Heart desired

//Chapter 65//

I looked around us. We had to be on one of the lowest levels of this building. If we were to go back, it would take at least another twenty minutes to just to get on to the front door.

The sane thing to do was go back to Sala before we get caught and come back here with a solid plan to save Relach from whoever was torturing him. Now that we knew the place and the route to where he was, it was easier to come back and rescue him and the stones later.

Though it was the best thing to do, I knew we could not do it. All the doors were marked as storage with numbers next to them. Bran was pointing at the door which was marked with 'STORAGE-88'. I could hear some heavy breathing and a little groaning from the inside. I grimaced. Leaving and coming back was not an option. No matter how much I didn't like him, he was still one of my companions, a friend. We had completed a mission together.

I looked up and around. All the cameras were pointed at us, monitoring our every moment. I sighed. "We can't waste any time. Let's get him out."

Resh nodded. "We could come back, but I don't think anyone would allow that after seeing the footage of our sneaking around. Let's hurry up."

"But guys," Bran spoke, pointing to the door. "I think it does not open to visitor's passes. We need to get Sala and her keycard."

I looked at the little slot in the door, which was a lot smaller than the passes on our hands. "What should we do now?" I voiced my thoughts out loud. "Break the door?"

"That would attract a lot of attention." Bran said. "I think the only good option is-"

"Don't worry," Resh said, touching his head. "I'll take care of it."

We watched silently as Resh approached the door and tapped on it with a finger. The whimper sounds stopped as if the person on the other side could hear it. I saw Resh's face show a little bit concern. "Relach?" He called.

There was no answer for a while. I was starting to doubt if he even heard us when he spoke. "Crown Prince? Is that you?"

His voice did not have that arragont bite I remembered. He sounded hopeful and fearful at the same time.

"Yes." Resh replied. "Get away from-"

"Go away." Relach's voice came, quiet but firm. "Don't come in here. You won't be able to go out again."

"We came searching for you." I said. "We are not going to go without you."

"Nasha? You are here too?" Now his voice was edged with worry, as of he was worried about me. "Get the hell out. I don't need any of your help. I can manage this all by myself."

"Well," I said, signaling Resh to continue whatever the way he thought would get the door open. "even if we leave you, we can't leave the stones behind."

"If you are near the door, get away from it." Resh said before Relach could say anything. His voice had that pure authority in it. I heared a curse from the otherside and a sound of something being dragged.

Bran and I watched as Resh put his palm against the door and concentrated. The door started to melt a little by little underneath his palm. I wondered how he did that without burning the door since he was not a heat wielder but a fire wielder. Looking close, I could see that his palm was not touching the door but creating a layer of white fire in between the door and the palm. Due to the high heat of the fire, the door was melting.

I saw the metal drip down to the floor in a lava like consistency. I was afraid that it would eat away the floor as well. In any case, we had to get out of here as fast as we can.

Bran and I stepped away from the running metal as Resh made a huge gaping hole on the door. A little by little it revealed a dark storage room dimly lit in a white light. I could not see that much due to Resh standing there and blocking my view. So I waited for Resh to finish what he was doing.

"Doesn't he get hurt by those?" Bran asked, pointing his finger to the molten metal around Resh's boots.

"They are not touching him." I pointed out. It seemed like he had a way of keeping hot things away from him.

"Only if a water or a cold weilder had been here.." Bran trailed off. I remembered Glaze. She and her father Unnel were the only water wielders I knew. Since any of them was not here, it was pointless to think of them right now.

Resh stepped away after there was enough space in the hole for us to go through. Still, we had to bend and take a foot at a time to pass through. We had to be extra careful to not to step on any liquid metal on the floor. Just being close to them had heat seeping in to my skin through the boots. I didn't want to imagine what would happen if we directly step on them.

Relach, who was quiet this whole time, spoke again as we climbed in. I was the first to go, Bran and Resh following me behind. "You don't have to come in. Since there is a hole, I can escape on my own now. Turn around and get out of here. There is no stones in this room."

"Should've told us sooner." Resh said, stepping in to the room lastly. Relach was half sitting and half lying on the floor. His hands were not bound, but his fingers and a leg were bend in to awkward angles in various places. It was clear that they were broken. There was a huge gash above his eye and dried blood was caked there and a tickle of blood still dripped from it. I tried to hide my flinch. He needed a true healer as soon as possible.

Bran didn't hesitate for a second. He carefully picked up Relach so his broken places would not be affected. "Your Highnesses, I got him. You can search for your things while I take him out."

I nodded, grateful. "Relach," I spoke softly. There was many things I wanted to ask, but now was not the time. "Can you tell me where are the stones? I know they are not here. Do you know where they are?"

"No," he shook his head. "They took it somewhere else."

"Okay, new plan." I said. "Bran, take Relach out of here to a healer as soon as possible. I will stay here and try to find the stones. Resh, you can do whatever you want."

"I'll go with Bran," He said. "Once he is outside, I'll come back for you."

"Okay, be careful." I said.

"I have to admit, that's a clever little plan." A voice came from the damaged door. Someone was standing there. I couldn't see his face because the hole was too short. His voice sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint it.

Whoever that was, it meant one thing. We were busted. I cursed under my breath.

The door opened slowly with a creak as someone pushed a keycard inside the slot. I watched as four shadows appear infront of us. Two were dressed in laboratory cloths and I could not recognize them. But I knew the other two.

I stared unable to think as Sala and Unnel stepped in to the room, trapping us inside the storage room. I saw Bran clutching Relach tighter from the corner of my eyes. Resh looked composed and bored as he moved in front of us to protect us.

That i***t.

"I might say, you put on a really good performance for us," Sala said. "That was truly impressive. I stayed fully alert so you guys won't try anything stupid. I had no idea how you took that stone from me, to be honest. I almost thought you had the ability to hallucinate me even when I was wearing the stone. One of you must be a very skilled thief."

"That's me." Bran said. "I did not have a stone, for I took it for myself."

"Bran, don't say anything." Resh said. "Unnel. I should say you finally surprised me with your lousy tactics."

"I'm hurt, your highness." Unnel said. "Even though my opinion of you is quiet low, my daughter spoke highly of you. I do not know what she saw in a hybrid like you, who does not have an ounce of respect for anything. And now it seems, you does not have great taste in finding partners either."

My eyebrows shot up. "I was watching you, you know. It's pointless to hide your settlement for such lowly people, your highness. You should-"

He could not finish, because the next second, he was on the ground. Resh jad punched him.