Nyx waited for two hours for everything to settle. During that time, she had unwinded the rope and hid it under the furs.
Nyx stood up quietly. The knife was in her belt. Then she slung the rope across her body and tied it so it wouldn't slip. She had made strips from the furs and wrapped them around her hands otherwise the rope would tear her palms open.
She walked towards the exit. At the edge, she paused and looked down.
This was insane but this was also her only option.
Nyx tied one end of the rope around the stone pillar, and tested the knot three times. She swung her legs over the edge, and tightly gripped the rope in her hands.
"Last chance to back out." A part of her brain part whispered. "This could kill you."
"Staying will definitely kill me." She answered to herself.
Nyx pushed off. She descended quickly, her shoulders were paining but it's didn't matter to her. She kept going.
She was almost there, just a few feet away when suddenly the rope jolted. Nyx looked up. The rope was wearing out from where it was tied against against the edge.
No, no, no…
She tried to descend faster, but that just made the condition of rope worse. She was still ten feet above when it gave way completely.
Nyx fell.
But she twisted in mid air, got her feet under her, bent her knees to absorb impact. She hit the ground hard and rolled over. Pain shot up in her leg.
There's no time. Move.
Nyx forced herself to stand up, she looked at her ankle, it was paining but not broken. She still could run.
She ran towards the darker area where there was no light. Her ankle throbbed with every step, her shoulder was bleeding again but she didn't stop.
The dark forest was just twenty metres away when something dropped from above just in front of her.
It was Raziel.
He'd been waiting. He had been watching her the entire time from the roof.
"Going somewhere?" His voice was calm but his eyes were burning with anger and amusement simultaneously.
Nyx stopped all of a sudden, almost crashing into him. She tried to dodge to the right but he moved faster and blocked her. She went left, again the same thing.
"Let me pass." She shouted.
"No."
"I'll fight you."
"You'll lose." He tilted his head. "You can barely stand. Your ankle is already swelling. And you're bleeding from at least three places."
"I don't care."
"I noticed." He took a step forward. She took one back. "You descended down a 50 feet cliff with the help of an old rope in the dark. You could have died."
"Better than staying in your cage."
"It's not a cage…"
"IT IS!" She screamed. "You took me, paraded me in front of your council like a trophy. You don't get to pretend this is anything but a cage!"
"I saved your life…"
"I didn't ask you to!"
"You were surrounded by a wolf who wanted to tear you apart!"
"You should have let it do that. ! At least then it would be over!" She was shaking now. "At least then I wouldn't be stuck waiting for five Kings to decide if I'm worthy of existing! At least then I'd have some fucking control over my own death!"
"Did you really think I wouldn't notice?" He said after a moment.
"What?"
"The rope. I saw you unwinding it hours ago." He took another step closer. "I watched you plan this entire escape and then your plan execution as well."
"You were watching the whole time?"
"Of course." He took another step closer. "Did you really think I'd leave you unobserved? After you killed one of my own? After you proved how dangerous you are?"
"Then why didn't you stop me?"
"Because I wanted to see if you'd actually try." He tilted her face up to make her look into her eyes. "I wanted to see how far you'd go. What risks you'd take and whether you were brave or just reckless."
"And?"
"Both." His thumb brushed across her cheekbone, and she realized she had tears mixed with dirt on her face. "You're both and that makes you incredibly dangerous."
"Good."
"Yes." His smiled. "Very good."
Then he swept her into his arms and started walking back toward his den.
"Put me down!" Nyx struggled, hitting his chest but it was useless.
"No."
"I can walk!"
"Your ankle is injured. You'll make it worse."
"I don't care!"
"I do. You can hate me all you want, Nyx. Fight me, curse me, try to escape again. But I will not let you destroy yourself."
"Why not?"
"Because three days from now, you face the Five Kings. And I need you alive for that. So, unless you want to face Darius Bloodmaw with a broken ankle, I suggest you accept the help and stop being stupid."
They reached his den. The guards were surprised to their King carrying the bloody human back inside.
Raziel kicked the door closed behind them and put Nyx on the furs gently. Then he turned and grabbed iron chains from a corner.
"No." Nyx tried to stand but her ankle gave out immediately.
"Yes." Raziel caught her before she hit the ground. "I didn't want to do this. But you've proven you'll risk death to escape. So, until the Kings arrive, this is necessary."
"You said I wasn't a prisoner…"
"I lied." He tied one end of the chain around her uninjured ankle and the other end to a metal ring embedded in the wall. "Or maybe I was optimistic."
The chain was ten feet long. It was large enough to reach the fire, the sleeping furs, the water basin. But not large enough to reach the exits.
"You're making me livestock." Nyx spat.
"I'm keeping you alive against your own stupidity. Do you have any idea what would have happened if you'd actually made it to the forest?"
"I'd be free."
"You'd be dead within an hour." He shouted. "Wolf scouts patrol those forests. They would have found you, and they wouldn't have been as merciful as I am. You think you're treated badly here? Darius would have eaten you alive just for existing."
"Better than this."
"You keep saying that. But you don't mean it." Raziel crouched to her level. "If you really wanted to die, you would have let James kill you. You wouldn't have climbed down that cliff so carefully, testing each handhold. You want to live, Nyx."
"I hate you." She said.
"I know." He grabbed medical supplies, and started tending to her fresh injuries. "But you're stuck with me until the Kings arrive. So, you have a choice. We can fight like this every night, with you getting more injured and me getting more frustrated or you can accept reality and save your strength for the trials ahead."
"That's not a choice."
"It's the only one you have."
He cleaned the rope burns on her hands but her palms were still bleeding. The medicinal paste burned as much as before. She hissed but didn't pull away.
"Why do you care if I'm hurt?" She asked.
"Because Darius will see it as me mistreating you. Political optics."
"Ohh! Right. Politics."
Raziel paused.
"And because watching you throw yourself off cliffs is exhausting."
"Then let me go."
"No." He looked at her ankle, examining the swelling. "This needs to be wrapped. It'll slow you down, but the alternative is permanent damage."
"The Five Kings arrive tomorrow." He informed her. "They are coming early."
"Tomorrow?" She was shocked.
"At sunset. Darius is already at the border. The others will arrive later." Raziel finished wrapping her ankle. "Which means you have less than 24 hours to prepare. So, I suggest you rest, heal, and stop trying to kill yourself."
"And after? After they judge me?"
"If you survive?" He stood up and walked towards the exit. "Then we'll discuss what happens next."
"And if I don't survive?"
"Then I was wrong about you and all of this was for nothing."
He left without another word. Nyx sat alone, chained like an animal, bleeding, bruised and trapped. She examined the chain lock. It was complex, that needed picks she didn't have.
She was truly trapped now.
"This isn't over." She whispered, trying to convince herself. "This isn't over."