CHAPTER 55: WHERE ARE THEY SNEAKING TO?

(Alnitak)

From the moment Kacir told me she got hurt my heart has been in shambles. I did go to the infirmary to see her but I guess she was either sleeping under the effect of the drugs or she didn’t wish to speak with me.

Zevran keeps howling inside me even reproaching me from time to time.

’Sometimes you act like the biggest idiot in the world. Did you even think that her mate might be abusive and that’s the reason she left him?’ He questioned and I just stared at the ceiling of my room.

Even the other monster within me growls and prowls like a wounded animal. I know only lust drips from him, and from the moment he has gotten a taste of Amaia, he wants nothing but her.

Keeping both of them on a leash is becoming extremely difficult; it’s already crowded in my head as they find it difficult to co-exist, but if they agree on one thing, it’s Amaia.

I can’t understand what it’s about her that has not only them but also me on the edge.

I need to speak with her again. At least know how she is doing. I know the risks of being in her proximity. Like a celestial body, she always pulls me into her orbit.

From the very first moment I saw her, she has had this effect on me and the beings within me.

It’s almost midnight and I can’t sleep. I turn my head and watch Mintaka. He is fast asleep, snoring lightly with his head buried in his pillow and arm angled to cover his eyes.

I know he won’t wake up, both of us are such heavy sleepers that even war horns will barely wake us.

He has been more and more absent recently, and I know the toll of what happened and what he did is weighing him down.

With a sigh, I pull off the sheets from myself and climb out of bed. Grabbing my nightshirt I just throw it on. Wearing my slippers, I leave the room.

I need to see her, even if it’s just for a few minutes, even if I have to bribe Kacir. Their room is right next to ours with just connected wash areas in between.

As I exit my room, astonishingly, I find Kacir and Amaia tiptoeing down the stairs.

Creases cover my forehead. Where they must be sneaking in the middle of the night.

All my senses sharpen and I decide to follow them. Keeping my distance, I remain behind them, following Kacir’s scent. Amaia has no scent and I always find it strange.

Either she has it masked or she is the rare kind who has no scent.

It’s eerily quiet as everyone has gone to sleep, so I try to be as quiet as possible and sneak down the stairs, keeping my head low.

The torches and candles have mostly been blown out but I don’t need the light to see in the dark. Zevran helps me as he is equally intrigued to find out where Amaia is headed.

I follow them out of our dorms and then the building. They seem to be heading towards the old part of the building, which is hardly in use, where the dungeons are.

Why are they going there?

Once the sentinels on petrol pass by and Zevran masks our scent while I flatten myself against the wall.

Letting them pass, I continue my quest of following Kacir and Amaia. They seem to have disappeared down the dark corridor.

Silently hunched in the shadows, I move forward until I see the two sentinels lying on the ground, unconscious.

Their spears lay beside them, and they seemed to be peacefully sleeping. Kacir and Amaia must have used sleeping dust on them.

Damn! What are you guys doing? I shake my head, cross over the unconscious sentinels and keep moving forward until I arrive at the iron-barred doors of a dungeon.

The lock and chain lay on the ground, open.

Is that the one Alnilam sent Amaia as punishment?

This is one of the oldest dungeons and is barely used.

Carefully, I step ahead and begin to descend. Now I can see a faint light coming from downstairs and I ghost down the stairs, arriving at the landing.

The distinctive smell of dampness and dust hits me and I wrinkle my nose.

My eyes waver and follow the light. It’s flickering at the end of the tunnel. Amaia might not be able to sense me, but Kacir can with his heightened senses, even though I have masked my scent.

I try to remain as discreet as possible, my curiosity rising.

And then I see her, clutching the iron bars of the very last cell and intently staring inside.

Her head is bandaged, and her expression is pained. I can sense she is on the verge of shedding tears.

What’s wrong? Why is she staring inside that cell like that?

"Something is off about this place. It’s either cursed or is under a magic spell," Zevran hums inside my head, seeming restless.

It’s bizarre really, the feeling. There is magic in the air but dark magic, the kind that is forbidden. I can sense it on my skin, it prickles the very hair on my body.

My eyes remain ahead, and I see Kacir standing just behind Amaia, holding a small candle in a candle holder.

"Did you find it?" He asks in a hushed voice and she finally turns to face him.

The tears shimmer in her dark eyes and they somehow jolt me. The urge to rush to her and wipe them away grips every muscle in my body.

"No, I guess I have lost it," she utters with such raw pain that Zevran growls in my head, propelling me forward.

Kacir’s head instantly turns in my direction as he picks up on the movement and his eyes find me.

Surprise passes over his face.

"Alnitak," he calls out slowly and I finally step out of the shadows and stand facing them.

Amaia’s eyes enlarge as her gaze fixes on me and she draws in a deep breath.

"What are you guys doing here?" I ask, my gaze shifting between the two of them.

"Amaia left something down here so we came to fetch it," Kacir explains. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw you guys sneaking out and just followed." I shrug my shoulders, knowing there is no point in lying.

"Fair." Kacir quietly says but Amaia remains quiet, only watching me with her sad eyes.

"Can I speak to you?" I ask guiltily.

"Not here," she simply says before walking past me and heading back.

Quickly, I follow as Kacir drags himself behind us.

"Did you guys knock out the sentinels?" I catch up with Amaia while Kacir speaks from behind me.

"That’s me."

"Breaking rules Kacir. What will your father say?" I tease.

"Something nasty as usual. Amaia needed help and I wasn’t going to say no. They had cordoned off the area."

Amaia sharply turns to face me. Anger and resentment seem to have marred her features. "Why are you even here Alnitak? Didn’t you make it clear you didn’t want to talk to me? Or are you here because somehow you feel pity for me?"

Her words sink into my heart and I can see how deeply I have hurt her.