Chapter 1
KAIA’S POV
I lifted my head slowly, and the moment I did, a sharp headache hit me. My whole body ached, and I was in an uncomfortable position. The first thing I noticed about where I was the smell of blood.
It clung to the air. It was thick, metallic, and fresh.My stomach turned slightly, but I forced it down.
My hands were tied behind my back, and the cold metal bit into my wrists. Rope would have been far better and more bearable.
My face was covered with a dark sack, completely blinding me.The fabric smelled faintly of dust and something damp.
I was in a cream blouse, a dark skirt, and a very thin cardigan that did nothing to protect me from the cold breeze.
This place wasn’t the kind of place you just walked into. And if you’re wondering how I got here, yeah, I’d been kidnapped. And with no money for ransom and no one to report me missing or even look for me, at least in the next 48 hours, my body would probably be found hanging under a bridge by morning.
My mind raced, replaying the last few hours. My plan to successfully escape and leave freely was going well. Too well, now that I thought about it. It should have felt harder.Leaving that place was never supposed to be easy.
I had just gotten down from the taxi and was trying to find the road to Maya’s house when a car slowed beside me. Before I knew it, a hand with a cloth covered my nose, the scent was a sharp chemical which forced its way into my lungs. I tried to pull away, to fight, but my body betrayed me instantly. … and here I am.
Bad thing, Maya didn’t know I was coming, so she has no idea I’m missing. And I knew it wasn’t people from the cathedral, they don’t operate like this.
Or maybe they do…
I heard footsteps, making me try to position myself better, but to no avail. The sack was pulled off my head. Everything was blurry, and the dim light somehow felt sharp for a moment. I shook my head as if trying to reset everything. The room was dim, lit by a single dull overhead bulb that flickered like it couldn’t decide whether I deserved to see or not. I heard another footstep, but I was too tired to properly raise my head.
“You’re awake,” he said, his voice was low and deep, the kind that didn’t need to be loud to command attention.
I did not respond.
The man stopped in front of me, and his strong cologne of cedarwood and cigar hit me, overshadowing the smell of blood.
I struggled to lift my head slightly, and I could see his face, though not clearly.
He crouched just enough to be at my level. I noticed his sharp features, and his eyes that I could not see clearly screamed danger. The aura of command seemed to ooze out of him.
“Who sent you?”
It was not a question but a demand. And what a weird thing to ask someone you kidnapped.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I said quietly.
Then—
Cold metal was pressed against my throat before I could react. It was a knife. Hell, it was time for me to die just like that.
“You’re in no position to try to be clever,” he said.
I was still calm. My level of calmness needed to be studied as if a blade held to someone’s throat was the most normal thing in the world. But inside, my heart slammed violently against my ribs.
“I’m not trying to be clever,” I said. “I’m trying to understand why I’m here.”
Then he tilted his head slightly, as if studying me more closely.
“You don’t know?” he asked.
This time, there was something different in his tone. It wasn’t belief more like suspicion.
“I wouldn’t ask if I did.”
His grip on the knife tightened slightly. That was a warning.
“Wrong answer,” he said.
And just like that, the blade pressed deeper. One wrong move and it would cut. I sucked in a breath, my body instinctively trying to pull back, but there was nowhere to go.
“You think this is a game?” he continued quietly. “You think pretending will help you?”
“I’m not pretending.”
“Then you’re either very stupid… or very well trained.”
His eyes looked with mine and it was searching for something. For what exactly? Fear? Lies? A slip?
“If you wanted me dead,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt, “I’d already be dead.”
Slowly… the knife pulled away. My chest rose sharply as air rushed fully back into my lungs. But relief didn’t come.
“Interesting,” he murmured and it seemed like he realized something .
There was a long pause as he stared deeply into my eyes searching or perhaps studying me.
“You are a mistake,” he said finally. Confusion creeping in.
He stood, turning away from me like I was no longer an immediate threat, but not dismissing me either.
He turned to leave away and two men that I did not know were behind him came forward and I stiffened as one of them grabbed my arm, pulling me roughly to my feet. My legs almost gave out beneath me, the sudden movement sending a wave of dizziness through my head.
I was dragged out into the corridor, my body barely keeping up as they pulled me along. They didn’t stop until we reached a door. It was opened, and the chains around my wrists were unlocked and removed before I was shoved into the room. The door slammed shut behind me, locking immediately.
It was completely dark, there was no single ray of light in here.But the air smelled different here, it was cleaner not like the room before.
I stood there for a moment, letting my eyes try to adjust, but it was useless. Slowly, I moved forward, and my hands were slightly out in front of me.
Then I stumbled into something, it was a low bed.I steadied myself and lowered down onto it carefully. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was better than the floor. At least here, I could rest.
I didn’t know how long I had been here.I hadn’t eaten for hours, but I wasn’t hungry. I was just weak.
I started thinking about how unlucky I had been in this life, from being kept in the cathedral since I was little, staying there for years, trying to escape over and over again… and finally managing to. Only to end up here.
Kidnapped. For reasons I still didn’t understand. But one thing I was sure of was that these weren’t ransom people and they weren’t from the cathedral.
Whoever they were…They felt far more dangerous and far more deadly.
