Chapter 122 Unhidden
Ira's POV
If I cover my hair well enough, I could slip out and head to the clinic. Sia and Cath should be there training with Rita. They are the only ones I know who might still have red dye strong enough to help me.
I am indeed terrified. I always am when my real hair shows, but this is worse than before. Why does it keep changing? The dye does not hold anymore. At this point I don't even understand where the color goes.
It’s beginning to look like my hair drinks it, like it swallows every trace of red and leaves nothing behind.
At least I do not have to hide my true identity from Ruel now. I mean earlier he did not sound disgusted. He didn’t even seem shocked.
My frown deepens.
Why did he barely react to finding out I am a sempyr?
I curl my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around them. The room is painfully quiet and as a result, every small sound outside makes my skin prickle.
My ears pick up the sound of running footsteps but I lose focus when a cold wind slips through the open window.
The moment it touches my skin, something in my mind shifts. An emotion settles over me that does not feel like my own.
Fear.
It pours into my chest, heavy and urgent. Unmoving, I stare at the window.
“This is totally insane.”
Yet the wind runs through my hair, lifting it roughly, almost angrily, and for some reason I cannot shake the feeling that it is trying to warn me.
A sudden crash explodes through the silence, causing me to jerk back, before turning to the entrance.
The door flies inward, a particle from the terribly cracked wood flies over my head.
Bukasvad storms in, his bright eyes burning with fury as his chest rises and falls hard like he ran the whole way here.
His eyes lock on me with urgency and then they widen.
"Your hair," he breathes out, stepping closer to me. "Why the hell did you unveil yourself?"
"What are you doing here?" I yell at him, my eyes fixed on the sickening red trail imprinted by his boot.
He doesn't answer right away. Instead his gaze drops to the sword he's holding at his side. A thin line of fresh blood gleams along the edge.
My stomach lurches and I scramble backward on the bed until my back hits the headboard, then I snatch the small bedside table and yank it in front of me like a shield.
Bukasvad's expression hardens. "We have to leave, now." He says sharply.
He lunges forward, dropping to one knee in front of me. Before I can react, he's grabbing one of my bare feet, trying to force a sandal onto it.
"Stop!" I yell, jerking my leg away as I hurriedly get out of the bed.
"You will do as I say, Ira!" He explodes, his voice cracking with a rare level of panic. "I was going to leave last night but I couldn't leave you cause I kept fucking thinking something like this was going to happen.”
His gaze is scorching as he keeps it on me, the noises of running footsteps getting louder.
“Listen, the alpha king and his guards are here. That bastard lover of yours sent them a fucking letter to get you."
"W…what?" The word falls from my mouth like a whisper. "No… no, you're lying." My chest heaves. I can feel my pulse slamming in my throat as I shake my head. "Ruel wouldn't…"
"He did." Bukasvad says with a hint of frustration that I know is directed at me. "He wrote the letter himself. Told the king exactly where to find you. Told them exactly who you are. We don't have time Ira. It's either you follow me willingly or I knock you out. Either way you are getting out of here alive."
A thin crack runs through my chest, and suddenly I can hear everything I’ve been trying not to.
All the doubt, the what ifs that I had ignored…
"Everyone knows?" My voice breaks into a sob. "They all know what I am now?" Terror floods me so fast I can barely breathe. Tears well up in my eyes as my hands start to shake.
"Ira." Bukasvad grabs my shoulders, shaking me once, hard. "You could be dead in minutes if we don't move. Do you hear me? We don't have time."
I stare at him, tears burning my eyes. "It's not possible. Ruel wouldn't do this to me. He said… fuck… not after everything," My words tumble out fast and soon enough I start sounding miserable.
In one swift motion Buk yanks the sandal strap tight around my foot, then grabs the other. "He sold you out. That's what he did."
Sweat beads on my forehead as I start shaking so hard my teeth chatter. "No… no…" The room feels like it's spinning. My lungs burn like I can't get in enough air.
Bukasvad takes my hands in his, squeezing it firmly. "Now is not the time to feel sad. It's time to fucking get out of this base before it's too late. Do you want to die here? Beheaded? Beaten? Because that's what awaits you if you choose to stay."
A tear slips down my cheek… then another as the truth finally sinks in.
Ruel betrayed me.
Why wouldn't he? After all, I never meant more than sex to him.
Outside, the shouts get louder, nearer. The echo of boots pounding the floor tells me just how close they are.
"Ira!" Bukasvad curses under his breath then waves his hand. A loud bang follows as the window slams open, shattering before it hits the ground.
“IRAAA!”
This time it's not Bukasvad calling my name. From down the hall I see Ruel running towards the open room. His clothes are torn, and a side of his chest is soaked in blood.
He looks furious, his blood-stained sword clenched in his bloody fist.
Behind him, royal guards thunder towards me, their voices roaring as they charge.
“Kill her!” Someone yells from among them and my heart shatters.
Everything I hoped for collapses in that single second. The gentle touches… the way he looked at me like I was his whole world…
Lies. All of it! I was a fool, a stupid, blind fool who thought she could trust a stray slayer with the most dangerous secret I had.
"Come on, move!" Bukasvad's arm firmly locks around my waist.
More tears stream down my face as I allow him drag me toward the shattered window. My feet stumble, but he catches me.
The shouts behind us only get louder but still my ears single out Ruel's shout.
"Ira… wait!"
But I don't look back. Not with this pain burning in my chest.
Bukasvad hauls me through the window and together we run.
For the first time under the sun, my white hair whips in the wind, unhidden…