*Eliza*
I ca to and imdiately realized I was in motion. I was moving fast, bumping around all over the place and sliding back and forth.
I was lying on my side. My ankles were bound, my wrists tied behind my back, and a thick gag was stuck in my mouth.
Once I gained my bearings, I realized I was in the back of a Jeep. Wind rushed around . It must have had the doors and windows removed, the way we were bumping all over the place.
We were probably off-road. Jeeps were good for that.
Voices in the front seat caught my attention.
I rolled over, grunting as my wrist twisted uncomfortably. I saw Aries in the front passenger seat. Soone I’d never seen before was driving.
They were talking about Hestia and Jared. I strained my ears to listen to what they were saying.
“She’s just a ans to an end. It is Jared that Hestia is really after,” Aries said.
“What does Hestia want with him?” the driver asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t really care, either. She can do whatever she wants with him, as long as she replenishes my army. That was the deal.”
“Why does that matter?”
“Jared has been a perpetual thorn in my side. I’m going to make him wish he never crossed with so of the oldest, most brutal thods of torture you can imagine.”
“Haven’t those been outlawed for centuries?”
“Sure, but does it matter? He’s a miscreant. I’m going to cut off his fingers one knuckle at a ti and then feed them to him. He’ll be too broken and scared to ever get in my way again.”
My stomach churned at the thought. It was absolutely horrific, hearing Aries describe what he was going to do.
I struggled against my rope bindings, grunting. I tried to shift but my energy felt sapped as if I were drugged.
Aries imdiately stopped talking. He turned over the car seat and smirked at .
“Ahh, you’re awake. That sedative must be wearing off. No worries, we’re almost there. Did you hear about the special event I have planned for your mate?”
I tried to say sothing but the gag muffled my words. I glared at Aries and snarled. He could talk all he wanted, but he wasn’t going to get away with this....
Aries chuckled. “You don’t have to worry, darling. Once Jared is dead and the Dark King is overthrown, you can be my Luna Queen–the Luna Queen of all Egoren. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
I shook my head and hissed curses at him through my gag. They just ca out as muffled grunts.
“I like your fire, Eliza. That is exactly why I want you to be my Luna.”
I rolled my eyes. He was absolutely delusional if he thought I’d ever agree to that. Why would he think that I would want to be his Luna Queen?
I pushed at the gag with my tongue and tried to call out for help. Hardly any noise made it through the thick fabric and I groaned, dropping my head to the floor of the Jeep trunk.
I recognized the scenery, or what I could see of it. Aries was taking back to his mansion.
‘Jared, please co get soon. I don’t want to be alone with Aries a second longer than I have to be!’ I pleaded silently.
The ride smoothed out and the Jeep ca to a stop. Aries hopped out and yanked the trunk open. Effortlessly, he dragged out and threw over his shoulder.
I kicked and struggled against him but with my bound ankles and wrists, I didn’t make much progress.
Aries carried through the mansion to a room. He dropped on the floor.
My joints ached from the impact. He leaned over and cut the bindings off my wrists and ankles. The knife touched the back of my neck.
I stiffened but then the gag loosened and fell off my face.
“Make yourself at ho, dear Eliza. You’re an honored guest. If there is anything you need, just let know.”
Aries left and closed the door. I heard it lock behind .
Right, I was an honored guest locked in a room.
Sighing, I stood up and rubbed my wrists. The rope had cut into my skin, leaving red marks on my wrists and ankles.
I looked around the room, my eyes landing on the bed. I froze and felt all the blood drain from my face.
Hestia was lying in the bed. Her breathing ca in deep, rasping hisses, her skin pale and pulled tight over her bones. She looked like a living skeleton, so thin and emaciated.
I’d never seen her look so awful... how had she gotten this bad in just a few days?
It was obvious that she was dying. Her sunken eyes settled on and her pale lips pulled up in a terrifying grimace. She looked like a corpse.
There was a shifter sitting on the bed beside her, dabbing at her forehead and arms with a wet cloth.
“Eliza, I only dread you’d co,” Hestia hissed. She tried to lift her hand but her thin, bony arm trembled and it fell back to the bed.
Before I could say anything, two shifters ca in from the adjoining bathroom. They were both naked.
The won lay on the bed beside Hestia and each lifted one of her weak hands, placing it on their bodies.
Hestia’s sickening smile widened a bit more. The won shivered and moaned. I watched as their bodies trembled and withered, their skin turning to a leathery husk around their bones as Hestia sucked the life out of them.
I was horrified to watch, but I couldn’t look away.
Hestia’s attendant pulled the two dead bodies off the bed and shoved them against a wall.
Imdiately, I noticed that Hestia’s body fleshed out so. She didn’t look as pale or skinny. I could tell she was still weak, but her breathing returned to normal.
“Are you going to do that to !?” I cried, pointing to the dried up, mummified bodies.
Panic coursed through . Was this how I was going to die, to slowly and painfully have the life sucked out of ?
Hestia’s attendant helped prop her up on pillows, and she shook her head at .
“Your Light Realm energy does nothing for . There would be no reason.”
I couldn’t help but sigh with relief. It was a little silly, seeing as Hestia hadn’t said she was going to spare . She just wasn’t going to suck my life out.
“What do you want?” I snapped, my voice was much stronger than I felt.
“I am a true servant to the Dark King Lycaon, one of the few left,” Hestia said. “To him, connecting the realms is an affront to his power, and it has unsettled the natural order of things.”
“You already tried to convince that the realms needed to be closed and separated. But they’ve been open for generations and things have been fine. Are you sure it isn’t your ego that doesn’t want the Light and Dark Realms connected?” I crossed my arms.
It was dangerous to taunt her. Hestia was weak, but I knew she could still harm .
“When the realms are unbalanced, it is a slow decline, one that most people don’t notice. I am sensitive to the dark energy because of my connection to Lycaon.”
“Again, I ask if it is your ego that drives your stance.”
Hestia sniffed. “This is a matter of saving our realm. I am the only one....”
“Blah, blah, blah. Right, you’re the only one who can save the day and you’re the only one who knows what is going on. Hestia, I’ve heard it all before.”
“But have you listened!?”
I bit back my retort. Apparently, being held against my will again made unusually feisty.
“You see, Soren Black was not originally of this realm. He crossed over from the Light Realm many years ago.”
“I know the history,” I muttered, glancing down.
“Soren was close to the White Queen at the ti. He brought that influence to the Dark Realm with him, creating a severe imbalance. The light energy existed in both realms, but the dark energy was only in one, hence the imbalance.”
“But if that happened years ago, and the rift was open so long ago, wouldn’t we see the effects before now? Speaking of, what is even happening? I haven’t seen anything that would indicate this cataclysmic imbalance.”
Hestia sucked in a long, drawn-out breath. Slowly, she exhaled. I could tell that she was annoyed.
“His presence disrupted the balance of dark energy. It insulted Dark King Lycaon and his legacy. It disturbed the will of the first Dark King and the future of the true heirs of Egoren!”
“True heirs....” My voice trailed off into the distance. That was a question for another ti.
I was just standing there like an idiot, listening to Hestia’s insane ramblings when I should have been thinking of a way out.
Quickly, I glanced around the room.
There was one window by the bed and the locked door behind . It wasn’t a good situation. Escaping through the doors was an impossibility. Aries had his mansion protected by his remaining guards.
The window was an option, but probably not a good one. I had to at least be on the second floor. Aries had taken up a flight of stairs. Or had he taken up two?
Either way, jumping out the window would lead to my death, or at least several broken bones.
Hestia was still babbling on about sothing to do with the light and dark realms. I’d tuned her out while thinking of my escape plan.
The better thing to do would be to wait for Jared to amass his forces and co for . He would have a much better chance at rescuing , and I knew it wouldn’t take long for him to get word of my kidnapping.
His wolf wouldn’t let him hesitate.
All I had to do was stay alive long enough to give Jared ti. That ant stalling.
I’d need to keep Hestia talking.
The first questions that popped into my mind were about Hestia’s statent concerning the “true heirs” of Egoren. It sounded like more nonsense.
I rembered what Jared had said about Hestia’s desire to close the passageway between the two realms. That seed to be all that Hestia really wanted.
“Hestia?” I cut off her ramblings.
She coughed and leaned forward a little. Her attendant rubbed her back and handed her so water, helping her drink.
“Yes?” she asked in a strangely cordial tone.
“Is it possible to close the bridge between the two realms? Would that solve the problem and restore balance?”
Hestia stared at for a mont. Suddenly, she burst out laughing, which sent her into another coughing fit. She laughed and coughed at the sa ti.
What was she thinking?
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