Two men emerge from the left corner and they stand on both sides of the Lord.

“Surrender and I'll spare you.”

Lies.

I know. He might spare us now but once he gets what he needs from me, we're finished.

“Never.” Reik growls. We both keep our eyes on the opponents.

The men run with so much force, I narrowly dodge one slamming into me, but Reik isn't so fortunate. He grabs his opponent by the neck and headbutts him.

While my own opponent recovers, I grab the cord holding my gown together at the waist.

Immediately, the heavily structured man sends me into the wall, I wince when pain shoots up my spine.

Grunting, I use my palm to push against his chest, creating enough space so I can send quick jabs at his jugular vein.

Choking, he grabs his throat, and I aim a powerful kick to his knee, satisfied at the cracking sound that follows, accompanied with a howl of pain.

Reik is faring rather well. His opponent's face is bloodied as well as exposed skin areas.

A hand curls around my neck while I'm distracted. Cursing, I manage to slid out of his grip, swiftly going behind him. By the time he can turn around, I've already trapped him in a chokehold with my cord.

He tries to free  his neck, but I hold on tight until he passes out.

“Run” Reik tells me when we hear voices coming from the other side. There's no trace of Lord Callan.

Without doubt, he had gone for reinforcements.

Reik slices through the man's throat with a dagger pulled from his waistcoat. He grabs my hand and together we race to safety.

♘♘♘

Relief floods my body when I'm safe in Reik's mansion. He loosens his cravat, unaffected by the events of this evening.

“That was a mess.” I comment, my breath still shaky as I fall into a sofa.

“It was your fault.”

There we go again.

“I found answers. I know the reason why I'm being hunted.”

Reik sends me a look. I could interpret it as him being doubtful of the information I'm about to relay, or he just considers me to be delusional.

“Whatever you've heard is a lie , princess.”

I snort. “Don't-”

Corinne rushes in, seeing my dress in tatters, she gasps.“-oh my goodness are you alright?”

I check Reik's face. He's frowning.

“I'm alright.”I melt into her arms.

“Get out.” Reik barks.

I still couldn't grasp why he talks to his mother with so much hate. What on earth did she do? And if there's something bad in their past, why keep her around?

It beats my understanding.

“You shouldn't speak to your mother like that.”

The man freezes. Fear slips into Corinne's eyes and I know I've said something forbidden. Dangerous.

“What did you say?”

Alanna, run.

A

nd that's what I did. He didn't expect that, so I was out of the door in a flash, heading to my room but Reik quickly caught up with me, sticking his foot between the door and frame before I could slam it shut.

I take a step back as he advanced with the speed of a predator stalking his prey.

The blood on his face even makes him more fearful.

“How did you know that woman is my mother?"

My legs hit the bed and I hastily change my route. “I just guessed.”

“We both know that's a lie, Alanna.”He laughs.

Unfortunately, my room is limited by walls and as soon as back touches one, I know that I'm doomed.

Reik stands right before me. “Start talking.”

I refuse to speak but when he invades my personal space, our bodies touching, I give into the pressure.

“She told me.”

Reik swears, punching the wall.

“Why do you hate her so much?”

He searches my face just as I'm doing to his. I can see how much anger has multiplied. A part of me says I should have kept my mouth shut but I've never been one to listen to that sensible part.

“Why don't you ask her since you two are best friends now?”

I scoff. “Move away from me. I've told you all you need to know.”

Reik chuckles. “You belong to me now. Body, soul and spirit.”

His word disgust me. How could he fling that in my face. “You don't own me.”

“In case you're forgetting, I actually do, princess.”

Annoyed, I sidestep him. “You're a monster. The worst of all monsters.”I snatch my blanket in the hope of finding somewhere else to sleep, but Reik doesn't let me. He grabs my wrist.

“After my father died, that woman tried to sell me alongside my father's properties. I escaped and lived with a couple of bandits who taught me a lot. I returned with a vow to make her suffer, and that's what I'm doing.”

Some of my anger fades as I try to imagine how much betrayal he must have felt.

“I-”

“Don't. You don't understand, Alanna.”I flinch when he mentions my name. But he doesn't seem to notice. “Stop sticking your nose in my business, you vixen.”

I throw my head back and laugh. Reik's pinning me with a death glare.

“You seem to forget that you belong to me now.” I stop myself short, frowning at the words I uttered.

“That sounded wrong.”

It's Reik's turn to be amused “Well, you're right. I do belong to you.”

Did someone start a fire in my heart?

Drawn to his eyes, I see how much the anger had cleared away leaving those familiar shades of grey.

The atmosphere tilts to somewhere I do not like, worsened by the fact that Reik refuses to break eye contact.

Then, the door opens with a bang, revealing-

“Reya?”I move an inch back.

She smirks at her brother.“Missed me?”

He makes an annoyed nose in his throat. “What are you doing here?”

Reya walks right between us, forcing us to move more steps away from each other.“I heard you got married. How could you not invite me?”

Reik sighs. “Can we talk outside?” He tries to seize her hand but the girl floats away.

“No.”

First, what is she doing here? Last time I saw her, she was in a tavern, surrounded by drunken men and the stench of sweat and vomit.

“Reya.”

She scoffs. “Fine, but it doesn't mean I'll not have a chat with my sister-in-law.”

Both siblings exit the room, leaving me to battle my thoughts alone. Regretfully, I think about what might have happened if Reya had not come in.

No. My heart still belongs to another.

Um?

This was unexpected.

However, Alanna has a lot more to be worried about.

Like a couple of-

Sorry, can't divulge.

Next chapter's gonna be a blast!

Thanks for reading.

MINOR RANT:

SO I'm saving up to buy a violin. I took guitar lessons some two years back and I'm willing to progress, but with the violin.

Any suggestions?