Chapter 7
Cha pter 7
A sh and Calyx pushed the boulder back into place, and with a simple wave of his hand, Ash sealed the entrance shut once more.
Without a word, he then took a few steps to the left, stopping in front of what appeared to be an ordinary section of rock. With another effortless hand motion from him, the stone shimmered and shifted, revealing a hidden alcove. Inside, two sleek black motorbikes gleamed, their polished surfaces catching the faint light.
The sight of them sent fear spiking in my bloodstream, and at that moment, Ash turned his head toward me, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as if sensing my fear.
I remained rooted to the spot, my feet seemingly wielded to the rock beneath as Calyx mounted one of the bikes. It purred to life, the sheer quietness of the engine surprising me, a gentle hum. Calyx sped off, disappearing around the bend of the cave, swallowed by shadows.
Ash climbed on his bike and pulled it up right in front of me.
He waited, his dark eyes fixed on me.
I couldn’t move.
“Areya, are you going to get on or just stand there?”
There wasn’t really a choice was there? I could either get on willingly, or Ash could make me.
Reluctantly, I stepped forward, clumsily climbing onto the bike’s back, keeping my dress tucked around me. My hands hovered, unsure where to go, so I awkwardly set them on my legs.
“You better hold on,” Ash warned, his voice carrying a subtle edge of amusement. He revved the bike’s engine. That was all the warning necessary.
Instinctively, I threw my arms around his solid, muscular frame, holding on as if my life depended on it—which it probably did. Had I just heard a chuckle reverberate through him?
As the bike began to move, panic bloomed in me, gripping my chest like a vise. I squeezed my eyes shut, burying my face against Ash’s back, inhaling deeply. His scent wrapped around me like a soothing balm, smelling like fresh pine after a rainstorm, crisp mountain air, and a faint trace of sandalwood mixing with something warm and familiar, like sunlit linen.
It calmed me, grounded me, pulling me back from the edge of my spiraling fear. In that moment, I didn’t care if I acted like a raging addict, leaning into the combination of his intoxicating presence and that mind control power as if it were my sacred drug.
The bike accelerated, the sensation of the world rushing past me overwhelming. My whole body pressed hard into Ash as I gripped the bike with my legs. I had no idea how Ash could breathe under the death grip I had on him. Honestly, I didn’t care. The wind was roaring around us, fierce and relentless, whipping my hair into a frenzy and drowning out everything.
“Areya!” I heard Ash’s voice cut through the wind. I didn’t move a muscle. “Areya, open your eyes.” It wasn’t a command.
Hesitantly, I cracked open my eyes, ever so slowly peering out from behind Ash.
I had every intention of taking a quick peek and burying my head right back into his body, but the sight greeting me stole every huff of breath from my lungs.
A vast endless desert stretched out before me, its golden dunes bathed in the cool light of night. But it was the sky above that really captivated me.
It wasn’t just a sky; this was a veritable masterpiece. The deepest, most vivid sapphire blue spread across the heavens, so striking it almost didn’t seem real. The stars, far larger and brighter than any I had ever seen, glittered like shards of diamonds.
They didn’t just twinkle, they blazed with a brightness, making the sky look alive as if someone had flung a swathe of shimmering silver across a clean canvas.
Suddenly, I felt impossibly small, utterly insignificant in the face of such beauty.
“It’s breathtaking,” I whispered, not even sure if Ash could hear. He could.
“I figured you would like it,” his voice carried back on the wind.
I loosened my grip on his torso ever so slightly, tipping my head back to feel the wind against my face. It felt as if I were flying, soaring over the sandy hills and dunes of the desert. I allowed myself to get lost in the moment and right now, nothing else mattered. The weight of fear, the constant dread clinging like a second skin, faded, leaving only a sense of freedom and wonder.
I wished to stay in this pocket of peace forever, or at least a little longer. For the first time since learning about the magic existing in the world, this truly did seem magical.
How long we rode through the desert like this, I couldn’t say, only that it wasn’t nearly long enough. All too soon, the bike came to a slower speed, a sprawling gated compound looming, pulling me harshly back to reality. The sensation of freedom was ripped away, and the familiar dread that had become my constant companion now returned full force.
Calyx was already waiting at a small, weathered guard station just outside the gate, his bike idling. Ash pulled up beside him and parked too. My gaze shifted to the large man sitting on a stool outside the small guard station, and as I took in his features, I nearly gasped.
His skin was deathly pale, the color of white powder, and the hollows beneath his eyes were so dark they looked like coal. His irises—gray like Ash and Calyx’s—marked him as a ripper, but unlike them, he looked horribly sick, nearly dead.
Ash dismantled and pulled something out of his pocket, flashing it to the guard.
I thought the guard would open the gate and wave us forward, but instead, his whole body took on an unnerving, unnatural stillness. His eyes became frantic, darting as if searching for something and then landing on—me.
In the blink of an eye, he lunged.
I barely had time to react, my body locking up as adrenaline surged. But Ash moved terrifyingly fast, seizing the man by the throat, and slamming him into the guard station with such force, the building rattled. A feral growl erupted from Ash’s throat, and the sheer dominance radiating from him made my blood run cold. I prepared to watch Ash kill this man.
“Whoa, Ash. Hey, man. Let’s settle down—it was just a misunderstanding.”
Calyx was off his bike, his hand on Ash’s arm.
Ash didn’t budge.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” the man pleaded. “We haven’t had any blood out here in weeks, and you surely know how it is.”
“Ash,” Calyx warned again.
A few seconds passed before Ash finally released his grip, letting the man collapse to the ground, gasping for air and clutching at his throat. When Ash turned to face me, his expression was cold, his eyes dark with a lethal intensity making my blood run cold.
Without a word, Ash got back on the bike with me and sped off through the gate.
He pulled up in front of a large, imposing cabin. The structure loomed in the darkness, its rugged, weathered exterior blending into the harsh landscape. I slid off the bike first, my legs shaky from the ride, and wrapped my arms around my body in an attempt to stave off the chill in the air.
Ash then dismounted with fluid grace, moving with a quiet, predatory confidence. He led the bike underneath a small wood shelter, the low hum of the engine fading as he parked it.
Calyx followed, but his eyes never left Ash, watching him closely.
Ash strode toward the cabin’s entrance, and I followed silently, the tension in the air palpable.
Calyx remained outside as we entered the cabin’s dimly lit interior. The main gathering room was bare, with minimal furnishings, offering little comfort and warmth. Ash walked right by, leading me down a narrow hallway, his shoulders stiff as if carrying some invisible burden.
He stopped in front of a plain wooden door and exhaled as his body finally began to visibly relax. “You can sleep in that room,” he said, his voice devoid of the edge it usually carried. “You should be able to find clothes in the drawers that will fit you.”
I nodded, though my attention drifted down to the black gloves on both hands. The fabric felt suffocating, my skin itching beneath. Ash must have noticed.
“You can take them off when you get in there.” Without another word, he turned and walked away, disappearing down the hall as his footsteps echoed in the silence.
I went inside, shutting the door and leaning against it as the cold reality of my isolation settled back in. The silence in the room was deafening, amplifying the overwhelming sense of how truly alone I was. I took a steadying breath, about to go look for those clothes but froze mid-step upon hearing Ash’s muffled voice beyond the room’s confines.
“This is Commander Ash. I need to report to Agidius immediately.”
Pushing my ear against the door, I strained to listen.
A raspy female voice responded after a brief pause. “It’s Kima. The king has been waiting to hear from you. Give me a moment.”
Minutes stretched on.
Finally, a deep voice came through, angry, and frantic. “Ash, tell me you found the girl.”
“Yes, sir,” Ash replied. “Calyx and I have her in our possession. Calyx is preparing the chopper so we can leave first thing in the morning.”
“No,” the voice snapped. “I’m coming to you. I will see to her arrival personally. Do not leave that compound. Do you understand?”
“I understand, sir.”
“I’ll be there by the first light of morning.”
The line went dead, and it felt as though the floor had dropped out from under me.
This was it. By morning, the king would have his hands on me.
Ash and Calyx were more than eager to get rid of me. Turning, I scanned the space Ash had given me. It was large and bare. A sizable wooden dresser had been pushed against the wall next to the door. Across the room, a vast window framed the cold moonlit night outside.
A simple bed covered with basic white linen sat in the room’s center.
I moved numbly to the dresser, ignoring the panic beneath the surface threatening to overtake me. On opening the first drawer, I found neatly folded pieces of a female guard’s uniform. I wasn’t going to wear that. The next drawer held a couple pairs of plain gray sweatpants and sweatshirts, so I grabbed a set along with a pair of thick wool socks from the drawer below and headed to the adjoining bathroom.
The bathroom, like the bedroom, was basic.
A shower, toilet, and sink filled the small space. I placed the clean clothes on top of the sink, my eyes catching my reflection in the mirror, taking in the pale, strained face staring back. I looked like a ghost of the person I once had been, fragile, lost.
I stared for a moment, and then, it all came crashing down.
Unable to hold it together any longer—the fear, the helplessness, the overwhelming dread—it all finally broke through the wall built around my emotions. I clutched at my chest, the pressure there unbearable, stumbling back until my body hit the wall.
My face buried into my hands as tears began to flow freely.
I felt foolish for ever thinking I’d stood a chance of escaping this nightmare or killing the two monsters holding me captive. The memory of Ash casually dangling that man by his neck, his power so effortless and terrifying, now sent shivers of dread down my spine.
If Ash could do that, what horrors would await me at the hand of the king?
I felt like a failure, as if I had let my mom down in the worst possible way.
The weight of that realization crushed me, sending me crumpling to the floor, my body giving out under the strain of emotions no longer containable.
With a sudden surge of frustration, I ripped the black gloves off and threw them hard against the vanity. On my hands, the skin was irritated and raw, with red bumps from being trapped in the gloves for so long. I opened both hands, palms facing up, the same way Calyx had done when he’d produced that glowing orb of light. I focused on them, willing them to do something, anything. Minutes passed by with nothing happening, except feeling like a fool.
Dropping my head into my hands, I let out a shriek of frustration.
A moment later, I took a deep breath, steadying myself and turned toward the shower. Twisting the knob, I let the water warm up, peeling myself free of the awful dress, letting it fall to the floor in a heap. Rummaging through the bathroom drawers, I found a small collection of toiletries.
A bottle of shampoo smelled faintly of coconut, and there was a sweet melon-scented liquid I assumed was body wash, plus a washcloth, a hairbrush, what looked like a disposable razor, a new toothbrush, and what I guessed to be deodorant, plus a sweet-smelling moisturizer.
All the items were familiar, but their subtle differences reminded me I was in a world far removed from my own.
Stepping into the shower, I sighed with relief as deliciously warm water cascaded over me, washing away the cold that had clung to my skin since the bike ride.
For a moment, I allowed myself to forget where I was, to forget about the looming threat of the king and the fate awaiting. I washed my hair with the coconut-scented hair wash, leaving my hair softer and silkier than anything I’d ever used back home, and I lathered the washcloth with the melon soap, washing away all the day’s dirt and tension.
Finally, clean and refreshed, I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower.
After drying off and using the sweetly scented moisturizer, I pulled on the gray sweatpants and sweatshirt, surprised by how soft they were. I brushed my hair and teeth and walked back into the bedroom, thinking that at least I’d be clean and comfortable during my final night.