Falling to Pieces(Kit and Ty)

Chapter 14

     Kit squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on the magic coursing through his veins. He was exhausted, but according to Ty, he could still do magic. It didn't matter to Kit if he escaped or not. His mind was constantly clouded, but he'd gotten used to the absence of emotion. He could barely remember what anger felt like.
     A familiar warmth returned to his hand, and he opened his eyes. An orb of light hovered above his palm, flickering in and out of existence. Kit pushed harder to keep the flow of magic steady. He could feel his energy begin to drain, but knew he couldn't give up quite yet. He lifted his other hand towards the orb, and shoved it towards the vine door with both hands. The ball of magic zoomed towards the vines, appearing as only a blur. The vines burst into pieces when the orb collided with them. Livvy shouted something Kit couldn't understand. Her words were a jumbled mess, and Kit struggled to decipher them. He lowered himself to the ground, his legs suddenly too weak to carry his weight.
     "Kit?" He recognized Ty's voice, and looked up to meet his gray eyes. He seemed to be worried, something Kit would never feel again. Before he knew it, Ty had grabbed his hands, and pulled him up to his feet.
     "Just go on without me," Kit said, head lolling back.
     Ty's expression hardened. "There will be none of that, understand?" Ty slung Kit's arm around his shoulder, and supported the weight Kit's own legs wouldn't bear. "You're coming, whether you like it or not. You're not going to destroy my only chance at freedom."
     Kit nodded to show his understanding, and with Ty's help, took a step towards the cell door. He had never imagined this happening. He had thought he'd be stuck in Faerie for however long the Seelie Queen needed him. Most people would be afraid, but he hadn't been. He couldn't have been.
     When Kit had met with the queen, she had told him about her plans for him. Her plan involved him—along with a Faerie army—attacking the Unseelie tower. He was supposed to make an offer to the king, and if Kieran agreed, the Seelie and Unseelie Courts would be united. If not, the Seelie Queen would not be happy about that. She had seemed confident in her idea, that Kit could unite the two kingdoms. He hadn't told anyone about her plan yet. He didn't have the energy to explain it.
Each step was easier than the last. The potion was wearing off, and Kit began to feel his energy return to him with each step. He and Ty were walking as fast as they possibly could, but they were both exhausted, and starving. Kit knew that he wasn't the only one growing weaker each day.
     Ty had dark circles under his eyes, and he was unsteady on his feet. He was covered in dirt and grime, and his hair was a tangled mess. His eyes were a dark, almost black in the pitch-black prison. Sometimes, he would call out his siblings' names, and reach out for something that wasn't there. Kit knew that this had to due with the fact that Ty was starving, and was probably hallucinating. He had to remind Ty that his siblings weren't there, and he'd eventually come back to reality, dazed and confused.
The prison was like a maze that Kit would never escape. Ty paused where the dirt paths diverged and thought for a moment, giving Kit time to rest. He stumbled over to the nearest wall and leaned against it, taking some of the weight off of his legs. He heard Ty whisper his favorite words under his breath, but couldn't hear which words he chose.
     "You've had your time to rest," Ty said, pulling Kit away from the wall. "We have to keep moving."
     Kit nodded, and allowed Ty to support the weight that his wobbling legs couldn't. They took the left path, entering a tunnel even darker than the hallways had been. Kit closed his eyes, realizing that the darkness behind his eyelids was almost no different than the darkness inside the tunnel. He opened them, and looked at Ty who had a look on his face that Kit couldn't read. He couldn't imagine what he was feeling. Each day he found it more difficult to understand what people felt, let alone what he used to feel. Each day was another step back from who he used to be. Sometimes, he heard the other Kit screaming at him to feel; screaming at him to feel something. It happened less often as time went on, but he could still hear the other Kit's voice sometimes, telling him to stop hurting Ty. Kit didn't understand what he was doing wrong, and he didn't put much effort into figuring it out. That always ended with an empty feeling in his heart and a headache.
     A noise echoed through the tunnel and Kit jumped to attention. The next thing Kit felt was the ground against his knees.
     "Kit?" Ty helped him up to his feet again, and slung Kit's arm around his shoulders. "Are you hurt?"
     Kit shook his head. "The effects of the potion haven't worn off fully," he explained. Ty nodded and reached into his pocket, then seemed to remember that the guards had taken away all of the weapons they had. He knelt on the ground, digging up dirt. He held it in the palm of his hand, and instructed Kit to do the same. Kit didn't question Ty. He knew that he probably wouldn't get an answer. Kit lowered himself to the ground, and stuck his hands in the dirt. It was rough and crumbled in his hands. He could already see the dirt that snuck underneath his fingernails.
     "If we run into anybody, throw this," Ty said, gesturing to the dirt with his empty hand. "Then run."
     It wasn't the best plan, but it was all they had. They didn't have their usual seraph blades, daggers, and steles. Now, they had to use anything they could find. Dirt slipped out from between Kit's fingers as he walked, dusting the path. It was like leaving behind a trail of breadcrumbs, but he would never follow it back. As they continued forward, Kit began to believe that no one was there. Ty's shoulders were tense with what Kit thought was fear, poking his arm. It was slightly uncomfortable, but Kit wasn't going to complain. The sound of footsteps could be heard in the tunnel. They seemed to be coming towards him and Ty.
Ty stopped abruptly, causing Kit to trip over his feet. He caught himself before he fell and squinted his eyes, looking for who could be in the tunnel. Kit could barely see two feet ahead of him. Nobody was in sight, but Ty didn't move. He seemed to be thinking of a plan or something like that. Of course, a plan wouldn't end up being useful in this situation. The footsteps kept getting closer, and Kit knew that his heart should be racing. But, it wasn't. His breathing should be heavy and he should be searching desperately for a way out of this. He wasn't even a little bit afraid. How could he be after what he'd had Magnus do?
Before he could react, he had been pushed up against a wall, and felt cool silver against his throat. He looked down, already knowing what he'd see. A silver dagger was clenched in the girl's hand. From what Kit could see, she had either brown or black hair, and green eyes. Kit stared into her eyes, ignoring the dagger, and waited for her to speak.
"Lead me to my brother," she said, voice strong and unwavering.
Kit's eyes shifted to the dagger, and she pressed it tighter to his neck. "I don't know your brother," he said. The girl sighed, and shook her head.
"Another useless one," she said. Kit could hear disappointment in her voice, but it was hidden under layers of anger. Four more people joined the girl, and he heard Ty gasp.
"Julian?" he whispered, uncertain. He reached out for his brother, and Julian wrapped his arms around Ty gently.
"I'm here, Ty," he said, his voice shaking. If Kit saw this correctly, he could've sworn that he saw tears in Julian's eyes. Kit leaned against the wall, resting his tired legs. He closed his eyes, and slid down the wall to the ground. Everything felt better now. His legs no longer had to carry his weight, and his eyes no longer had to see. Kit felt himself drifting to sleep, but the Blackthorns' voices kept him awake.
"Kit's with you?" That was Emma's voice. He felt a finger poke his arm, but didn't react. "Ty, is he alright?"
"He's fine."
"Ty, something's wrong with—"
"I'm fine," Kit said, opening his eyes. He pushed himself slowly up to his feet, leaning against the wall for support. Emma gave him a look, telling him to explain. "The Seelie Queen gave me some sort of Faerie potion to zap away all of my energy." Emma hugged him tightly, and said something like, "I'm so glad you're okay." Emma backed away from him, seemingly confused by his lack of response. What had she expected? Kit wasn't sure, but by the look on Ty's face, he had done something wrong.
"We need to get out of here," the second girl pointed out. Kit recognized her as Cristina. He wasn't sure why she had come with the Blackthorns, but she was here now. "Are you guys well enough to keep walking?"
Kit nodded. More of his energy had returned, and it was still coming. Ty nodded and prepared to support him, but Kit pulled away. "I can walk on my own," he said. Ty nodded and stepped father away from Kit. The group started forward down the dark tunnel. Ty's family kept asking them questions, and Ty would carefully dodge them. Kit guessed that he was trying to save them from the truth.
     "How did you get out?" Dru whispered.
     Ty glanced at Kit, then looked down at his feet. "Kit and I found a way out."
     She shook her head, and caught up to Julian who was talking to Emma. Kit and Ty walked across from each other, but didn't speak. He knew that Ty was annoyed with him, but he wasn't sure why. He hadn't done anything to hurt Ty. Emotions were something Kit no longer understood. Even when he did understand them, he only understood his own. People were always difficult to read, especially Tiberius Nero Blackthorn.
     The walls of the tunnel were rounded, and looked as if they could close in on the group any second. Kit knew that that would most likely not happen, but he kept an eye on the walls just in case. No fey had come after them yet, and Kit was beginning to wonder why. Surely, by now they knew that he and Ty were gone. He was almost free. Kit had thought it couldn't happen, but here he was, escaping. He attempted to reach his emotions, knowing that he should feel something. Joy? Relief? Of course, he came up empty. Kit put a hand to his head, trying to ease the pain of the headache he often got after searching for his emotions.
     Kit thought back to when Magnus took away his emotions. That moment was the last time Kit had felt any emotions. He had been terrified of what would come next. He had known what he was sacrificing, and now that sacrifice felt like nothing. It didn't matter to him anymore.
     A few days later, Magnus had offered to lift the spell, but Kit had refused. He had made sure that Magnus knew it was his final decision. He would never change his mind about the spell. It was necessary; it would protect everyone from him. He had been dangerous, unable to control himself. Now, Kit had complete control over his magic, and no longer had to feel the pain of being in love with Tiberius Blackthorn.