A World Away

24. In the dead of the night

Get ready.... 

The following months were a good change for Mike. He was used to living without internet and electricity by now- no matter how inconvenient. He had set up a routine with Eve to fill his time. To be honest, the human lands were a breath of fresh air for the two.

The mornings were spent training with the few Fae soldiers who camouflaged themselves near the forest. After a few hours of practicing with sticks and throwing punches, the duo went back to the house. Nesta gave their sweating selves a disgusted look and hurried them to take a bath and get ready for lunch.

After lunch, the two would patrol around a bit. This included listening to Elain talk about her garden and Grayson (who was ... alright in Mike's opinion) to pass the time. To his surprise, taking care of the small piece of land took a lot of work. Then they went back to the manor and spent time indulging in their hobbies. Mike would be in the piano room. Eve would either join him or be huddled in the library with Nesta.

In the evenings, they wrote letters to the Inner Circle about anything of interest that had happened, eat dinner, act like an affianced couple (for fun) and then go to bed, looking forward to tomorrow.

The only two times the two of them had received a letter back was to inform them about the attack on Velaris and to stay alert. The second was sent by Azriel to Eve saying the usual 'bs about being safe and yada, yada, yada' as Eve had put it. Although, Mike had seen the blush that had coated her face.

It was during the night a few hours after they had gotten the letter about Velaris' attack when all went to hell. Mike and Eve had decided to patrol turn by turn during nights along with the Fae. Although, instead of being positioned a bit away from the house, the two stood guard near the entrance.

The attack took place at midnight.

Mike was yawning, wishing for coffee when the first disturbance was heard. Instantly on alert, he scanned the place. The first Fae soldier fell with a distant thud. Trusting his intuition, he ran back to the house to alert the sisters and Eve.

He found Eve in the foyer. "Someone is here. Protect the sisters, get out."

"But you-" "Eve go! I will be right behind you," he assured her. "You can't defend alone!" Eve protested. "The Fae soldiers are also here, now go, Eve!" For some reason though, he couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that this might just be the last time he saw Eve again. Quickly planting a kiss on her forehead, he left to do his job.

Eve ran to wake up Nesta. "Get up now, someone is here and we need to escape. Mike is guarding," she said while throwing clothes towards Nesta who had wakened up as soon as Eve had barged into her room. "I will get Elain. Meet me in the dining hall, we will take route 3." Nesta nodded. Route 3 was the secret passageway from the foyer.

A few minutes later, Eve took a deep breath, listening for any noises. After a few seconds, "clear. Move." They made their way to the hidden trapdoor. She kept a defensive position with a sword in her hand. She had given the sisters two knifes each, in case.

Mike was not yet. He better hurry. Just as Nesta had unlocked the latch with Elain whimpering being the only thing disturbing the night, Eve saw a glint of steel near the window. "Hurry," she whispered to Nesta who let out a frustrated noise.

Mike was not here yet. Come on Mike, Eve thought. But instead of Mike, a shadow lunged at Eve so fast, she barely was able to defend herself. She rolled over and raised her sword in offence. She went back and forth with the Fae who seemed more amused than anything else. Gritting her teeth, Eve followed through a maneuver she had seen Cassian do a long time ago and she killed the Fae soldier. She turned to see the sisters, looking at the scene in horror, barely registering her actions. "Hurry," Eve whisper-yelled. But then, more Fae came in. Cursing in every language Eve knew, she held her sword up high, readying her stance.

The four Fae that had entered looked anything but scared. One of them threw a body in front of the three girls and Eve gave out a whimper as she saw the pale, bloodied face.

Mike. Her Mike.

"No, No, No, NO," Eve let out something between a sob and a cry of anguish. The next second she was unto the Fae who took less than three seconds to take her sword and capture her.

"He said there were only two sisters present." One of the Fae said. "We can take them all, better safe than sorry," another replied, so casual about kidnapping them.

"Sounds fine," one said. The next second Eve' felt her consciousness fade away as something warm streamed down her forehead.

******

When she woke up and the night's events played into her head, she let out a whimper. Mike's pale, wide-opened eyes stuck itself in front of her. Tears started streaming down her face. She had failed him, she had failed Nesta and Elain.

Nesta and Elain! She looked around, where was she? She couldn't let Mike's death go waste, she needed to find the sisters. Mike. Mike. Mike. Her best friend Mike- gone. Dead.

"Oh good, you are awake. Lets' go," a Fae came in, removing the blindfold that had previously been tied along with the ropes on her wrist. Mike, Mike, Mike. She opened her eyes and saw a door in front of her; voices filtering from inside. Nesta and Elain were present on her side along with four women in front of her as the door opened and she heard someone say, "No—she doesn't." Mike. Her Mike. The doors opened. "There will be no destroying." Before Eve could even think of the first step of an escape plan, the Fae male pushed her forward. The females parted and Eve stopped breathing. 

I mean... we knew this was coming... 

Happy reading :)

XOXO,

the amazing author