The Golden Core | Secrets of the Core #1

Chapter Ten - Part One

Her eyes shot open from the burning ache. With her right hand still in the silver chain she hissed as she slowly tried to pull it out. Each tiny movement she made only put more pressure as the seconds passed. Even when she wasn't moving it, her bones throughout her hand still stung. She didn't know what was wrong, but she knew it wasn't good.

"What did you do?" Phoenix asked, yelling as if she could never hear again.

The words he spoke flew in and out of her ears. There was no time for her to think about what she did, let alone answering him. One thing was for sure: she didn't even know what happened. As fast as she could, she yanked her hand out of the chain, screaming so loud from the pain as if it was her last time having a voice.

Her right hand was free, but not the way she intended.

Slowly moving her head down, her eyes grew wide at the sight of her hand. The redness had taken over up to her wrist, swelling appeared at the base of her thumb like a balloon getting blown up for the first time. Tears were falling down her face from the agony she was facing and no one was around to help her. Her other hand, which was in perfect condition, was still wrapped in the other chain. She was stuck here as she was before, but now with a terrible injury.

As she tried her best to not think about what just happened, her eyes flicked forward to find Blake and Phoenix staring at her. She wanted to yell at them to help her, scream at them that it was their fault, yet she became frozen in fear. Her mouth opened as if she was going to speak, but no sound came out. All that crossed her mind was how much her hand struck her with pain.

No one made a sound. It was like crickets overcame all of them, aside from the occasional dirt crumbling down the walls. Still, Winter's face was wet from the amount of crying she was doing. Every once in a while, she would stop and the simple cling of each of their chains echoed throughout the room. The immense amount of pain was still there, bursting through her bones and she had no idea what to do.

Phoenix broke the silence. "Need some help there, darling?"

Winter turned her head away from them, looking at the wall to the left without saying a word. She didn't want to admit she needed their help or that she messed up. Everything was fine.

Even though it wasn't.

"I'll help you, Winter. Just say the word."

She sighed. Her hand was throbbing from the pain. Doing her best not to move it too much, she tried to relax. It would be difficult to get out on her own, but she needed too. Phoenix's help was the last thing she wanted. Although she wasn't sure if she even had a choice.

Still, she brushed it off. "No, Phoenix. I don't need your help. I can do this."

Once making sure to give him direct eye contact, she realized she wasn't being taken seriously. He was the only one wanting to get her out, maybe she should take him up on it.

His shoulders were shaking as a laugh spilled out of his mouth. "Can you really do this, Winter? You look like you're in tons of pain and you are still stuck. This is the last time I'm offering."

She already knew that if she tried to pull her left hand out, she would break another bone and she didn't want to go through that again. As far as she knew, there wasn't another way for her to get out since she couldn't use her magic without both hands; unlike Phoenix who could just make things happen with no problem at all. Randomly, small bits of wind started pouring from the cell in between the two of them, so powerful that the back wall was beginning to fall.

"Who is doing that?" Blake asked, his voice a little louder every time words came out.

Phoenix shrugged as he carefully eyed the wall.

"Whoever it is needs to stop this instant!"

The wind continued, but no one said a word.

There was a small twinkle in Phoenix's eye, but other than that, nothing about him was different. He was facing Blake and that was when Winter tilted her head to the side and looked at the chains connected to his hands. Small movements of his fingers, and the small grey swirl above them, told her that he was performing magic. How was he even doing that? Jealousy overcame her as she watched him.

Then, she stood in the same position as Phoenix in her cell and concentrated on her magic. If he could do it, she should be able to at least. But she knew she wasn't as skilled. It was still worth a shot though.

Focusing on making small circles of ice come down from the ceiling, she pictured the image of the ceiling breaking in her mind. If she could just make a little hole with the ice then she knew she could do it. Even though her right hand was in major pain, she still managed to move her four fingers, but each time they moved she wanted to scream from the amount of pain. With her left hand, she moved her fingers and tried to get the ice to come.

But nothing happened. How could Phoenix do it and she couldn't? She was the Princess. More powers should come to her than it would come to Phoenix. Could it be because Father said she might be cursed? She shook her head. All that training wouldn't be happening if she was. Maybe she just didn't pay attention.

Either way, it would be a smart thing to do if she just asked him for his assistance.

He was right. Deep down, she acknowledged that, but having to actually say it is not how she planned things to go. The room was still the same when she turned her head to examine, except Blake left again and River was just sitting on the bed waiting for her response. If she mentioned something to Phoenix now with Blake gone, she might actually escape. There was a part of her that knew after he let her go, she would have to repay him somehow.

She shuddered at the thought of that. Part of her wished to contact Summer, to tell her loving brother that she was trapped without knowing how to escape, but then she remembered her mother. Knowing Summer wouldn't be able to leave without telling their mother where he was running off too, she kept her mouth shut. The little her mother knew of this situation, the better it would be for her in the long run.

A deep breath filled her lungs before she spoke again. "Fine, Phoenix. Could you help me get out of here?"