rogues 61
903 Words
Chapter 61
Court POV
I shouldn’t have come out here alone. That thought hit me about ten minutes too late. The forest had gone quiet. Too quiet. No birds. No wind. Just the sound of my own footsteps crunching against the dirt and even that felt too loud. I stopped walking. Something wasn’t right. A branch snapped behind me. I spun around. “Hello?” Nothing. My heart started pounding. “Real funny,” I muttered, even though it wasn’t funny at all. Then, A shadow moved between the trees. My breath caught. “Who’s there?” I demanded, trying to sound braver than I felt. A low chuckle answered me. Not one voice.
Multiple. My stomach dropped. Rogues. Before I could react, one of them lunged out of the darkness, grabbing me from behind. I struggled instantly, elbowing back, trying to break free—but he was too strong.
“Let me go!” I shouted, kicking and twisting. Another rogue stepped in front of me, smirking.
“Well, well… what do we have here?” he said, circling me like I was prey. “A little prince wandering all alone?”
“I’m not” I started, but the one holding me tightened his grip, cutting off my words.
“Oh, I think you are something important,” the rogue continued, eyes gleaming. “You smell… different.”
Crap. They knew. Panic surged through me, but I forced myself to think. I couldn’t let them know who I really was.
“You’ve got the wrong person,” I said quickly. “I’m nobody.”
He laughed.
“Yeah? Then why are you this far out… heading toward the castle?”
My silence betrayed me. The rogue’s smile widened.
“Thought so.” He stepped closer, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at him. “You’re worth something,” he said softly. “Maybe we keep you. Maybe we trade you.” My heart slammed against my ribs.
“No…”
“Or maybe…” another rogue chimed in from behind, “we just have some fun first.”
Fear hit me hard now. Real fear. I struggled harder, but it was useless. And then.. A roar split the air. Loud. Furious. Deadly.
Every rogue froze. The one holding me loosened his grip just enough for me to twist and look up. A massive shadow tore through the sky. My heart skipped. Mom. She came down like a storm. Her dragon slammed into the ground between me and the rogues, wings spread wide, eyes glowing with pure rage. For a second, no one moved. Then chaos exploded. She lunged first, her claws ripping through one of the rogues before he could even react. Another tried to shift, but she grabbed him mid-motion, throwing him into a tree with a sickening crack. “Run!” one of them shouted. Too late.
She wasn’t letting them go. Fire burst from her mouth, lighting up the forest as the remaining rogues scattered in terror. Within seconds, it was over. Silence fell again..but this time, it wasn’t empty. It was heavy Dangerous. Slowly, she turned toward me.
Her massive form shrank as she shifted back into her human body, breathing hard, eyes still burning with anger.
“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!” she yelled, storming toward me.
I flinched, but then anger rose up just as fast.
“I told you I was going to the castle!” I shot back. “You didn’t listen!”
“I told you it wasn’t safe!” she snapped. “You could have been killed!”
“Well, maybe if you actually told me the truth, I wouldn’t have had to sneak out!” I yelled right back.
She froze. That wasn’t what she expected.
“You think this is a game?” she said, her voice dropping dangerously low. “Those weren’t just rogues, Court. They would’ve torn you apart…or worse.”
“I can handle myself,” I muttered.
Her laugh was sharp and humorless. “No. You can’t. Not yet.”
That stung.
“I wasn’t just going for no reason,” I said, my voice quieter now, but firm. “I need to know what happened to my father.”
Her expression shifted, just slightly. “And getting yourself captured was your plan?” she asked.
“I didn’t know they were out here!” I snapped.
“That’s the point!” she fired back. “You don’t know what’s out here, who’s out here, or what they’d do if they found out who you are!”
I clenched my fists. “Well, maybe I should find out,” I said. “Because right now? I don’t even know if I should trust you.”
That hit harder than anything else I’d said. She went still. Completely still. For a second… I almost regretted it.
Almost. But then I remembered what she admitted.What she was planning to do. “No,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m still going to the castle.”
Her eyes darkened. “You’re not going anywhere,” she said.
I met her gaze. “You can’t lock me up forever.”
“Watch me,” she replied coldly.The air between us turned sharp again. Dangerous in a completely different way now.Because this wasn’t about rogues anymore. This was about us .And neither of us was backing down.
- Writer
