Something hit her like a bull and she was thrown off, steel hard arms going around her as they rolled.
She knew exactly who it was, Jaia's scent was as familiar to her as her own but she still turned on him, beside herself that he would dare interfere.
Baring her teeth at him, she shoved him off her and he was on his feet in an instant.
Pushing herself up, she glared at the sight of him between her and the lich.
Arms stretched out towards her to calm her, she growled and tried to plot how to get past him.
She didn't care that there was fear in his eyes and she realised where the urge to stop had come from. The deal she had made with him meant she couldn't be there for him if she was dead and the deal was absolute.
"You'll die if you kill him!" he growled, angry and scared.
"I know," she said simply.
His eyes widened at the realisation of her intent. He realised that she planned to use the curse against the lich and free herself from suffering.
"No, no you can't!" Kai gasped from across the garden, he hadn't moved but she could see his panic.
Epharis was staring at her, his face confused and then he closed his eyes when it hit him.
Making her move, she stepped forward and struck out with her foot, the vampire not expecting her to attack him and he was sent flying, crashing to the ground some distance away.
With her next step she had pushed off at full speed for the lich, his eyes opening to see her.
As she reached him, his arms extended for her, the removed one having regrown in the brief time they had frozen.
She met him, her fingers finding the hair at the back of his head and his cheek, his head turning up to meet the kiss
One arm curled around her back, the other trapped between them, his fingers touching her chest over her heart.
Pain ripped through her, her delving into him halted as her heart skipped a beat. The vampires were almost on them when the air around them exploded and everyone was thrown back several feet.
Landing hard on the ground, she gasped and clutched at her chest as it tried to remember how to beat again. She had to wonder if that was how it felt to have a heart attack.
The vampires seemed to be stunned, the lich was standing and approaching her, something unfathomable in his eyes. As the vampires got back on their feet, running for them, the lich touched the point of his finger against her chest, the long nail piercing her skin and as he drew back, a thin line of red drew back with him, connecting her chest to his finger.
The line snapped and suddenly the pain in her chest was gone, her heart stopping for a whole two beats before starting again.
The line of red dissipated slowly into mist and his face was grim.
"I cannot allow you to kill yourself. Kill me if you have to, but you will not die. I will do everything in my power to ensure you live. Until my dying breath you will live, this world cannot exist without you. You are free from my curse," he said slowly, his eyes terrible in their fierce lock on her face. "I love you, now and forever."
His voice lingered in the air between them and then he was gone, vanishing in a blink.
It took her a second to realise what he had done, and then another for her to realise why, and she screamed her anger and misery.
He had removed the curse, had denied her the death she wanted twice, because the lich had fallen in love.
The vampires were on her, two holding her down and the third covering her mouth but she didn't care. How could he be so cruel?
She remained still under them, even as they searched the grounds for the lich or anyone else who might be a threat but they were alone.
"What do we do?" Kai said, terrified at how close they had come to disaster.
None of them had any idea the thought would ever cross her mind, none of them knew how deeply the damage had cut, except perhaps Versalis who was leaning down, his hand over her mouth and his forehead against hers.
He wiped away her tears and he crooned softly to her but she wasn't listening.
Inside she was raging, Letari shrinking back as her twin screamed and did her best to tear herself apart. It didn't work and that only made her angrier.
Any attempt to break something permanent was met with resistance from the deal, any desire to die on her own was impossible. The deal would not allow her to actively kill herself. Killing Epharis had been the compromise, it was through his actions that her death would then come and now it was gone, he had stolen her ability to circumvent the system.
The lich knew about the deal but she didn't feel he had cared about that when he freed her. No, he had done it because her death would be agony to him.
She snapped back to herself as they lifted her from the ground, their return to the castle quick and quiet and they made even quicker work of stuffing her into the cell when they got back, ensuring there was no escape for her.
She didn't fight them, remaining still and quiet until they left. She knew they would be planning what to do, the events of the evening and trying to figure everything out but without the information she had, they wouldn't get any conclusions.
***
They left her for two days and she remained still and quiet that whole time, thinking. What was she able to do? Nothing intentional, it had to be the fault of another but that was difficult. It was hard for any creature to kill willingly, especially when it came to killing a creature like her. She was stronger than many.
Jaia moved and she looked up, realising he had been watching her though she had no idea for how long before he finally made her aware of his presence.
He approached the door and her eyes followed him, every step cautious as though she might run if he moved too fast.
Opening the door, he slipped inside and approached her, still moving as though she were a deer who would take flight at any instant.
Finally he came to a stop at the foot of the bed and he looked hopeful. She didn't speak, simply held out her arm to him and though he looked distressed at her not talking, he accepted her wrist and bit as gently as he was able.
He didn't linger any longer than he needed to, biting down on his tongue to smear blood over the bite to heal it faster. Even after he was finished he didn't let go of her hand, instead he pressed her palm against his cheek.
"Tell me what happened," he said gently, his lips pressed in a tender kiss against her palm.
She watched him silently for several minutes, just listening to his slow breathing, his fingers tracing small spirals on her arm. Taking in a slow breath, she began.
"I don't know how we got there, we were walking in the garden when something hit the back of my head. I can't recall really. When I woke up we were in the cell, perhaps three or four hours after being locked there. I tried to wake up Epharis but he wouldn't budge, I assume they hit him harder because he took longer to wake, I don't know. We tried to get out but the chain had been knotted and I could only just reach him. Several hours later Drizdan came in and told us he had a game to play, called it 'Choice'," her tone was flat, level and calm until she spoke his name and the stupid name of his game. Jaia slid his arm around her shoulders and drew her closer, listening silently.
"He said he would offer Epharis two choices, and whatever Epharis chose would be lost. My finger or my tongue, Epharis chose my finger," she paused then and looked down at the finger in question, the dark tattoo had come back with her finger. "My eye or my foot, he chose my eye and he cut it out. He said he didn't like the green flecks and so he took it," she paused again and the eye in question slid shut, her voice breaking. "The last choice was me or the baby. Epharis chose the baby and Drizdan cut out my womb. I wanted it to be me, I wanted to die with my baby…" she had begun to sob at the last word, her body trembling against the vampire. "After that… he told us he had been given permission to keep me for a few days. He said I would be his soon and that he was going to wait," she stopped once more, going cold at the remembered the fear and agony. "He tried to do that to me… When they took me to The Underneath, but there was a horn and he stopped. He promised to finish, but then when he had the chance, he said he would wait," she whispered that last and her eyes opened finally. "He gets off on abusing women. He would beat me over and over again, and then when he got too worked up, he would pleasure himself. Over and over again. I don't know… I don't know if he did anything while I was unconscious, he would beat me so badly… I don't know Jaia… Then he left and said his time with me was up but that he would see me again soon. It was a while later that Kai found us and set us free."
Finally finished with her story, she stared into nothing and tears fell freely down her cheeks.
"What did you do in the fountain?" she asked, realising he hadn't taken a breath in a good three minutes.
"I had to make sure you didn't… Not to him. Not another one," his voice was strained and she frowned, realising that he had destroyed her internally so that she wouldn't fall pregnant to the Drow and she nodded her understanding. She didn't know if the Drow had gone that far, but she was glad for Jaia's actions, just in case.
Finally turning her eyes to him, she found him staring at her with eyes that glowed a soft red in his anger.
"I'll kill that Drow," he growled and she gave a faint hint of a smile.
"Not before I do..."
He pulled her hard against his chest and she stayed there, safe in his arms.
Several hours later he decided to let her out, taking her hand and leading her from the cell and back upstairs where she could bathe in the fountain. She knew he would be relaying her story to the others but she didn't care, so long as she didn't have to tell it again herself.
Her thoughts were confirmed when she walked from the bathroom in the fluffy blue robe and found them looking at her with various degrees of horror on their faces.
"What?" she said defensively, glancing behind her and then down at herself, first making sure there wasn't anything following her, and then making sure she wasn't uncovered.
Finding herself to be safe and her body fully covered, she looked up but by then they had all carefully schooled their expressions to neutrality.
Realising why they had looked that way, her cheeks flushed and she looked away from them. She didn't want to see their pity or their fury, she wanted to forget.
Approaching slowly, Versalis was the first to reach for her and she took his hand gladly, settling herself at his side rather than with Jaia. She knew Jaia cared for her and needed her, but Versalis understood her better right then and she needed that.
***
It was the next evening when a thought came to her. She had been obsessing over the sight of the night sky and that need to see it again was itching at her. Not only that, she needed something more. The plan she came up with was insane, but it was the memory of the precious Nayishma that set her actions in motion.
On the plus side, at least for her, she knew her plan would make life difficult for those in power. That, along with her own need to do something good for herself, set her off after everyone in the basement had fallen asleep. Smiling at the sight of Jaia, Kai and Versalis all crowding Jaia's bed, she crept silently from the room.
Slipping out of the basement, she headed slowly through the palace with her head hidden under a stolen hat from Kai. That coupled with the long cloak from the night before, she wouldn't be as easy to recognise and at that hour, she looked like just another person travelling out into the city.
Pausing only once to confirm the location of where she was going from a helpful guard, she set off in the direction of the doors as though she were leaving.
She wasn't heading out of the city however; she had another plan in mind. Leaving the palace, she made a sharp turn and walked quickly through the gardens, glancing back to ensure she wasn't being followed. She couldn't hear anyone following her, but she had to be sure, especially with what she was about to do.
The large building was set in behind the castle, squished between the rear wall of the castle and the outer wall surrounding the castle grounds. It looked enormous, at least two stories with flat stone walls and an unadorned, angled roof.
The entrance to the building was a simple set of large wooden gates, a massive beam holding them closed in case anyone inside managed to get free. It was the royal stables, but not like any normal stable. It was where Alaric was keeping his favourite pet monsters.
It was where he kept those he wanted to use later on, it was where he was keeping those Nayishma's father had given him.
The thought of Yish made her stomach ache, but she focused on those creatures she had seen, the need to set them free growing stronger as she approached the building.
Pausing beside the door, she considered the size of the beam and tested the weight of it. It was heavy, but she felt she could lift it. After all, it was designed to keep people in, not keep her out.
Deciding not to simply try and lift it off, she headed to the left and she started wiggling and pulling on the heavy beam, inching it along until finally there was a groan and a loud thud, the end of the plank yanking free of the hands and the far end hitting the ground.
Smiling to herself, she headed for the other end and lifted it just enough to drag the door open, dropping the plank back onto the ground once there was enough room for even a large creature to escape.
Heading for the other door, she tugged it open too and took in a deep breath. Yes, she was in the right place. The smell of all that magic was tickling her nose. She was doing the right thing, she was doing something her sisters and Yish would be proud of.