As soon as both their backs are turned to me, I assess the distance between where I am and the sliver of light cast on the floor from the back exit.
One… two… three
I take off as fast as I can, my legs feeling like they're weighted down with lead, and head straight for that stream of light.Come on, legs, move fast. Move fast.I chant in my head.
“Fuck, Devlen! She’s taking off!” I hear Caz shout from behind me.Caz and Devlen.Good to know, even though it will be useless to me in all of five minutes.
“Wait!” Devlen shouts, the sound of his voice followed by two sets of boots. My heart quickens its pace and crawls its way up into my throat. “WAIT!” He shouts again, but I only keep my pace, my hand stretching towards the door with plans to rip it off its hinges.
That is, until I feel the length of my hair being yanked back, taking me with it. “OW!” I screech, my body lurching backwards into a hard chest.
The wind knocks out of me, and I only have a few half seconds to slip that jagged piece of glass into my palm.
Twisting around, I cause them to lose their grip and ram the shard right into their shoulder. Caz’s eyes grow wide, and Devlen gasps, blood pooling from Caz’s shoulder around my fist.
“I willnotbe someone else’s prisoner,” I growl.
Eveera
“You–you…” Devlen sputters, fumbling with Caz’s wound, who’s slapping his shaky hand away from the glass. Both of their faces have grown white as they stare down at the wound.
I turn on my bare heel, my breath coming out in pants while the adrenaline starts to wane. My eyes squint from the glaring beam of sunlight that streams through the cracked door, and I reach out for it a second time.
When no yank on my hair comes, I slip out through it. I’m halfway down the stretch of wall when I hear Devlen calling out to me again.
The alleyway is empty, so against my better judgement, I turn around. “You stabbed Caz.”
“Good to see your eyes work.”
His brow cocks, and he takes a cautionary step towards me. “Who are you running from?”
“You at the moment.”
He tenses at the comment and rethinks taking any more steps, pulling his lip between his teeth. “Maybe we can help.”
I drag my stare up and down his frame, debating how much of a threat I think he could be to me. Devlen’s not a very tall man, but he’s certainly built. His eyes are so blue they’re almost silver, but it’s clear from the smile lines at the corners that they’re kind. His mahogany skin and dark hair remind me of Axel’s. But where Axel kept his hair cropped, this man’s is braided into intricate cords adorned with gold beads that cascade down his back.
“Unless either of you can take me to the border of the Vast, I doubt it.” He’s quiet for a moment, and my patience thoroughly dissipates. “Right. Well, this has been fun.” I spin around, giving him my back again to walk off.
I nearly make it to the end of the alley, close to where the sounds of a bustling market start to filter in, when a hand lands on my shoulder. My feet come to a complete stop, craning my neck to see him standing behind me.
“We can help.”
How in the bleeding useless gods did I agree to this?My conscience chastises, my inner voice sounding a little too much like Vada.
Vada.
Wouldn’t she be a sight for two very sore eyes right about now?
Devlen didn’t take me back to the abandoned warehouse. Instead, he grabbed the aggravated and bleeding Caz, and I was escorted to the bungalow where they live.
Now I’m sitting in an absurdly large leather-backed chair, my palms clasped in my lap, while I listen to the whole place tick. The metal tools – ermachines– littering the place all pop and whir loudly.Strange. I mean, we certainly have our own advancements, it's just that they’re magic-enhanced or infused.
This place looks like it’s never been touched by magic.
I never gave much thought to what the other kingdoms outside of mine looked like, especially the ones not laced with magic. They certainly, however, did not appear like this in my mind.
BANG!
