Whisper in the Dark

Chapter 17

Adult Content 18+

“Alexa has given herself to a tribal. We do not have much time. We will need to get her before the queen knows and sends someone to kill her. She will most likely send Ronan to kill her. We will have to implement our plan sooner than what we thought. I have already contacted her to prepare her.”

“I know. I hoped we have more time. The girls are too young and naïve. I really hoped we could shelter them for longer before we had to bring them to this place. Soraya is to stay there, she was promised and I cannot go back on my word. It was unfortunately the price that was paid. I hope she understands and will be able to forgive me,” he says to her.

They knew this day would come but this was not the plan. They were supposed to extract the girls at the age of 18 and then their guardians would have explained the whole situation to them and given them proper training regarding their powers. Now it was up to him to get things sorted, like always. He despised Ronan. Vaneska always had Ronan by her side. He looks at her before nodding. She knew exactly what to do. He now had to play his part.

~~

Alexa got up feeling exhausted after her restless night. Hopefully it will be a quiet day today at the tavern, she really did not feel like dealing with the grumpy woman.

The girls headed to the tavern to start a long day’s work. Before they could reach the door both girls felt a shiver run up their spine.

“Something is definitely wrong,” Soraya said to her sister. Alexa nodded in agreement. It felt like there was a heavy presence hanging in the air. Something was about to happen, but what it is they do not know.

“Let’s get inside, I have a very bad feeling,” Alexa said to Soraya.

They picked up the pace and darted for the door, quickly shutting it behind them.

~~

“Ronan give up! I will have them and there is nothing you can do about it. My powers are much stronger than yours,” the woman said to Ronan.

“You are naïve, Arabel,” Ronan says through gritted teeth. She was starting to annoy him.

He immediately sensed her presence when he arrived in the village. He just knew she came for the girls. He despised her. He immediately cloaked himself and levitated in the air for her to see him and confront him.

“Why do you want the girls? Of what use are they to you?” He asks her.

“I can ask you the same question. Oh, but that won’t matter. You only want power and have become a power-hungry beast. You have lost all sense of humanity.”

“You are just jealous that I chose the queen above you.” Ronan says to her with a smirk on his face.

She immediately felt the anger flare up in her. Regardless of their past, he has become a monster and she can no longer protect or love him. She has dedicated her life to grow stronger and be ready for when these girls return, that they can take back what is rightfully theirs. Ronan will not stand in her way, no one will. She realizes that a battle with him will draw unwanted attention and she was not here for that. She needed to get to Alexa before Ronan tries to kill her. As if sensing what she had in mind Ronan immediately drops to the ground and starts running for the village.

She quickly drops as well before looking around her to make sure no one saw them. At the edge of the village both of them stand ready to pounce any moment to get to Alexa first. They have to get to her when no one is around. She would like to keep it clean. Ronan on the other hand has a thirst for blood.

Alexa comes out of the back door of the tavern with Soraya. The girls walk to the river with laundry baskets. Arabel immediately try to connect with Alexa. She has done it before so it should not prove that hard to make a bond with her and warn her of the imminent danger.

Alexa quickly jumps to her feet from where she has been bent over at the water. She quickly looks around her before bending down and grabbing Soraya’s hand.

“Quickly, we need to run!” Soraya looks at Alexa puzzled.

Alexa pulls her sister to her feet and start running into the forest with her.

“Alexa! What is the meaning of this? What is wrong?” Soraya tries to pull her sister to a stop.

“A witch or sorcerer, whatever you would like to call her, contacted me a few days ago. She said to be ready for when she comes. She just contacted me again and said that the people who are responsible for our parents’ death is nearby. We need to run!”

Soraya’s eyes widen at Alexa’s words and she starts running behind her sister.

“She also said we should not be afraid to use our powers as we will need them to protect ourselves.”

Soraya’s heart beats erratically inside of her. She feels numb as she runs and just follows without thinking. Suddenly a force hits her from the front and sends her flying against a tree. She hits her head against a rock and passes out. Alexa does not notice that her sister is no longer behind her and continues running.

Ronan walks closer to Soraya and studies her face. He quickly picks her up bridal style and walks off with her.

Alexa finally stops out of breath and quickly looks behind her. Soraya is gone. Her sister is no longer behind her. What happened? Where is she? She starts to panic before a strong force approaches her.

“Please! Do not come near me! I will kill you if I have to!” She screams at the approaching person.

“No need child. Remember me? We need to get going and quickly!” Arabel says to Alexa.

“No, we can’t! What about my sister?” Alexa starts to cry as her voice is laced thick with fear.

“They did not come for her; they came to kill you. She will be alright. We need to go.” Arabel quickly places her finger on Alexa’s forehead before everything starts spinning and they are teleported to a different location. Drowsiness overtakes Alexa and she passes out in a void.

Ronan walks deeper into the forest with Soraya in his arms, to where the queen has made a portal for him. He quickly enters and disappears with Soraya. If he can’t have Alexa, then the other one will have to do. Now that the coven is after them as well the queen will be belated that he got her one of her daughters at least.

Perseus lurks nearby and sees Ronan disappear into the portal. He needs to get this information to his father and quickly. Now things are out of his control. He can’t protect her or his unborn child in the queen’s castle. His father will have to come up with a plan.

He quickly dives into the river and swims as fast as he can back to the palace to report back to his father.

~~

“WHAT!” He roars in the palace.

“He . . . he took . . .” Perseus stutters.

“Spit it out boy! A strong man does not stutter for he is not afraid of his words or the consequences but speaks the truth regardless,” his father says through gritted teeth.

“He took her to the castle most likely,” he quickly adds.

“Is. She. Pregnant?”

“I do not know father. What would you like me to do?” Perseus asks his father.

He ponders for a moment before turning to his son.

“You need to stay close to the castle. I will have a sorcerer put a spell on you to disguise your identity. Find work at the palace. I have someone on the inside who will be able to assist and then try to befriend her. Stay as close as possible to her.”

Perseus sighs. This is not what he was hoping for. He wants to protect her but not be that close to her. He turns to leave before his father speaks again.

“Do not disappoint me.”

Those words burn into his back as he leaves. As soon as he is outside the door he runs his fingers through his hair in frustration. He thinks now might be a good time to come clean to Marina about all of this. He just hopes she would understand.

~~

“Marina, Marina,” he whispers close to her face.

She stirs and turns her head to look him in the eyes. Immediately she smiles.

“Hey,” she says in a sleepy voice.

“Hey to you too. Can we go somewhere and talk?” She immediately sits up and looks concerned.

“Is something wrong?” She asks.

“Yes, we really need to talk. It is about my father.”

“That man again. What now?” She slides back into her bed and turns her body away from him.

“Please do not be like that. This is really important.” He sighs. He has been worried about how to approach her and how he was going to address this. He just hopes she understands.

She gets up and walks out the door before turning back to him.

“The coast is clear.”

They quickly slipped out.

The two of them swam a distance before settling on some boulders a distance from her father’s place.

“What is wrong,” she asks.

He does not know how to start and stares into the distance before taking a deep breath.

“I impregnated a girl.”

She looks at him with shock. “What do you mean?” She hopes she did not hear correctly.

“My father threatened your life unless I impregnate this girl by force. He wants an heir.”

“You . . .you r***d her?” The tears are already forming in her eyes.

He looks down at his hands in his lap, not sure what to say about his deeds. There is no excuse. What he did is horrific to say the least.

“I thought I can protect you, but I was wrong and I feel extremely guilt-ridden for what I did to this girl. She is still young.”

The tears stream down her face as she stares at him in disbelieve.

“You r***d a child. And that to please your father.” She shakes her head. “I can’t look at you.” She quickly slides off the boulder into the water.

He lets her go. Nothing he says can make right what he did. She will most likely never forgive him.