CORRUPTED (Book 3 of the Tempted Series)

Chapter Two

You can tell he us hiding fear behind his smile.

"I'm not Anti."

Something changes in his eyes and it turns to guilt. His smile somberly fades. He nods.

"I trust you. And I trust that you'll tell me things when I need to know them. I need your help."

He replaces shame with a little determination. "Yes... O-of course."

"Okay." You can tell he feels bad about something. You decide to let it go, but keep a close eye on him in case he freaks out about something you do. "I want to leave ASAP so we can get it over with."

Schneep gives you a confused look. "You want to get seeing Chase over with?"

"No. The part before that. Where we have to walk past everyone in the village while they all either stare at me, or run away in fear."

He inhales in understanding. "Good idea. The faster see we leave, the faster we can get to Chase's home..."

"Right."

"And away from everyone else," he mumbles.

You didn't hear him. "What?"

"Nothing."

You eye him as you turn away before heading off to prepare for the short journey.

Chase doesn't live far, but he doesn't live in a village like the majority of the egos. Not all of them live in one. There are multiple clusters of homes and structures lied out all throughout the Other World, some closer to the castle than others, and some more populated than others. But there are some egos out there who have a home isolated from villages, like Chase.

You remember his home, its perfect size, its cozy interior, bright windows, and pictures of his kids everywhere. It lays on a small, meadow-like field just outside the woods past one of the villages. So he's local, but his distance from the castle being significantly further than the village is not unintentional.

But first things first, you need to pass through the ego-infested village, which you've only done an iota number of times. For a really good reason, too.

You don't know all the egos. Who they are, or which youtuber they are associated with, but they all know you. And they all know everything about how you got to be where you are right now. So, naturally, almost every single one is skeptical of you, if they don't already cower in fear at your name.

There are those who are okay with you. They are content with your presence because you being ruler means neither Dark or Anti are. And bonus: neither of them are anywhere near this world. But only a select few think this.

Then there are those who lock the door and close their blinds every time you step out of the castle. They know your source of power comes from one of their most feared egos, and they know you can have indistinguishable thoughts that could possibly reflect on your actions. They know you are a threat, no matter how much effort you put in trying to prove to them that you mean nor want no harm. But like a typical politician, no one fully trusts you.

Schneep follows behind you as you walk down the torch-lit, red dirt path to the woods. You remember the way, but you don't need to. Because you are queen, the world is controlled by you, even with the woods having a mind of its own, it can be easily manipulated to take you where you need to be. Just by thinking about it, your perspective changes, and you just walk straight in the direction you feel is best, and soon, the red trees thin out to reveal the black void of a sky, then are replaced by structures of all kinds.

A single, wide road of red gravel rock is lined on either side with buildings big and small. Some look like normal houses, like Chase's, or apartment complexes, like your own, but you remember that each residence is accustomed to each individual ego and their needs. So some you see are just extraordinary, like a tree house, or a futuristic structure you'd see in 2318, there even are a couple caves that are probably for the less human-like egos.