Chapter 80 Just here

Chapter 80 Just here
~ Tyra ~

A perfectly sculpted face, long, full eyelashes, and brown shoulder length tiny dreadlocks were the first features my eyes locked onto the moment I reached him.

There was something striking about his appearance that made it difficult to look away. His features were so well defined that for a brief moment, I almost forgot why I had approached him in the first place.

But despite my presence and everything I had said, he didn't move, didn't even twitch. He remained completely still, his chest barely rising beneath the fur jacket he wore.

I dropped to my knees beside him and reached toward the side of his neck to check for a pulse, but my hand never made it there.

His hand shot upward and caught mine mere inches before my fingers could touch him, making my heart jump straight into my throat. I gasped, startled by the sudden movement, and before I could even pull away, his eyes snapped open.

The most beautiful set of green orbs I had ever seen stared directly into mine.

For a second, I forgot to breathe.

But his eyes were not the only thing that registered. The moment his hand closed around mine, that strange spark ran through my skin, familiar enough to make my brows knit together. It was the exact same sensation I used to feel whenever Evander's hands made contact with my skin.

That immediately unsettled me.

“I... I’m sorry. I’m... I thought you were hurt,” I stammered, struggling to explain myself while my eyes remained fixed on him.

He said nothing at first. His gaze dropped slowly to our joined hands, and a slight crease appeared between his brows. He seemed just as confused by the sensation as I was. After a moment, his eyes returned to my face, studying me with an intensity that made me suddenly aware of how close we were.

“Beautiful,” he murmured, his voice low and almost distracted. Then his expression changed slightly as he asked, “Who are you?”

The question had barely left his lips when a shadow suddenly fell over us.

Before I could understand what was happening, something seized my body and snatched me upward with terrifying force.

A scream tore from my lips as I was lifted higher and higher away from solid ground. I looked up in horror and finally saw what had grabbed me.

It looked like a decaying human being with ribbed, fleshy wings stretching from its back and jagged teeth exposed inside a mouth that looked completely wrong. Its grip tightened around me as it carried me farther into the air, and panic surged through every part of my body.

The man below sprang to his feet.

“Let her go, Kosi,” I heard him say.

But the creature ignored him.

Instead, it turned me around and flew toward something I had not noticed before. A swirling silvery circle had appeared in the air, almost like an opening into another place, and the creature headed straight toward it.

I only realized what was happening when it was already too late.

“Let me go! Aaargh!” I screamed, shaking my body violently in an attempt to break free.

My movement worked, and I slipped from the creature’s hold.

For one brief second, relief rushed through me. Then I looked down, and my stomach dropped.

I was falling straight toward my death.

The height alone was enough to make my blood run cold, but what waited beneath me made everything worse. The ground was covered with sharp, spiky rocks that looked capable of tearing me apart the moment I landed.

I shut my eyes and braced myself for the impact.

But it never came. My fall suddenly stopped.

I opened my eyes slowly and stared down in complete confusion.

I was suspended in the air just above the sharp rocks, with nothing beneath me and absolutely no explanation for how I had not already crashed into the ground.

“I got you.”

I heard the voice and immediately turned my head, realizing it was the stranger from the field.

He stood safely on solid ground, one hand stretched toward me while his fingers moved in a pulling motion. With every movement of his hand, my body slowly moved toward him through the air.

“Huh?” I stared at him, completely bewildered. “How am I floating in the air?”

“Just relax and you’ll be fine,” he responded calmly, as if what was happening was perfectly normal.

I wanted to ask him how any of this was possible, but my mind was struggling to process too many things at once. Somehow, he continued pulling me toward him until my feet finally touched solid ground.

My eyes widened even further.

“What is going...” I started, but a terrified scream escaped me when my gaze landed on the creature again. “Argh! Get me out of here!”

I immediately grabbed onto the stranger’s hand without thinking.

“Just stay calm. He won’t hurt you,” he assured me.

I didn't let go.

At that point, I had no idea who this man was, where I was, what that creature was, or how he had managed to make me float in the air. I didn't understand any of it. But somehow, standing beside him felt safer than being anywhere near that creature.

The man turned his attention toward the strange being.

“Kosi, what was that?”

Before my very eyes, the creature began to change.

Its monstrous form twisted and transformed until the wings disappeared, the decaying appearance vanished, and the terrifying creature standing before us became a young boy.

He looked no older than fifteen.

His black hair fell messily across his face, partially covering his forehead, but it was his eyes that made the breath catch in my throat.

They were completely black.

“Master no angry. Kosi only play,” the boy answered, his words coming out almost like a hiss.

His black eyes lowered toward the ground, and for the first time, the strange confidence he had displayed while carrying me away seemed to disappear. There was something that looked almost like remorse in his expression.

“She’s not a plaything. She’s a person,” the man reprimanded, his voice hardening as his gaze fixed firmly on the boy. Kosi immediately lowered himself further, his shoulders dropping beneath the weight of the reprimand.

“Person master plaything. Master feel good with person. Kosi play with master person. Kosi no mean make master angry.”

“Apologize to her now.”

The boy, whom I had now come to know as Kosi, slowly lifted his gaze toward me. His black eyes remained on my face for a brief moment before he lowered them again.

“Kosi sorry. Kosi no mean hurt master plaything,” he apologized.

“She is not my plaything. She is a person,” the man corrected, his expression becoming even more frustrated.

“Yes, master.” The boy nodded obediently before turning his attention toward me again. “Kosi no mean hurt master person.”

“She is not my...” The man started, but somewhere along the way, he seemed to realize there was no point continuing the argument. He stopped himself and released a frustrated sigh instead, rubbing his forehead briefly.

“I’m sorry. Please forgive him. He’s too playful and still learning,” the man apologized, turning his attention toward me.

I realized that I was still holding onto a small portion of his jacket, my fingers gripping the fabric without me even realizing I had done it.

“What is he?” I asked, my curiosity fighting with the fear and confusion still swirling through my mind.

“He’s a ghoul. His name is Kosi. Are you hurt?”

It was only when the question landed that I finally let go of him completely. I looked at my hand, then back at him, suddenly realizing something that should have occurred to me much earlier.

I didn't even know who this man was.

“Who are you?” I asked, taking a small step away from him.

“My name is Zaran.” He introduced himself with a barely noticeable courtesy, his expression remaining calm despite the complete chaos surrounding us.

“Okay, Zaran. Where the hell is this place? And how do I get to the main road? It’s getting late, and I really need to get home.”

I rubbed my forehead, feeling like I had already experienced enough trauma for one day.

Unfortunately, the answer to my question never came.

Instead, Zaran's face took on an expression that instantly told me I was not going to like whatever he had to say.

“Why aren’t you answering me, and why are you staring at me like that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

He finally released a sigh and looked around the strange surroundings briefly, almost as if he was hoping to find a better answer somewhere nearby.

“I really don’t know where we are. Kosi opened the portal by mistake and...”

“Did you just say portal?”

My eyes stretched again, and my brows flew upward.

“Unfortunately, yes, and it’s a very unstable one, so the exit is shut. We’re sealed inside wherever this is. Another exit will open in approximately seventy two hours on the other side, and we have to be there before that time. It will be a very short window...”

“Seventy two hours?” I repeated, staring at him in disbelief. “I’m trapped in here with you and him for three days?”

I looked from Zaran to Kosi, then back at Zaran.

Was this a joke?

“No need to panic...”

“No, no, no.” I immediately took several steps away from them, shaking my head as the reality of what he had just said finally sank in. “This can’t be happening.”

I started pacing, my mind running through every possible solution and rejecting each one almost as quickly as it appeared.

“You see why you should have just minded your business, Tyra?” I muttered to myself, shaking my head as I continued walking around. “You saw a man lying on the ground and decided to play hero. You couldn't just walk away. No, you had to go and investigate.”

“Where are you going?” I heard Zaran ask behind me, but I paid him no attention.

My eyes searched the area desperately until I finally spotted the place where I remembered seeing the silvery opening.

“It was just here.” I pointed toward the spot before turning to face him. “The silvery swirling thing we went through. There has to be a way for you to open it back, even if just a little, so I can squeeze myself through.”

Zaran stared at me for a moment.

“Did you even listen to anything I just said?”

His question immediately made my annoyance spike.