Sold: Survival (complete)

2

*sigh* I don't sleep anymore so you guys will probably see a huge influx in stories from me. I've suffered from insomnia since I was a child, but I thought I had it under control. Truth is, it doesn't matter what you take. If insomnia wants to hit, it's going to. Hopefully it will just cycle through on its own. I've opted to not take sleeping pills or any other kind of medication to help because I'm very particular about what I consume. So, yes. It's about 2am here and I'm updating.

I woke with my hands bound behind my back. Everything was heavy and my body hurt so bad. I knew we were midair and there was no chance of escape, but I still frantically searched the room for Liam. I could feel him. He was close, but I couldn't see him.

The bedroom door opened. The light from the cabin hurt my eyes, but I strained to see who was standing there.

"Anna?" Liam asked softly.

"What's going on?" I panicked.

In an instant he was at my side breaking the binds off my wrists. He engulfed me in a tight hug and wrapped his fingers in my hair. I was caught so off guard by his sudden actions that I froze. Slowly, I hugged him back.

"What happened?" I asked.

"They tried to kill us."

"The council?"

"Yes."

His hold on me only tightened. I could feel how stressed he was and I wondered why. Of course, there had just been an attack on both our lives, but that was nothing new for me.

"I thought I lost you," he muttered into my neck.

"I'm okay," I assured him.

"How did you know she was going to do something?" He asked.

"I don't know. It just didn't feel right." I said.

"How did you stop them?" I asked.

He moved away from me just to look at my face.

"I didn't."

"Then . . ." I trailed off, confused.

He pointed at my chest. "That did."

I absently touched my mark. I hadn't expected it to still be there or to actually do anything.

"When did that show up?"

I looked down at it. "Uhm, the night on the ship . . . Azrael said it was for protection."

"And he left it there? Do you know what that is?"

"This one's chi and this one's rho. Right?"

"Yes, but did he explain what it does?"

"Not really," I admitted.

"That is the mark of God. Nothing can touch you with that."

"Well that's a good thing, right?"

"No. Any time you feel even remotely threatened, that thing will take over and destroy whatever is making you uncomfortable."

"I don't see how that's bad."

"It's not right now, but it could be. You have no idea how bad this could be."

"I really don't see a down side to this. It can protect us both."

He shook his head and hugged me again. I could feel how tense he was; he was stressed and frustrated, but clearly relieved that I was okay.

"Just try to keep it under control, okay?" He asked.

I tried to nod even though I was held too close to his chest.