Thirty Eight
*Freya*
I stared in disbelief as Zephyr writhed on the floor, groaning in agony. What had just happened? I didn’t understand. Two guards rushed in, their armor clanking. They helped Zephyr to his feet.
“What happened, my lord?” one guard asked.
Zephyr pointed a shaky finger at me, a sly smile twisting his lips despite the pain. “The girl… she has a rare gift. The protection gift. Anyone who tries touches her intimately against her will feel unbearable pain.”
My mouth fell open in shock at his words. A protection gift? Me? Zephyr’s words reverberated in my mind. So that’s why he had collapsed the moment he tried to force himself on me. As the truth sank in, a rush of excitement filled me. I wasn’t just some helpless girl anymore. I had power. Something unique and precious. For the first time, I didn’t feel afraid or vulnerable. I felt strong.
Giddy with happiness, I leaped to my feet and made a dash for the door. Freedom was so close! But the guards moved to block my path, spears crossed. My heart sank. Zephyr approached me slowly, each step measured. I noticed he seemed to be in less pain now, the effects wearing off the further he got from me. He stopped an arm’s length away, staring me down with cold calculation.
“Well, well,” he purred. “It seems there’s more to you than meets the eye, little dove. What other secrets are you hiding?”
I lifted my chin and met his gaze without flinching, even as my pulse raced. I would not let him see my fear. Not anymore.
“Looks like you’ll have to keep your hands to yourself from now on,” I said. The faintest hint of a smirk played at my lips.
Let him call me a helpless girl again. I was anything but. And soon, I vowed, I would find a way out of this accursed place. One way or another.
Zephyr’s eyes flashed with a dangerous light. “Is that so?” His voice was soft, yet laced with menace. “Don’t forget, little dove, you’re still in my domain. And I always get what I want, one way or another.”
He leaned in close, his breath hot against my ear. “I’ll give you two days. Two days to come to your senses and give yourself to me willingly. If not…” He trailed a finger along my jawline, making me shudder. “Then you’ll face the consequences. You will be thrown into the pit of vipers and die a slow, agonizing death like all the other trespassers.”
My blood ran cold. The room spun around me. This couldn’t be happening.
Zephyr stepped back, a cruel smile playing on his lips. He nodded to the guards. “Take her away. Lock her in the tower room.”
Rough hands seized my arms, dragging me backwards. I struggled and fought, but it was no use. They hauled me out of the chamber and through winding corridors, up spiral staircases, until at last we reached a heavy oak door. The guards shoved me inside and slammed the door shut. The lock clicked with an awful finality. I was trapped.
I sank to the cold stone floor, hugging my knees to my chest. Tears burned my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I couldn’t afford to break down, not now.
Think, Freya, think. I had to find a way out of this nightmare. But how? Give my body to Zephyr, or die a horrific death… neither was an option. There had to be another way. There just had to be.
**The Next Day**
A sharp tapping noise roused me from my fitful slumber. Groggily, I sat up on the hard pallet that served as my bed, my muscles aching from a night spent on the terrible wood. The pain in my leg was completely gone.
The tapping came again, more insistently this time. I looked around, trying to pinpoint the source. There, at the window – a large black raven perched on the window, quirking its head as it studied me with beady eyes.
Something about the bird unsettled me. It didn’t seem like an ordinary raven. Slowly, I rose and approached the window, hand outstretched. Quick as a snake, the raven struck. Its razor-sharp beak slashed across my finger, drawing blood. I yelped and snatched my hand back. “Ow! You little monster!”
The raven let out a harsh caw that sounded almost like laughter. Then, with a great flap of wings, it took off into the gray morning sky.
I stared after it, cradling my injured hand. Why had it attacked me? And why did I get the distinct feeling it wasn’t a coincidence? Nothing about this place was as it seemed. Mysteries lurked in every shadow. But one thing I knew for certain and I was running out of time. The clock was ticking down to my terrible fate. Unless I could find a way to escape these walls… and soon.
I sank back down onto the pallet, clutching my bleeding finger. The pain throbbed in time with my racing heart as the reality of my situation crashed over me once more.
Only one day remained until Zephyr’s ultimatum expired. One day until I had to make an impossible choice – submit to his vile desires or face a gruesome execution.
I closed my eyes, hot tears pricking at the corners. How had it come to this? Just days ago, I’d been a normal girl. Now, I was a prisoner and my life was hanging by a thread.
An ache formed in my chest – not from any physical wound, but from the crushing despair that threatened to overwhelm me. I yearned for the comfort of my mother’s arms, the steadying presence of Connor or Addy. But they were far away, unaware of the peril I faced.
I was alone in this fight. And I had to stay strong. I couldn’t let Zephyr break me.
I took a shuddering breath and wiped away my tears. Slowly, I flexed my injured hand, watching the blood ooze from the cut. The pain had already faded to a dull throb, the flow stemming on its own.
As I studied the wound, a sudden thought crystalized in my mind, sharp and clear as a shard of glass. I’d already glimpsed the power lurking within me, the strange gift that had brought Zephyr to his knees. If I could learn to harness it, to bend it to my will…
Perhaps I wasn’t as helpless as I believed.
A tiny flicker of hope sparked to life in my chest, fragile yet stubborn. I clung to it like a drowning sailor to a raft. I couldn’t give in to despair. Not yet. Not while there was still a chance, however slight.
I had to try.
Ignoring the protest of my aching body, I pushed to my feet and began to pace the small cell, my mind racing. I examined every crack, every crevice, searching for some small detail I might have missed, somewhere I could escape from. There was an ocean close to my room, I could hear the sound of waves flapping over the shores. If I could somehow break open the iron window, I could probably jump into the sea.
I refused to surrender. I’d fight until my last breath, with every ounce of strength and cunning I possessed. One way or another, I would face my fate on my own terms.
And Zephyr would soon learn the depths of my resolve.
****