Chapter 45 The Rescue

Chapter 45 The Rescue


Lira’s POV: The Rescue

The world around me…or my eyes blurred. I was in serious pain. My arms…if they could scream from the pain from where it was broken, I was so sure they would. The sound of the fight echoed in my ears. Cael and Riven were trying to kill each other, and I was so helpless here in this cage, unable to do anything but watch them go at it with each other. Then the guards came.

I saw Cael jump in front of the spear. I saw it hit him. I saw the shock on his face.

I tried to scream, but no sound came out. My body was too weak. The serum and the pain were too much. The world went dark around my vision.

I don’t know how long I was out. Minutes? Hours?

I woke up to the sound of shouting. The cell door was open. Two men I didn’t know were lifting me. They were not guards. They wore black clothes. They moved quickly and quietly.

“Is she alive?” one whispered.

“Barely. The arm is broken. Get the serum ready for the trip,” the other said.

Trip? Where were they taking me?

I tried to struggle, but I had no strength. My body was a heavy weight. They carried me out of the cell. I saw Riven. He was on the floor, tied up with heavy chains. He lay there still, his eyes closed. Was he dead? A sharp pain struck my head. I hissed weakly, my essay closing shut, before I finally forced myself to open it.

I saw Cael. He was lying in a pool of his own blood. People were around him, trying to stop the bleeding. His father, the Alpha King, stood over him. His face was hard. There are no emotions in them. 

Then we were moving fast. The men carried me down dark hallways I had never seen before. We went through a secret door behind a tapestry. We were in a tunnel. It was cold and damp.

“Where…?” I tried to ask, but my voice was a dry, croaking sound.

One of the men looked down at me. “Quiet, girl. You are being rescued.”

Rescued? This did not feel like a rescue. It felt like being stolen. My wolf stirred inside me, but she was too weak to do or say anything. 

We came out of the tunnel into the cold night air. We were outside the Academy walls, in the dark forest. A black van was waiting.

They put me in the back. The van smelled like old leather and something sweet. A woman was there. She had sharp eyes and a cold smile. She held a syringe.

“This will help with the pain,” she said.

I didn’t trust her. I tried to move away, but it was useless. She stabbed the needle in my neck. I cried out, my fingers clawing at anything as I felt the liquid flow into my veins, causing me to feel hot.

The world went fuzzy again. The pain in my arm faded to a dull ache. But my mind felt cloudy. I couldn’t think straight.

The van drove for a long time. I drifted in and out of sleep. I dreamed of Cael’s face when the spear hit him. I dreamed of Riven’s roar.

When the van finally came to a stop, the woman pulled me out. We were in front of a large, old house. It looked abandoned. The windows were dark.

They took me inside. The door creaked shut behind us.

A voice spoke from the shadows. A voice I knew. A voice I hated.

“Well, well. Look what has been dragged in.”

Lyra stepped into the light. She was the one who had always bullied me at the Academy, wasn't she? I blinked weakly. My brain was…was not working well. I couldn't use my head.  

Help.  I cried in my head. 

She smiled, but it was not a friendly smile. It was the smile of a predator.

“I told you we would meet again,” she said. She walked closer to me. She looked at my broken arm. “Looks like someone already started the fun.”

The men who brought me here handed me over to her. “She is your problem now. The boss wants her broken, but alive.”

Lyra grabbed my chin, her fingers digging into my skin. “Don’t worry. I am very good at breaking things. Especially ones who want to take my crown from me!” she spat with hatred. 

She dragged me down a hallway and threw me into a small, dirty room. There was no window. Only a thin mattress on the floor.

“Welcome to your new home, bitch.” she said. “Get some rest. You will need it. I'll start with you tomorrow, after I go see my dear Cael.”

She slammed the door shut. I heard the lock turn.

I was alone. My arm throbbed. The drug was wearing off. I was scared. More scared than I had ever been in the Academy cells.

Why was Lyra here? Who were these people? What did they want with me? Who was her boss who wanted me alive?

I curled up on the mattress, holding my broken arm. I thought of Cael. Was he alive? I thought of Riven. Was he safe?

Tears filled my eyes, but I did not let them fall. I had to be strong. I had to survive.

The next morning, Lyra came back. She had two other women with her. They were big and strong.

“Time to get up,” Lyra said. She kicked the mattress.

I slowly got to my feet. My whole body hurt.

“What do you want?” I asked, my voice weak.

Lyra smiled. “I want to have a little chat. About your mother.”

My blood ran cold. My mother? How did she know about my mother?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.

Lyra’s smile disappeared. “Don’t lie to me.” She yelled and slapped me across the face. It was hard. My head snapped to the side. I tasted blood in my mouth.

“Your mother was a traitor. Just like you,” she snarled. “But she was smart. She hid something. And you are going to tell me where it is.”

I was confused. My mother was not a traitor. She was kind. She was good.

“I don’t know anything,” I said.

Lyra nodded to the two women. They grabbed my arms. I cried out as one of them touched my broken arm. The pain was blinding.

They dragged me out of the room and into a larger space. It looked like a gym. There were mats on the floor.

Lyra stood in front of me. “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Tell me where the Moonstone is.”

The Moonstone? I had heard stories. It was a powerful gem. It was said to give great power to the one who owned it. But it was just a story. A fairy tale.

“It’s not real,” I said weakly. 

Lyra’s eyes flashed with anger. “Wrong answer.”

She punched me in the stomach. I doubled over, gasping for air.

The two women held me up. Lyra hit me again and again. My face. My ribs. My broken arm. The pain was everywhere. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think.

I fell to the floor, coughing blood.

Lyra stood over me. “This is just the beginning. We have all day.”

She kicked me in the side. I cried out.

“Where is the Moonstone?” she demanded.

I looked up at her, my vision blurry. I gathered all the spit and blood in my mouth. I spat on her shoe.

Her face turned red with rage. She grabbed my hair and pulled my head up.

“You will talk,” she hissed. “Everyone talks eventually.”

She let my head drop. It hit the hard floor. Everything went black for a second.

When I opened my eyes, she was holding a knife. The blade glinted in the light.

“Let’s try something different,” she said. She pressed the cold blade against my cheek. “I am going to ask you one more time.”

She leaned close, her breath hot in my ear.

“Where did your mother hide the Moonstone, Selene?”