Addie

 

"Adelaide Valoire. You have turned yourself over to the council, and given us your unconditional surrender."

I look at the council woman in front of me, the one who spoke out originally. I think her name is Emily.

"Yes, that is correct," I say defiantly.

"And your terms of surrender were the release of those close to you, and for them to no longer be hunted or persecuted, is that also correct."

I nod, trying to keep my head high. They have stripped me of my clothes, of my dignity, of my pride. I’m stood here bare, as they try to shame me. I refuse to be shamed. Clothes or not, I am no less than them. I am not the animals that are doing this to another living being.

"I wish for all of those associated with me to be free of persecution in any matter related to me," I declare.

I see Emily snort derisively and it is all I can do not to break free of the pathetic chains they have cuffed me in. It would be so easy, a mere flick of the wrist – and then, I could smash her face right in. I swallow down my anger. It’s what they want. They want to see me lose it and then they get everything.

"And with this,” Emily crows. The bitch is actually enjoying herself. I swear that one day, she is going to get it. “You give yourself over to us unconditionally from this point forward. You hand your fate over to us. You choose to accept any judgement we deem fit to pass, without recompense or resistance," she says, a smug smile on her pinched face.

"I do,” I say, trying to ungrit my teeth.

"Then, as it is asked, so let it be done. Release the prisoners, and call off the hunt," she tells the guard at the door, shooing him away with a flick of her wrist. Who the hell does she think she is? How close to my mother must she be to wield such self-appointed power?

"Now, as for you,” she says, returning her attention back to me. “You will be judged. But first, we must deliberate as to what exact punishment would be fitting for one who sought to bring down the entire Fae race. While this takes place you will be held, exactly as you are, in the prison cells below the Palace. The council will convene daily until an agreement has been made. I expect it might take some time. There are still some Fae, believe it or not, who think that you are not guilty of the crimes you are charged with.”

My hope flutters at this morsel of information and just as quickly is snuffed out when she adds,

“But don’t let that idea fuel any kind of silly notion that you’re not going to be found guilty – it’s amazing how easily dissenting voices can be silenced.”

Her threat is clear. She will have anybody who dares to support me, murdered. Kaden’s conversation emerges at the edge of my thoughts. I try to shake it away – I don’t want to acknowledge it. I don’t want that conversation to hold the answer to this sorry situation.

“However,” she continues, and I think with a smile that she sure does love the sound of her own voice. “There are terms to this arrangement. Those who you wish to be pardoned of any wrong doing must have no access to you until your judgement is passed. We will not stop them visiting with you – but you must send them away. You must make them think it is your decision. The more convincing you are, the safer they will be.”

I listen to her words and I wish I was shocked by her cruelty. She’s clever, I’ll give her that. To deny them access to me would only embolden them, make them more righteous in their beliefs – but if I send them away, convince them they are nothing to me, it will pluck the fight right out of their soul. "Ms. Valoire. Do you fully understand me?"

"Crystal clear," I say, trying to not let my anger overwhelm me. I will not let them win.

"Any persons seen to be colluding with you, Ms. Valoire, will be sentenced to the same fate that we pass for you. There will be no exceptions to this. Regardless of age."

Her statement is a stab in my heart. She means Sophie. I know she means Sophie. She asks me to deny the love I feel for my own adopted child. For the child I would die for. Emily looks at me to make sure I understand her meaning, and I give her a small nod, trying to keep my eyes from making contact with her because I am sure that I will burn her to her a crisp right where she stands. Even so, I can still see the evil glint in her eye when she confirms that she has won.

I look to Dante's parents, who are a part of the counsel. Dante, thank the heavens, is not there to see me like this – reduced, broken. They look torn and I thank them for this small moment of compassion. I know they have to do what they must to stay safe, to keep Dante safe. I shoot them a small smile so they understand I do not hold it against them. Just like them, I am sacrificing myself for my child. The thought hits me hard. Sophie is my child.  I cannot imagine loving anybody more. This fierce she-wolf of a mother inside of me has woken, and my death is nothing compared to Sophie’s life. In that moment, I have no regrets except for one –I will now not get to tell Sophie exactly how I feel – that I am her mother, and always will be.

Instead, I have to tell her to turn away and never think of me. That I don’t love her enough for her to fight for me. The lie already threatens to choke me. That I don’t love her enough to fight for myself.

Emily signals to two of the guards stood behind me, and they seize me, one taking each arm. Their grip is so tight, I know I will have bruises later.

"Take her to her cell, and make sure she is suitably confined," Emily says. The delight in her voice makes it shrill. They try to drag me behind them, but I make sure to keep up.

We walk down the back staircase, the rough stone of the floor grazing my feet as I stumble. The guard on the right of me grunts as I trip and he slams his elbow into my face. The pain is nothing to what I am feeling in my heart.

"Keep up, girl," he growls as they continue to drag me along between them.

At the staircase, I quit trying to keep up, and let them carry me to my fate. I chose this, I remind myself. I pull strength from the words. If they're doing this to me, I can't even imagine what poor Sophie might have endured – or the horrors that have be fallen Kellan. I imagine it was so far from the opulence he has grown used to over the centuries. His heart is not made of steel like mine.

We reach the bottom of the staircase, and the walls are lined with bars. The cells. They take me to the very end cell, and walk me in. That’s when I see the chains and shackles on the wall that will hold me.

I never thought I'd wish for Aeveen, my demon self, to be back in my head, but I'm not sure I'd have made it through Cole's hell if it weren't for her, and I’m not sure I’m going to make it through this.

I resign myself to my fate as the cold metal presses into my skin.The locks twist, confirming my future. The one I traded for Sophie and Kellan. I watch as the guards walk away, locking the door to my cell behind them, snickering as they leave me here. Bound to the wall. I curl myself into a ball to protect myself from the experience as much as I can. But even then, there is no escaping the horror I am facing. My back grazes on the stone wall as I slide down to the cold floor.