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Elijah stopped walking altogether, cutting me off. “This is already done. We have horses waiting for us, a way to get out, and I will fucking protect you. But we can’t waste any more time.”
Wait. Horses? As in more than one?I took a step to the side to see Liam around Elijah's glowering head. “You’re coming with me?”
At the same time, Elijah scowled. “For Goddess' sake, what the fuck did you think we’d do, send you off all alone?” Liam smiled, saying, "Of course, Kaia. Where you go, I go.” This resulted in Ash-hole scowling deeper and adding a huff.
Having them come hadn't seemed like a possibility. They’d always be on the run. Their lives would be ruined. All our lives would be destroyed. However, I wouldn’t be alone, and a part of me was excited that they wanted to run with me. But I couldn’t be that selfish.
“Listen, there are things you don’t know, and I’ll tell you everything, but not right now. And it’s Ash, damn you.” Ash-hole grabbed my arm and pulled me down the dark tunnel, clearly annoyed. He left me little choice but to teeter behind him on unsure feet as the crackling concrete bit into my soles.
Arguing with Elijah was always futile, but I had so many doubts. As much as I longed to accept their offer, I couldn't live with myself if I didn’t try to talk them out of throwing their lives away.
“I think someone may notice all the blood,” I said, indicating my entire body. They gave me a fresh sheath before the council meeting, but it was still stained and not very inconspicuous. They hadn’t provided me with water to wash off with. The blood and filth remained.
“No one will see you, and we’ll wash and change when we get somewhere safe.” Elijah sent a look at my bloody legs, made the 'I smell something stinky' face, and took off again, leaving me with Liam under one of the few torches we’d passed. “Move!” Elijah commanded.
Liam ushered me forward, keeping me between himself and the damp stone wall, his warm hand on my lower back guiding me along.
* * *
I hurried along beside Liam until we heard a door slam somewhere further down the corridor. Elijah’s body tightened ahead of us, his gaze darting around the shadows. Putting his finger to his lips, he motioned for us to follow as he crept down along.
Using Guard Fucker’s key, he opened a door and looked inside. He shoved Liam and me into the dark room and shut the door behind us, remaining outside.
I thought I knew darkness before, but it was nothing like this. With no windows to let in the light from hanging lanterns or the moonlight, I could not see a thing. My stomach sank, and I needed to breathe through the rising panic.
“He’ll check that that everything is ok,” Liam said. “It’ll be ok.”
I hadn’t ever been afraid for the dark and he mistook the reason for my panic. This week changed me.
Liam stepped against my back, silently offering support. This close, I longed to reach out to him, to let him hold me again. I didn’t want to accept their offer, but he had come for me. He was there and willing. Having someone on my side meant a lot, and I was more grateful for him than ever.
Seeing him earlier, I had cried my first tears in days while my mind tortured me. Liam was the most important person in my world. His memory had kept me sane. I’d longed to see him so fiercely that I had clung to him, holding him tighter than ever, knowing it might be our last embrace. I allowed him to hold me up, not needing to be strong for a moment because he was there. I had breathed in his familiar smell and drenched him in my tears.
I often cried when I was first arrested. When I watched the soldiers drag Father away. When they first locked me away. When the door slammed shut, and I watched the cell shrink as the moon overtook the sun. Until that time, I never knew I was afraid of the dark.
“I love you, Liam,” I said.
Liam's hand clenched the fabric at my back, and he lowered his head to speak into my ear.
“You are the bravest, smartest girl I have ever met. I love you with everything I am. “He wrapped his arms around my waist.
I shivered when his warm breath caressed my neck and turned my face closer to him. “I am so sorry, Liam. If not for me—” I cut off on a silent sob. “If you hadn’t come after my ass, you wouldn’t be in this situation,” I breathed, looking down.
Nothing I could say would convince him to stay, even if I wanted him to, but I felt guilty, nonetheless.
“Hey, hey! Shh,” Liam soothed. “It’s okay. Everything will be okay. This is nothing,” he joked. I felt him smile against my neck. “We’ve been through a lot together, right? We will get through this, too.”
“This is not the same thing, Liam,” I stressed, hissing under my breath. “Things have never been this bad, you jackass!”
“There's my feisty girl. I would rather have you mad than sad any day, Kaia Doll.” He knew I hated that stupid nickname. “I will endeavor to piss you off daily if it keeps a frown off your face.”
My eyes closed, breathing in his familiar smell as I soaked up as much warmth and love as possible in the few moments we had.
The door to the interrogation room opened. Elijah had grown or I had shrunk. Either way, he seemed massive in the doorway, his bulk blocking the minimal light from lanterns in the corridor.
“Okay. That’s enough. Goddess, it’s been like four days,” Ash-hole barked. “Can we have this little unnecessary reunion sometime later? Maybe we can save the making out for when we’re not trying to escape and risking our lives?”
“We’re not making out,” I snapped. “We were waiting for you, Ash-hat!”
