A Song of Silence

Chapter 87: A Dungeon in the Dark

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My magic reacted before I could think. Scratch that, my emotion reacted before I could stop my magic. My father had always told me, my heart would be my downfall, and from the look on Azazel's face as all my lies were exposed, i realized just how right my father was. My magic had arched in every direction and had shattered the dagger before I could register what I had done. My magic, nor my heart, stopped to think about what would happen if my true powers were revealed. All that mattered was that the fae I loved was alive and well.

The moment the dagger shattered, the assassins quickly climbed up ropes that had been dropped from above and disappeared into the night. I heard their leader laugh before he climbed up the rope because he knew just how fucked I was now that Azazel knew the truth of my powers. I saw the moment everything clicked. The moment his silver eyes turned from liquid metal, to hard and cold. Rage eclipsed his face as he saw the panic on my face and realized just who I was. Not his liver. Not his confidant. No. All he now saw me as was the woman who had killed his father and had made him the king he never wanted to be.

"Seize her!" His voice echoed across the once opulent marble hall. Now the echoes bounced off broken glass and startled nobles. Azazel's guards looked between Azazel and I, confusion evident on their faces. Mere moments before, Azazel had danced with me and taken me into a private room to chat, which he had never done before. Additionally, my rare electric power still raged throughout the room as I tried to keep my emotions in check. Quickly drawing back my power, I waited for the chaos to cease. I could run now. Azazel would never find me. He would search the land near and far for me, but his search would prove fruitless. No. I was done running from my fear and the consequences of my actions. It was time to face what I had done.

"It's alright," I say to the panicking guards, "It's for the best." I hold my wrists out for them to chain. The approach me with sorrow and confusion in their eyes, but they reluctantly heed Azazel's order. I never truly got to know these guards, but they seemed to be the decent kind. I hated that I had made them choose between Azazel and my power. The silent stone shackles locked around my wrists and any echo of my power quickly vanished as if it had never existed. I wonder if this was what my father felt like all the time. Powerless and vulnerable. No wonder he covered every scrap of power that he could get do that he never felt like this again.

"The ball is ended. Return to your sections of the castle immediately!" Azazel roared and quickly turned on his heel. The nobles must have sensed the fury in his voice because they quickly exited through the doors of the ballroom. The guards tugged me by my shackles towards the direction Azazel had gone. With great difficulty due to the dress I was wearing, I did my best to follow them. We walked down the familiar maze of hallways and passageways until we reached the dungeons.

I hated to go down there with such an exquisite dress on, but I followed anyway. I was led to a private cell that had the door angrily wrenched open by Azazel. The guards let my chains clank to the floor as I walked into the dark, musty cell in front of me. The door slammed shut behind me and was quickly locked. Even with the shackles on, I felt the sensation of Azazel's shadow magic before it disappeared. He would have now magicked the door to open for only him. Azazel didn't need to worry though, I had no plans of going anywhere. With much reluctance, I turned to face the rage and betrayal filled gaze that I had avoided for so long. "Leave us," he hissed at the guards.

"But, your Majesty..." one stuttered. Azazel turned around and the look he gave them was enough to send them scampering up the stairs. Azazel's gaze turns back to me. No longer do I see his love or adoration for me in his eyes. Only rage, betrayal, and vengeance remain. The dark king faces me now with Azazel ShadowBringer nowhere to be found. We stand and stare silent and assessing if each other. Two apex predators looking for weaknesses in each other. I can only imagine the barrage of anger and fury that is about to be flung at me.

"I should have known." He says quietly, his voice quieter than a whisper.

"Should have known what?" I ask quietly back.

His mouth curls into a sneer, "That you were a liar, a manipulator, and a killer all along. That you were too good to be true and that I should have listened to my mother when she said you were not to be trusted."

"She is a wise woman, beyond her years." I say quietly.

"That's all you have to say?" He sneers at my simple response.

" I am a woman of few words. Besides, you gave already made your own conclusions about me and nothing I say will change your mind." I keep my face blank, but Azazel knows me too well. He can see the turmoil and emotion that now lives behind my eyes because of him. I used to care very little about others and I refused to love anyone for many years for fear that they would be taken from me. I had come to love Azazel and even though I had yet to say it, Azazel knew how I felt otherwise I would not have exposed my power in front of the entire court and made myself his enemy. Not that my feelings mattered a lick now. I have no doubt that if I were to say those three words that had been on the tip of my tongue for weeks now, Azazel would throw them back in my face.

"On that, we can agree. You killed my father, a wise and good king for no reason other than he could. Or more likely at the behest of your master, the Grand Assassin. You killed him, a man who cherished you like his own daughter and treated you better than you deserved!" His voice had become louder and louder by the word. He was now shouting as his anger got the better of him.

A tear I cannot stop falls down my face, "Indeed the High King treated me far better than I deserved and I was the better for it. But he commanded me, no begged me to kill him in the end because he knew what would happen if he did not die. I tried to make it painless, but my magic backfired and would have left him in agony if I had left him as he was. Not to mention, my father, who is a man of his word, would have had every orphan child on the continent slaughtered by morning if your father was not dead." As I spoke, tears continued to fall down my face until there were tear streaks of makeup running down.

"All I'm hearing is excuses for the taking of a life that should have been yours!" He yells. I go silent as I register his words. I can feel the blood drain from my face. Azazel would have rather I died than his father and every orphan on the continent? What? No. He doesn't truly think that. It is his anger at my betrayal speaking. Azazel seems satisfied by my silence. "Tomorrow morning, you will be executed in a crowd of thousands for your sins. I suggest you pray to whatever deity you believe in. You'll need it." With that he turns on his heel and starts to storm out of the dungeon.

"You can't!," I call after him, "The High King's summons are for tomorrow! I have to fight or he will kill the orphans and your entire inner circle in retribution!" Azazel pauses at the bottom of the stairs. I quickly get all my words out, "I'll swear a blood oath or something and return after the duel, but don't let your anger cause the death of thousands." Azazel stays silent and looks over his shoulder at me in thought. I think he is going to say something else, but he continues to stay silent as he storms back up the staircase.