Heat seared across the back of my scalp as my eyes snapped open. I blinked hard a few times, trying to focus my blurred vision. A pounding ache at my temple made it difficult, but as it faded, the feeling that the world around me was tilting faded with it until I no longer felt my body keeling to the side.
"I knew you were fucking trouble."
I flinched at the cold voice, dislodging the hand that had been pressed to the back of my head and the one holding my shoulder. The heat on my scalp faded as my eyes locked on the milky crystal that swayed in front of the bare chest before me, taunting me. A smattering of hair stood out against the pale skin I had been trying so hard to ignore moments ago. Before I had been thrown into a wall with enough force to knock me unconscious for who knew how long. Long enough for him to heal a possible concussion and the goose egg that would have otherwise been throbbing at the back of my head.
"But, I didn't comprehend how ungrateful and stupid you would be," Rowan continued, his eyes narrowing. They dropped to my throat when I swallowed, fear drying my mouth.
Crouched on the balls of his feet, he filled my vision and blocked out the room behind him. His hands hung between his thighs, his posture languid as he boxed me in against the wall. His expression, like it had been in the alley, was impassive. I couldn't tell what was going on in his head. The only indicator of his annoyance was the way his eyes were narrowed, but even that was slight. The way he watched me was cold and unnerving. Uncaring.
When he lifted his hand, reaching for my neck, my eyes widened in panic. I tried scrambling back but had nowhere to go. My back was flush with the wall which had me crumbling to the floor. All I could do was slam my eyes shut to block out the sight of his nearing hand while preparing for his touch.
But it never came.
Instead of feeling the brand of his flesh as he wrapped his fingers around my neck and squeezed, he gripped the collar of my jacket in his fist to roughly lift me to my feet. My palms slapped against the wall to aid my ungraceful rise before rising to grip his forearm.
"I gave you the chance to walk away and you break into my room to throw it in my face." He frowned admonishingly. He tightened his grip and pulled me closer until his nose nearly brushed mine. "You're lucky I don't like trouble."
Pulling back, he dragged me away from the wall and released me with a shove towards the balcony. I stumbled forward from the force, my feet getting caught in his discarded shirt and causing me to lurch forward. My hands reached out, slamming onto the table beside me to keep me from bruising my knees.
"Leave. Before I change my mind or someone shows up to investigate. It won't be long. You hit the wall hard." He walked to the night table by his bed and picked up the glass of water it held. "If my men see you, they'll report it and I'll be forced to deal with you," he warned, taking a calm sip while his words had my heart slamming against my chest.
Lifting a hand, I brushed the hair that had fallen into my eyes behind my ear before dropping my hands to rub them on my leg. I could feel the lingering warmth of a sting. His words slowly sunk in as my eyes dropped to the key around his neck. He lowered the glass, not missing where my gaze had shifted. He had to know that was what I was after. And why.
"Please, I need the key."
He held my eyes for a moment before looking away. "So stupid," he sighed as he set the glass down.
His words had my frown growing and sparked anger.
"The moment you use a key is the moment he'll know exactly where you are."
I paled. "Who?" I asked, but I didn't need to. I already knew.
"I think you know."
The Winter King.
"Please," I pleaded again, hoping to appeal to the part of him that came to my aid. "I just want to go home." Even if it meant he found me. All I needed was a little time before he caught up.
"We don't always get what we want."
The nonchalance in his voice had my anger flaring. "Then what's the point of helping me?"
He cocked his head to the side, looking at me with uninterested eyes. "To keep you from becoming my problem."
My lips curled in frustration. Before I could snap back at him, A faint noise sounded through the walls, drawing Rowan's attention to the shut door by the bed.
His jaw clenched. "It's time for you to leave. Now. We don't have time for you to climb down. You're going to need to jump."
My mouth opened and closed. Jump? "No!"
He crossed his arms, leveling me with his empty eyes. "Trust me."
I had to keep from scoffing. "Trust you? You just told me that all you care about is keeping me from being your problem. I'm not going to help you by killing myself. I may be rash when desperate, but I'm not suicidal."
He released a breath through his nose. "Could have fooled me."
"Rowan!" A shout sounded through the door, a fist pounding against it.
He turned his head, his jaw ticking.
"Go, now." The cool command was accompanied by an invisible caress that swept over my shoulder, turning me before it spread across my back and forced my feet through the balcony doors at a pace that had me struggling to keep up.
I understood his urgency when my fingers curled around the railing and the door to the room slammed open. My eyes snapped towards it as the man from the alley, Atwood, burst through, his eyes searching the room wildly before locking with mine. They were clear and focused this time. Recognition didn't flash in his gaze, but when it shifted to my exposed ear, his eyes widened.
"It's the human-"
The rest of his words were cut off as a blast of air shoved me over the railing. A scream tried to tear free as my fingers that clung to the railing slipped, but the breath required to do so was torn from my lungs. With my chest tightening, my eyes slammed shut when I caught a glimpse of the approaching ground. I didn't want to see the pain coming.
But it never came. Again.
Instead of landing on my neck and breaking it, my body turned in the air for me to land on my hands and knees. Though the impact was jarring, it was far less than it should have been. I drew in a ragged breath as I staggered to my feet disoriented.
My head jerked up at a shout, finding Atwood and another man peering down at me alongside Rowan. While Atwood barked something over his shoulder at someone I couldn't see, the man I recognized from the glimpse I had gotten of their group at the tavern prepared to jump over the railing after me.
My eyes widened with terror and snapped to Rowan, finding his gaze already pinned on me. His lips moved, mouthing a single word.
Run.
It was something I didn't need to be told twice.
Turning away from them, I made it a few steps before pressure hit my back, attempting to pin me to the ground. It only lasted a few moments, causing me to drop to my knees before suddenly dispersing.
"Captain, she has someone helping her!" shouted the man who had landed on the ground to give chase. He must have been the one trying to pin me down.
And the one who had stopped him- helped me- was the captain he was shouting the words at.
My arms and legs pumped hard, wind blowing at me from all directions to whip my hair across my face. I didn't slow. I couldn't. With his longer stride, it wouldn't take the man long to catch up to me. I had to find a way to lose him.
My eyes locked on the tree line ahead, it's darkness suddenly far more inviting now given the circumstances. I didn't dare chance a glance back or move to shift the hair from my face, all I could focus on was making it into the trees to hide among the shadows. It was the only chance I had.
Pounding footsteps gained behind me. They were loud enough for me to hear over my own feet, the rush of blood in my ears, and the hammering of my heart. As I reached the treeline, I felt fingers reach for me, grasping at the ends of my hair and ripping a few strands free. Before they could grab hold of more, another wind swept over me before I heard curses and a crash behind me. I dared a glance back, finding the man picking himself off the ground as Rowan leisurely strolled across the grass behind him.
Snapping my head back around, I breached the tree line as the man regained his footing. I continued into the darkening span, avoiding fallen branches and swatches of underbrush. When I was far enough inside the forest that the light from the street or the inn didn't make it through, I veered to my side, changing directions. My lungs burned for air that was sawing through my lungs with gasped breaths while my limbs grew heavy with exhaustion. I was running out of energy.
But I couldn't stop. I wouldn't.
As determined as I was, I had no choice in the matter when I was grabbed from behind. A hand clamped over my mouth to muffle my terrified scream as I was hauled back against a hard chest.
Taken is complete and available on Patreon.
Captive, book 2 of The Blood Stone Series, is currently being updated. Read more at:
https://www.patreon.com/DRK_Stories