His Forsaken Luna-Chapter 122: Taken (3)
The door to the cabin creaked open, a sharp, unsettling sound that sent a shiver through my already tense body. My mind was already spinning, and the noise only added to the eerie tension in the air. I couldn’t move my limbs, not without the strain of the magick that bound me to the floor, not without the feeling of a thousand invisible threads cutting into my skin. But this was different. This wasn’t just the magick. This presence, dark and heavy, was something else entirely.
A figure stepped into the dim cabin, and the air seemed to grow colder. He was tall, his silhouette framed by the low moonlight streaming through the broken window. His black hair tumbled messily, yet perfectly, over his sharp features. His skin was smooth and impossibly pale, glowing faintly in the dim light. But it was his eyes that stopped my breath in my throat—ruby red, deep and hypnotic, glinting with a dangerous gleam.
He moved like a shadow, the weight of his presence palpable, a predator entering its domain. He was a man of elegance, and yet there was something inherently menacing about the way he held himself. Every step he took was calculated, deliberate. He was the kind of being who didn’t need to announce himself; his mere presence was enough to demand attention.
The other Fae in the room—Asa, Elwin, and Phyrrus—shifted uncomfortably at the sight of him. It wasn’t subtle. I could feel their dislike, their unwillingness to be in his presence. They didn’t want to be associated with him, yet there he was, stepping into their space without a care.
Cazimir, ever composed, greeted him with a nod, his face calm but his posture stiff. "You’re late, Ciro" he remarked, the only one seemingly unfazed by this newcomer’s arrival.
The man, his red eyes gleaming with an almost predatory delight, turned his gaze to Cazimir, a thin, almost amused smile tugging at his lips. "I had other matters to attend to," he replied smoothly, his voice like velvet, though there was a coldness in it that matched his gaze. "But now I’m here. What needs to be done?"
I could feel the discomfort radiating off the others. Asa, Elwin, and Phyrrus made no attempt to hide their disdain, exchanging looks before clearly distancing themselves from him. Their faces twisted with a mixture of irritation and distaste, though none of them dared to speak out loud.
Despite their apparent reluctance, they knew exactly why he was here. He was part of their plan. A necessary evil, I supposed.
Ciro took a step closer to me. His movements were slow, predatory, each one measured as though he were savoring the moment. I tried to shift, to pull away from the pressure of his gaze, but like the first time I faced a Blood Wraith in the woods, I was frozen. I could sense the power wrapping around him like sharp, jagged edges of a blade.
There was no escape. Not from him.
Finally, he spoke again, his voice low, smooth. "And what about her?" He nodded in my direction, his eyes never leaving mine as he crouched down in front of me. The intensity of his gaze felt like a physical weight, pressing into me, making it harder to breathe.
I felt a flicker of fear surge through me at the question. "Her lover?" His voice was soft, too soft, as though he was toying with the idea.
My heart skipped a beat. Lover? I immediately thought of Soren. The panic surged again, strong enough to almost make me forget where I was. I hadn’t thought about him for a while, not with everything happening around me, but now, at the mention of Soren, every worry about his safety flooded back into my mind.
"Where is he?" I demanded, my voice raw and desperate. I couldn’t keep the fear from creeping into my words. "Where is Soren? What have you done with him?"
The room went silent at the sound of his name. Ciro’s eyes shifted, his smile curving into something far more sinister. "Soren?" he repeated, his voice laced with amusement. "Do you mean your lover?" He leaned closer to me, his red eyes gleaming in the flickering firelight.
I nodded frantically. "Yes! Where is he?" I demanded again, my voice rising in urgency. "Tell me! What have you done to him?"
Ciro stared at me for a long moment, his eyes never leaving mine. His smile didn’t falter, but there was something unsettling about it, something too knowing, as if he was playing a game I didn’t understand. "Don’t worry. You’ll see him soon enough," he said, his voice dripping with false reassurance.
I opened my mouth to respond, but he didn’t give me the chance. He stood, looking back at Cazimir, who watched him with that same stoic detachment, the weight of his gaze cool and unreadable.
"What should we do with her?" Ciro asked, his voice laced with mock sweetness. "She’s not exactly what we expected, you know. I thought this would be more... entertaining."
Cazimir, ever the enigma, remained unfazed. "She’s not your concern right now," he said flatly. "We have bigger matters to attend to. But, yes, keep her alive for now. She may be useful. She might cooperate eventually."
The thought of cooperation made my blood boil. I wasn’t here to cooperate with any of them. I was here to survive. To find Soren. And to destroy whatever plans they had in store for us.
I opened my mouth to speak again, to demand answers, but Ciro cut me off, his red eyes narrowing with amusement.
"Oh, I don’t think she’ll be cooperating anytime soon," he said, his voice rich with amusement. He looked me over once more, his gaze lingering on me as though I were an object to be inspected. "But that’s fine. We have time to make you see reason."
The words hung in the air, and my stomach churned with a rising sense of dread.
Ciro’s eyes flicked to Asa, who was still standing off to the side, his expression a mixture of distaste and annoyance. Asa didn’t even glance at Ciro as she spoke, her voice clipped and sharp. "Don’t waste time with her. You’re beneath us, Ciro, and you know it. Keep your games to yourself. We have more important things to do."
Asa had been so nonchalant and easygoing in front of me, yet now, in front of Ciro, acted so cold. I observe Ciro again and thats when I realised what I’d missed when he first entered. Ciro didn’t have pointed ears like the High Fae. With ruby-jewelled eyes, it was easy to assume he was a Blood Wraith, a powerful one at that.
Asa, Elwin, and Phyrrus didn’t want anything to do with Ciro, but they needed him. They needed the Blood Wraiths. Did they have bigger numbers or they could cause much more devastation? There were so many questions that needed answering, like the spread of the disease Ciro’s kind can cause.
Ciro’s smile faded, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of irritation in his ruby eyes. "I’ve done my part." He straightened, his gaze cold and dangerous. "You can pretend I’m beneath you all you like, but you need me. You always will."
Cazimir raised an eyebrow at Ciro’s defiance but didn’t respond. He was a calm storm, never reacting out of anger or irritation, always keeping his thoughts close to his chest.
The others slowly began to make their way toward the door, moving like shadows, slipping into the background. They didn’t want to be near him any longer than necessary, and they didn’t want to stay in the same room as me. They were content to let Ciro deal with me while they handled their own business.
But I wasn’t going to give in. I wouldn’t break. Not while Soren was out there, and not while there was a chance to escape.
Ciro stepped closer, looming over me, and for a moment, I thought he might strike me. But instead, he crouched in front of me again, his face mere inches from mine. "You’ll learn your place soon enough, little wolf," he murmured softly, his breath cold against my skin.
"Its definitely above yours, little leech," I whispered back, my voice shaking with defiance, even as fear churned in my chest.
His smile widened, and then he stood, turning toward the door. "We’ll see about that," he said softly, before leaving the cabin without another word.
And just like that, I was alone, the chains bounding my wrists again from some phantom magick, trapped in a room with only the echo of their words ringing in my ears.
