Auriella did not move from the spot.

She laid against the wall, frozen, her mind blank, and her eyes glued to the concrete floor. She didn't know how long it had been since the silence of Clare's screams. She felt like she had laid in that position for days or weeks.

For however long she had been there, she waited. She wanted to hear the heavy footsteps of the guard come marching down with a limp Clare in their arms. She wanted to be next to Clare, holding her hand and soothing her pain. She wanted her to be alive.

But there was nothing.

Auriella looked at the empty cell, seeing the pool of dried blood that stained the concrete floor. She didn't know how many days she stayed with Clare, or if it was mere hours. Time was not relevant Under the Mountain. She didn't know if it was day or night.

But what Auriella did know was that she had been with Clare for a while. She spoke with her, mentioned everything about herself, and sang her father's song, which felt endless.

Even though she barely knew a thing about her, Auriella was thankful, grateful to have comforted her and given her some light in the darkness.

Auriella was too focused on her thoughts to even notice guards at her cell door. They opened it, gesturing to her that it was time to go.

She took a deep breath, slowly standing up from the ground. She straightened out her dirty attire and wiped her face of the stray tears that had fallen.

When she had exited her cell, she could feel a change in her surroundings. There were more guards than usual, their posts protecting each of the prisoner halls. She could see many of them crowding at their cell doors, getting a glimpse of her.

As she got closer to the throne room, Auriella looked down the dim corridor leading to the servants' hall, where they all crowded against the cell door, same as the prisoners. She saw Ruth staring at her with wide eyes, her expression filled with worry. Auriella quickly tore her gaze away from her, feeling her nerves start to accelerate.

When they turned down the hall to the throne room, the doors wide open.

Amarantha sat on her black glistening throne, staring down Auriella with a sinister grin. But she wasn't the only one there anymore.

Tamlin, the High Lord of the Spring Court, sat on the stone steps. His face was ridden of its warm color, his expression filled with despair. He looked like someone who had his heart ripped from him. He seemed hopeless.

But once Auriella entered the room, felt a droplet of water hit her face. She wiped it away only to realize that it wasn't water, it was blood.

She looked at the floor and saw a small pool of it there, then she slowly lifted her head.

There, she saw the extent of Amarantha's rage. She saw the true monster that she was. She saw that pure evil only lied in that woman's black heart.

Clare's body was nailed high on the wall, her corpse battered, bruised, and burned worse than before. She was completely broken. Her eyes were closed, her mouth hung open, dripping blood onto the stone floor.

Auriella couldn't tear her face away from her. She felt her body freeze, void of all hearing and feeling that she once felt moments before.

She knew that someone was speaking to her, but she heard none of what was said. All she could think about was Clare, Clare, Clare. There was nothing else that mattered except for her.

Auriella let those fragile moments between them pass through her mind once more, letting go of the gruesome reality that she was facing. She begged her mind to stop the nightmare, to wake up. She wanted to see Clare on the floor, her hand touching her fragile skin.

But her mind assured her that she was not in a nightmare.

And as those moments in her mind passed, she finally saw reality again. She didn't feel when the guards had hung her up, didn't feel when her shirt came off... she didn't feel the crash of the whip on her back.

As much as Amarantha tried, Auriella still could not feel the pain.

Then she remembered. Rhysand.

He must have known Amarantha's rage had reached its point, that she would want to release it on Auriella since the main source was dead. But Auriella could not force herself to do anything, not even to release a sound.

Rhysand stood a few feet away from Amarantha's throne. His face was hard but underlined with pain that he only showed briefly when their eyes locked.

Auriella lightly shook her head, wanting him to stop using his power. She was afraid of what she would feel once he did, knowing that Amarantha was hitting her at full force. But she wanted to feel something other than the searing pain in her heart. She wanted a distraction from her grieving mind.

She wanted to let out her rage and pain without anything holding her back.

A few seconds later, at the next strike of the whip, she felt the pain come at her all at once. She did not know how many times Amarantha had struck her, but it was enough to feel the warmth of her blood dripping down her back.

She finally screamed, looking at nothing else except Clare's body.

Auriella knew that what she was feeling was pure and undeniable grief, not only for Clare but for herself, for the broken person she had become. She had finally reached her boiling point. It was a combination of everything that she had bottled up inside of her.

All it had taken was this and she felt her entire self crumble into nothingness.

As her pain became more unbearable, Amarantha abruptly stopped. Auriella breathed heavily onto the floor, her head on the cool ground, covering her breast with her arms. She let her tears fall onto the floor, unable to get over the failure she had become. That was worse than the pain.

Amarantha walked over to Auriella's side, tipping her over with her heel. Auriella let out another scream, the jolting pain running through her body.

She looked up at the Lady of the Mountain, who had nothing but pure rage plastered on her cruel face. It was something that Auriella had not seen before, but she could not bring herself to care about what was going to happen to her.

Amarantha kneeled down, grabbing a handful of Auriella's hair in her hands. She lifted her head up to hers, "Now, why do you cry for her? What has she told you?" Amarantha asked, her eyes filled with fury.

Auriella shook her head, "She hasn't told me anything. She just listened to me. She told me what you did to her. That you took her and killed her family. She didn't know why she was here. She could barely speak to me because of what you've done." She says, her body shaking with fear and rage.

Amarantha chuckles, "I did a good number on her didn't I? She wouldn't admit to me what I wanted to know and she got the punishment for it. But now," she looks at Clare's body, her mouth turning into a sinister grin, "she is art for my wall. What a pretty canvas I have painted." She says.

Suddenly, she slams Auriella's head on the ground, making her cry out. Amarantha keeps a tight hold of her, "Oh, how I cannot wait for the curse to be permanent. I will do worse to you, Daughter of Dawn, than I did her. I will show you the real punishment that waits for you," she lowers her voice to a whisper, "and your father will watch you slowly die while he can do nothing to save you." She finishes, finally releasing her grip.

She stands, her eyes scanning the entire room. "We have a celebration tonight and will continue having one until the curse is permanent," her voice full of pride, "This is for the beautiful eternity we will spend together. So why not start early?" She exclaims, the room in utter silence.

Proud of herself, Amarantha walks up to Tamlin, tugging a strand of his long blonde hair behind his ear. She says nothing, giving him a smile, before walking up to her throne.

"Because I am feeling generous today, I will allow you this privilege, Daughter of Dawn. You will sleep in one of the rooms, instead of the concrete that you deserve. That is a kindness that I am willing to give to you because you have been nothing but obedient after all these years. I can say that you've earned it." Amarantha says, signaling her guards.

Auriella is picked up from the ground, her body trembling and with rage on her mind.

As she was being led out, she looked up at Clare one more time, "I'm sorry," she whispered, even though she wasn't the cause of her pain.

When Auriella was taken to the room, the guards immediately shoved her in, slamming the wooden door closed. She landed on a soft rug, her back once again letting out a shooting pain throughout her body, but she held in her scream.

She stayed on the rug, letting out her every emotion. She didn't care if the guards outside her door heard her yelling out profanities or screaming until her voice was hoarse. It didn't matter anymore.

After what felt like an eternity, she got up from the carpet, wiping away the stray tears on her pale face. She looked around the room, seeing nothing but temporary comfort.

The bed was small, tempting to lay down upon and drift away into nothingness. But Auriella did not want to ruin it with the dirt and blood on her skin. Instead, she went into the bathroom which had a toilet, a washbasin, and a wooden tub.

Auriella tried to grow accustomed to the new environment, feeling used to living on pure concrete without any of the remedies that were in front of her.

She went over to the wooden tub, turning on the water and letting it fill up. Meanwhile, she walked over to the washbasin, washing her hands of the dirt and blood that stained them. Auriella couldn't help but put her head down, sipping the cold water.

She felt like she could drown in its purity. She couldn't remember the time she had cool and pure water ever since she came Under the Mountain.

Once she was satisfied, she started taking off her clothing, shutting off the water from the tub that was now full. She stepped inside of it, her entire body going rigid at the touch of the cold water, but she quickly entered herself into it, groaning.

She stayed there for a long time, washing until she felt clean enough. The water quickly became brown and Auriella had to empty the tub and wash herself down with the running water, her body shivering in the cold.

Once she was finished, she dried herself off with a towel, letting the softness of it soothe her grief. It had been a while since she felt this peace. But she knew it was temporary.

Auriella went out to the room, seeing a pile of clothes laying on the bed. She changed into them, actually smelling their cleanliness; a blissful lavender.

She climbed into the bed, going under the covers and letting the softness of them distract her from her mind, which was all over the place. She didn't care if her life was ending soon, or what Amarantha was going to do with her once the curse was permanent... she just wanted to savor this moment of peace and silence.

And fell to sleep with the thought that if she had died in the quiet darkness of her sleep, she would gladly fall into its embrace without hesitation.