Etherea: The Lost Daughter

36

The Silver Court

The room had hushed at Nia's shocked tone, the Fae exchanged uneasy glances. Lorcan cursed at the smirking man in their midst. Rian gave the Princess a mock bow "how nice it is to see you again, your majesty" her skin crawled at his dark tone, he was nothing like the child she had left in Galeria. "I presume my invitation was lost?" He challenged, Aidan looked between the pair. He did not recognise the man who stood before them. It was Lorcan who stepped forward first, Rian's eyes glinted with delight. "Lord Rian, my how you have grown!" Aidan's eyes darted from Lorcan to the copper haired Fae. "You must share with us what Torrin has been feeding you, if I had known you wished to attend; I would have certainly made arrangements" Aidan glowered at the young Fae as Lorcan spoke.  

"I would not wish to insult our Princess by inviting her kidnappers kin" Aidan scoffed, Rian's smirk did not waver, if anything it grew. "Kidnappers, eh?" Nia's throat dried, it took every ounce of strength she had not to look at her friends for aid. "You did not seem to mind when you were in my brother's arms" Rian spat at her. Nia did not need to look at Lorcan to know how Rian's words stung him. Lorcan knew he had no right to be jealous, yet he felt it all the same. "Blasphemy!" Aidan boomed. Uaine raised a brow in surprise, Nia had played her part well.

Nia stepped beside Aidan, cautiously watching Rian as she walked. He eyed her in return, like a wild animal. Nia could see the darkness in his heart, the betrayal, the rage; it saddened her. She pushed all sadness from her mind as she placed a hand on Aidan's shoulder. "Oh how simple the world must look through the eyes of a child. Your brother found a pretty thing he wanted for himself, he slayed the creatures my fathers lieutenant had sent to protect me and stole me from my mortal life before I could be returned to my home. It was either his arms or that torture chamber you dutifully showed him. You are as blind as he" Nia sneered at him, fire danced across her fingertips. She did not like how easy it was to twist the truth, to paint Torrin as a villain; he had not been the cleverest Fae she met on her journey, but he had done nothing but help her. Nia had treated him awfully in the weeks her powers grew dark.

Aidan eyed the fire caressing his shoulder, surprised that it did not burn. "How dare you interrupt our evening to accuse your Princess of treason?" He roared at Rian, the Fae around them cowered; Aidan was renowned for his temper. Nia watched silver daggers of light whizz towards Rian. The young Fae groaned as he was thrown backwards. Rian spat blood from his lips with a laugh "my father's lieutenant" he mocked "Duane found you first, wrapped that pretty head in enchantments and sent his pets to take you to your father. You murdered all but one and fell into Torrin's arms. Duane tried to bring you home twice more, the second saw the Emerald Court destroyed" Aidan faltered at his words and looked at Nia "is this true?".

Her stomach dropped as her senses went wild, speak of the devil, Nia wished she could scoop her friends into her arms and fly far away from here. "If I had known we would have entertainment, I would have come early" Duane grinned as he looked around the room. His eyes widened as he took in the scene before him. Aidan wasted no time as he growled at the Golden Prince, all formalities forgotten "did you send your Faelcu to protect her or take her to Etherea?" Duane frowned at them until he drank in the sight of Nia in her blood red gown and glistening tiara. 

Goosebumps rose across her skin as his eyes scoured her body, she wanted to rip those golden orbs from his skull. "Why, this pretty little thing? To protect her of course" Duane stepped towards her, Nia took a step back. He cocked his head at her, the enchantments he cast were no more. "Did she join Torrin willingly, or did he take her?" Aidan pressed, Duane sighed and scratched his chin "it is hard to say" he reveled in Nia's panicked expression, she had forgotten she was supposed to love him. Duane, on the other hand enjoyed playing this game. The Fae had grown quite predictable over the centuries, he rather liked watching her struggle to weave her web of lies. Curious to see how she would handle the situation, Duane said no more.