Chapter 13 — The Inheritance
1530 Words
Aliyah’s POV
The forest swallows us.
Branches claw at my arms. Wet leaves slap against my legs. The night air stings my lungs, but I have to keep going, because Adrian is leaning heavier on me every second.
His breathing is getting worse. Shallow. And labored.
It's terrifying.
“Aliyah…” he murmurs, barely audible. “Maybe you could just leave me here. I’m slowing you down—”
“No,” I whisper fiercely. “Don’t you dare stop. Not yet!”
He gives a soft exhale, a painful one. “I didn't know you’re… stronger than you look.”
“You’re heavier than you look.” I answered, trying to make a distraction.
Even now, even bleeding, even fighting consciousness, he huffs a weak laugh. “I’ll, uh… take that as a compliment.”
But his steps falter again.
“Adrian,” I breathe, “look at me.”
He tries. His eyelids flutter.
“I’m... fine,” he whispers.
“You’re not fine,” I say, voice cracking. “You’re losing blood. Your shirt is soaked. And you’re turning… pale.”
He sways.
I tighten my grip. “Adrian, stay with me.”
His voice is thin. “I'm trying, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart?
The word steals my breath.
It terrifies me.
It warms me.
It breaks me.
The shouts behind us are distant now, but still close enough to tighten fear around my heart.
But so much for that! We need cover.
A fallen tree is up ahead, hollowed by age, half-rotted but big enough for us to hide behind.
I guide Adrian toward it, practically dragging him the last few feet.
He collapses to his knees with a sharp groan.
“Adrian!” I drop beside him, grabbing his face with trembling hands. “Hey! Adrian.”
His eyes struggle to focus. “Aliyah… you… you’re shaking.”
“Of course I’m shaking!” Tears burn down my cheeks before I can stop them. “You’re bleeding out in the middle of the woods. How can I not shake?!”
His mouth twitches. Soft, fond, but pained.
“You’re… something else, huh.”
“Yes. A mess. Now shut up and let me help you.”
He laughs. It sounds like it hurts.
I tear open his shirt.
The wound is too deep.
Blood slicks his ribs, warm against my hands. My stomach flips, but I force myself to stay steady. I can panic later.
“Aliyah…” His voice is barely there. “You don’t… you don’t have to—”
“I have to,” I cut in firmly. “How can we survive if I don't?”
His head falls back against the tree trunk, exhaustion pulling at his features.
“How I wish I met you… in a normal life,” he murmurs.
I shake my head. “Don't talk like that.”
“You’d be safe,” he whispers. “You wouldn’t be running through forests if only I've had a normal life.”
“It's all too late for that normal life, Adrian. And I’m not running because of you,” I say, wiping more blood with shaking fingers. “I’m running with you. There’s a difference.”
His gaze softens.
“Aliyah…”
Before he can say anything else, a c***k of a twig echoes nearby.
Too close.
My blood turns to ice.
Adrian stiffens, reaching for his gun. His hand slips. He curses under his breath.
“No.” I grab his wrist, pushing the weapon back toward his chest. “You can’t shoot right now. You can’t hold it steady.”
“Aliyah—”
“Let me handle it.”
His eyes widen, sharp and alert despite the pain. “No. You can’t put yourself—”
“I already did,” I whisper. “Back in the safehouse. And if I have to do it again, I will.”
His jaw clenches.
“Aliyah,” he breathes, “listen to me. If they find you—”
“They won’t, okay?” I say, even though I’m scared out of my mind. “Because I won’t let them.”
Then, another c***k. Another shuffle.
Adrian grabs the back of my shirt, yanking me closer until my forehead touches his.
His breath brushes my lips.
“Stay behind me,” he orders.
“No,” I breathe.
His eyes are dark, and burning. “Aliyah—”
“Adrian, no. You can't do anything in that state”
He looks both enraged and terrified.
I crawl to the edge of the hollowed trunk and peek out.
Three men search the woods.
Flashlights sweep through the trees.
They’re hunting, focused, and silent.
I duck back, breathing quickly.
“They’re here,” I whisper.
Adrian lifts his gun again, teeth bared through the pain.
“Give me the weapon,” he demands.
“You can’t even hold it straight!”
“I don’t care—I’m not letting them take you.”
I grab his face again, forcing him to look at me.
“Adrian Lysander,” I whisper, voice trembling but fierce, “you are not dying for me. I owe you nothing. So please, let me do it this time.”
His breath stutters.
Emotion flickers deep in his eyes. A raw, and unfiltered panic.
“I can’t lose you,” he whispers.
“I'm not saying, you won't. But I'm trying to fight back, for us, so we can escape this deadly situation.”
He closes his eyes for a moment, leaning into my touch despite everything.
"If something happens—"
"Nothing won't happen."
"Aliyah—"
I shake my head, touching my forehead, again, to his.
“We'll live through this. Together. Or at least we tried.”
His breathing shudders.
He nods once, but I can see the agony in his eyes.
“If only I wasn't injured this badly...” I cut him off by pressing my finger to his lips, gently.
The crunch of footsteps stops directly in front of us.
My heart leaps into my throat.
A flashlight beam grazes the hollow tree.
Adrian tightens his grip on the gun, ready to spring despite his wound.
I push his arm down.
"Aliyah," he whispers urgently, "what are you doing—"
"I'm trying to save us."
I grab a rock near my foot, take a deep breath, and throw it as far as I can into the opposite direction.
It hits a tree with a loud, sharp c***k.
Flashlights jerk toward the sound.
“There!” one man shouts.
They rush toward it.
Adrian exhales shakily, shoulders dropping. “You’re smarter than I expected.”
“There's no time to flutter,” I whisper.
When their footsteps fade, I return to tending his wound.
His fingers twitch against my wrist.
“You never told me,” I say quietly, “the real reason why they want me.”
Adrian goes still.
“Aliyah…” He swallows. “There’s something you need to know.”
I brace myself.
“When you were a child,” he says slowly, “your parents… they were connected to mine. Not the mafia. Not the violence. But something else.”
“Something else?”
He nods weakly. “My uncle thinks you inherited something. Something your family kept hidden. Something he wants.”
“Unbelievable. Inheritance? I couldn't even afford to buy myself a luxurious dress.”
His eyes lift to mine. Dark, and haunted.
“A code, Aliyah,” he whispers. “A key. A location. I don’t know. But whatever it is… it's powerful enough that he’d burn the world to get it.”
My blood runs cold.
“Why me? I don't even know what you're talking about...” I whisper.
“Because,” Adrian says, voice breaking, “he thinks you’re the only one left who has access to it.”
Silence crashes over us.
Wind rustles through the trees.
Adrian’s breath trembles.
And everything in my life suddenly feels, different.
It felt heavier, darker, and... larger.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I wanted to tell you sooner, but—”
I place a hand over his mouth gently.
“Even if it still feels unbelievable to me right now, but since you already dragged me into this, we’ll deal with it,” I whisper. “Together.”
His eyes soften, as if those words lift something impossible off his shoulders.
Then, with a shaky breath, he leans into my palm.
“Aliyah,” he murmurs, “come here.”
I move closer. Careful, and gentle.
His hand finds the back of my neck, pulling me until our foreheads meet once more.
“You saved my life,” he whispers.
“You saved me first. I just did what I had to do.”
“I’ll always save you,” he breathes.
His thumb grazes my cheek.
“And I’ll always come back to you.”
His breath trembles.
So does mine.
Outside, the night grows colder.
The danger grows closer.
But for a moment… there is only us.
We're both hurting, hiding. But we're still alive, together.
- Writer
