Within Their Reach

05. Eye To Eye

I'm backkk...

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Ava

"Who are you?" Words left my mouth before I could even register what I was asking. I cursed under my breath and was about to apologise but Aiden lets out a chuckle making me retreat.

"I just told you." He shakes his head and takes a sip of his red drink. I guess that's red wine?

"I'm sorry," I murmur under my breath and I notice from the corner of my eye that his eyebrows crease for a second. "I am asking because I have never heard of you before."

He hums while nodding his head. I gulp when Aidan leans back and rests his veiny hands on the table. For a second I forget my surroundings to just admire the rings placed finely on his fingers. They were beautiful and I know for sure they must be costing a fortune.

"Yes." My gaze meets his, snapping me from my trans. My cheeks heat up when I realise, I was looking at him for too long. "Because you are not familiar with this part of the island."

I grow more confused as to what he was saying. Seeing my reaction, he lets out a sigh.

"You were brought up in the human village, yes?" He asks making me nod to it.

He is saying human village as if this is the dead's land.

"Well, you see most of your people don't know what lies beyond the forest. There is a reason people avoid going past a certain point."

I take in what he has to say and a few things do make sense. We were never allowed to go past a certain border.

"Why?" He looks contemplated.

"How much do you know?" Aiden cocks his head.

"Not much. I just know that we were never allowed to go beyond the lake." I said. My heart hammers in my chest in the long silence and I grip the sides of my gown. "Where am I?"

He doesn't answer, just pressed his lips in a thin line making me anxious.

"Please, I need to know." My throat becomes tight as Aiden avoids eye contact and looks down at his plate. Seeing that he wasn't going to answer I got impatient. "I appreciate what you have done so far but I need to go now."

I was about to get up when his hand holds on to my arm. I gasp at the vibrations which flow through the touch and I know he felt it too. I tug my arm out of his grip and take a step back, suddenly feeling threatened. What were those sparks about?

"You need to know one thing, Miss Woods that you are not leaving from here. You are our guest and you will stay in this castle."

Has this person gone mad?

His words hold dominance and so does his presence, making me want to scurry away and hide in some corner. I don't miss the fact that his eyes turn in a bright shade of red, looking demonic.

"Are you out of your mind?" I try to stand strong but it does waver in the end. He was about to speak but I continued. "You can't hold me here against my will. I would like to leave."

He lets out a humourless chuckle making shivers go down my spine. "Too bad, you aren't."

The silence drew upon us and the only thing that could be heard was the burning sound of the fireplace.

"I'm leaving," I state and turn my heel to head towards the door. A loud shriek passes my lips when Aiden runs and stands in front of me at an inhuman speed making me flinch.