Page 151 of Hidden Kingdoms

His eyes narrowed before he slipped a hand into his pocket, pulling something out and tossing it towards me. Flinching away, whatever he threw landed softly in my lap. I stared down at the dull stone, a large hole punched through the centre.

My head snapped up, looking between them. “A rock. I’m here because of a rock.” Frustration had my hold on the glass tightening, the divots of the cut crystal digging into my skin almost painful.

Was this some joke to them?

“Yes and no,” Kaius began, and I readied myself to fight for the answers I was owed.

“You’re here, Goldie, because we were told that whatever that rock found, would hold allouranswers.” I frowned at him in confusion as he continued. “And that rock found you.”

“It found me?”

“Mhm. Believe me when I tell you, you weren’t what we were expecting to find.”

“I think that’s pretty obvious,” Bastian scoffed, and I ignored him, focusing my attention on the stone in my lap. Balancing my glass on the arm of the chair, I picked it up, turning it over in my fingers. As far as I could tell, it was literally just a rock.

“You found me with a rock. You understand how crazy that sounds, right?” Part of me wanted to rage at them for making up such nonsense, but the fact that Kaius had promised never to lie to me—a promise I knew in my heart he had kept—made me hold back.

“We weren’t looking foryou,” Bastian drawled in a way that made me want to punch him in the face again. His body was coiled with tension as his eyes locked onto the stone in my hands.

“Make a girl feel loved, why don’t you,” I snarked, earning a small laugh from Kaius.

“We were told that whatever we found would help us destroy The Darkness.”

My magik roiled at just the mention of the entity that had torn me open only hours ago, and my fingers clenched around the cool rock. The phantom burn of my wounds aching on my back.

“Imagine my disappointment when after all that time, we found you.”

“Bastian!” Kaius scolded his harsh words, but I didn’t care. Big Man could say what he liked as long as they kept talking.

“So, when you broke in, it wasn’t to kidnap me?” I frowned in an effort to remember the details of that night.

“Not exactly,” Kaius answered, swirling the amber liquid as he spoke. “We were expecting some kind of weapon, maybe a spell. Definitely not what appeared to be a human girl, half naked asleep in her bed. After so long searching we had nochoice but to take you. If there was even the slightest chance you had what we needed, we had to take it. Though I can’t say I’m particularly sorry about it, considering the view we had when we arrived." He finished with a wink and heat flushed in my cheeks that had nothing to do with the roaring fire that crackled in the room.

“How long have you been looking?” I questioned, choosing to ignore the way my heart had skipped at that wink.

“Too long,” Bastian growled before he knocked back his drink and slammed the glass on the table next to him.

“Let me get this right. I’m supposed to know how to defeat The Darkness.Me?”

“Apparently so.” Bastian’s voice was thick with derision as his green eyes swept over me. Assessing my worth.

“And who told you all this?”

Who had placed such a bounty on my head?

“Nova. She’s a seer. A powerful one,” Kaius answered.

“A seer?” I whispered, mind whirring with thoughts I couldn’t make sense of.

“Yes,” he said uncertainly, watching the turmoil playing across my face.

My eyes bounced between them as I debated on whether I could trust them, on what my truth may mean to them. I was here at their mercy—given a room and food. It was a comfortable imprisonment, I couldn’t deny that, but could what I say next change that?

“I think it’s my turn to spill some secrets.” With that, I grabbed the crystal glass, downing the rest of the drink and only slightly wincing as it burned. Still rubbing my finger over the cool stone, they leaned in slightly closer.

“Before I start, just know that I don’t even have half the information I would like. Let alone enough to satisfy you.” I arched a brow at Bastian, his eyes rolling in return.

“That’s ok, Goldie, just tell us what you know,” Kaius reassured, reaching across to sweep my hair over my shoulder.

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