Chapter 12
Elariya
“Flight from the Villain”
Run, run, run.
Run like the wind. And do not look back.
I bolted forward, moving as fast as my trembling legs could carry me.
The stupid dress I was wearing slowed me down, and the weakness in my body drained me of energy, but my survival instinct cracked through me like a lightning storm tearing across a dead sky.
He was right behind me—Wolfe.
The bastard walked slowly, watching me flee from him. I could hear the soft thud of his boots against the floor.
It didn’t matter how fast or slow he was coming after me. What mattered was the fact that I’d have no chance if he got me.
I made it to the door, yanked it open, and ran for all I was worth down the corridor. I had no fucking idea where I was or where I was going, but I kept moving forward.
When Arielle left me in that place where I was stuck in my mind, I thought I’d be there forever. Then the walls began to unravel, and I was free.
As Wolfe hovered over me, his face twisted in fascination as he watched me in my weakened state, I knew I had to seize whatever opening I could take to get away. And I did.
Arielle would have told him my father had his ring. Now only the Gods knew what Wolfe planned to do with me.
This was a storm spun by chaos and twisted in secrets that were far above me. And far too deep.
Father had clearly done something bizarre I couldn’t begin to understand. Why in the hells did he have Wolfe’s ring? And now this terrifying Fae warrior had taken me because of it.
I’d been through too much for my life to end here. Far, far too much.
The memory loop curse was enough. But this?
No. Not happening. I had to fight.
My mind might still be reeling from being trapped in that netherworld, but the best idea I had was to run. Run and get myself somewhere safe so I could focus. Then try to portal. If I couldn’t accidentally make myself portal, I needed to hide and find whatever I could to use as a weapon.
I tried to think of every piece of information and spell I could remember from Grandmother’s grimoire, but in my panicked state, it all came to me in a scrambled mess.
No matter. For now, I just had to keep moving.
A light shone ahead through a door that was ajar. It got brighter the closer I got. I realized it was daylight.
Thank the Gods.
I ran faster, hope fueling my movements. Maybe we were still in Stormfell. I prayed we were. Maybe Wolfe had taken me somewhere in the woods or just out of the village.
I reached the door and pushed it open. Daylight spilled over me like a kiss of life soothing my skin.
I stepped outside, expecting to be greeted by the towering trees of Gryffyn Forest or somewhere like that. But my soul withered the moment my gaze met the horizon. And water.
The endless, merciless water of the sea that stretched as far as my eyes could see.
My stomach plummeted, falling and falling. My steps slowed to a stop by the railing as I took in my surroundings and processed the fact that I was on a ship.
Far, far away from Stormfell, let alone my home.
Blessed Mother.
I lifted a quivering hand to my chest to stop my heart from falling out. I should have known Wolfe had been playing with me all along, letting me think I had a chance.
“The sea doesn’t rage when she wants to kill you. She waits. Patient as death itself,” Wolfe spoke behind me, his voice a lullaby dipped in venom. Soft enough to soothe, sharp enough to ruin a soul.
His words slid down my spine like nightmares wrapped in thorns.
My breath hitched.
My pulse kicked.
Every nerve in my body tuned itself to him, like he was the only sound that mattered.
I hated how much I felt him. Even without touching me, he was inside me.
And even the silence that followed clung to me, heavy with his presence. Like my body hadn’t realized he’d stopped speaking.
I turned slowly, trepidation locking my lungs like a carefully laid bear trap.
Wolfe leaned against the doorframe, casual in that terrifying way of predators. Like he could rip the world in half if he wanted to, but he was too amused with me to bother.
His eyes, otherworldly and ancient, burned brighter in the sunlight. Vivid. Inescapable.
This was the first time I’d seen him in the daylight. Had I seen him like this before, I wouldn’t have doubted for a second that he was real.
And as terrified as I was, I couldn’t ignore the truth.
His face and body might have looked like they’d been carved from marble by the gods themselves, but he was too good to be true. Too dangerous not to be.
That he was dressed in full black today was fitting. Black soul, black heart, dark intentions.
All those things he said and did to me on the terrace…
The way he looked at me.
The way he touched me.
The way he made me feel.
Everything about him was a trap designed to catch someone exactly like me. He must’ve taken one look and known I was desperate enough to fall for it.
Bastard.
Daylight stripped him bare, revealing so much more to me now. I could see straight through his facade, and I knew I would find no mercy in the maddening menace that lurked in those eyes.
I wished I could forget how those eyes softened when he looked at me moments before he kissed me. Now that memory haunted me.
Wolfe watched me as if I already belonged to him, his gaze scraping over me with such intensity it felt like a physical touch.
Trails of fire awakened my senses, and I hated how my body remembered his kiss and touch, how even now, trapped and terrified, some treacherous part of me thrilled at the dark possession of him.
“You know there’s nowhere else to run, right?” His voice was still low, still velvet, still amused.
He already knew I was going to humiliate myself again by trying to run. That was why he’d walked to come and get me. What a joke I must have been when he watched me trying to escape.
“You need to let me go.” I loathed the way my voice trembled, but I was grateful I could speak.
“No. That’s not happening any time soon.”
The air around me burned with those words, toxic in my mind and my lungs. “I don’t have your ring. And I don’t know where it went. I have no idea why my father had it.”
“Aww, Ziyka. My ring and your father. We’re definitely going to talk about that.” Wolfe pushed off the doorframe with a grace that made my skin crawl. The floor didn’t even whisper beneath his boots. “So, yes, let’s cut to the chase. Pun intended.”
Gods, what was I going to do?
He took a step forward, and I took one back, my heart resuming its rapid drumming in my throat. One more step toward me, and I took another back.
“Get away from me.” I held up a hand as fiercely as I would a sword.
“No, Ziyka.” More amusement danced in his eyes.
Ziyka.
There was that word again. When I first heard it, I thought it was some kind of Fae endearment. Now it felt like poison in my ears.
For all I knew, he could be calling me an idiot. And why not? I’d certainly acted like one.
“Why are you calling me ziyka? What in the hells does it mean?” It was perhaps foolish to ask that question now, but I couldn’t stand to be insulted as well as helpless.
The full-blown smile that dipped the corners of his lips shouldn’t have surprised me, but it hurt just a little more.
“A ziyka is a fledgling mage who hasn’t developed her powers yet.
” He cocked his head, allowing a gust of wind to lift his hair.
“They’re like fawns. Weak and susceptible.
They neither know when to fight or when to flee.
Neither can they distinguish between good and evil.
Most don’t survive without their guardians. ”
My skin heated with sickening humiliation and rage.
Fuck, I was right. He had indeed been insulting me this whole time.
But ziyka described me perfectly. Fledgling mage.
Wolfe was spot on about not being able to distinguish good from evil. I’d stared this devil in the face and thought he was good.
The air shifted in the space between us, becoming thick and heavy.
Wolfe took a bigger step forward, getting close again, and the only thing I could think of doing was what I’d done before.
Run.
I whirled around, but all I got was one more step before he grabbed me.
One large hand clamped around my waist while the other slammed me into the wall.
My scream was swallowed by the sea air, lost before it even left my lips.
Within seconds, he flipped me around to face him, had my hands pinned above my head, and wedged me between his steel-like body and the rough wall.
Towering over me, Wolfe seemed colossal. I was already a gnat next to him, but in this helpless position, I might as well have been made of air.
Wolfe loomed before me, his hair falling forward as he moved as close as when he’d kissed me. Instantly, my breath cut short, and I hated, hated, hated how my damn body reacted against his.
Something was definitely wrong with my judgment if I could respond to him in this moment of horror. Especially knowing that he’d tricked me and lured me into a trap.
Though as his gaze dragged over me in that slow, leisurely way, taking in my face, then pausing at my heaving breasts, I had to wonder if I were truly mistaken about the desire I could see in his eyes.
Shit. It didn’t fucking matter. What I had to worry about now was his plans for me.
“Let me go!” I screamed in his face, refusing to give up.
“I said no.” He pinned me harder, instantly stopping my thrashing against him.
Still, I refused to give up. Once again, I tried to think of a spell, any spell. I just needed to do something. Maybe something that could loosen his grip so I could run again. My only hope was portaling. I still couldn’t feel my magic, but I had to hold on to hope.
“Salavaza, yulukio, vertelukio.” The chant was supposed to make his hands feel like they were on fire.
But it did nothing of the sort. He pulled back slightly to look at me, amusement dancing in his eyes. Then he laughed, and it felt like a punch to my gut.
“Really, mage? Your weak magic won’t work on me.” His laugh deepened, becoming more fascinated. This was the predator again, mocking me.
My wounded pride made me continue chanting, “Salavaza, yulukio, vertelukio.”
“I said your weak magic will not work on me.” His voice cut through the air and something shifted in his expression.
Something that made my blood freeze. Then I watched, horrified, as his eyes darkened from their edges inward, the silvery blue color devoured by an encroaching void until nothing remained but polished obsidian.
Black on black. Straightaway, I recalled seeing this darkness in his eyes at the tavern. It happened when the silver threads danced about him.
He had me so mesmerized I’d forgotten all about that.
Now I was getting the full-blown view, a front row seat to raw, undiluted power. And I could no longer breathe.
My lungs constricted as if the air in them had turned to rocks. My lips parted, but terror robbed me of another fruitless scream. Yet, I couldn't look away.
On seeing he had me hooked, the malice in his expression amplified and thin lines of what appeared to be liquid metal spread from his eyes down his cheeks. They crawled across his perfect features like black veins of tarnished silver, etching intricate patterns across his high cheekbones and jaw.
It was a physical manifestation of what lurked beneath his beautiful facade. The true monster he'd been hiding. He didn't feel like Fae anymore. But something else. Like a creature of unfathomable darkness and devastating power.
I’d thought the most terrifying thing I’d ever seen in my life was the wraith.
I was wrong.
He was.
And when he smiled in this state of devilishness, I thought death had truly come for me.
My heart pounded with such force I swore the bone and muscle in my chest would shatter. Each thunderous beat sent shockwaves through my body, threatening to wreck me from the inside out.
I was a fool to think I could run from him. Or that I had a chance. It was all over from the moment we met, because I was being hunted and hadn’t realized.
Another wicked grin floated across Wolfe’s lips. Then he positioned me so he was holding both my hands with only one of his. With his free hand he caught my throat, and I feared he’d snap my neck with one flick. “Are you scared yet, Ziyka?”
Terror had stolen my voice. I couldn’t answer even if I wanted to.
“She’s not talking anymore.” He leaned forward and inhaled me, taking in my scent.
The scent of my fear, I realized. “Good, looks like my mage has finally learned her lesson. That she’s out of her depth.
” Slowly, the black metal lines on his cheeks began to fade, returning their prior smoothness.
Even his scar looked smooth after that. “I’m going to give you two options.
One, we stay out here, just like this, for the rest of our three-day voyage, and you can stare into my very dark, dark soul.
Two, we go inside and talk. Then I’ll tell you what I need from you. What’s it going to be, Ziyka?”
Three-day voyage.
Blessed Mother, where were we going?
I swallowed hard, my throat struggling past where his fingers gripped even though he wasn’t holding me tightly enough to cut off my airway.
I didn’t have to think about my answer for too long. There was no way I wanted to—or could—stay out here with him for three days.
“Let’s talk.” Hopefully, I’d find out where we were going.
Wolfe released my throat first, then my hands, which flopped to my sides as if they were made of straw. He stepped back, freeing me from the wall, and gazed down at me, making me feel small again.
“Follow me.” He waved me forward, motioning back to the door we’d just come through.
A tremor rippled through my brain, but I moved, still trying to keep my heart from falling out of my chest.