Arwick (A Light Of Roria Sequel)

Chapter Fourty-Six

Staci

I blinked, unable to speak, mostly because my head was still spinning from how utterly awful my stupid fate had been. Just a second ago, I thought I would be forever trapped in that pit. It was the world's scariest horror film, and I was the star. I looked around, dazed and confused. My heart was beating so fast I thought it might explode.

"Have you lost your ability to speak?" Ahaz said, but I had barely noticed. Everything had felt so real I wasn't sure if at some point I'd shut my eyes and wind up back in the pit.

"Wha—How—Where—How did I get here?" I yelled, spinning around in a panic. "What the actual heck is going on?"

Ahaz yanked me toward him. "Relax, woman!" he screamed in my face, and I instantly shut up, too surprised to speak. "You make a fool of yourself!"

An earth-shattering roar had both of us jumping out of our skin, just as Joash landed to our right.

Get back, scum! If you harm her, I will end your life! Joash screamed, but I knew Ahaz wouldn't have understood it. Still, he didn't need to. His snarl was intimidating enough.

"Please don't roast him!" I stood between them both, raising my hands. "He might be my only chance out of here!"

Joash immediately settled down, nodding in a reluctant but obedient kind of way.

With a dark sword formed in his hand, Ahaz stared at me wide-eyed. "He is under your command?"

I shrugged. "Not my command. He just protects me. He chose me. He's my guardian or whatever."

Ahaz flashed his trademark wicked grin. "A dragon has chosen a dark user. How interesting."

I crossed my arms, feeling a little suspicious. We hadn't exactly left each other on good terms. My magic took over by instinct, and before I spoke I already had a dark sword in hand. "You seem overly nice after what happened in your own kingdom. Am I supposed to believe you aren't angry about it?"

He looked at my sword, practically laughing. "What was different between your decision and my own? I let my father die, and you escaped. We both did what it took to survive." I gripped the handle even tighter, truly ticked he'd just accused me of taking the coward's way out. But as my mouth lay open like a flytrap, I wondered if he was wrong. What if every choice I'd made so far had been out of fear? "Do you still choose to deny who you really are?" he started out. "No matter, time will lead you to who you've been called to be." Crossing his arm, Ahaz motioned his hand at me. "I am a great deal more interested in how you came to be here."

I scoffed. "Are you serious? Does it look like I know! One minute I was apparently meeting my fate, and the next I was here."

Ahaz's mouth dropped. "You mean to tell me you traveled the great water of fate and did not perish?"

"Apparently not," I said, not really understanding.

"Dark users have never been able to confront their fate without dying. Which makes you the exception to this."

"And your point?" I asked. It was like he spoke in riddles.

"After the destruction of my father's kingdom, I escaped to Kane's lands in order to place the blame entirely on my father, revealing his betrayal. But as luck would have it, I can now present the dark fairy to him. Furthermore, I can tell him how you've survived fate's hand. He will set us both beside him to rule all of Arwick."

I shook my head. "No! Mmm-mmm! I'm not ruling anything! All I want is to get out of Arwick. I want to go back to Oregon, to my quiet townhome! I'm going to devote hours into my business, eat as many Oreos as I like while I watch cheesy vampire romances, and forget this crap ever happened!"