His amused gaze travelled from the rose barrette clasping my unruly mane of dark auburn hair down to the pearl-buttoned, pink and green jewelled cardigan I wore over a floral-print dress of bold peach and green. While I had always loved anything embellished, a passion I had inherited from my mother, Torin's condescending expression seemed to challenge my taste.
"Let's just say that you could also be a character from a movie, with your strange English accent and eccentric dress sense," he said.
"I love flowers," I replied, feeling slightly insulted. "Is there something wrong with that? I didn't ask to be here, so your opinion on the way I'm dressed and how I speak, really doesn't matter to me."
Torin smiled, clearly enjoying the game.
“Tilly, the question isn’t who are we? It’s who are you?” Cillian said gently. “Your aura shines with the purest essence. You’re not just beautiful, you carry a rare spirit. We’re genuinely awed by you.”
Well, I had to admit, I didn’t see that coming. It was the kind of compliment that could almost make you forget you were being abducted, if you weren’t paying attention. I kept my face neutral, refusing to let charm cloud my judgment.
Torin approached with his hands clasped behind his back and regarded me with a hunger I found disturbing. I swallowed hard as he leaned forward.
“When I look into your innocent eyes, I glimpse a purity unique among many. I feel your essence touch me like the heat from a smouldering fire. You don’t understand how rare this is for us.”
His gaze settled on the feathered scars that stretched from the left side of my neck down to my shoulder and onto my arm. These scars were the result of a strange energy surge I experienced inchildhood, something that no doctor could explain. They had led to a great deal of teasing at school.
Torin smiled again, clearly enjoying the game. I was about to pull my cardigan up over my neck to hide my scars when I realised I could use them to my advantage. If they saw that I was flawed, they might leave me alone. Torin’s gaze lingered.
“Those scars—why haven’t you covered them up? In our world, we hide such disfigurements with clothing. Why would you choose to display them like this? Do you have no respect for yourself?”
I felt myself becoming angry, but his comments hurt. They echoed the taunts I’d endured as a child.
You are disgusting. Ugly and Hideous.
Instead of retaliating, I shut down. I pulled my cardigan over myself as much as I could. Wait, I thought. His words in our world echoed loudly in my head.
Oh shit, where the hell is their world.
Fionn smiled. It wasn't an amused smile— it was the smile of someone who’d just bent another piece into place. The smile of a man who knew he held the reins.
"That’s much better,” he said, voice smooth with approval. “No need to show the world what should stay hidden. Especially when the inside is so… beautiful. "
He stepped forward, his coat brushing the earth like a shadow, regarding me with a cold, authoritative stare.
"You belong to us now, Tilly," Fionn said, his voice low and final. "You’ll obey our commands. If we demand you kneel, you’ll kneel. If we say bleed, you’ll bleed. There is no negotiation nor mercy. The sooner you accept your fate, the less it will hurt."
I glanced at Cillian, hoping the sympathy he seemed to have for me would work in my favour, but he remained silent. One thing was certain, none of them were going to release me.
I wasn't ready to agree to their commands like a dog, but I wasn't ready to argue the point right now. Instead, I stayed silent, a quiet rebellion where I refused to acknowledge such a ridiculous request. I stared Fionn in the eyes with all the defiance I could muster. It wasn’t much, but it was mine.
***
Fionn looked away from me, his eyes narrowing. For a moment, I allowed myself to believe I had won the battle of wills.
"We must go," Fionn said, addressing Torin and Cillian.
I hadn't won anything. He had sensed something. He turned to me with a dangerous look, and it was all I could do to suppress the shudder that threatened to run through me as his eyes burned into mine.
"Now, come with us and stop your ceaseless questions. We've wasted enough time here thanks to you. I warn you, if you try to escape again, I will kill you."
FIVE
THE JUMP
My heart leapt into my throat, and I felt my knees go weak. Now I knew this was no game or prank but something far deadlier than I could possibly comprehend. Fionn's words were spoken so casually, yet I didn't doubt them for a second. But I couldn't just go along with whatever they had planned for me.
Think Tilly,I told myself.
