arm, trying to calm him.
“Exactly how long were you there?” asked Jorrar.
She thought for a moment. “I don’t know. I lost track of time. When we arrived in Eorhan, they put me in shackles and threw me into a prison wagon. I have no idea how long it took to get from the portal to their camp. I was there for a long time. A month? Maybe longer.”
“Do you know how often you were tortured?” Raine asked.
“I think every couple days,” she whispered.
The heat of power emanated from Casimir. Jorrar called his name. “Casimir. You must calm yourself.”
Vines by the windows grew larger, snaking their way around the room. Casimir gritted his teeth, and Ava grabbed his face and made him look at her.
“Hey,” she whispered. “I’m here now. I’m fine. I’m safe.”
A muscle ticked in his clenched jaw, violence in his stare ashe trembled, vines writhing more aggressively and growing around the room.
“Take a walk, Casimir,” said Thorne. He turned to Thorne, fury in his eyes as if he was about to push back. “That’s an order.”
