Page 51 of Fae Tithe

Helena dropped her hand and opened her eyes, turning back to her daughter. “I’m sorry. Threatening the King… I made that so much worse. We were so close to getting you out, without anyone knowing. Then the guards came…” She swallowed, fumbling her words. “I’ve never felt so angry before.” Her eyes roved her daughter’s face. “I realised… I would do anything, even burn Seelieland to the ground, if that’s what it took to keep you safe.”

“The Circle,” Eleanor said, clasping her mother’s hand. She sniffed, tears ebbing.

“The Circle,” Helena agreed with a nod.

“Don’t be sorry, Mum. We got out, that’s the main thing.” Eleanor gave her mother’s bruised fingers a comforting squeeze, and Helena bit back a wince.

“It shouldn’t have happened to begin with.” Helena took a step back, letting out a breath. “I am so sorry I let them take you.” Guilt stabbed at her gut. “I didn’t know… but the moment we found out, we came as fast as we could.”

“It’s not your fault, Mum. It’s theirs,” Eleanor replied fiercely.

Helena dipped her head in acknowledgement, guilt still pricking her every movement. She cast her gaze down the lane, then back to Eleanor. “Let’s get back to the inn. You too,” she said, rounding on Lance, her glare sharp. “We have a lot to talk about later.”

Eleanor followed Helena into their room at the Bright Sun Inn. The moment Lance shut the door behind them, she started tearing at the golden choker at her throat. It had weighed her down on their trudge back to the inn, almost suffocating her.

“Get this off me,” she growled.

“Hang on, don’t pull. You’ll scratch yourself,” Helena said, closing the gap between them. “Hold your hair up.” She bundled Eleanor’s waves in one hand and held them at the top of her head.

“Okay, just get it off.” Eleanor took her hair in her hands, holding it out of the way. He put a collar on me, like I’m a pet. She bristled.

She felt Helena fiddle with multiple clasps at the back of her neck, finally unlatching the necklace and pulling it away from her. Eleanor took a deep breath as the jewellery lifted from her skin. The Changeling turned, narrowing her gaze as she saw it glitter in the sunlight streaming through the window.

“I don’t want to see it,” Eleanor spat. “Get rid of it.”

“I will. Just breathe, alright,” Helena reassured, tucking the offending jewellery away in a bag.

The silk dress then screamed against Eleanor’s skin – irritating, stifling, and a sign of her imprisonment. She gritted her teeth and ripped at the bodice, the flimsy silk coming loose.

“I want this off, too,” Eleanor growled. I don’t want any of it near me. She noticed Lance widen his eyes and quickly turn his back to her.

“Let me help.” Helena stood on her tiptoes and tugged the dress off over her head.

Eleanor let out a long sigh of relief, the irritation and rage draining from her. Her body now rid of anything from the Seelie King, she felt free. Helena stuffed the ripped dress into a bag as Eleanor gleefully kicked off her blackened silk slippers.

Her mother eyed the long linen chemise that remained on Eleanor. “I’m sorry, I don’t have something for you to wear right now. I didn’t even think about it… I could find you something?”

Eleanor’s fury ebbed, exhaustion setting in. When was the last time I properly slept? Every night he was in my head… I’m so tired. Her eyes itched and the bags under her eyes ached. She looked at her mother blearily, eyelids heavy. “Huh?”

Helena tilted her head, a line between her eyebrows. “Would you like me to find you something else to wear? Or have a wash? Food? Anything you need?”

Exhaustion tugged Eleanor’s eyelids down. “I’m okay… just… tired,” she replied, wobbling on her feet.

“Alright, bed then.” Helena stepped towards it and pulled back the cotton sheet. “Sleep, love,” she gently ordered, patting the mattress.

Eleanor forced her eyes back open. “Stay with me?”

“I don’t have anywhere else to be.” She smiled up at her daughter.

Eleanor’s eyelids drooped again. Her mother’s grip on her elbow steered her over to the bed. The Changeling clambered groggily onto the mattress. She settled her head onto a pillow, feeling Helena cover her weary body with the cool sheet. Eleanor barely registered the dull thud of her mother’s boots dropping to the floor. The mattress dipped as Helena shifted onto the bed next to her. The Changeling jolted, eyes fluttering open, as she felt Helena’s hand on her back. She soon relaxed into the soothing circular motion her mother’s palm tracked. Her breathing evened out as she was tugged into a fitful sleep.

In her slumber, Eleanor saw flashes of red and gold, even smelling the sickly-sweet of roses. Images of teacups, schoolbooks, and daggers floated across her mind.

She finally settled into a dream of the gardens of Tithe Manor, where the Seelie King had promenaded her. The King’s burning hand laid on hers in the crook of his massive elbow. His huge bicep then flexed as he gently unhooked his arm from hers.

“It didn’t happen this way…” Eleanor murmured. The Seelie King had latched onto her the entire time.

“That is because it is not a memory. I have come to you in your dream. I can talk to you now as the High Prince has dropped his protection ward.” Rian’s lips turned upwards in a predatory smile.