Run, Elvara, Run..

Elvara

“What do you think you are doing dragging me?” I fought against the soldiers’ grip as their fingers scraped bruises into my arms. “Let me go!”

Neither one of them answered and their silence felt worse than the fear thrumming in my veins at whatever awaited me where they were taking me.

They hauled me through hallway after hallway, all of them dark and glooming and looking the same. Like an endless maze. Duskborne Palace must have been built entirely out of them because I’d lost count of how many we’d passed.

I struggled again, trying to twist free, but they were so strong it was practically fruitless.

Time crawled by as we walked, and each step felt heavier than the last. After what felt like twenty minutes, we finally stopped in front of a huge door.

One soldier pulled a key out from his pocket and unlocked it. The door swung open with a bang, and a rich smell hit me instantly, wrapping around me like a hug. It smelled warm and sweet, like honey mixed with smoke, and I hated how much it pulled me in and made my head go fuzzy.

I stepped inside and my lips fell open. “Wow.”

The room inside not only looked rich, but it was just as exquisite as everything else in the Palace. The furniture was nothing at all like anything we had back home. Compared to my measly village, Alpha Asher was wealthier and more powerful than my father could ever hope to be, and his palace was indisputably grander.

My throat tightened as I caught myself. I shouldn’t be noticing such things about that arrogant jerk but some stupid part of me couldn’t help it.

“Wait here for the Alpha.”

They pushed me in and slammed the door right behind me. I almost stumbled, and I caught myself, rushing straight back to the door and banging hard on it with both fists. “Let me out!” I screamed. “Let me out!”

There was no answer but the sound of my own heavy breathing. Their footsteps faded, and I turned around slowly, looking around the space suspiciously.

I’d expected some filthy dungeon when he ordered them to lock me up, the kind of cell I’d already spent too many nights in back home, but this wasn’t that.

Beaten down, I dropped onto the edge of the bed and shut my eyes as the mattress sank under me. My shoulders hunched in as something deep inside me sank along with it. I covered my face with my hands as my shoulders trembled and finally let the tears come. I shivered with every sob.

I’d been holding it in for too long, and now, it threatened to consume me whole.

I was nothing now but something Alpha Asha owned. His property, like he had so rubbed in my face. Goddess! I’d clung to my dreams for as long as I could, but here was the truth, staring at me right in the face.

My own father had sold me off like trash. His daughter. His own blood. Yet, my life was so meaningless to him.

All I’d ever wanted was to be loved by my family and to actually live the life I’d always fought for. I thought that one day, they’d finally break whatever ice was wrapped around their hearts and let me in, but now, none of that existed anymore.

Now I was tied to a ruthless Alpha who wanted nothing from me but a child. A child I wasn’t ready to give anyone, least of all a man who looked at me like I was something to be conquered. Like I had no choice at all.

I pulled my knees up and curled into myself on the bed as the tears dripped and soaked into the sheets.

All those years of training until I bled felt like a dream that never actually happened. Like I’d been living a lie in a dream and had finally been brought back to reality, except, I hated this reality. It was cruel and heartbreaking. Like my life had never really mattered at all. Like I was only ever born to be thrown out.

I choked back a sob and anger burned hot behind my eyes.

Wait for the Alpha? Wait for what? For him to do whatever he wanted with me?

The thoughts hit me hard suddenly and my whole body went rigid.

Hell no. I would never let that happen!

I sat up straight, the thoughts flying in my head as my eyes wandered about the room. I was alone here. Completely alone. There was only one option left. I had to get out. I had to run from this place, right now, before I lost the courage to actually do so or worse, before Alpha Asher came to find me.

My fingers twisted into the sheets as the plan locked into place. It could work. I’d definitely make sure it did. All that training wouldn’t be for nothing.

And once I was free, my father would pay. He would cough up everything he’d taken in exchange for me. I almost hoped Asher would demand that I be returned just to watch my father scramble to make it right.

Maybe he’d offer up Martina instead. The thought slid through my mind, dark and satisfying, and I was on my feet before I even realized it. I scanned the room fast, looking for a way out. The door was a dead end, with guards, no doubt, and impossible to fight through.

“The window!” Xia’s voice cut through my panic sharply and I spun around fast, spotting it instantly, and felt my heart jump in my chest. Good girl, Xia.

I rushed toward it, relief flooding through me the moment I saw it wasn’t some impossible drop from a tower. Thank Goddess. For the first time in days, hope actually pounded in my chest.

This was my shot and I had to do it right.

“Are you sure about this?” Xia’s voice came again quietly, and I froze, wondering what she’d sensed. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because it’s dangerous,” she said. “You don’t know what that man is capable of. He’s more dangerous than he looks and I don’t just mean his temper.”

I scoffed and gripped the window edge until my knuckles went white.

“Then good, because we shouldn’t care, Xia. Not if he’s planning to turn us into some breeding tool for his bloodline. And it’s not like the way he looked at me back there made me feel any safer. If anything, that’s exactly why we need to go. If we don’t jump now, we’ll never be free. We’ll belong to him forever.”

Whatever waited for me here was nothing good. It was this or that. Either I jumped or I gave up on myself completely.

I looked down one last time, heart hammering, then climbed onto the ledge and let myself fall.

The landing knocked the air out of me.

Pain shot up through my ankle, worse than I’d braced for.

The drop had been higher than it looked from above, but I didn’t let myself stop to think about the pain. I pushed through with clenched teeth and ran for my life.

Cold night air slammed into me as I moved, disoriented, hugging close to the walls.

I turned a corner and almost ran straight into a group of soldiers. My heart jumped into my throat. I flattened myself against the stone and held my breath.

Moon Goddess, please. Don’t let them catch my scent.

The minutes felt endless, but somehow they didn’t notice. My chest ached with the effort of staying silent until I finally slipped past them, and the moment I spotted the front gate up ahead, relief hit me hard.

I almost stepped forward when I suddenly noticed the two guards standing watch at the corner and my stomach dropped.

There was no way past them. Not on foot, not alone.

Just as panic started clawing at me, I caught movement. A small group of soldiers were riding in on horseback and the gate guards moved to let them through.

I bolted forward and slipped into the gap between the horses, hidden in the chaos of the hooves and the bodies and using the cover of the night and their distraction to my fullest advantage.

My heart pounded loud in my ears at my own recklessness. I stayed low and still until we were far enough from the gate, then I slid off and started walking fast. I didn’t know where I was headed, only that I couldn’t stop moving. I didn’t dare to. The forest blurred past me, my lungs burning from the run. Finally, after what felt like hours, I found a light ahead. I stumbled into a clearing and finally into a small village waiting there. Children ran past, laughing and chasing each other down the dirt paths as their laughter echoed through the night air.

For the first time in years, I actually smiled.

Their lives looked so simple and peaceful. It was exactly the kind of life I’d always wanted to build for my people, back when I still believed I’d get the chance to lead.

Something like jealousy crept in, but underneath it, I felt a deep longing.

I was so caught up watching them that I didn’t notice the woman staring at me until she was standing right in front of me.

Her eyes were warm and brown and her voice gentle when she spoke.

“Sweetheart, are you all right?”

“I… I—” The words caught in my throat. My legs gave out beneath me, my vision going hazy at the edges. I swayed, unable to fight off the darkness pulling me under, and before the world went dark, the last thing I remembered was the ground tilting and her face.

~

Wooden walls. The faint smell of herbs in the air, and something soft and warm… like a blanket pulled over me.

My eyes opened slowly, everything still blurry around the edges. My head felt too heavy, but I forced myself upright and looked around the unfamiliar room.

“Where… where am I?” I whispered, my voice barely recognizable to my own ears.

“I brought you here,” a voice answered.

My eyes finally focused, and there she was, the same woman from the village, right before everything had gone dark. She stepped closer, studying me with an intensity that made my skin prickle.

“Girl,” she said suspiciously. “you’re not from around here. You don’t belong to this pack.” She leaned in, lowering her voice. “Tell me something. You’re not one of the royals, are you?”

The word came out of her mouth as if it were something terribly bad.

My heart skipped. “What… what do you mean?” I asked carefully.

Her eyes locked onto mine, hard now. “I hope you have nothing to do with Alpha Asher.”