Page 55 of #Resort Love
Ambrose came up behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder. I flinched under his touch and forced myself to turntoward him. He patted my cheek, giving me a smile that made me sick to my stomach. “That’s all I need you for today, my dear girl. Evander,” he waved toward the entrance of the cell, “will take you back to your room. I’ll send Samian to you once he returns with your next orders.”
I looked over at Evander. His skin was pale, but whether that was from what he saw or if he was always pale, I didn’t know. Not as he kept his face carefully blank, his gaze focused on the wall behind me, refusing to look at any of us in the cell. Evander bowed slightly, then turned, making his way to my room. I watched him leave the cell, my legs and body feeling like they were made of stone. My heart slowed, and the room seemed to tunnel around me. The weight of what just happened slowly pulled me inward. Ambrose let out a breath, his annoyance flaring, and pushed me toward where Evander had stood, forcing my legs to move.
I felt detached, not fully a part of this world. I silently followed Evander out of the dungeon, all the way to the door of my room, but I didn’t see or feel anything.
Evander gave me another small bow, leaving me alone in the hallway. I stared blankly at my door. I wasn’t even sure I was breathing until the chain of the necklace pinched my skin. I gasped at the small, sharp pain and opened my hand. My breathing started to come faster and faster. My heart beating wildly in my chest. I winced, the picture of Arbus slumped in the chair flashing across my mind.
I took in a shaky breath, taking step after step away from my door until my back hit the wall behind me. The cold of the marble leaked into my clothes. My breathing was too fast and shallow to get air, and my lungs burned. I grabbed my head, tucking it to my chest, whimpering as I squeezed my eyes shut.
The walls felt like they were closing in on me. I couldn’t behere anymore. My feet moved before I knew it, and I ran as fast as I could down the hallway, passing guards calling for me to stop. I followed the streets I had walked on, just two weeks prior with Ambrose, when my heart had been filled with hope and excitement for a fresh new start. I followed the path all the way through the pearly gates, leaving the city behind.
My running slowed when I reached the fields of wildflowers, gasping for air. I fell into the tall grass, weeping, mourning for what I had done.
Chapter 30
Sybil
The world felt unreal to me. My mind still couldn’t comprehend what had happened today. It wasn’t supposed to go this way. This new world was supposed to take me away from the constant badgering of a mundane life. It was my chance to escape the never-changing cycle I had found myself stuck in, repeating every single day more lost than the day before. This was a chance at something new, to experience the adventures that I’d read about—that I longed for in my dreams.
But this wasn’t a dream; it was a nightmare. I only proved my father right. I was a monster and a curse. I was an evil that tarnished the world around me. I had taken two lives today. Two innocent lives that could never be returned.
I opened my hand, the necklace still there, though now I could see the dried blood that stained the silver. I ran my hand along the warm edges of the ring, my stomach twisting. Every breath I took made the nausea grow. Swallowing back the bile, Iput the necklace around my neck, still clenching my hand tightly around the ring.
I let my hands fall to my lap, tilting my head back to stare at the pink and orange clouds littering the sky, feeling the breeze on my face. My fingers twitched and I looked down, inhaling sharply when I saw the blood that still covered my hands. My throat tightened and a sob tore out of me, hot tears falling down my face. I wiped the bloody flakes off my skin, my breathing turning frantic at the red stain left behind. My stomach heaved and I vomited in the grass beside me. I held onto the sharp green blades around me, screaming into the ground until my voice turned hoarse.
Silent whispers snapped me from my hysteria. Whipping my head toward the sound, I anxiously looked around, finding nothing but the vast open field and the forest in the distance.
My eyes narrowed on the darkened forest, movement rippling from between the trees. I saw it then, a black shadow that danced along the tree line, keeping to the murky forest. My breath hitched, the silent whispers continuing their sweet melodies as I watched that shadow twist and turn. The longer I watched, the louder the whispers became.
I felt drowsy, numb. As I stood, it felt like the world fell away; only a bridge of green grass stood between me and the shadow that beckoned me to come closer.
Step after step, I ventured to the woods, my mind so quiet and calm. The song of the forest surrounded me, encouraging me to follow, to become one with it.
Stepping into the thicket between the trees, my body felt languid, like it was no longer my own. But I didn’t care. I was too absorbed in wanting to be part of the song that wrapped around me.
I made my way through the dark woods, passing gnarledtrees covered in deep green moss. Small hills and caves began to form, surrounding me in shadow.
A branch snapped, quieting the whispers, and I blinked once. Twice. I looked around, my heart beating heavily in my chest. The woods were quiet, the air still and heavy, like it was hesitant to move.
I remembered looking at the forest, but the rest was a blur. I didn’t know how long I walked within the groves or how I even came to be here, surrounded by large moss-ladened stones.
Leaves crunched behind me, sending an icy chill up my spine. My breathing became faster, fear keeping me as still as a statue. More leaves crunched beside me, closer this time, and I flinched, not daring to look. I reached for my side, hoping I still had Ezra’s dagger, but there was nothing. I silently cursed myself for not bringing a weapon with me, but in my panic and despair, there was no room to think. I felt for my magic, but it was weak and strained from being used too much. I was completely vulnerable to the beast circling me.
I closed my eyes, trying to think of a way to escape. A twig on my right snapped, sounding closer. I forced my eyes to open, slightly turning my head to the sound, breathing out as slowly as I could.
My breath wavered, my heart lodging in my throat. My mouth gaped open as a large body of a snake rose above the trees. I lifted my head high, swallowing thickly, meeting the yellow eyes of the serpent. The snake’s tongue slid out of its mouth, flicking in the air, tasting my terror. Rising higher, the snake towered over me, its greenish-blue scales glimmering in the light creeping through the trees.
There was a motion to my left, something large hurtling toward me. Gasping, I quickly jumped out of the way. The sharp tail of the snake narrowly missed me, slamming into theground where I had been standing. The tail retracted, looking like that of a scorpion. My stomach dropped at the brown liquid dripping from the end of the stinger.
Noticing my hesitation, the snake struck, its gleaming teeth missing me by centimeters. I screamed, falling backward, rolling away when its tail flew at me again. Breathless, I staggered to my feet, running to the nearest path, weaving between trees, praying they would slow the snake enough for me to get away.
But the snake moved faster than I imagined, moving swiftly between the trees and quickly closing in on me. My breath rasped in my lungs, my bowels feeling watery as I jumped over fallen logs—as low-hanging branches clipped my face and arms.
A deep voice yelled from close by and my head whipped upward to the sound, distracting me from a small tree in front of me. I struck the rough bark with my shoulder and cursed, stumbling to the ground, pain throbbing down my arm.
I surged back to my feet, ready to run when a sharp spike pierced my skin. Pain and fire seared through me, my scream echoing through the forest as the snake withdrew its stinger from my side.
Stumbling, I placed a hand on my wound, hissing. The venom burned through my veins, making my legs feel weak. I propped against the nearest tree when a glimmer of steel flashed, flying in the air. Hitting its mark, the dagger struck the snake in one of its yellow eyes.
