The man didn’t answer. He rounded the car, training his eyes on me the entire time.
When he slid into the driver’s seat, the locks clicked automatically. My stomach flipped.
“I’m sorry, Your Gracious Majesty, please pardon my caveman behavior. It’s urgent for me to get you back to the palace as soon as possible. His majesty is not in a good state of mind.”
Oh! So I wasn’t getting kidnapped. Phew! He started the engine, and the monitor lit up, and I caught the time. It wasn’t even midnight yet.
They found me. So damn fast. How? I thought I was clever, blending in.
I was being taken back to the palace.
I pressed my forehead against the cool window as the city blurred past in streaks of color and light.
I hadn’t even lasted a full day out here. I was such a fool.
But worse?
I was ashamed of how relieved I was that they came for me.
I closed my eyes, trying to still the chaos in my chest, but all I could feel was the car speeding through the city, carrying me back to the very place I had fled from.
And soon… to him.
To the man whose anger might just burn hotter than the fire I carried in my own soul.
I folded my arms tightly over my chest, feeling the fabric of my sweater bunch up uncomfortably against my skin, and sank deeper into the worn leather seat of the car. My posture resembled that of a sulky child, reluctantly facing the consequences of the mess I had created. The air inside the vehicle was thick with an oppressive silence, a heavy shroud that pressed down on me, making it difficult to breathe. The only sound breaking through the stillness was the relentless ticking of the dashboard clock, each tick echoing like a countdown, reminding me that I was just moments away from seeing him again.
As we drew closer to the palace, anxiety coiled tighter in my chest, like an unforgiving spring. My heart raced in tandem with the increasing tension, and the opulent façade of the palace, with its grandiose arches and intricate stonework, felt more daunting with every passing second.
He was going to be furious. I bit the inside of my cheek hard enough to taste blood.
I deserved his anger.
Sargis had been nothing but kind and patient. He gave me space. Shielded me from a world I wasn’t ready to face, defended me against voices that thought I was too broken. And what did I do in return?
I ran.
Like a coward.
Like a child chasing revenge without a real plan.
He wouldn’t understand, not fully. How could he? He didn’t wake up choking on nightmares. He didn’t feel invisible hands wrapping around his throat every time she closed her eyes. He didn’t carry the smell of blood in his memory or hear Joe’s laughter echoing in the darkest parts of her mind.
Even when I smiled. Even when I laughed with Hasmik, joked with Filipe, teased Sargis over little things, he was still there. Always. Like a ghost stitched beneath my skin.
Sargis wouldn’t understand that the only way forward, for me, was through Joe’s blood.
And sure, it was easier said than done I know that now. But it didn’t change the fact that it was the only thing that made sense in my head. The only thing that gave the nightmares purpose.
But it was equally terrifying to face Sargis again.
What would he do to me? What would he say? Would he yell? Would he finally snap? Would Sargis stop being the calm, patient man and punish me for betraying every ounce of trust he’d ever offered me?
“Stop the car!” I shouted.
I don’t think I can face him.
The guard flinched, glancing nervously at the rearview mirror. “Ma’am-“
“Now!”
The tires screeched as the vehicle jerked to a halt on the side of the road. My heart thundered in my chest like it was trying to claw its way out.
“Open the door,” I commanded, barely holding myself together.
“I can’t. His Majesty gave strict”
“Well from what I’ve been told, I am Her Majesty,” I snapped. “So doesn’t that give me the authority to override a damn door lock?!”
The lock disengaged.
I stared at him, stunned that it worked.
“Your Majesty, please,” he mumbled again, more softly this time. “Don’t do this. He’s on his way..”
I threw the door open, and the night air slapped me in the face as I stepped out. The wind tangled in my hair, and the cold bit into my skin. I didn’t care.
Screech!
A deafening roar split the silence. A car came flying into view, the tires skidded sideways, and slammed to a halt just inches from me.
My breath caught in my throat.
The driver’s side flung open so hard it slammed against the frame with a metallic crack.
And then he was there.
Sargis.
I’ve never seen him so disheveled. His jacket hung off one shoulder, and his shirt was half-unbuttoned.
He moved closer, eating up the mere distance between us.
“Fuck,” I breathed.
Sargis’s POV
The moment my boots hit the pavement, I didn’t stop.
She was frozen where she stood, the wind tugged at her hair, and her eyes were wide with fear. My heart thundered like a war drum inside my chest as I closed the distance between us until we were mere inches apart.
I wrapped her in my arms, relieved.
Her body went rigid in surprise, then she sagged against me. I buried my face in her hair, breathed her in, like she was the oxygen I’d been denied for too long. I cradled the back of her head while the other roamed gently down her spine.
“You’re okay!” I murmured roughly. My fingers ghosted along her arms, her back, her sides…everywhere I could reach without making her flinch. “Did anyone hurt you? Did you eat? Are you…” My voice cracked, and I shut my eyes for a beat. “Fuck, Narine…”
I held her back a little so I could see her face.
She tried to speak, but I shook my head, gently but firmly.
“Not now,” I whispered. “We’ll talk when we get home.”
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