35. CHAPTER 35

It"s now or never. I had to make a break for it and leave this forest. Or maybe head for the ship"s crash site. Why didn"t I go there to begin with? I wanted to kick myself for it, trust me!

No time to cry about it now. It was dark, and I couldn"t see anything. I crawled out and paused, trying to see if I could hear or see anyone coming; the coast was clear, thank god! I ran while trying to remember where I had come from. If I"m right, then maybe I can hit the hill and make the climb up with no one spotting me — and just as fast, I lost my footing, and the ground gave way, causing me to tumble helplessly into a hole.

A scream escaped as I gave in to the sharp, unrelenting pain in my leg. Something stabbed me. I reached out in the pitch black to feel what it could be, something hard, maybe wood? It was warm and moist, and I dragged my hand down to feel the burning meat of my flesh forced out by the... spike?

"Fuck!" I cried out. "Please, please help me! Lorvian, where are you!?" I never should have come!

I saw a light above the darkness, and I saw him, his dark blond hair draped over his shoulder. He looked down into the hole and shook his head, his brow knitted in anger. I didn"t care; that"s what I wanted to see.

He lifted me from the hole and healed me. His hair was now black as a void, and he smelled of rosewood.

My eyes snapped open, and roasted meats and herbs wafted about, the yeast breads reminding me of the bakery my mother used to take me to when I was a child.

The sun blinded me, causing me to turn away from it, and I saw that I was in a large circular floor bed inside a colorful room made of wood, like a log cabin. Was it Lorvian who saved me? I touched the bandage around my leg, but I felt no pain, and when I unraveled the cloth, there was a small cut present.

The smell of rosewood was nearby, coming from a dark glass bottle near the bed.

The door creaked open, and I quickly searched about for a weapon, anything. I grabbed that stupid bottle of rosewood, ready to toss it at the bastard! I tried to stand, but I was still in a lot of pain.

It was a young girl, Valisian, dressed in white like a little bridesmaid. She muttered something and shouted out the door, and a handful of women and lithe men entered, dressed in sheer white garments leaving nothing to the imagination!

They carried trays of the food I must have smelled before. Roasted glazed meat and vegetables and baked bread with lots of fruit. They each bowed to me and sat the trays nearby, waiting on their knees, encouraging me to eat. I was hungry, but I didn"t want to eat. They scared me, and I wanted Lorvian by my side.

"Where am I?" I asked, ignoring their gestures to put the food in my mouth. "I came with a blond-haired man and two others with dark hair..."

They grew frantic with their gestures for me to eat. My stomach groaned and churned, and I felt a small shift inside.

I tried to get up, and they pushed me back down. I tried again, then this time they held me in place while the others gestured for me to eat. What the hell was this? A strange cult?!

"I don"t want to fucking eat! Bring Lorvian right here right now!" I screamed, having enough. I wanted them to let me go and leave me alone.

The others continued to hold me down as I struggled to break free, while the others snatched pieces of meat and fruits and shoved them towards my mouth. I moved my head away to avoid them when one grabbed my cheeks, forcing my mouth open, and allowing the others to stuff the food inside.

They continued to gesture, all wearing a smile plastered on their faces. I chewed, hoping that if I just ate this, they would let me go. They didn"t. Once I swallowed, they forced the next batch and another and another.

"Stop!" I yelled, unable to take it anymore. I sobbed.

The door creaked open, and he stood there at the door, black hair as a starless night... but... I think I was losing my freaking mind!

The figures in white darted away from me and bowed to him. He uttered something to them and gestured to the door, and they kept their heads low as they left the room, leaving the two of us alone. I didn"t want to be alone with him. He was tall, like all Valisian males, and slender, a little more than Lorvian. He sported intricate and white metallic tattoos on his arms, chest, and stomach, and I wondered if they covered his entire body, though they didn"t look bad. His hair was shorter than Lorvian"s, just touching his shoulder.

Once we were alone, he stared at me. Unlike Lorvian"s eyes, which were dark as a moonless night, this one"s eyes were a light gray color.

"The flower wilts in the eternal night. All the lands blush pure white. The one shall one day come from the stars and transport the worthy away." He spoke Valisian! Or whatever they called their language. More importantly, I understood him! He closed the red leather book and stared at me again.

"Where"s Lorvian? What"s going on?" I didn"t realize it until I scooted back, but I grabbed the dark-colored glass again.

"I don"t know who this Lorvian is. Is he your mate?" he asked, his voice deep and rough and less smooth than Lorvian"s soothing tone, but it was still nice on the ears.

"Yes, he is!" I said without hesitation. "We"re mates, and he would kill anyone who would dare harm me!"

"I"m not here to harm you." He pulled up a chair beside the bed and sat down, crossing his legs as he did. "Your child is the chosen one, destined to be reborn. Returned to them in their most desperate hour of need to save them and take them to the stars."

"What?! That is insane!"

"Of course, it"s insane," he chuckled lightly. He said it as though it was plain to see. "I don"t believe it either. But it"s not important if I believe it or if you believe it. They believe it. They wrote it in their sacred texts."

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

"Listen, you seem like you have some common sense," I tried to reason with him. "My ship crashed here, and I need to get back to it!"

He looked at me for a long moment, and I thought of saying more, but I couldn"t think of anything.

"There is nothing I can do to help you. Not without a price," he answered.

"I have nothing!"

"But you do," he nodded; his calm demeanor almost made me ashamed of not remaining calm. "A ship that can fly me far away from here."

Now, I was growing suspicious. The people here all spoke in another language, but not him. They didn"t seem to understand anything I said. "How come you can speak this language and theirs? You don"t belong here, do you?" I asked, hoping he said yes.

"You aren"t the first to come here. My team landed here a long time ago and found ourselves trapped. Now I"m all that"s left."

"Why did they bow to you?"

"I"m a scientist. They held me hostage and I had to prove my worth to stay alive. I cared for the sick and wounded and became known as a great healer."

"Why are they forcing me to eat?"

"They are feeding the chosen child, not you." His wide lips widened even more; he was handsome, yet his features were slightly exaggerated. His nose was a bit too big, lips were a bit too wide, but it worked for him. Strange how that could be. "Once it ripens, they will cut it from your belly."

Well, if there was any more of a motivation for me to get outta here, this was it. "Okay, okay, now let"s go!" I climbed to my feet.

"We have a deal?"

"Yes, yes, and more yeses!"

He stood and walked toward the door, his movements a little too languid for me. It was like I was at sixty, and he was at negative sixty!

"Await my signal. The name is Zai."

"Caspian. And what am I supposed to do?"

He didn"t say a word. He closed the door and locked it, leaving me inside. He told me to await his signal yet didn"t tell me what the hell the signal was! Usually, these things are followed by some sort of plan as to what to expect to happen. You"re supposed to take everyone else by surprise, not the person you"re making the plans with!