Page 5 of Zar

“Do you not have more questions?”

Flare’s soft voice yanked her back to the present. Oh, she had questions. Buckets of them. “So, this king, Zar, he wants to see me. Callie Wilson of Cincinnati, Ohio.”

“Yes. If your next question is to inquire about the meeting, then I must tell you that I do not have that information. I’m sorry. Only the king knows the reason for this visit.”

She snorted. “Visit? Meeting?”

He scowled and his hands tightened around the steering wheel. “If you use the term kidnap one more time I will be forced to cover your mouth so you cannot speak. I do not wish that. So please choose your words carefully, Ms. Wilson.”

“Okay, fine. How long is this visit going to take? I don’t know how long I’ve been gone, but it feels like at least eight hours. And I do have a life to get back to, Flare.” That wasn’t true. She had no life. She had work, work and more work. Jesus fuck.

“Rybacia Zar has indicated the meeting will be concluded within a day. We can arrange transportation back to your home.” He spared her a glance. “Unharmed, of course.”

“You really hate that I accused you of harming me, huh?”

He was quiet a moment before he replied, “It is the most sacred of the six unbreakable laws, Ms. Wilson.”

That caught her curiosity bug. “Six unbreakable laws? Is that something your society adheres to?”

He nodded. “Yes. To break one would mean imprisonment or death.”

“And harming me would mean…what?”

“Death,” he flatly stated, as if it were every day that a man would be put to death for injuring a woman.

“Jesus,” she mumbled, unsure what to say.

“No women or children shall be harmed without punishment of death. It is the first law.” A muscle in his jaw jumped wildly. “Accusing me of harming you is…well, it’s the worst sort of insult. I would never dishonor myself or my king in such a way. Even accidentally. It’s abhorrent.”

Callie felt bad that she’d accused him of it. Maybe he was playing her, trying to gain sympathy. Isn’t that what kidnappers did? Tried to get you on their side? Still, she felt compelled to say, “I’m sorry, Flare.”

He nodded. “You had no way of knowing. I fear I went about this task in the worst possible way. My king may punish me yet.”

That startled her. “What? Why?”

“He insisted that you come, but I was under strict orders to see to your every need and make the trip as pleasant as possible. I don’t believe I accomplished that goal.” He looked at her, regret in his silvery eyes. “I am sorry for that, Ms. Wilson.”

“Callie,” she replied. “And it’s not like I made it easy on you, Flare.”

His gaze widened as he looked over at her. “You are giving me permission to use your first name?”

She smiled. “In our society it’s expected, especially when you make a new friend.”

He quirked his head to the side. “Are we friends?”

The genuine sincerity in his tone did her in. Didn’t he have friends? What sort of society was he from anyway? Holy hell, the entire trip was beginning to feel otherworldly. Maybe she really was still asleep. She’d hit her head pretty good earlier. Her stomach churned as she imagined that maybe she was actually dead. Was that it? Had she died when she’d knocked herself out? Was she traveling down some sort of highway to heaven? Worse, highway to hell? No, she’d led a good life. She’d paid it forward. Donated to charity. She was a good person. She didn’t deserve to go to hell. A hand covered hers and she glanced over to see Flare staring at her with concern.

“You look a little pale. Are you unwell, Callie?”

She looked around and realized they were stopped. He’d pulled the SUV to the side of the road. She stared out the windshield and the only thing she could see was a giant metal fence. It surrounded a wall of trees and the mountains beyond. “Where are we?”

He held up a black cloth and the gold chain he’d secured her with earlier. He gave her a sympathetic look and said, “I’m afraid I must bind you and cover your eyes. I’m sorry.”

Her eyes rounded and she clasped onto the door handle as if to escape, but of course that wasn’t happening. “Why? I did as you asked, Flare.”

“It isn’t a punishment,” he rushed to explain. “But I cannot allow you to see where we’re going. It’s for your own safety.”

Realization dawned. They were about to walk into the forest. Into the mountains. There wasn’t even a hint of civilization for miles. Oh God. “You live in secret,” she surmised. “This is a cult, isn’t it?”

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