Chapter 18

  The Real Rescue

  Kai left me alone in the house as soon as we arrived. He’d been acting strange the past few days, and the sudden move was suspicious, to say the least. All I could do was hope that Sax had found my poorly written note. We’d driven all day, and while I’d been allowed to sleep in the car, I couldn’t. My mind was racing through endless scenarios, none of which ended well. I knew Kai would try something while I slept. Even when I did manage to close my eyes, my sleep was restless. Kai’s face haunted me, appearing even in the darkness of my closed eyelids. It was always there, reminding me how badly I’d messed up by submitting to him. Sometimes, I wondered if death would have been a better option.

  Robert fed me dinner, and I slept through the night. The next morning, Kai left me alone again. Robert said he had to go back to work—to keep up appearances. It felt like nothing had changed. It was just like when we were married: I was confined to the house while Kai went out, making sure his reputation stayed intact.

  I leaned against the cool window, letting the morning sun warm the room. It was a welcome change. Normally, I’d be in a room with no windows or maybe a single tiny one, so it felt nice to see something other than the poor choice of wallpaper. Of course, the window I was leaning on had bars on the outside, but it still felt like a small victory to see daylight.

  Robert came by with lunch, saying that Kai would be home for dinner and that I was expected to dress up and come downstairs. When Robert returned with dinner, I knew Kai was still stuck at work, but it didn’t bother me the way it used to. In fact, I was glad to be left alone. But I knew it wouldn’t last long. Kai would eventually come home—perhaps after dealing with an angry client—and take it out on me. It was the way things always were.

  I tried to imagine the castle again—the brown grass, the mossy walls—thinking it would offer some comfort. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t move from the house. It was as if something was keeping me here. Whatever it was that held me in place wasn’t keeping anything else out, or anyone else.

  That night, I couldn’t stop staring at the man standing before me. Gone were his jeans and leather jacket, replaced with tight, royal-like clothing. His hair was slicked back, and his grin had only widened. I knew he meant to frighten me, but I wasn’t afraid of him.

  “How did you get in here?” I asked, my voice steady, despite the unease creeping in.

  “Kai is powerful, that’s for sure,” he replied, his tone almost admiring. “He guards his palace with magic, like he always has. But even an all-powerful magician has his limits. Why he thinks it’s still protected when he leaves is beyond me.”

  “Then why can’t I leave?” I shot back, frustration mixing with the confusion in my chest.

  Kira—or whatever name he was using now—smiled again, running a hand through his hair.

  “Kai’s magic is different when it comes to you. It’s specifically designed to keep you here. He’s gotten sloppy in his older years. I’ve never been able to come here before.”

  I blinked, only to find Kira standing by the bedroom door, as if he had transported himself across the room in the blink of an eye.

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  “Kira,” I started, instinctively calling him by the name I have always called him.

  He raised an eyebrow and shook his head, a mocking smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Don’t call me by my human name. I’d like to properly introduce myself.”

  In an instant, he was standing before me, bowing deeply. He took my hand in his, placing a small kiss on my knuckle. “My name is Vakkan. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.”

  Vakkan. The name echoed in my mind. “I know that name. You were with me at the castle.”

  His eyes gleamed with something almost... sadistic. “Your power is amazing. I could feel it—every time you wanted to turn and look at me, every time you felt the pull of my voice, but you dared not. Why?”

  “I don’t know.” I could sense that he wanted to leave, or perhaps needed to leave. But I was desperate. “Can you get me out of here?”

  Vakkan’s laughter filled the room, sharp and cold. The room seemed to spin as he spoke. “No.”

  Before I could respond, the world around me began to blur, and I felt myself being pulled back into the darkness of sleep.

  ____________________________________________________________________________________

  The next morning, Kai brought me breakfast. He left with a smile and a kiss on my forehead, which nearly shocked me into silence. I couldn’t quite bring myself to eat, fearing he’d poisoned me. But I pushed the thought aside, forcing myself to scarf down the lunch Robert brought, the same message from before repeating itself.

  When Robert brought dinner, I was relieved to find that Kai was still stuck at the office. My body was slowly healing; the cut on my lip was finally closing, and the bruises on my arms had turned yellow. I’d managed to hold down food for the past couple of days without getting sick, and for that, I was grateful.

  Then, in the middle of the night, the phone call came. Kai burst into my room, waking me from the sleep I had just managed to fall into. His frantic energy hit me like a wave—something was wrong. But that didn’t make sense. Kai had no family. No one he actually cared about.

  “Get up. Get dressed. We have to leave,” he ordered, voice tight.

  “What’s happening?” I asked, still groggy, my mind struggling to catch up.

  “It’s Crystal. She’s in the hospital.”

  I froze in place. My heart sank, but then I quickly turned back toward the bed. This had to be another one of his games. My daughter was fine. This was just another scheme to mess with my mind.

  “This isn’t funny, Kai,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, though panic crept up in my chest.

  “I’m not playing any games, Lisa. Why would I joke about our daughter’s life?” His eyes were wild, desperate.

  I stared at him, still processing what he was saying. “Your daughter?”

  “You can stop lying to me now. I got the paternity test back. I know Crystal’s mine. Now let’s go.”

  His words hit me like a punch to the gut. I blinked, my head spinning. How could that be? There was no way Crystal was his. I didn’t even know him like that back then. What the hell was going on? Had his games really gotten this twisted now that I had submitted to him?

  He dragged me into the closet, shoved clothes at me, and hauled me out to the car. I still didn’t understand what was happening, but the nagging fear that something was terribly wrong wouldn’t let me rest. We drove quickly to Byview, my exhaustion making everything feel like a blur. But the thought of Crystal being in danger kept me awake, and Kai’s frantic driving only made me wonder if we were going to make it to the hospital in one piece.

  At the hospital, Kai pulled me aside, quickly throwing a jumper over my head to cover the bruises on my arms. His grip on my hand was painfully tight as we rushed inside. We hurried to the front desk, my heart pounding in my chest, only to freeze when I saw the woman behind the counter.

  It was my mother.