“Why?”he demanded, his eyes searching mine for answers.
I took a shaky breath.“Because your freedom depends on it.”
His eyes, always so intense, darkened further.“Explain.”
“I’m about to be married…to the man who has orchestrated your freedom with your leaders. My wedding is today. I need to go.”
Shock and hurt crossed his face so intensely that it felt like a physical blow. He backed away from me, his eyes drilling into mine, a depth of betrayal clouding them.“No. You can’t! Why?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat.“After today, my life debt will be paid.”
As I pulled away, he reached out, gripping my ankle, preventing me from fleeing. The weight of Ky’rn’s gaze felt like a physical tether, trying to hold me in place. The sensation of his fingers brushing against my ankle felt like a desperate plea and made my heart clench in pain.“I don’t want my freedom if it costs you yours,”he murmured, his voice thick with pain, like I’d shattered him.
I looked down, my vision blurred by tears.“It’s too late.”
His fingers grazed my ankle for a split second before I wrenched away, the ghost of his touch burning into my skin. I felt a part of my heart tear away with it.
“Isla!” He called out, his voice echoing in the chamber as I ran down the stairs.
The cold steel of the stairs bit into my feet as I made my descent, each step resounding. The weight of everything pressed heavily on my chest, making it harder and harder to breathe. Every instinct screamed at me to go back, to stay with Ky’rn, but duty and sacrifice compelled me forward.
“Isla!” he called again with a raw mixture of pain and disbelief.
As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I could feel his gaze on me, begging me to turn around—to return to him.
My discarded shoes were scooped up in haste. My fingers brushed over the security override device, knowing that once I deactivated it, there would be no going back.
Tears blurred my vision, but I forced myself to focus. I knew what I had to do. I deactivated the device, placing it in my pouch, and the heavy doors to the chamber began to open, revealing the empty lab.
“Isla!” His anguished voice reached out to me one last time.
I paused just before the door fully closed, taking one last look at the man—no, the alien male—who had changed my life in ways I could never have imagined. His eyes, once bright with hope and longing, were now shadowed with despair.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, my voice breaking.
With a resounding thud, the doors shut, cutting off my view of Ky’rn.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
ISLA
Dressed in white, the fabric of my gown cascaded around me, glinting with the soft sheen of silk threads. It had been meticulously picked out for me…like everything else that had to do with my life. The intricate beadwork shimmered with every movement, reminding me of the sun’s reflection on water.
Supposedly, a wedding day was the highlight of one’s life. But mine? It felt like an elaborate play, one in which I was the lead but had no say in the script.
The entire affair had been arranged by my grandfather, all in a bid to further our family’s legacy. The fact that the only thing I could choose were the wedding colors was testament to how little control I had over my life.
The pale lavender and deep blues were my silent nod to the ocean, to Ky’rn.
I paced the luxurious waiting room, its grandeur mocking me. The thick plush carpets, the ornate furniture—the room’s lavish decorations felt like a gilded cage. Perhaps that was exactly what it was.
Every step felt like a countdown. A countdown to a life I didn’t choose.
Now I understood the heroines in those fantasy novels I used to lose myself in. That feeling of impending doom, the realization that the climax of the story was nigh.
Only there was no hero to save me from this.
I wandered over to the expansive window, my eyes drawn to the vast ocean spread out before me. Somewhere beyond that horizon, Ky’rn’s people awaited his return. A pang of longing pierced my heart.
