The Beastkeeper's Redemption

Thirty-Six

Thirty-Six 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Kaede wasn't sure when exactly he woke, or if he had, in fact, awoken. All he knew was that he regained some semblance of coherence without any inclination as to how much time had passed since he had last seen Izzy.

Hours?

A day?

A month?

Disorientation made his head spin.

The effects of some malevolent enchantment clung to every pore of his body, tanging the back of his throat with a bitterness that threatened to make him retch.

His mind was suspended in a dark, cloying mist of blackness, clouding his memory so that the last thing he recalled was kissing Izzy right before he left the townhouse.

Kaede sank onto the narrow cot of the room he was in. The mattress gave under his weight, the wood of the frame creaking loudly in the stillness of the chamber. Something hard pressed against his breast and he ran his fingers against the lapels of his coat. Delving into the pocket within, he found a small box containing the simple ring he had bought for Izzy.

Even though the evidence proclaimed it so, he couldn't recall visiting the jeweller.

He pocketed the ring again before taking in his surroundings more thoroughly.

The room itself he occupied was expansive, perhaps more of a viewing gallery with overarching ceilings and tall, paned windows covered in thick burgundy drapes. It was the enclosure he was in that was alarmingly concerning.

Iron bars, thick and unyielding, surrounded him- top and sides except for one brick wall that his cot was pressed against.

He was in a cage.

One of many, he ascertained after scanning both sides of him.

The enclosures spanned the length of the gallery, large enough to contain beings of his size, and the majority of them were disturbingly occupied.

To his right, a fae with leaf-green scales paced from one end of his narrow cage to the other, gaze averted to the stone floor.

Sullen.

To his left, a selkie, evident by the ethereal beauty of the being staring back at him. Delicate, pelt-like markings tapered over the slant of her forehead, the curve of her shoulders, the crest of her knuckles. Long, sleekly black hair swayed with an inherent grace as it caressed her neck, back and arms.

Seeing as she was returning his stare with depthless twin black orbs set deeply within her face, Kaede decided that she would likely be more responsive to his questions than the dejected-looking pacing fae to his right.

"What is this place?" he rasped, the movement of his throat making him aware of something else- a band around his neck. Bringing his fingers up to his throat for an inspection, he determined the material to be made from a thick, ungiving leather he could barely wedge a finger under.

"Ah, you've come to."

It was not a voice that belonged to the selkie. Rather, a man- human, with sandy brown hair that curled over the collar of his white shirt, shrewd eyes and a congenial smile- uttered the words with a cheerfulness that jarred against the darkness cloying to every corner of the place.

The man, however, was not within the cages. Rather, he walked along the front, on the other side, and Kaede jolted to his feet. He crossed the expanse of the enclosure in less than a breath, thrusting against the solid bars with a force that jarred his shoulders as he swiped an arm for the man.