Langston’s silly attempt at getting me to admit feelings toward him didn’t go unnoticed. I knew exactly what he was doing when he started the game. The problem is, everything is so damn complicated.
I close my eyes and let my head fall back, pretending to be hit by the dart. A few seconds later, I hear men’s voices mumbling above us, but I can’t make out what they are saying. A creak of the window and the thump of a rope follows. I so wish I could open my eyes, but I need to wait until we are above ground. That will give me the best chance of learning something that will help us escape.
I wish Langston hadn’t been knocked unconscious, that we had removed the dart in time. When I kissed him, I felt nothing back, though. He wouldn’t have been able to resist kissing me back if he was still conscious.
Langston’s body is lifted up off of me a few minutes later. Despite how hard it was to breathe with Langston on me, I immediately miss the feeling of his body against mine.
Another man lifts me into his brawny arms before I’m set down again. I smell Langston’s body immediately, and I know I’m lying on his body.
Before I can worry about damaging Langston’s injured arm further, I feel a contraption swinging us in the air. I hold my breath to keep from shrieking as the rig swings hard to the left, nearly knocking us off. S
omehow, I resist the urge to grab onto Langston and reveal myself.
The swinging stops as we are plopped on the ground. We are upstairs, above ground, no longer in the tower.
I feel hairy arms beneath my head and legs as I’m once again lifted from the ground, away from Langston. My heart aches at the distance between us. I hope that Langston is being carried right behind me and that we are headed to the same room. I’m not sure I can stand to be apart from him when he’s so vulnerable while unconscious, not to mention his hurt arms.
The man carrying me walks for a while. Apparently, wherever he’s taking me to be tortured isn’t nearby.
A door is kicked open, and I’m desperate to open my eyes to see where I am. But I keep my eyes tightly closed and do everything I can to keep my breathing and heartbeat slow and steady.
I’m plopped down roughly on a couch as if to test if I’m awake. I don’t react, even when one of my hands and legs fall off the couch. I let them hang uncomfortably, my body barely staying on the couch.
Footsteps retreat, and then I hear the door close.
Even then, I don’t move.
I’m lying on a couch, but I know without opening my eyes that Langston isn’t here with me. I’d feel him. It terrifies me where they could be taking him or what they could be torturing him with.
My fear makes me brave enough to open my eyes the tiniest of slits. I’m in a fancy room, in what seems like a castle. The walls are stone, just like the tower we’ve been kept in, and the furniture looks like it comes from the previous millennia. The couch I’m lying on has gold claw feet, matching the color of the chandelier over my head.
But the room is empty. I open my eyes further and lift my head. It’s then I see one of the two doors is open. Through its opening, I see another door with an inset window revealing the outside.
I could run.
Langston told me if I got the opportunity, I should run.
My heart thumps so slowly and loudly in my chest; I’m sure everyone in the house can hear it.
I stare at the door.
Run, I tell myself.
But I don’t. I don’t even get off the couch. I sit and turn my head to the other door—the closed door, the door I must have been carried through. That’s the way to Langston.
I hear Langston’s voice in my head. Run, huntress. Don’t worry about me. Save yourself.
My heart flickers to the closed door.
I should run. I know I should. This might be my only chance. And by running, I could go and get help. I could call Enzo or Kai so they could send a team to rescue Langston.
I don’t know how much longer I have until someone comes to check on me. I don’t know how many guards are outside the house. I don’t know if I’ll get this chance again.
I stand, trying to make my decision.
Left to freedom.
Or right to Langston.