~Alaya
Two Guards escorted me to the landing the ginger stood over.
Asher’s words rung in my head loudly, like a bell right by my ear. I never knew this would be a fear of mine, until now. Then again, I never thought I would end up in a situation like this.
Where I’ll be sacrificed.
The ginger haired lady turned to look at me as my first foot made it through the door. A feline like smile reached her eyes, as she held a delicate hand out to me. She’s tall, her golden gown endless. Her eyes gleam with baleful fire, as I forced my hand into hers. She’s as cold as ice, as if she’s been standing naked outside in the snow.
Either that, or it spread from her heart, reaching through her veins to the tips of her fingers.
No one made any move to question the woman’s hand on my back, as she lead me to the edge of the balcony. Everyone just stared; gazes vacant and glazed over. They are in a complete trance, ready to witnessed something even I can’t understand right now.
Sacrifice.
I’m not sure exactly what that means yet. I might never. What I do know, is that if I want to get out of this alive, I must listen to the Alpha’s words. They are the only thing that makes sense in the jumbled mess of my mind, that is still trying to sort fear from logic. If I don’t pretend to be as lost as all these people, I might actually die.
Because Alpha Asher might be my only hope. If I run, or fight back, I’ll stand no chance against the Guards, and all these hypnotised people here.
Have I witnessed this… this sacrifice before? Is that why I can’t remember all those other parties?
I’m surprised at how calm I am, I looked at the height of the fall, if the woman behind me were to simply… push. My death would be quick, perhaps painless. It doesn’t feel real. It feels as if I’ll fall, and wake up in my bed, without all the money, all the perks.
“The Moon feeds off our sacrifices,” the ginger says close to my ear, addressing the entire crowd. Her voice is honeyed, manipulative. “Alaya’s soul will replenish the world, saving us for another year.”
I anchored my attention on the first person I saw. A man. His expression is void of emotion, completely absent, as if he was concentrating on an image in his mind. Would he believe this crazed woman if he was in control of his mind? As far as my knowledge stretches, the Moon doesn’t accept sacrifices.
The moon hasn’t shown control in centuries.
“Thank you my dear, for being so noble. You will be remembered forever,” Ginger crooned in my ear, tilting my chin until I could see her face. Her eyes are a glacial blue, so cold and disinterested. Her cheekbones are sharp, her skin tight, as her unfaltering smile curls further.
I try look vacant. I try not to react. My entire body shudders with the want to slap that smug look straight off her face.
In reality, my insides were exploding. It took an immense amount of restraint not to flee, to trust in something my mind could hardly reach. In allowing myself to be killed by this strange woman with icy eyes and amber hair, I am relying on an Alpha possibly conjured by my imagination. But this is real… there is no other explanation.
What if I’m really going to die? What if Asher’s words were fabricated so that I would go alone with something so sickening? So many ideas destroy my mind, twisting and warping it into dark and impossible to control.
My room to react – which I was considering – were stolen, as I felt the blade of a knife through my back, right to the hilt.
I gasped, my hands coming to my stomach in an instant reaction. Pain lanced from the wound, up to my head, my mind spinning as vivid colours danced across my vision. If the ginger’s hand wasn’t on my upper back, I would have stumbled backward and fallen. Instead, I’m steady, left to stare down at the blood spilling out the front of my dress, filling the palms of my hand.
“Congratulations, and thank you for your service. I hope death is kind to you,” she breathed in my ear, before she shoved me ruthlessly over the side of the railing.
I was unconscious before my body hit the floor.
***
Waking up sucked. No other word seemed appropriate.
I’m tied to a bed. No, I just can’t get up. Pain ropes around me, tugging tighter across my stomach with each attempt to sit up. I should probably open my eyes first.
Tentatively, my lids crack open, allow a subtle, mellow light flow in. The ease of it helped my eyes adjust quicker than it would have the light was brighter. I’m staring at a whitewash ceiling. I instead concentrate on the bed under me, with the crisp sheets over my legs, something stuffed with feather down underneath me.
My I twist my head to my right. It’s a part of me that doesn’t hurt. I sigh.
I have no idea where I am.
I’m in a small appointed room. Curtains cover a window on the left wall, keeping out any light that may possibly have contested the dim one in the centre. The carpet is a soft blue, that blends at the bottom of the wall and creeps up into an off white wall. The only other furnishing in the room is a oak wood side table pushed in the corner of the room, topped with a pretty aqua blue glass, with strange violet coloured flowers within it.
I looked down at my body next, curious to see where all this pain is coming from.
I’m only in my bra, a thick white bandage strapped securely around my subject. I can’t see any blood, which is the last thing I remember before… dying?
Did I really survive?
I sit up on my elbows, my strength dawning on me with realisation. I was saved. I didn’t die. I’m safe. I must be.
I swing out of the bed, stomach pain panging in response. Ignoring it, I attempt to shudder to my feet. It takes several attempts, before my feet remain under me, and I’m able to stand up. My back slightly hunches, as the bandage remains tight around me.
I may be safe, but I need an explanation, now. I’m still struggling to believe any of this is real right now. Behind the door to this room, there might be an answer to everything.
It’s not. It’s just an empty corridor.
I follow hushed voices, the cashmere carpet underneath me is beautifully soft. Without the voices, I would have collapsed onto the floor and let the pain ebb away. Instead, I keep moving forward, until I emerge out the archway, and drink in the sight of everyone in the room.
I don’t recognise anyone here. Aside from a girl I may remember from the party.
The talk ceases, as everyone turns their gaze to me. The silence is thick, as everyone waits for the brave person to test the waters. Each and every gaze is heavy with concern, weighing me down the confidence I thought I had. I don’t lower my gaze, though. I match each and everyone of them in turn, trying to figure out something from the.
I’m the first one to speak. “Where am I?”
“You’re safe,” the male closest to me murmured.
The other two people in the room watched me curiously. One of them looked familiar, with her rose coloured eyes that looked at me vacantly, her hair dark and sleek. She looked so proper, as she sat on the couch, with her hands folded over her lap. As I looked at her as if I knew her, she regarded me like the complete stranger I am.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” I croak, wishing my voice was so plagued by sleep.
My question was directed at the male, who seemed the only one who was willing to answer my questions. His eyes are like cut emerald ice, sweeping over me with a restless gaze. He seems nervous, as he regards me, his hands trembling ever so slightly.
“You’re in the immortal lands, in my home. My name is Aspen, Alpha Asher’s brother,” he explains.
I’m shocked into silence for a long second.
From what I remember about Alpha Asher, he has the same cut jawline and sloping cheekbones. There eyes are marginally different; as is their hair. Aspen’s hair is slightly less disheveled and a soft, wood brown.
“Immortal lands,” I say slowly, giving my mind time to process that. “Are you immortal?”
He shakes his head. “Not quite. I was gifted a home here by Fate. My brother Asher and I often reside here, after what happened back in the mortal lands.”
Lucky for Aspen, I’m from the Desire Pack, and we learn about the Immortal Lands in school. No one knows exactly where they are in the universe, but very few people have the ability to enter. Fate, and others like him reside here. Some of which, I am not aware of.
“That is Death,” Aspen says, motioning to the other girl on the couch. Her eyes are a smokey grey, as she stares me down blatantly. I shiver. “She brought you back.”
“I died?” I whisper, aghast.
“It was a momentary thing,” Aspens informs me sheepishly. “And behind me is Destiny, Fate’s female counterpart. She can’t speak, so don’t bother.”
She continues to look at me, of course, keeping her mouth shut.
“Fate is currently indisposed, and Asher is…”
Death clears her throat, cutting Aspen off, who rubs the back of his neck. “Out, right now. He will be back later.”
Before I could fall over from the weight of this information, and the pain, I whisper, “please, explain why me.”