I yawned, stretching my arms outwards dramatically as I nuzzled deeper into the warmth of the bed. My hand absentmindedly slapped against Kade's still sleeping face. My eyes popped open and I sat up immediately.
"Oh crap! I'm sorry! I'm the worst person in the world to sleep with with." I couldn't help the slight laughter that slipped out looking at Kade's sleepy frown. He chuckled, his voice still raspy from slumber. God, he was so handsome.
"I couldn't think of anyone else I would rather share my bed with." His words definitely meant to stir something within me but I groaned, rolling my eyes as I jumped out of bed. We definitely didn't have time to do anything before meeting with the President this morning.
"Get up, you horn dog." I narrowed my eyes at him playfully as I moved around the room gathering fresh clothes. As I headed towards the bathroom, his voice caused me to pause.
"I already am." Kade's voice was sultry and caused a shiver to run down my spine. It took everything in me to take another step towards the bathroom instead of going back to bed with my mischievous mate.
He chuckled at my body's reaction and I threw him the middle finger as I closed the bathroom door behind me. He was going to be the death of me.
I quickly changed into my clothes for the day which as usual, was an all black outfit. It was truly the only colour the Naurians had at their disposal. I had never really enjoyed wearing bright colours before all of this happened... but I was seriously craving some colour in my wardrobe. I leaned into the counter, suddenly drawn into memories of the past. My sister was notorious for dressing in the brightest colours that no one but her had any hope of pulling off. I sighed, feeling sad. If there was anyone I wished I could talk to right now, it would be her.
I shook off my thoughts, knowing that if I allowed myself to, it would pull me into a mood for the rest of the day... and there were definitely more important things to discuss today. My crippling sadness would have to wait for another day.
I sighed, looking in the mirror critically. I looked like a stranger to even myself. It was as if I would never truly be able to accept that this was me now. The strikingly beautiful alien creature that stared back at me looked smart, cunning and deadly. The eyes that practically glowed in the dim bathroom would never be truly mine.
I knew I needed to get a move on, so I pulled myself away from the mirror and headed back into the bedroom where Kade was patiently waiting for me. His head tilted to the side in question, probably sensing my change in mood just moments before.
I gave him a lame shrug and plopped myself down on the bed beside him. I wasn't in the mood to get into it at the moment. He had gotten changed too in the short time that I had been in the bathroom. I had to do my best to not let my eyes linger on the way his short sleeved shirt hugged his biceps, because I knew exactly how that would play out. I blushed, trying to avoid Kade's mischievous gaze. He knew exactly what was going through my mind.
A knock on our door managed to startle me, despite my supposed enhanced alien senses. I rolled out of bed, landing on my feet easily and flung open the door.
I blinked in surprise. It was President Shada herself standing in front of me.
"Oh, hi!" I greeted her somewhat shyly. I had been expecting her assistant to let us know when she would be ready to see us. My nerves skyrocketed when I took in her disheveled appearance. She didn't look quite right. My senses immediately kicked in to overdrive as I scanned over her shoulder, looking for a reason for her appearance.
I opened my mouth to ask her what was going on but a noise at the door of the bunker caused me to snap my mouth shut. The President pushed me backwards, her finger to her lips demanding that I not utter a sound. I allowed her to move us back into the room, still feeling sick to my stomach at what was going on. Kade was instantly by my side, ready to swat the President across the room if need be.
A loud bang at the metal door caused us all to snap our heads up in horror. "What is going on?" My voice was shrill and panicked. I did not like whatever was going on.
"I just got word that the Selarians found out about our meeting from one of my guards. I have not been able to reach him since he called me." Her voice did nothing to hide her own panic. It was clear that whatever was happening was not good.
"Are there any other exits?" Kade's voice cut through the silence like a sharp blade. Gone was the man that I had grown so accustomed to. Now, standing before me was the terrifying warrior that was feared by his enemies, and, even his people. "Darius!" Kade's voice bellowed.
Immediately, Darius appeared beside him. I blinked, resisting the urge to scream and took a reassuring breath as I attempted to steady myself. We would be okay. We could do this. Darius took a fighting stance beside me, clearly understanding Kade's order without needing further explanation.
Another ear splitting crash came from outside the steel door. I wasn't sure how much longer it was going to hold whatever was on the other side. And whatever it was... it sounded big. I clenched my teeth together painfully, as I waited for our next steps. The seconds ticked by mercilessly as Kade seemed create a plan.
President Shada moved to stand beside me. "There is one other exit at the back of my closet. It leads into a tunnel that deposits us onto the mountainside." The President and I flinched as the door was hit once more. This time, I could see the hinges bend with the impact.
My intake of breath must have caused Kade to make his decision. "Darius, you will accompany Emily and President Shada out of the secondary exit and I will hold them off here. Get them somewhere safe." He then turned to me. His eyes softened as he took in my appearance before hardening once more as he began his instructions.
"Darius cannot teleport the both of you to safety. You will need to be ready for anything." His voice was stern. "I do not know where the tunnel will lead you, but Darius will be with you at all times. He will update me when you are safe."
Another unbearable pounding against the door spurred our movement. "I love you." I all but whispered, but Kade was already turning to face the doorway. "Don't you dare get hurt, do you hear me?" I nearly sniffled, my composure severely cracking as Kade turned his back to me.
"We need to go, now." Darius hissed out a breath, his eyes flicking from me to the President warily. "Lead the way, and fast." His voice wasn't friendly.
President Shada didn't seem to need any further encouragement as she spun on her heel and sprinted towards her room. Darius pushed me forwards, wrapping his arm around my waist as he dragged me away from my mate. The distance between us and the ultimate realization that I didn't know if I would see became far greater as I gasped for breath. I knew there was no way in hell that Darius would let me stay, and the last thing I needed was to distract Kade and get him killed.
I was in a blurred daze of movement and nausea as Darius continued to pull and push my limp body towards where we needed to go. I was on the verge of an all out panic attack as we finally reached the closet President Shada had described.
She threw open the door, entering a code so quickly my mind barely had time to register it. I looked back at Darius to find him staring back towards the way we came. His posture was rigid and he was hardly breathing as he listened to what was happening in the other room.
It was then that I knew what I needed to do.
"Darius, go help Kade. I can look after the President. He needs you." I knew my tone was beyond pleading as I gazed at the blonde warrior in front of me.
His face hardened and I knew what was about to come out of his mouth. His shoulders squared as he prepared to leave his future King behind in a battle that was stacked against him.
"As your future Queen I order you to help the Prince." I growled, my own eyes becoming dark and dangerous as I glared at him. "He needs you." I repeated, knowing that Darius wanted to be beside my mate. My voice was hard, and I was prepared to put up a fight.
A horrible sound of crushed metal filled the air. "Darius, go!" I yelled at him. If the President hadn't been in danger, I would have been right by Kade's side throughout all of this.
Darius swore in a language that sounded ancient and utterly harsh. He grabbed my shoulders and shook me. "When this is over, I am going to kick your ass for this. You get the President to safety immediately. Find the nearest phone and call 755. Tell them who you are, where you are, and that you need help. It is monitored by our people, disguised as a human hotline for emergencies. They will find you and get you to safety." My mind was whirling as I repeated the numbers several times in my head, praying I wouldn't forget it.
I nodded despite myself as a blood curdling screech filled the air. It was not human.
"Go!" Darius yelled, his face pale as he suddenly disappeared into light and thin air.
The President threw open the passageway door and I climbed through after her, locking it securely behind us. I was damn sure that this wasn't about to keep anything from getting in after us.
The President and I crouched as we made a quick pace without speaking through the darkened passageway. The worry that now held me in its grasp was nearly mind numbing.
The task of keeping the President alive was enough to keep myself from completely spiraling. It was up to me to protect Earth from a threat it didn't even know it was facing.
After what felt like forever, the tunnel opened up further, allowing us to stand as we rushed past the rough rock walls that flanked our sides. It almost seemed as though we were inside the mountain. I shivered, rubbing my arms vigorously as I attempted to stay warm. The temperature had dropped so drastically I hadn't had any time to adjust.
I followed behind the President as she strode ahead without any hesitation.
"Why did it get so cold?" I all but stuttered. I watched as my breath traveled up into the air; creating a cloud before dispersing, echoing just how cold it had really become.
The President glanced back at me. "I believe it is because we are nearing the cavern. We are almost out of the tunnel. Once we arrive, there are several emergency phone lines we can use to reach your friends."
I nodded, frowning as I imagined a creepy cavern filled with bats as our destination. Since we had entered the tunnel, I hadn't been able to hear anything or sense anything from Kade. Our connection had gone completely silent, only increasing the nausea that wanted to creep up on me.
Stop being such a dumb ass, Emily. Focus on the task at hand. I thought to myself. I wanted nothing more than to run back the opposite direction to do something, anything to try to keep Kade safe. I hoped that forcing Darius to help him would make a difference.
Several more minutes passed as I tried to recall just how long we had been walking.
"Almost there," I heard President Shada call, as if she had guessed just how impatient I was becoming. I needed to use the phone to reach back up, for someone useful to know that Kade needed help. They needed reinforcements. I took a deep, steadying breath and nearly lost it completely when the room suddenly transformed into an enormous black space.
"Shit!" I swore, skittering back towards the path we had come. I could feel the cool breeze that whispered through my loose hair. I blinked rapidly until something finally clicked into place and my vision adjusted. I had never been able to see in the dark like this before.
I started when I finally located the President, who was now standing in the center of the room, staring at me with a blank expression on her face. She didn't look... right.
I tilted my head, stepping back once more as I tried to relocate the passageway we had just exited from. "President Shada?" I said, looking around for the phones she had described only moments before. "I need to use the phone. Where do we go from here? Is there no electricity?" I all but murmured. I narrowed my eyes at her unmoving form standing before me, staring emptily back at me.
This was quickly bringing me the feeling of some serious horror movie vibes, and I was not here for it. I had always been the biggest chicken out of my group of friends, and that was definitely not any different now.
The cavern was enormous. So large, that I couldn't possibly decipher where it ended and where it began. The cave was so dark that my claustrophobia began to rear its familiar head as I looked for some sort of escape but... there wasn't one. The tunnel we had come through was gone.
"Okay, so let me just start off by saying that you're acting like a bit of a freak right now, Mrs. President. I hope that doesn't offend you or anything, but at the same time I definitely don't care when you're acting like you're straight out of the damn Shining." My tone was perfectly sarcastic, not revealing that I was extremely close to peeing my pants if she started levitating or her head started to spin in circles. I did not do horror movies for a reason.
I knew that I could probably create some sort of energy in the palm of my hands to combat against the darkness that seemed to want to engulf me completely, but that would mean revealing powers that were not mine to reveal in front of a human.
I huffed out an impatient sigh. "I'm starting to lose my patience, ma'am. My mate is in danger, and you are standing there like the damn poltergeist. I think it's time to get a move on, don't you? Where's the exit?" I growled out, having no time left for whatever game she was playing.
A strange, slow laughter escaped the woman that stood in front of me. Laughter that did not belong to her. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled and old wounds reopened at the sound I couldn't quite place just yet. But I knew it. My bones knew it.
My eyes did not leave the woman standing before me. I watched in horror as she started to change, growing taller, broader... manlier as her shadowed form morphed into another all together. The darkness around us bent to conceal the shadowed figure in front of me.
I knew that I was in danger. Possibly more danger than Kade and Darius had been in all along from the very beginning. I took a deep breath, focusing on the little training I had had with Magda in the arena. It was clear that whatever was in front of me wasn't human.
"You've got two seconds to explain yourself before I fry you to a crisp." I snarled, curling my hand slightly in preparation. I hoped I could do this.
The laughter started once more and I growled in response.
It sounded like... but no, it couldn't be. That didn't make any sense. My mind spun as I tried to piece together what was happening in front of me.
The fire flared in my palm as easily as taking a breath. I allowed it to weave between my fingers affectionately as it danced in my palm. The figure held on to the shadows from before, bending light in a way that I was sure only a Selarian could do.
"What do you want with me?" I growled once more. I was done playing games. I was well aware that I probably didn't stand a chance against whatever freak lurked behind the darkness, but I would be damned if I went down without a fight.
"Why, Emily, I want exactly what I wanted from the beginning." The smooth voice purred, causing my heartbeat to pick up speed. I resisted the fear that wanted to overcome me, knowing that if I gave in to it, I would truly be done for.
I clenched my teeth. "And what is that?" I grit out, knowing that I most definitely was not going to like the answer.
The darkness began to swirl, as if I had been staring at smoke all along. It caressed my face, then moved against my neck, almost in an intimate way. I immediately ducked away, shielding my exposed skin with my shirt.
"Enough!" I shouted, angrily now. The fire in my palm grew larger, its energy thrumming from the power that resided in my core. It pierced and drew away some of the darkness in the room that seemed to stalk me.
The man chuckled as if I amused him. "It has been too long, Emily."
It was then that the final piece clicked and I recognized the voice that had been tormenting me. "It can't be..." I stared, aghast at the man in front of me. My world felt like it was starting to implode as terrible memories flooded back.
The last of the darkness left the his face, revealing someone I thought I would never see again. Staring at him now meant that things were much worse than I ever could have imagined.
It was the man of my nightmares. The one who had hurt me over and over, who had reveled in the screams that left my mouth, day in and day out.
The man standing in front of me...
Was Kyle.
____
OMG!
Did you see that coming!!? What do you think this means?
What do you think is going to happen next?
Thank you so much for reading and I apologize for the wait. I wasn't sure how I was going to write this chapter, so it took some extra planning that I usually don't do.
Please if you enjoyed it comment, and vote, but especially comment, because without your encouragement this chapter wouldn't be here!
I love you all!!
-Kyla