Chapter2:Inthelion’sden
1069 Words
ELYSIA
My eyes snapped open to suffocating darkness. For a moment, it felt even heavier than when they were closed. A dull ache pulsed through my body, and I tried to touch my head—only for cold steel to bite into my wrist.
Cuffed.
Panic surged as the events leading to this moment clawed their way back.
It had been an ordinary night. A walk, a harmless curiosity. I saw the door of an abandoned warehouse left open and let my foolishness got the best of me. I should have gone home. Now, I was trapped. And the King wouldn’t spare me.
I struggled against the cuffs, desperation shredding my patience. I need to get out. Now.
“You’re awake.”
A voice cut through the chaos, and I went rigid.
The coldness in his tone was unmistakable—he carried it like a signature. Heavy footsteps echoed, the darkness swallowing his movements. I couldn’t tell where he was coming from.
Sweat slid down my temple.
A sharp snap of fingers, and light flooded the room.
I flinched, my breath hitching.
I came face-to-face with the devil.
Jolting, I tried to move, but the cuffs yanked me back. Chains rattled. I was bound to a chair bolted to the ground.
A low grunt came from him, breaking into a quiet, undermining laugh that never reached his eyes. He studied me, his gaze pressing down like a weight. My heart slammed against my ribs.
“I was starting to think you’d slipped into a coma,” he mused.
A coma? How long had I been out?
I swallowed, forcing myself to take him in. He wore a black shirt, the first few buttons undone, revealing a hint of his toned chest. His sleeves were rolled up, dark hair tousled as if he hadn’t bothered to fix it. A glass of clear liquid swirled in his hand as he sipped.
“Are you done?” His voice was edged with amusement.
I flinched, snapping my gaze back to his.
He couldn’t be talking to me.
But a question burned in my throat, and somehow, I found the nerve to ask it.
“Where am I?”
The sound of my own voice unsettled me. I sounded weak.
He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, taking another slow sip.
“Somewhere no one will find you.”
A chill spread through my veins.
“Why am I still alive?”
His smirk flickered, amusement vanishing as quickly as it came.
“Now that is an intelligent question.”
I opened my mouth, but froze when he stood.
Towering. Unyielding.
He moved behind me, circling like a predator.
I heard him crouch. Felt his breath against my ear.
“You saw something you shouldn’t have,” he murmured, his voice a whisper, light as air. A violent shiver wracked my body. “You understand the weight of that, don’t you?”
“I—”
“Quiet.”
The word was a blade, slicing through my feeble attempt at speech.
My instincts screamed at me to shrink back. To disappear.
His fingers brushed my neck, sending a sharp sting through my skin. Then, suddenly, he fisted my hair and yanked my head back.
I gasped.
Our faces were inches apart.
My lungs clenched. Words stuck in my throat.
He was too close.
Too dangerous.
“Who sent you?” His voice was low, laced with anger.
I locked eyes with him, my stomach sinking.
Wait.
He thought I had been sent?
No. No, no, no. This was worse than I thought. If he believed I was a threat, I wouldn’t get out of this alive.
But how was I even thinking right now? He could shoot me without a second thought.
The realization jolted through me. He noticed. His eyes narrowed.
“I-I… No one sent me. Please.”
He exhaled slowly, his grip tightening for a fraction of a second before releasing me. My head dropped forward, neck burning.
“I don’t involve outsiders in my affairs,” he said coolly. “Nothing is a coincidence.”
A death sentence.
“I swear, I don’t know anything!” My voice cracked. “No one sent me—please believe me! I—”
His jaw tensed.
A long, suffocating silence stretched between us.
Then, finally—
“Prove your innocence.”
I stopped breathing.
His words thundered in my skull.
“Give me a reason to let you live.”
A test. A trap. A game I had no idea how to play.
He stood, strolling back to his chair with slow, deliberate ease. Settling in as if this were all routine.
Anger spiked through my fear.
“Why do I have to prove my innocence?” The words shot out before I could stop them. “If I was a threat, I’d be dead already.”
Something flickered in his expression.
Amusement.
It was gone in an instant.
“Smart,” he mused. “But not smart enough.”
He lifted his glass, taking another lazy sip.
“You’ll tell me everything—how you got there, what you saw, and who sent you.”
“No one sent me!” My voice sharpened.
He tilted his head, unimpressed. “I don’t believe in coincidences.”
Before I could argue, the door swung open.
A man stepped inside.
Tall. Sharp-eyed. Dangerous.
Rafael.
Recognition slammed into me. He was the one who had dragged me out of the darkness.
“Rafael.”
“Boss, we have a problem.”
The King didn’t move, but his expression darkened.
“Handle it,” he said flatly.
“It’s about her.”
Rafael threw me a look full of contempt.
My stomach dropped.
Me?
God, what had I gotten myself into?
The King rose to his full height. Locked eyes with Rafael.
“Out.”
Rafael didn’t hesitate. He turned and left.
Silence settled again.
Then the King looked at me.
Unreadable.
“Did you hear that?” His voice was almost playful. “You’re already causing problems. Interesting.”
He stepped closer.
“You’re not leaving this place, Elysia.”
My breath caught.
The air thickened.
He drained the rest of his drink, set the glass down, and walked out without another word.
Leaving me alone.
With my thoughts.
And a sudden, crushing realization.
He knew my name.
He knew my name.
- Writer
