| |
Imprisoned
KIA LYNN
“Zoe Dawn!” I shrieked, bolting upright in bed.
It was dark, and the room around me was unfamiliar. I blinked several times, trying to recall why I was not at home. Zoe Dawn’s surprised expression was all I could see in my mind, as well as the massively huge man who was dragging her away.
As my eyes adjusted to the room, some awareness came back to me. This looked like the infirmary back home. Had the mating ceremony been a bad dream?
I rubbed my eyes and shifted out of the bed. My left calf burned, and for some reason it felt like it had been cut again. A breeze danced through my legs, lifting the gown I was wearing slightly. Someone must have left the door open. I looked around at the other beds, but could not see anyone else. Something felt wrong.
Why was I in the infirmary? And what had happened to Zoe Dawn? Even though the man dragging her away seemed like a nightmare, in my gut I knew she was gone.
My gaze landed on a covered window. A beam of moonlight was streaming through an opened slice in the fabric. I hurried over and swung the covering to the side.
I could see the village center. There was a low fire dancing in the fire pit and a few people sitting in chairs around it. I could make out Sister Nikita’s long hair from the light. She had been in my dream as well, but I could not remember why.
My toes curled away from the cold rock floor, reminding me they were bare. I glanced back at the bed I was lying in. Next to it on a chair was my folded clothes, and underneath were my boots. I needed to go after Zoe Dawn.
I dressed quickly, pulled on my boots, and gathered my few items left on the chair. One of them being the tiny white horse I had given Alarix. When had he returned it and why?
I groaned. My memory was shot.
Slipping out of the building, I kept my eyes on the three situated around the fire and crept toward my house, not wanting anyone to stop me. I stepped lightly along the dirt path and nearly shrieked when a figure moved out of the shadows.
Rafael’s lips twitched into a smile. “You should be in the infirmary,” he said, leaning against a tree only a few feet away.
“I am fine,” I snapped, rushing around him.
His hand shot out and grabbed my arm. “Not your wisest move. Sister Nikita needs you to stay in the infirmary.”
“Why?” I hated asking anything from Rafael, but I needed to know what was happening.
“’For your own safety’, is what I have been told. After Zoe Dawn’s abduction, they believe you will be next.”
The breath in my throat stuck against it like molasses. I gulped it down and turned to face Rafael. “Zoe Dawn has really been abducted? That was not a nightmare?”
He chuckled as if he were enjoying my confusion. The traitorous keefie would never change. I pushed him away from me and stomped toward the fire pit. I needed answers, and Sister Nikita seemed to be the only one in charge these days. It irritated me more than anything that I was listening to Rafael and heading toward a woman I no longer felt safe around.
Scenes flashed in my mind, broken pieces of memories or dreams centered on Sister Nikita betraying me—betraying all of us. I just was not sure which were true and what ones were dreams.
Sister Nikita and a tall, thin man rose from their chairs when they saw me. He looked familiar.
“Kia Lynn, you have awoken,” Sister Nikita said, holding out her hands for me to take. “I have been worried about you.”
“How long have I been sleeping?” I ignored Sister Nikita’s hands and kept my distance. My gaze drifted toward a male anaman who was still sitting. I stepped back in surprise, not expecting to see one of our enemies lounging as a visitor on our lands. “And who are these strangers in our village?”
“Please sit.” Sister Nikita tapped the chair next to her.
I glanced her way but did not move.
“These are our guests, Kia Lynn. Do you remember Rork, from the mating ceremony?” She pointed toward the lanky man still standing on the other side of the fire pit.
My eye narrowed in recognition. “You knew we were going to be attacked.” I pointed at him as memories flooded my mind. “You looked right at me and winked, then chaos broke loose. What did you do with Trix?”
“Trix has passed on, little lass.” Rork smiled, revealing his missing tooth.
His accent was unmistakable. It was just like the voice of the man who had cut me in the woods.
I clenched my hands into fist. “Is that so? I do not believe you.” I looked back at Sister Nikita. “What did you do with Zoe Dawn? Why did you want me to leave the ceremony early and not choose a mate?”
Sister Nikita’s brows lifted, but her composure did not falter. Her shoulders remained back and her head held high. She had always been perfect in everything she did, but her empathic kindness was all I had ever cared about. Now I knew it had only been a ploy to gain my trust.
“Kia Lynn, you have a gift—”
“Enough,” the anaman shouted, interrupting Sister Nikita, then rose from his chair at the same time I swiveled to look at him. His eyes were dark green like the trees, and they shot through me like daggers. I noticed a fresh scratch that started on his right cheek and traveled to his neck. “This is a waste of my time. Preparations need to be made to stop the faction whom Zoe Dawn has run off with. She cannot be bonded to that anaman girl.”
I blinked at him in confusion.
“Kia Lynn does not know the consequences of their activation.” Sister Nikita stepped up beside me and rested her hand on my shoulder. I glared at her, but she ignored me. “That it will bind her to this dimension for the rest of her life. And that her mother would be furious with all of us if we allowed it to happen.” It was then she turned to look at me.
“What?” I stared at each of the men, before returning to look at Sister Nikita. “My mother? Where is she?”
“That is difficult to explain,” Rork said. He was settling into his seat again. “We can tell you this; she is alive, and we intend to reunite you both soon.”
I could not believe what I was hearing. Elation bubbled in my stomach at the thought of seeing Mama again. “I want to know more. Is this why you insisted I not pick a mate? And what about the marking that lunatic man gave me two days ago? Why did you not just tell me all of this instead of embarking on this elaborate scheme?” I sank onto the nearest chair and waited for them to continue.
Sister Nikita nodded and sat on the edge of her seat. “Yes, this is why we did not want you to pick a mate. Tying you down with Alarix—yes, we know about him—would have made this transition to a new dimension more painful. He had agreed to mate with another, then betrayed us.”
“And you would know all about betrayal, wouldn’t you? You are the reason he broke my heart.”
A burst of wind swept around us, and the flames danced toward Rork, blasting him with ash and smoke. He shot up from his seat and stepped behind his chair, looking at me with fear etched in his features. Sister Nikita’s head shook slightly, then turned back toward me.
I pretended I did not see their exchange. Instead I held up the white horse. “Why do I have this?”
Rork laughed and rolled his eyes heavenward, having regained his composure. “Because the ridiculous lovebird beat us to you, and as we were pulling you apart, he pressed that into your hand.” He balled his hands into fists as his smile melted from his face. “It took several tries to pry it from your grip. Word of advice, lass, love is not worth it.”
I did not like him.
“Kia Lynn, your mother was a friend of mine,” the anaman said. He had returned to his seat as well but was leaning forward and had turned toward me. “She grew up in a time and place where people were not kind to her, for various reasons, but she and I connected with ease. When I discovered her daughter resided here, I made arrangements with these other friends of hers to bring you into our fold. We are sorry your friend betrayed you in the process.”
He was lying about Zoe Dawn. “What is your name, friend of my mother’s?”
“You may call me Tatum,” he replied, and his mouth set in a hard line.
“Well, let me tell you, Tatum.” I leaned forward in my chair and clasped my hands together, before setting them in my lap. “Zoe Dawn would never betray me, not in a million years. I do not know you, nor do I trust you just because you claim to be my mother’s friend. But Zoe Dawn is off limits. Do you hear me?”
His jaw tightened, and the crimson flush rising up his neck brought me more joy than I thought it would. He quickly composed himself and whooped with a loud and unexpected laughter.
“You are more like your mother than I realized.” He shook his head and sprawled back in his chair with a wide grin. “I miss that woman.” His gaze met mine, and his stare became as sharp as a dagger. “Zoe Dawn is off limits to you. There will be no misunderstandings on this. We broke your bond with her, and we will not chance that connection by allowing you to be together again.”
My voice rose an octave as I jumped from my chair. “Did you not—”
“My word is final.” He dismissed me with a wave of his hand. “Your mother would agree with me, and that is all that matters. Now, return to the infirmary and we will all gather again in the morning for our meal.”
I stared wide-eyed at him, then at Sister Nikita who shrugged her shoulders and pointed at the infirmary. It was clear whose side she was on. My pulse beat hard against my skull, and I started seeing red. I needed my herbs. I stomped in the direction of my home, but Tatum grabbed my wrist as I passed by.
“This is not a request. You are not to go anywhere else.”
I ripped my arm from his grip. “You do not have the authority to order me around. And besides, I need my belongings from my house. Are you really going to stop me from retrieving the medicines and herbs my mother insisted I take to help when I am in situations like this one?”
Tatum’s lips twitched with amusement, and it took all my willpower not to reach over and rip them from his face.
“Rork, accompany our Kia Lynn to her father’s home and make sure she keeps our conversation to herself.” His eyes never left mine. “We would not want a slip of the tongue causing her more pain and suffering.”
“My pleasure, mate,” Rork said, strutting toward me like a chicken.
I looked back at Sister Nikita. “Are you serious? Why are you allowing him to do this, Sister Nikita?”
“Because I want to see your mother again, and she would be furious if you were not with us when that moment arrives,” Sister Nikita said as she examined her nails, clearly unconcerned with my treatment.
I frowned at how they made Mama sound. She was not cruel like them. I furiously pivoted on my heel, and put as much distance as I could between me and Rork.
“Oh, and Kia Lynn,” Sister Nikita called.
I turned back to face her.
“No need for the formalities anymore. The Doyen have been dissolved as of yesterday. Just call me Nikita.”
The color drained from my face. What had happened to the other four members of the Doyen?
Rork gave me a soft shove, and I shot him a frosty look before continuing toward my home. Off in the shadows, I could barely make out the outline of someone standing within earshot of the fire pit. I squinted, but I still could not see who it was. They were probably just another one of Tatum’s friends, keeping an eye on me. They shifted slightly, and I almost called out to them, but Rork interrupted when he threw his arm over my shoulders.
I tossed it off and moved away from him. “Don’t touch me again,” I hissed between clenched teeth.
“Feisty one, aren’t you?” He winked at me. “I like my ladies spunky.”
“You are disgusting.” I grimaced from the thought of him getting close to me again. “And old. Stay away from me.”
He laughed and shook his head as he put some space between us. “Yes, lass. For now.”
I took note of his threat. He did not know the ways of the black mountain people, making him an outsider to the mating ceremony. No man would ever threaten a woman in these parts. It meant death, and it was taken very seriously.
We walked in silence, and since my home was on the very edge of our village, it was absolute torture. Finding Zoe Dawn was the only thing that mattered right now. Then I would address my mother and her friends.
My home was dark and quiet, which was to be expected so late at night. Papa would be safely tucked away, not expecting me to return for my possessions at this time.
“Will you please wait outside for me?” I asked Rork, pausing just outside the white gate.
He looked at the gate and then my house. “I’m coming through the gate so I can hear you inside. If you even think of whispering anything to your father, I will slit his throat.”
Hatred for this man roared through every one of my veins like a destructive wind. It reminded me of what happened at the mating ceremony right before I blacked out, except this time it was inside me. Someday I would make him regret this moment.
“I will not breathe a word to him,” I muttered, making a promise I did not want to keep but would to keep Papa safe. I opened the gate slowly to avoid any creaking.
Rork followed me in and leaned against the front of the house as he chewed on a long piece of grass. My eyes narrowed at his barbaric behavior. I slid into my home and latched the door behind me, then tiptoed my way to my corner, carefully avoiding the mess left on the ground.
I shoved my herbs, clothes, and other belongings into a satchel that was hanging from the wall. Then I tossed in a few apples and oranges, along with a small dagger I kept hidden next to my sleeping cushion. The moment I was able to escape, they were not going to stop me. I needed to be prepared.
As I crept out of the house, Rork was still in his same position. He pursed his lips, threw the piece of grass to the side, and pressed away from the structure. All I could do was follow him as he strode nonchalantly back toward the infirmary.
The walk back did not seem to take as long as the walk to my home. Rork left me just inside the doorway of the infirmary, sauntering back toward the other two at a snail’s pace, occasionally throwing an amused glance back my way as I watched him leave.
I closed the door and secured it, then made my way back to the bed I had been sleeping on earlier. It was one night, and it would give me time to plan my escape, as well as wrap my head around the possibility of Mama being alive and well, leaving only one important question lingering in the air.
Why had she not returned for me?
