Something stirs me awake and I sit up suddenly as something shifts near my face. I had fallen asleep with my head on Daella's bed and as I blink and turn I see her arm shift, her hand tensing in my own.
Her eyelids flutter and I move, turning to face her I reach over her and shove Alvaryn's leg.
"Alvaryn, wake up!" I whisper loud enough for him to hear and in an instant he is awake, blinking at the morning light and turning to Daella.
Her eyes scrunch and she mumbles something before her eyes finally open. She blinks, looking up at the ceiling before looking around. She gasps as her eyes go wide taking me in and then Alvaryn, she immediately pulls away from us, pulling her hands free from ours she presses herself against the headboard looking at both of us with wide terrified eyes.
"Dae, it's okay, you are safe, you are in your room." Alvaryn says slow and gently.
She turns to him suddenly, gripping her blanket tightly.
"Wh-what's going on?" She asks, her voice raspy as she stares at both of us.
"You've been asleep for a few days dearest, but it's ok, your safe now." I tell her, willing myself to stay where I am instead of moving closer to her, she already looks scared enough, I don't want to terrify her.
"What happened?" She asks quietly.
"What is the last thing you remember?" Alvaryn asks.
She looks at him, brows furrowed, then down at the blankets.
"I don't know, it's all confusing. I remember the selection, then, something happened and everything changed, you were there, both of you, but you were different..." She looks at me, eyes wide as she remembers things, seeing things I cannot. She pulls further away from me in fear and I squeeze my hands into fists as I try to keep my control in place.
"Dae, you were attacked, those things you saw, the things you remember, they're not real, they're nightmares." Alvaryn says calmly, he has moved to the very edge of the bed, giving her more room but she still looks at him with fear.
"Attacked?"
"Yes, Prince Arden, he left nightmares in your mind, and then at the selection you collapsed. You've spent the last two days in a magically induced rest while your mind and body recovered." Alvaryn explains and I don't know how he is able to be so calm about all of this. Even hearing Arden's name is enough to set my fire ablaze.
Her eyes widen as she takes in this knowledge.
"I remember the Queen screaming." She says in almost a whisper.
"Yes, Mother was attacked by Arden as well, she then attacked our Father, both of them are still unconscious but they will be fine."
"So it wasn't real, everything you did...all the things you said..." She stops, looking at me with glassy eyes.
"What did we do?" I ask, wanting to know what she saw in those nightmares so I know exactly how to make Arden suffer.
She shakes her head, tears spilling, I move without thinking and lean up, wiping the tear from her cheek, she startles, pulling away from me and I tense at her reaction.
"You put me in a cage, you left me alone..." She stops, more tears sliding down her cheek.
"You know I would never do that, we would never do that. It was just a nightmare dearest, it wasn't real." I tell her.
She nods to herself, wiping the tears from her face. She turns to Alvaryn, he was watching her with concern and caution.
"Do you feel different Dae, do you feel like anything has changed?" he asks her. She blinks at the question.
YOU ARE READING
The Offering
FantasyAlmost 100 years ago when the fae discovered they could no longer bare children a treaty was made between Fae and Human, the treaty would become to be known as The Offering. The Offering is a day in which young fertile human women would be taken fro...
