And that's how I ended up here.
Thrown onto cold marble floors, with three guards standing behind me like I was some kind of criminal. My wrists ached from the tight ropes. My heart was still thudding in my chest.
All I'd wanted was to help. And now I was in the throne room of a cursed palace… facing a fae king who obiviously would thrive joy in killing me.
He sat there, half-shadowed by the tall silver pillars around him. A crown rested crooked on his dark hair. He had an unreadable expression on his face. Anger mixed with disgust and the rage to killl. That sharp, cold stare he gave me….made my heart sink.
My mouth felt dry. "I can explain—"
"Silence," he said. Just one word, and it echoed like a blade through the air.
So yeah… not the warmest welcome.
—
Then, a soft voice cut through the tension.
"She reeks of mortal blood."
I turned quickly toward the voice.
A woman stood beside the throne. Pale, calm, and wrapped in deep red velvet. Her silver eyes shimmered like moonlight, and her smile looked far too pleased.
"And her presence," she added, "is disturbing the warding stones."
Whatever that meant, it couldn't be good.
The king's voice dropped low and cold.
"Name."
I blinked. "What?"
"Your name," he repeated. "Unless your tongue is useless too."
"Elira," I said, my voice shaky. "Elira Vale"
His gaze dragged over me slowly, with disgust in his eyes.
"What is a mortal girl doing in my kingdom"
I could tell things were just about to get even more worse than it already was.
"She's not worth that," she said under her breath.
"Then let the Circle decide," he said simply.
His eyes met mine again. Cold….Calculating. Like he was trying to peel back my skin with just a look.
Then he asked, sharp and sudden,
"What's your connection to Lyra?"
My stomach dropped.
---
I blinked. "Who?"
"The fae woman. Silver-blonde hair. Don't play dumb."
"I'm not playing dumb — I don't even know her name!"
He moved so fast I flinched, and the guards instantly stepped in with him.
"You were seen with her," he said, his voice hard. "Just outside the eastern wall."
"I wasn't—I mean—she found me!" I stammered. "I was trying to help those women. She just… appeared and led me out!"
"Fae don't help mortals," he snapped.
"Well, she did!" I shot back, breathing hard. "She saved me. If it weren't for her, I'd be dead in that pit with the rest of them."
He just stared at me, quiet. Then, colder than before—
"Bind her."
"What?" My voice cracked. "Wait—no—what are you doing?!"
He didn't even look at me.
Two guards stepped in, grabbed me roughly, and pulled out a silver chain. It shimmered with strange glowing symbols.
"No, wait, please—!"
The second it touched my wrist, pain shot through me like fire. It wasn't just burning — it was *inside* me. Like it was twisting through my veins.
I screamed.
Then everything went numb. My knees buckled. I couldn't feel my fingers.
"Take her to the South Tower," the king said, already walking away.
"She'll face the Circle at dusk."
"I didn't do anything!" I cried, breathless. "I was trying to help!"
He didn't stop. Didn't even glance back.
"You did enough," he said, voice colder than the marble beneath me.
"But you should have never come here. You're poison."
And with that, I was left alone with the weight of those words—and the cruel, quiet promise of what was to come.
---
The guards dragged me down a dark hall with no windows. The torches flickered like they were nervous too.
One of them yanked the rope on my wrists tighter.
"Can you not?" I hissed, stumbling.
He didn't answer. None of them did. I kept my mouth shut after that.
The hallway twisted. Narrow, and Damp. My feet were bare and freezing against the stone. My shoulder brushed the wall. Slimy. I jerked away.
Then… we stopped.
A thick metal door creaked open.
The cell was small. One wall was covered in strange carvings, glowing faint blue. Wards, maybe. They shoved me inside. The door slammed shut.
click and everywhere went dead silent. I stood in the middle, not sure what to do. Or how to feel.
I looked down at my hands.
Still shaking. My body was filled with tiredness and it felt dreadful.
I walked over to the wall and sank down slowly, back pressed against the cold stone.
My chest ached. Poison, he'd said. Why did that word hit harder than all the rest?
I tilted my head back. Stared up at the ceiling. It was cracked and ugly. Like everything else in this gods-forsaken place. My throat tightened.
But I didn't cry. I refused to cry.
Instead, I said to the empty room, "This is fine. Totally fine."
My voice bounced back at me.
No one answered. I mean I wasn't expecting one. It's so obvious that no one cared.
And in a few hours… I'd face the Circle.
Whatever the hell that meant.