REDEMPTION

38. YOUR NAME?

Achlysa had been placed in a dark room. There was someone in the room she was placed in but their features could not be made out. The person was tall and their muscles were well defined. They had something protruding from their lower back like a tail. On their forehead were two horns protruding from either sides. They were looking down at her. Perhaps admiring the price they had achieved themselves.

She was tied to a chair. Her head leaned forward. She was still unconscious. The person seemed tied and disappointed for some reason. Were they waiting for her to awaken? Achlysa hummed as she tried opening her eyes. Her head pounded as she shifted it from its original position. Whoever stood blended with the shadow and disappeared from sight.

Achlysa blinked a couple of times before looking around. She saw a faint brown all around her. She was in a wooden house. She could not sense anyone around her, at the same time, she could not shake this uneasy feeling that was growing within her. He head was still aching. As she attempted to support and perhaps sooth it with her hand, that is when she noticed she was tied.

The rope was fixed loosely but as she struggled, the tighten. She stopped and decided to keep calm and think. It was also a wise decision that she not move, unless she wanted her hand to be permanently damaged. If she continued moving, it was her guess that the ropes that tied her feet and hands would slice them off.

All she could do was wait for the one who captured her to come and maybe tell her why. This had happened before. Her being attacked that is, she wondered if it was related. And if their reasoning was the same. And if so, did they have an idea on her while past. But even if they did, she would deny it. Don’t get her wrong, she did want to find out her identity and as fast as she could but as she went through the book, she came across a letter from her mother.

It was a simple warning. It warned not to trust anyone. If she did, they would only take her powers then kill her. Those who claimed to know her were the most dangerous of them all. If they knew about her, then that meant they would also know her weakness and destroy her. It also mentioned that there was a possibility of a handful full of those who knew and would risk their lives to protect her. However, she had to be very careful. It was better she trust no one.

A shadow flashed behind her. It was silent. The air around her was not disturbed by its speed but she still felt it.

“Who goes there?” Achlysa’s voice was calm. It rang through the room. Her kidnapper was astonished. They emerged from the shadows.

“Interesting.” It was the voice of a man. It was so deep anyone could mistake it for a low hum.

She heard footsteps approach her. She looked up and was met with a color that she had not seen before. Black. It must have been another race. But which one? She waited for them to say more. But mouthing came. The man looked at her while analyzing her. No one had been able to detect him, not even his own comrades. He was so good at masking his presence that it was as easy as breathing.

She did not seem like much. But he could tell that there was more to her. When his subordinate had informed him of an intruder, he was expecting that his arch nemesis had finally caught up to him. He was totally disappointed to find out that it was a mere girl and one that was allegedly fetching firewood no less. He had planned to take her back to wherever his idiotic subordinate had picked her from but she woke up.

Right after she did, she had sensed him. He was now reconsidering taking her back. He wanted to keep her here and make sure she tell him what techniques she had used to sense him. The silence between them grew longer till it got awkward. Achlysa was yet to open her eyes so the man before her did not know what they looked like. She was unwilling to start a conversation with someone she did not know so she kept quiet.

“What technique did you use? Tell me.”

“Am not sure I understand. What do you mean?”

He could tell she was not lying. Achlysa’s headache was getting worse. Her head was getting heavier. She wanted to give in but she was fighting it. She shook her head slowly trying to chase this sleepy feeling she had. Her world spinned out of control. She opened her eyes and blinked. Her hair was on her face and she was sure the man had not been able to see her eyes.

The man looked at her and crouched. When Achlysa heard the sound of fabric moving, her senses instructed her to close her eyes. Not yet, he could not let him know just yet what the color of her yes were. She had a feeling if he did, she would lose her chance or something. So she close them just as the man reached to her eye level.

He looked at her face but her hair was hindering him. Using his right hand, he flipped her hair to the side. He did not care of her occasionally pulled it or yanked it as he did this. He wanted to get a good look at this face. Maybe, just maybe, he may be entertained by her before letting her go. When he was done, her looked at her face and confirmed, she was indeed breathtaking.

She looked calm and she was not afraid. He gently brushed her cheek but she rejected it by moving away. Achlysa felt disgusted when another man touched her. She had noticed this after she found out her perfect mate was Bendra. It did not matter what the intentions of the man in question were, she still felt like a thousand needles pricked her at the same time when a man touched her. At times she would feel nauseated. And rarely she would feel like a blade was held against that part the man held.

One thing was clear. She hated it. And since then she had avoided contact with other men. Be it holding hands or leading her somewhere. She rather walk on her own, trip and fall than ask for help from a man. It was not because she was proud but she did not like the pain and discomfort it left her in. The man stopped realizing she was not interested. He would have forced her if not for the fact that something had caused his hand pain when he touched her.

She was really something, but what? He looked at his right hand and saw blood. A single s***h had ran across his index finger down to his palm. It was not that deep but blood still poured from it. Each finger had become victim to this s***h. He thought it was just a fluke so he touched her again. This time, the s***h was deeper and harsher. It ran from his thumb down almost to his elbow. He retracted.

He was sure she did not flinch. And she had no weapons were on her. He had made sure of that when he first walked in. Plus this was a rule for any prisoner to be thoroughly searched for secret weapons before being put in a cell or a room for questioning or torture. All she had was a staff but his subordinate left it where he had picked her up from. He claimed that it was too heavy to lift and when he tried lifting it, it began freezing the ground while burning his hand.

This story had made absolutely no sense to him. He thought his subordinate had finally lost it but now, he was starting to believe that it was somehow true. He kept his cool and decided against touching her again. The man was now sure why. It was because…

“You have a mate, don’t you?”

“Mn.” Was her response.

“What’s your name?”

“Achlysa.”