Chapter 34

Amira’s POV.

As I was in the middle of a conversation with Ivana, a chilling text message arrived. It was a photo of Mila, tied up and in tears. The room was dark, and the footage was distorted, but there was no mistaking it: Mila was in grave danger. The sender's message was clear: come alone if I wanted to save her. I knew I had to act fast, so I hastily excused myself and left for the castle.

I changed into more appropriate clothing, knowing that danger was imminent. As reckless as I could be, I wasn't stupid, so I left a letter of apology for Nikolas with my phone beside it. It contained all the necessary information he would need to locate me in case of an emergency.

The location given by the unknown stranger was remote and far away. I had to drive Niko's fastest car and it still took longer than I would have liked. I wasn't sure where I was, but the middle of the woods was the only thing I saw. I double-checked the location, triple-checked it even, then abandoned the car and ventured further into the woods. The only sign of civilization was the smoke rising in the air.

Finally, I spotted smoke in the air and walked closer to investigate. The closer I got, the more I noticed how creepy the surroundings were. The building was in the middle of the woods, and there were no other buildings nearby. The area was quiet, except for the rustling of leaves and twigs under my feet. The building itself was small and rundown, with one metal door and no windows.

The eerie vibes intensified as I approached the door. My heart raced, and my palms were sweaty. I hesitated for a moment, then finally gathered the courage to push the door open. The inside of the building was pitch black, and I couldn't see anything. I fumbled for my phone and turned on the flashlight, revealing a small room with a chair in the center. And there she was. Mila was tied up to the chair, with tears flowing down her face.

I felt a wave of anger and fear wash over me. Who would do this to her? And why? I knew I had to act fast and get her out of there before something worse happened. I untied her as quickly as I could, and we both ran out of the building, leaving the darkness and the eerie surroundings behind us.

Fury boiled within me as I strode toward the ominous building, my heart pounding in my chest with each step. The night was pitch black, the moon and stars obscured by thick clouds. The only sound was the crunch of leaves under my boots and the rustling of the trees in the wind. As I approached the building, a chill ran down my spine. It was even more sinister up close. The metal door looked like it hadn't been opened in years, and the walls were stained with dirt and grime. There were no windows, and the only light came from a flickering lantern hanging on the door.

But before I could make a move, a strong arm wrapped around my waist, and another hand covered my mouth and nose, preventing me from breathing. Panic set in as I struggled against my captor, ready to fight for my life. I sank my teeth into the hand, tasting the metallic tang of blood, and spun around, ready to attack. But as I saw King Ronan's face, my anger turned to confusion.

"What are you doing here?" I frowned, still panting from the scare.

“Well, your husband was quite worried about you and had me come here with some soldiers,” Ronan answered with an attitude and I didn’t blame him. I just bit his hand. Hard!

“Fuck,” I groaned. I knew Nikolas would find out, I wanted him to find out but I hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.

“One bold lady you are Amira,” King Ronan muttered, rubbing his hand. There wasn’t any blood to be seen but you could very clearly see my bite mark and now I felt a little guilty.

“I’m not just any lady, I’m a queen,” I replied, turning back to look at the abandoned cabin where my friend was. I just knew it was her, there was a lingering scent of lavender in the air. Mila absolutely loved that scent, it calmed her down according to her.

“That you are, but you do know I can’t let you go in there recklessly,” King Ronan shrugged, holding his hands up in the air. I knew that Niko must’ve told him not to.

“Please, my best friend is in there, they said to come alone,” I began to plead.

“Amira, that’s clearly a trap, you’re walking straight into one and we can’t let you make that mistake,” he tried reasoning, talking as calmly as he could. “Niko would have my head if something happened to you,” he sighed, rubbing his temple.

“Look at the smoke, it keeps getting worse and worse, what if they decide to kill Mila?” I pointed out, both our heads tilting up.

Ronan placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it, “They won’t do that, she’s the only leverage they have right now, trust me, your husband is on his way and I already plotted out everything.”

“There are some soldiers here, they will help us, it’s not many but it’s all I could assemble in such little time- thank you for the notice by the way,” he pointed out to the people behind him and I just awkwardly waved at them as I then glared at Ronan’s sarcasm.

Perhaps this might be a better move… The more people, the higher the chance of actually saving Mila. The last thing I’d want is to endanger her even more.

“How much longer will we wait?” I asked, staring at the small cabin that seemed to be getting more and more smoke.

“Just a few more minutes, until Niko comes,” Ronan sighed, looking at the time on his watch then turned to look at the soldiers he brought with him.

As we waited for Niko's arrival, my heart raced with fear and uncertainty. I couldn't believe I had just left like that and put myself in danger. What would Niko say? Would he be angry at me? Of course, he would… The questions were how angry exactly.

What felt like hours had passed and Niko finally came along with Caine who looked worried sick. Niko only took a look at my face and body, searching for scratches as he asked me if I was ok. I frowned at first then nodded and said, “Yes.”

With that, he immediately approached Ronan and asked about the plans we had to save Mila. It was then that I realized that he had complete faith in me and my abilities. He knew that I could handle myself.

My heart was racing as we approached the building, knowing that danger was waiting for us inside. Niko and I were joined by Ronan, Caine, and some soldiers, all ready for the fight ahead. As we entered, I could feel my fear rising, worried that my husband or our friends might get hurt.

The smell of smoke and burning wood filled the air as we made our way deeper into the building. We were ambushed, and the attackers were coming at us from all directions. But I refused to let fear get the better of me. I had to focus and use my powers to help my friends and save Mila.

As we fought, I kept a close eye on Niko and my friends, making sure they were safe and not getting hurt. But my fear only grew as the fire started to spread, engulfing the walls and floors around us. Panic started to set in, and I knew we had to get out of there fast.

That's when I remembered my telekinesis. I had been practicing for months, and now it was time to put it to use. With every bit of energy I had, I focused on the flames, using my powers to push them back and create a path for us to escape.

It wasn't easy, and I could feel my energy draining with each passing moment, but I kept going. I had to save my husband, my friends, and Mila. And finally, after what felt like an eternity, we were out of the building, the fire behind us.

We all collapsed onto the ground, exhausted and shaken, but relieved that we had made it out alive. I looked over at Niko and our friends, seeing the bruises and scratches on their skin, and felt a sense of pride mixed with fear. We were outside panting when we could still hear the others inside, yelling and crying as they burned in the fire. I looked over at Mila, she was cradled in Caine’s arms, barely conscious.