My whole damn body hurts.
I’d rather be back in the snowy winter of Alaska, in negative degree weather, than be here in this heat.
I never give up, but right now, I sense this situation does not end with me escaping. I keep reopening and closing my eyes, praying that I'll wake up from this nightmare. But, I must wait for this so-called prince to make his way to me. I internally laugh at the thought of this.
“A damn Prince…” I snicker. “Will he come with a Royal guard to escort me?”
I roll my eyes.
My body falls backwards, back hitting the stiff cot below and I close my eyes. My mind races about Alice in the cave and wonder if she had left to find a signal for a search party. She might never find me. We might never find Tilly.
I might not ever return home.
While I am lost in my mourning of being trapped, I catch a distant rumbling through the building. Low, deep growls begin to shake rocks off the ledges of the arched window. Almost as if a beast was awakening from his sleep. I snap my body upright and my eyes widen to stare at the door. My chest rises and falls at a rapid pace, my jaw tightening as I hold in my breath.
Heat flushes up my damp neck, up to my head as the blood flow is running rampant inside me.
I must stay quiet. Still as can be so nothing within this building hears my move. Praying that nothing breaks down thedoor that separates me from the unknown and eats me for dinner.
I sure as hell wouldn’t even taste good due to the filth and sweat, but I doubt whatever beast is out there would care.
My body trembles and my breathing has become unstable, the noise increasing as the building shakes. High pitched screeching of a creature in pain, whimpering yet sinister. Sounds as if nails are clawing into a chalkboard slowly but intensely resounds around me. My eyes widen more, burning as I scan the room for an escape. I believe this is it. This is where my life ends.
Back in Alaska was just a test, my body dangling off that ledge is nothing compared to this moment.
Clashing chains and falling rocks echo throughout the structure, shaking the cot below me and piercing my eardrums. I squeal from the pain of the rattling in my head and just when I think nothing more can, the wooden door flings open.
My chest rises and falls fast as my nails dig into my palms.
I stare directly at this man before me.
A beautiful, yet terrifying man.
His veins bulge from his hand as he grabs the door frame with a tick in his jaw. His eyes darken, narrowing as they drift up and down my body as if he has never laid eyes on a woman before.
Is he the monster I should fear?
Or those above me that scream and claw at the walls?
His head almost touches the door frame and he has to duck to get through to me. The slender, high black boots hardly touch his knees. His hands begin to twist behind his back as he walks over to me with long hair that falls to his chest. The waves of his golden hair remind me of the shoreline. I recall the way the chilly wind would kiss my skin as I walked barefoot along the ocean, watching the birds sing overhead and soar through the sky without a care in the world.
I miss the wet sand between my toes.
But I may never have the chance to swim in the ocean again.
He rubs his lips together before brushing the dust off of his all-black attire, from his shoes to his oversized shirt with juliet sleeves that has three buttons undone.
I suck in a breath as our eyes lock.
The part of his outfit that stands out to me the most is the scales that are wrapped around his shoulder blades with a golden chain connecting them together. A crescent with the same symbol along the houses of the village I went through, lies perfectly against his broad chest. His leather boots pad against the floorboards as he walks, while my eyes stay stitched on him.
I haven’t blinked.
I think I have forgotten how to breathe.
He stands upright, his body hovering over me with his chin cocked to the side as I sit on the cot. Stiff and silent.
“Now, who are you?” His voice is deep and calm. “This is quite the surprise. I don’t remember you being here this morning.”
