The Trials

Chapter 10

Sometime between staring at the maze out of the back of that truck, I must have lost consciousness or simply just passed out trying to block out the horrible thing I just did. I’ve never been so ashamed of something in my life.

“Oh, Ms. Everly, you must wake up! You have been summoned, dear,” a woman yelled as she was pushing my body awake.

I stirred awake, nearly falling off the bed. “Where am I?!”

The woman stared at me as if she had expected me to react this way. “You’re in Erik’s home. He has been taking care of you while your body has been in this fragile state.”

What did that mean? How was my body in a fragile state? “What do you mean?”

“Oh, you have been sleeping for three days straight. No one knows of your return. Lord Erik thought it would be best for everyone to know once you were back on your feet and able to tell everyone how you miraculously survived.”

I jumped up out of the bed, seething mad. Before I could contemplate what I was doing, I was running in the direction of Erik’s office. He didn’t wait to tell my family that I was alive and back on my behalf. He did that so he could get the first chance to talk to me. Slithering little snake!

Of course, his soldiers were guarding his door like the good little obedient soldiers they were. It didn’t matter. I was so worked up that I could move through just about anything. I charged at them, pushing them through Erik’s door. Once the door slammed open, he jumped from his seat, staring at me in disbelief.

“Riven! I’m so happy that you are finally awake. I was hoping that we would get to have breakfast together so I could learn all about your escape. After all, you are the first person to ever return.”

“Cut the crap, Erik!” I yelled. I know that I came back here to take his position right out from up underneath him, but he got under my skin. Just the mere sound of his voice made me infuriated with anger. “Why wouldn’t you tell my mother that I’m alive?”

He stared at me in a heated exchange, not backing down. Erik knew why I was here. I didn’t doubt that for a second. “You will refer to me as Lord Erik as everyone else does, Riven. How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not the enemy you desperately are searching for me to be?” He nodded at his men behind me that I crashed through moments ago. They closed the door behind them giving us our privacy.

I wanted to come out with everything, to tell him that I found out the truth about what he did to my father, but I had to stay strong. Karoline gave her life for this, and I would not let it be in vain.

“I want to see my mother.”

“And you will but not before we have had a chance to speak first. Riven, you are the very first person to even walk out of that forest. Why and how?”

Oh, if I could only tell him everything that I knew I could wipe that smirk right off his face. I sat in the chair across from him, clasping my hands together tightly as a reminder not to bring out every bit of information that I know. “You remember, Karoline. If it wasn’t for her bravery, I wouldn’t have made it out. However, I’m sure you were monitoring us fairly closely yourself.”

Erik hit his desk. “Exactly! And wasn’t it interesting to me when you seemed to have disappeared for hours? And now your only friend, the friend you saved your life, didn’t make it out alive with you to explain how that happened.”

Now it was my turn to smirk. “I didn’t disappear. Maybe your technology isn’t as bulletproof as you would like it to be. A creature was chasing me, I told Karoline to hide as I led it back into the clearing where I killed it. As you can see by my face, I didn’t get out unharmed. I passed out and when I woke up, I was lying in the middle of the field.”

“Yes, I recall hearing your recollection of events. However, that scar doesn’t seem as nasty as it was. I’m sure the cream helped you with that.”

Yes, the cream that I got from Dorian. “The cream was in my bag when I woke up along with other things. I thought maybe you or your men left it to help keep us alive a little longer. Think about how that would make you look. If you told everyone that you supplied those items to me that you could fight the fact that you desperately wanted us to make it out alive and you would do anything in your power to make that happen.”

The way Erik looked at me, I thought he would kill me right then. He knew that I knew the truth, but without confirming it, he wouldn’t dare say it first in hopes he was wrong. Right now, we were playing a long game of chess and only the most valiant player would come out on top. Little did he know what I had planned to do next.

“Well, I believe that is all we have time for today. You have had days of rest and must be missing your family terribly. We wouldn’t want anything happening to that bond you closely share now, would we? Run along to go see them. You and your family will be welcome back tonight here at my home for dinner. I expect to see you, your mother, and Adan there.”

Erik snapped his fingers loudly and in walked his goons to escort me out. I was going to take him down, especially now after threatening my family.

The ride I received home was much longer than I had remembered. My mother would be so shocked to see me. No one made it out alive so I’m sure she had already grieved me. It wouldn’t hurt to see Adan either. His comforting and familiar face would be welcoming.

As soon as the truck dropped me off, my mother came running outside. She fell to her knees while wrapping her arms tightly around my body. “My sweet child! It’s a miracle that you made it back to me.” She wiped away her tears and stared up at me. “I promise that from here forward, I will be the mother you remember me to be.”

I hugged her back. This wave of relief washed over me. I’m glad she would be returning to her old self because that is the woman that I’m going to need to help me fight Erik. But it was still too early to tell her anything. We had to take things slow to make sure she wasn’t just saying what she thought I wanted to hear.

A minute later, Adan came walking down the stairs. Wow. He’s changed. He didn’t quite look like a boy anymore but a man. He had even begun to grow stubbled facial hair. I wasn’t even gone that long but it was enough. Adan had to step up and not just take care of his family but my mother too. Guilt suddenly washed over me.

He reached out and touched my hands as my mother walked back inside. “Don’t do that. It wasn’t your fault that you had to leave. You were forced to leave. I didn’t mind looking out after her but I’m glad that you're back.”

Suddenly, Adan reached in and kissed me. “Whoa,” I said as I pushed him back. “What was that?”

“You know how I feel about you, Riven. Since you have been gone, it’s only gotten worse. I didn’t do anything before you left because I didn’t know if I would ever see you again. Now that you’re back and you are here to stay, I need to be honest with you about how I feel. I know you know it.”

Adan was right. I had known how he felt about me since we were kids, but it didn’t matter if I had feelings for him or not because that wasn’t what was important. I could only see one thing in front of me right now and that was taking down Erik once and for all.

I touched my lips. “I know, Adan. I just need a little time. Can you give me that? I just got back and there is so much I want to say.”

“I’ve waited for you this long Riven. I don’t think waiting days, weeks, or even a couple more months is going to make a difference.”

My mother yelled for Adan to help her with something inside. He ran in while I took a deep breath. As I was about to walk inside, I heard rustling in the bushes close to me. What the hell could that be? Animals no longer came this close to our homes. We would have to hunt for days, sometimes weeks to find an animal.

I walked closer to the sound, out of sight of my home. When I stopped to stare at the rustling in the bushes, I was pulled with force inside. My instincts to fight whatever it was came over and I managed to punch something soft yet hard.

“Nice punch, Riven,” Dorian spoke as he grasped his face. “You have some force behind that fist.”

“What are you doing here? If Erik sees you, everything that I have been doing will have been for nothing. Karoline died for this!”

He covered my mouth and pulled me so close to him that I could smell that intoxicating scent only he had. “Karoline is okay. Caden found her hurt but we managed to save her. She wanted me to find you, so you didn’t worry. She told me to tell you that she is on your side. After I saw her in the shape that she was I had to know that you were okay too.”

Karoline was alive? I signed in relief. “Wait, what do you mean that you had to make sure I was okay?”

“When you left, I couldn’t stop thinking about you and I feel very protective over you, Riven. Just like when that guy kissed you. I nearly wanted to rip his head off for touching you.” I stared at him confused. “Right, you don’t get it. I’ll explain later but just know it has to do with where I’m from and because I’m not human, not entirely.”

He leaned in and kissed me too before I could stop him. Unlike Adan, I kissed Dorian back when I knew that I shouldn’t. He moaned into my mouth, pushing himself further into me, when I pushed him back and jumped out of the woods before anything else could happen.

What the hell just happened?