Chapter3:A test
1422 Words
Elysia
The gun in my hands felt heavier than it should, but nevertheless I pulled the trigger pointing the gun at the men .
My fingers trembled as I stared at the two men kneeling before me—bound, gagged, terror stark in their eyes. They weren’t looking at each other. They were looking at me. At the weapon clenched in my grip. At the life-or-death choice I had no business making.
The air in the room thickened, pressing against my chest. The king had trapped me in a corner.
I felt his gaze on me, searing, unyielding.
Like a predator watching its prey struggle.
“Go on,” he murmured, tilting his head. “One of them is lying. If you’re innocent, this shouldn’t be difficult.”
My throat dried. “I—I don’t even know them.”
“Exactly.” His voice was smooth, almost gentle. But beneath it, I heard something lethal. “So why does it matter which one you kill?”
The room tilted. My breaths turned sharp, too fast.
I was going to die.
I knew it. And worse—he knew I knew it.
My grip tightened on the gun, the cold metal biting into my skin. Then—
A warm breath at my ear.
“Tick-tock, Rosa.”
My entire body snapped rigid.
The name struck like a slap. Not Elysia. Not something impersonal. It was intimate. Calculated. Chosen.
Rosa.
Why did it feel like he was branding me with it?
I whipped my head toward him, glaring, my pulse hammering. “I’m not killing anyone,” I snapped, forcing strength into my voice.
His lips curled. “Is that so?”
Then, without warning—
BANG!
I screamed. My hands flew to my ears, but the cuffs prevented me from blocking out the deafening shot. My body jerked violently, terror twisting in my gut.
One of the men slumped forward, blood pooling beneath him. His body twitched once. Then, nothing.
I gasped, my breath shattering.
The gun—gone from my hands.
It was in his.
He shot him.
Not me. Not the other man.
A horrifying thought slammed into me. Was this my fate? Would he put a gun in someone else’s hands and force them to decide whether I lived or died? Would he kill me himself? Would Rafael do it for him?
Too many questions, all of them spinning too fast.
Before I could process, he stepped in close, pressing the still-warm barrel beneath my chin, tilting my face up.
“You hesitated,” he murmured, his voice calm. Too calm. “A mistake like that will get you killed.”
My chest heaved. My throat locked up.
“I—”
He cut me off, pressing the cold metal against my lips.
“Ssh.”
I froze.
He leaned in, his breath warm against my skin—smoke and something rich, intoxicating. A distraction.
“You think mercy will save you?” His whisper was a blade. “You think weakness will make me spare you?”
I shook my head frantically. “N-no—”
He pulled back slightly, his gaze flickering over my face, reading every crack in my armor.
Then, just as fast as the moment escalated, he dropped the gun to his side and turned away. Like I no longer mattered.
My knees nearly buckled.
Behind him, Rafael stepped forward. “What do we do with her?”
The king’s shadow. That’s what Rafael was. Always circling, always waiting. He wanted me dead. Desperately.
The king paused at the door, tapping the gun against his fingers.
“She stays.”
I stiffened. “What?” I snapped, feigning irritation while something inside me twisted in relief. If he let me go now, I’d be discarded. I needed time.
His gaze slid to me.
“You want to prove you’re innocent?” His smirk sent a chill through me. “Then earn your place here, Rosa.”
And then he was gone, leaving me standing in a bloodstained room, my new reality crashing down around me.
Who even told this man I wanted to be here?
I just wanted to go home.
But that thought sparked something sharp, something desperate.
I would go home.
Tonight.
—
Later That Night
I waited.
I didn’t eat. Didn’t sleep. Barely breathed.
I waited.
The estate quieted. The halls stilled. The guards outside my door shifted, their posture lazy.
It was time.
The dress they put me in was soft under my fingers, silent as I crept toward the window. My stomach twisted. The estate was massive, a fortress built of stone and wealth, but every place had a weakness.
And I’d been watching.
I climbed onto the ledge, my breath shallow. The drop was high—but not impossible.
I would not stay here.
I lowered myself, gripping the edge with shaking fingers. My feet found the grooves in the stone, inching downward. The night air was cold, biting against my skin. My pulse roared in my ears.
One wrong move, and I’d—
A gloved hand clamped around my wrist.
Cold. Unyielding. Familiar.
I gasped, my body jerking.
And then, just like that, I was yanked back through the window, my body colliding with something solid. Something warm.
No time to scream.
Before I could react, I was slammed against the wall, my wrists pinned above my head.
I blinked, chest heaving, and met the dark, unreadable eyes of the king.
He knew.
He was waiting.
His expression held no anger. If anything, he looked amused.
“Brave,” he murmured, tilting his head. “Or foolish?”
His grip tightened just slightly. Enough to remind me that I was trapped.
I struggled, but his body pressed me into the wall, his presence suffocating.
“Why are you doing this?” My voice cracked. “What do you want from me?”
Something flickered in his gaze. Something colder.
He leaned in, and for a second, I thought he was going to whisper something terrifying.
Something dark.
Instead, his lips brushed against my ear.
“You should’ve stayed far away from me, Rosa.”
My blood ran ice cold.
The way he said it—the way my name rolled off his tongue—sent a shiver through me.
And then he spoke again.
“Your bloodline is a debt unpaid.”
I froze. My mind turned blank.
A debt?
My stomach dropped. My time here wouldn’t be short.
I wasn’t just a witness.
What the hell did that mean?
Before I could force words past my lips, he finally let me go, stepping back like I no longer interested him.
“Run again,” he said smoothly, “and I’ll show you just how much it’s worth.”
Then, he vanished into the shadows, leaving me breathless against the cold stone wall.
A debt?
Who did he think I was?
Who did he think I owed?
I didn’t know the answers.
But one thing was certain.
I would escape.
Again and again, I’d try.
I wasn’t someone who gave up easily.
And I sure as hell wasn’t starting now.
He would regret ever pulling me into his world.
THAT SAME NIGHT
ADRIAN
She had to know this was serious business, she belonged to me and there’s no way I’m letting her out.
‘’Boss’’ I heard Rafael call and I stilled, I know he’s confused and maybe frustrated.
For years he had been my right hand man, my most trusted man, I told him almost everything, if anyone knew me too well then it’d be him.
‘’I do not question you boss, but I don’t understand what the deal is with this girl’’
I turned around to face him completely dropped a hand on his shoulder and faced him completely.
‘’ we do not spare witness’’ he continued
‘’you’re right, but I am sure you heard me when I said her bloodline is a debt unpaid, I’ve had my eyes on her for a while now, waiting for the perfect time to get her but see she walked in herself.’’
‘’ I still do not understand, she’s getting comfortable here’’
‘’That’s what I want, I want her to feel she belongs so tomorrow, move her to a better room, that is where her nightmares will begin’’
I turn and continue the walk to my room, I am sure those are enough details.
She has no idea what she’s gotten herself into.
- Writer
