The Immortal Prince ✔️

39

Word Count: 1503

~Vaela

My feet touch the ground only moments later.

Keo immediately let's go of me, striding forward. He's taken me to some kind of home. It's simple, rather uninteresting, but there is something haunting about the darkly coloured walls, about the lack of anything distinguishing.

"What is this place?" I ask distastefully, turning in a circle. Keo doesn't turn back, making his way down the lengthy corridor.

"One of Relm's many residences," he explains as I catch up with him.

My hands brush against the hallway walls. There are no windows, which means I have no idea where I am. Has Hale gotten to Death's realm yet? Has he noticed I'm not there?

"Where do you live?" I ask tentatively, looking at Keo's back as he walks. He's such an imposing, terrifying man, that I'm curious about him.

I shouldn't be, I know that. Not with someone so dangerous.

"I live nowhere," he responds tightly.

Narrowing my eyes upon him, I fight the urge to call him to a stop. "That can't be true."

"I prefer not to settle." He sounds irritated by me, bothered. Clearly he doesn't enjoy being employed to chase me around and bring me here. Whatever he is getting out of this must be impressive, and I doubt it's money.

"So what, you're Relm's slave or something?" I ask.

Keo shakes his head, laughing breathily. "No, but at this point in time, our interests are aligned. It's not often that happens."

No, I can't imagine they do. And I suspect that isn't a good thing for me.

I stop. "Don't let him kill me."

He sighs, turning around to face me. As I look at him, I realise he's looking at me, but his attention is distant, uninvolved. Whatever reason he is doing this for is not something that involves morals.

"I'm sorry if you thought I am a good person. I'm not interested in having mercy," he growls lowly, as if he presumes Relm can here him, wherever he is.

All the hope I had that I would get out of this vanishes into nothingness. "He is going to kill me then, isn't he..."

Keo doesn't react. Of course not, he's made it clear he doesn't care what my fate is. And it's not as if he hasn't lied to me before. It's how he got me to Death's realm in the first place.

"Come on. You can take you problems up with him, yourself," he merely says, motioning for me to follow him again.

There is nothing else I can do, so I oblige him, following him down the hallway, until it emerges out into a large room, bathed in shadows.

Only a small amount of light comes from a lamp at the corner of the room, and near it, I can see the faint figure of someone sitting there.

I frown. I can see their hands, clutching the arms of the chair they fit on, and the bottom half of their legs.

But not their face. It's submerged in shadows.

It's clear this is Relm. I can tell by the glacial chill that flickers through me.

"Hello?" I call out warily.

"Ah, Vaela, is it?" His voice is like a dark caress, his accent impossible to decipher. He sounds glad to see me, which I can't decide if that's a good sign or not.

I swallow uncomfortably. "It is."

"Thank you Keo, for bringing her here," Relm murmurs. There is something alluring about his tone of voice, used to manipulate in the past. I won't fall for it though. I won't believe that he is a good person with good intentions.