Phoenix Rising

Chapter Five

I had no idea where Lily had disappeared to.

I assumed The King had someone escort her to a room just as he had me when we walked through the doors of the castle.

He and his Beta had to attend a meeting with the Shifter leaders who were set to arrive at any moment. I was put under strict orders not to speak to anyone nor leave the room I was put in for any reason. He had two guards posted outside the door as well as one inside to keep an eye on me. Smart Man.

After what I had seen at The Tavern my flight instinct had kicked into overdrive. I was actively glancing around the room for an escape route. I had no idea how to get out of this room much less the Kingdom or even if I made it as far as the forests. Yet I still thought it would be better stumbling through the wilderness of the Wasteland than staying here like an animal trapped in a cage.

I made up my mind after an hour of careful deliberation while sitting in the middle of the floor. There was a huge king-sized bed, but I refused to go near it after arriving at the conclusion that this must be The King's bedroom.

The warrior who was posted by the door still hadn't taken his eyes off of me nor spoken a word. He did give me an odd look when I had originally sat in the floor facing him though. I was watching him watch me- all while plotting my great escape.

I would go out the bathroom window, climb down the stone, possibly fall to my death, and dive into the river on the backside of the castle hoping for the best. There was no way I was crossing the bridge with Kronos guarding it. This was the only way.

"If I go piss are you gonna watch me?" I piped up suddenly setting my plan into motion.

His eyebrows rose as if he were surprised I had asked such a thing. I could tell he hadn't been prepped for this specific situation, and he had no clue what to do. The King would kill him for watching me, yet he would kill him for taking his eyes off me too. It was really a no-win situation for the poor guy.

He cleared his throat while nodding to the door after a few moments. "Yes. I mean no. Just- close the door."

I stood up slowly and made my way to the door normally trying not to give him any reason to be suspicious. Once I shut the door and turned around my eyes were already scanning for something I could use to keep the door shut. Even if there was a lock I couldn't use it because the wolf standing twenty feet away would hear it click.

As I spotted the curtain rod pressure mounted to the walls I knew exactly what to do. I walked over casually and silently stepped up onto the side of the tub. I twisted the rod in the center to release the pressure and pull it down letting the curtain slide off into the bathtub. I called out to the warriors I knew were listening at the same time. "Hey! Does everyone get a nice tub to bathe in like this? I imagine it's far better than the creek back home."

I held my breath for a moment until I heard his voice call back out to me. "You're an odd woman."

I continued rambling on as I stuck one end of the pole to the floor and the other to the ceiling in front of the door. "We're my eyes not a dead giveaway to that already?"

I heard him sigh while I extended the pole and twisted it creating enough pressure it would cause a few seconds of distraction once the warrior tried to open the door. Of course, I knew it literally would only be seconds before he would kick it in with his wolf strength. Seconds could be the determining factor of whether or not I can slip into the river unseen though.

Leaning over I flushed the toilet to make it seem realistic. Then I turned the sink on so the noise would block out the sound of the window beside the tub swinging open. Climbing into the tub and moving to the end where the windowsill sat evenly with the foot of the tub, I reached out and gently pushed it open. Surprisingly it didn't squeak like I had thought it would.

I swung my leg over and leaned out to peek down at the ground. My eyes widened as I realized I would die instantly if I fell from this high up.

A nervous knot in my stomach formed as I turned to face the stone of the castle in an attempt to climb down. My foot stepped down finding a dip in the rocks to use as stability as my hand searched around for somewhere to grab. I had to rub it across the stone a few times to rid the sweat that kept forming or else I was surely to lose my grip moving lower down.

"You alright in there?" I heard the warrior's voice call out from above.

Shit. s**t. s**t.

My feet and hands miraculously began working faster to get us the hell out of here. Urgency kicked in as I heard his voice once again. "Hey- what the hell?"

By the time I heard the crash of the door being kicked in I managed to get low enough I could jump down the rest without severally injuring myself.

Not a moment too soon I hit the ground with a thud and my body crumbled from the impact.

"Alert the King!" I heard the warrior shout with panic evident in his voice.

Scrambling to my feet I took off sprinting staying as close as I could to the castle wall. I had no idea if he saw me but at that angle, he would've had to lean over the window to look down underneath it to see the underside of the castle.

Truthfully It didn't matter the closer I got to the river. There were only about five steps left between myself and freedom.

The ground suddenly began shaking underneath my feet, but it was too late.

Three.

Two.

One.

My feet pushed off the ground and sent me flying forward airborne. Right as I did so my eyes widened and every fiber of my being ignited with fear at what appeared right in front of my face.

Letting out a demonic roar, the head of the biggest damn serpent I'd ever seen rose from its hiding place in the dark water below. Its mouth was stretched wide open ready to swallow me whole as I leaped right into it.

The thought hadn't occurred to me that there might be something deadly in the water. Now I would pay for that mistake with my life.

I closed my eyes and threw my arms around my head to protect it instinctively. Abruptly I felt a sharp tug on the back of the jumpsuit I still wore. The force had caused my arms to lose grip and flail out to the sides as I went flying back away from the Serpent right as its mouth snapped shut inches from my face. From there my vision started spinning as I was thrown to the ground roughly causing me to roll across the grass a few times before finally skidding to a halt.

Quickly I shuffled around to look back at the river. My eyes landed on the serpent as it hissed furiously at my savior. "Kronos," I gasped out.

He was too busy letting out a far more bone-chilling growl at the serpent to turn and look at me. It was a warning to the creature to back off, immediately.

Briefly, I wondered who would win that fight. The creature or the beast standing guard in front of me.

It seemed the serpent already knew the answer as it slowly lowered its' head back down under the water but not before sparing me one last glance. A look that promised the next time would be the last time.

Kronos finally turned to me as I laid back propped on my elbows staring up at him. I didn't know whether to thank him or snap at him for throwing me so hard. I decided I was already knee-deep in s**t- better not dig myself deeper.

I was still trying to wrap my head around what I had just seen but I managed to mutter a breathless, "Thank you."

He took a few steps closer before his angry, other-worldly voice began drifting through the wind. "Stay away from the waters. The serpent is not the only creature lurking deep within."

I started shaking my head in a yes manner to let him know I understood. My mouth opened to speak, but my words died out as the wolf slowly bowed his head. He took a final step and eliminated the distance between us causing his furry head ten times larger than my own to rest softly against mine. Speaking once more his tone seemed to change by the worry I sensed in it.

"Are you alright, Little One? I was fearful I would not get to you in time."

His eyes were looking into mine almost as if he were searching for something. I had no idea what, and I never got the chance to ask.

"Where is she!" The King roared somewhere in the not too far-off distance.

Then I could hear the warrior who had been tasked with watching me earlier. "We checked the courtyards, Sir. I sent a few warriors to the perimeter and Kronos has left his position to find the girl."

My eyes were still locked onto Kronos and suddenly I watched as they glazed over. He was mind-linking the King and letting him know I had been found. Traitor.

"I'm sorry," I managed to mumble out to the wolf before forcefully kicking his chest and pushing him a few feet back.

I couldn't just sit and wait for the wrath of the King. The river didn't work, but with Kronos gone from guarding the gate maybe I had a chance to pass through it.

Scrambling to my feet I took off running back the way I'd come around the side of the castle. To my surprise, I didn't hear the pounding of the wolf's feet behind me.

He let me go?

I didn't have time to ponder that right now. I had to get the hell out of here. It was suspiciously clear the whole thirty-second run to the courtyard where the huge oak tree sat. I hadn't seen a single shifter until my foot touched down on the Bridgeway.

Then- I saw him.

Movement out of the corner of my eye caused my head to whip to the side. The fear was evident on my face as I saw the King begin sprinting towards me from the other side of the Oaktree. He let out an irritated growl as I snapped my head back forward and continued my strides to the gate.

The gate that I realized was now closing. s**t.

Shit.

His heavy footsteps hit the bridge as the gate reached the halfway point of closing. Then another set of even heavier ones thudded behind those.

Kronos.

Whose side was that damn wolf on?

Suddenly my feet seemed to push harder on the ground, and I closed in on the iron spiked gate. At the speed I was going there were two outcomes: crash right into the gate and break every bone in my body or slide underneath hopefully before the spikes impaled me.

Luckily for me, it seemed the moon favored me today.

At the last moment, I dropped to the ground and slid feet first right through the crack. I heard the boom and felt the ground shake slightly as the Iron spikes clamped down into the concrete holes, and the iron bars slammed against the ground.

Twisting my body around to lie on my stomach and look up my eyes were met with a pair of infuriated ones. He had stopped a few steps away from the gate with Kronos at his side. The bloody wolf looked almost as if he was grinning at me meanwhile, The King seemed to grow a grin of his own. However, his was far more malicious.

I began to realize why too as he took a slow step forward. Abruptly hair began to sprout out around his neck and face, then everywhere as he took another step. He was shifting to his Lycan form.

"I told you," he began as I watched him take the final step. His hands wrapped around the iron bars before he continued, "I won't ever let you go."

All the hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention as the sound of metal creaking echoed across the space between us. The gate began to lift from the ground, and the fear I felt earlier amplified.

This was no man- this was the real beast.