These Wicked Games

Chapter 20

Madeleine takes my hand and leads me back to the gold casket. She takes my thumb and presses it to the top right corner and the familiar chime sounds before the entire casket starts to move, revealing another set of stairs hidden beneath it that leads further down.

I look at her in confusion as she tells me, "This is the path you need to take. It will lead you to the caverns below and from there you'll need to find your own way out to the mainland. It won't be easy but I know you're ready. You have to prove to everyone there that you're a Sovrano, you're strong and capable of taking your place. I know you can do it, I'll meet you there." I turn to give her a big hug and thank her for everything as she hands me a flashlight and ushers me down.

As I make my way down the steps, the casket closes right back over me and I lose all light. I turn on the flashlight and beam it down below and my nerves kick in as I notice the steps leading down into water. Shit, there's no other way to go and I'm alone and scared once again. I take deep breaths and let my anger fuel me closer and closer to the finish line.

Lowering myself into the water, I notice it's not as cold as I imagined it would be and once it hits my stomach, I stop and turn off the light to see what's around. A faint light shines from below and I make the decision to go under. Oh I hope this flashlight is waterproof, I tell myself as I make sure my bag is sealed tight around me and take a deep breath before taking the plunge.

I quickly come back up, acknowledging that I might be swimming for awhile and feeling my boots weighing me down. I loosen the laces and remove them one by one  before I start paddling full speed.

I swim towards the light for what feels like an eternity but it's too far out for me to get to in one breath, so I head back up to the surface for a breath. Once my fingertips break the water, they hit the ceiling and I realize I don't have much room at all. I angle my face up and gasp for breath with the little pocket of space I have. "Fuck! Fuck this is bad." I tread water, turn my flashlight back on and look around. It's a completely closed off area in these underwater caverns.

I know I have to keep moving forward. I take another deep breath and continue on paddling and pushing through as fast as I can and just when the light is within reach and I struggle for a breath, I swim up to the surface.

Sluggishly, I pull myself out. Dragging my exhausted body to lay on the rocks. Oh how I long for that broken spring mattress back in my old apartment. I wish I never knew any of this, I wish I had my miserable old life back.

"Well well well." I shoot up to sitting quickly and turn to see Rina leaning against the rocks studying her fingernails. "We're finally alone. Did you think I forgot about you?"

"To be honest I didn't think you'd make it this far." She says as she starts making her way towards me. I stand up and walk backwards away from her. She stops, crosses her arms and smiles at me chuckling. "What? You scared?"

I put my hand out to stop her, "Stay right there. Don't come any closer." She rolls her eyes, raises her arms and stays in place. "I don't trust any of you." I tell her.

"What ever do you mean?" She asks sarcastically. "It's not like I was the one who tried to fuck your boyfriend, right?"

Shit, she knows. "I didn't do shit, Alek tied me up, I —"

"Fucking save it. He does his shit, I do mine. It's not like I haven't had a run at Hayes myself honey so I could care less. But here's the thing."

She gestures between the two of us, "You and me, we're not friends. I could give two shits about you. Alek on the other hand is my ticket. He's heir, not Hayes and certainly not you.