Chapter 4
979 Words
Arias POV
Black.
Cold metal under my cheek,
My head hurt.
I opened my eyes.
I was on the floor of the van, It wasn’t moving.
Gunfire outside. Shouting.
The doors burst open,
Light hit me and I flinched.
"Miss Collins. Can you hear me?"
It wasn’t Council. It was one of Damien’s guards.
He pulled me up. "We’ve got her, She’s alive."
I stumbled out, Three Council vans were overturned. Men in black were on the ground, Some moving. Some not.
Damien’s men had guns out, scanning.
And Damien was there.
Shirt sleeves rolled up, Blood on his knuckles. Not his.
He saw me and crossed the space in two steps.
He grabbed my face with both hands.
"Look at me," he said. "Are you hurt?"
"No," I whispered. "I’m okay."
He exhaled like he’d been holding his breath for hours, Then he pulled me against his chest. Hard.
"I told you I’d find you," he said against my hair.
"I know," I said. My voice shook.
"Get her in the car," he told his guard. "Now."
We drove in silence, Me in his lap. His arms locked around me like he thought I’d disappear.
Finally I spoke. "How did they know? About the silver blood?"
"I don’t know," Damien said. "But someone told them. Someone in my house."
"Lucas?"
"Maybe." His jaw ticked. "He’ll talk. One way or another."
We pulled up to the estate, It was 3 AM.
The house was quiet. Too quiet.
Damien didn’t let go of me until we were inside my room.
He shut the door and locked it.
"Sleep," he said. "I’m posting guards outside."
"I can’t sleep," I said. "Not after this."
He looked at me for a long time, Then he sat on the edge of my bed.
"Then don’t."
I sat beside him, The red dress was still on me. Torn now.
"Why me?" I asked. "Why did you really pick me?"
He was quiet. Then, "Because you smelled like silver. And because when I saw you in that hospital, you didn’t beg. You fought."
"I wasn’t fighting," I said. "I was desperate."
"Same thing." He turned to me. "The Council wants you for rituals, They drain carriers. It kills them. I won’t let that happen."
"So you’re keeping me to save me?"
"I’m keeping you because you’re mine now," he said. Simple. Final.
The word did something to me.
"Damien," I said.
He looked at me, Really looked.
For a second I thought he was going to kiss me.
His phone buzzed instead.
He glanced at it and cursed.
"What?" I asked.
"We have a problem." He stood. "The Council is calling an emergency meeting, They’re declaring you a rogue asset. They want you handed over by sunrise."
"Or what?"
"Or they come for you. With force."
He walked to the door. "Stay here. Don’t open it for anyone but me."
"Damien, wait."
He stopped. "What?"
"Thank you," I said. "For coming for me."
He didn’t answer. He just left.
I tried to sleep, I couldn’t.
At 5 AM there was a knock.
"Miss Collins? Mr. Blackthorne said to get you."
I opened the door. It wasn’t a guard.
It was a maid I’d never seen before. Young. Nervous.
"Hurry," she whispered. "They’re coming. You have to go."
"Who’s coming?"
"The Council. Please. Mr. Blackthorne told me to get you out."
Something felt wrong.
"Where is he?"
"He’s in the east wing. Fighting. He said to take you to the tunnels."
I followed her, Downstairs. Through the kitchen. To a door I’d never noticed.
She opened it. Stairs going down.
"Go," she said. "I’ll hold them off."
I went down three steps.
Then I heard it.
Footsteps above. More than one.
I turned. "Wait—"
The maid was gone.
The door shut.
Click.
Locked.
I was alone in the dark.
And then I heard voices at the top of the stairs.
"Clear the house," a man said. "Find the girl."
Council.
I ran. The tunnel was damp and narrow. My heels slipped.
Behind me, the door opened again.
"Aria," a voice called. Familiar.
Lucas.
"Run all you want," he said. "You’re coming with me. The Council pays well for silver blood."
I didn’t answer. I ran faster.
The tunnel split. Two ways.
Left or right.
I chose right.
And ran straight into a wall.
Dead end.
Footsteps behind me. Getting closer.
I pressed my back to the wall. No weapon. No phone. Nothing.
"Found you," Lucas said. He stepped into the light. Smiling.
"Now, be a good girl and come quietly. Or I’ll have to drag you."
He reached for me.
And then the lights went out.
A body slammed into Lucas.
Fists. Grunts.
"Get off her," Damien growled.
I couldn’t see anything.
"Damien?" I called.
"Aria, stay down," he said. More hits.
Then light.
Damien stood over Lucas, who was on the ground, bleeding.
Damien turned to me. Blood on his shirt. His face.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
I nodded. I couldn’t talk.
He picked me up, Carried me back through the tunnel.
When we got upstairs, the house was full of his men. Council men in handcuffs.
He set me down in the living room.
"Get a doctor," he told someone. "Now."
"I’m fine," I said. "I’m fine."
He cupped my face again, His hands were shaking.
"They almost had you," he said quietly. "Again."
"I’m sorry," I whispered.
"Don’t be sorry." He wiped blood off my cheek with his thumb. "Be mine."
The front doors blew open.
More Council.
The leader stepped in, Older man. Cold eyes.
"Mr. Blackthorne," he said. "Hand over the girl. This is your last warning."
Damien stood in front of me.
"No," he said. "She stays with me."
The man smiled. "Then we take her."
He raised his hand.
And twenty armed men walked in behind him.
- Writer
