lightning strikes | könig [ON HOLD]

- Chapter 9 -

Stepping back into the dark house, Senna tried to bring the peace of the night with herself inside, clinging to it like a lifeline. That's all she had at the moment.

With a sigh, she set the satellite phone back in her backpack, considering whether or not to tell König about it. It could be an important detail once it came to their rescue. But on the other hand, she would get into a disadvantage. He would have a working phone and she not. That was a big risk to admit to a total stranger.

But he saved her numerous times now, so she didn't know if they were strangers anymore. She knew close to nothing about him, she didn't doubt she would try her damn hardest to protect his life in return as well. It was a silent agreement, not needing any explanation from either party.

She's going to tell him, Senna decided. Maybe even tonight. It was a step towards mending their relationship, building back the broken bridge of their trust. He deserved that much after everything.

With a shaky hand, she smoothed back the hair that fell around her shoulders, having finally released from the braid. She twisted her long, dark hair into braids most of the time because the length made it inconvenient in most cases. And that's when she heard it.

The silence.

Her heart sank to her stomach as the worst thoughts surfaced inside her, her legs carrying her toward the place where she hoped to find him. She didn't want to lose him out of sight, she wasn't ready to just blindly trust him like that. He could be anywhere. Anything could've happened to him.

In a few steps, she crossed the small front room and noticed the same slight stream of light emitting from the bathroom. She halted in her steps and shifted her weight, trying to get a better glimpse inside, her pulse pumping erratically in her neck, making it hard to swallow. And that's when she saw him.

The half-way open door gave a pretty good view of him as he stood by the sink, slouching above it. The lamp on his left gave an alluring lightning to him, the soft light taking away all the sharp edges of the night that crept inside.

It was the first time she'd seen him so exposed, it felt wrong. But the woman was too mesmerized by what she saw to look away instantly.

The muscles on his back moved with every move like a monster underneath the deep sea. They rippled in the soft light, a beautiful dance of light and shadows dancing across his scarred skin. Numerous bruises tinted his fair skin in every shade; some were a sickly yellow with a green tint, and some had a blueish purple hue to them, only a few hours old. The biggest one looked the nastiest, a deep purple just above his left kidney, almost reaching his spine. Senna flinched just thinking about how badly they would hurt.

Slowly, the man straightened his back and as he rolled his shoulders back, a low groan escaped his lips. Her eyes trailed up along his spine, her tongue subconsciously darting out to wet her dry lips. Senna's dark gaze settled on a gash on his left shoulder, looking already cleaned up. The way he rolled his head from side to side to ease the tension in his neck made the muscles tense in his back before relaxing.

A sudden creak under her boot made Senna snap out of her trance. She didn't even register when she'd move closer. The otherwise mostly quiet noise was like a gunshot in the silence, making König's head snap towards the noise.

As the military man glanced behind his shoulder, he barely caught a glimpse of a shadow darting away, towards the staircase with barely any noise chasing after it. König narrowed his eyes at the small pathway outside the ajar door, moving slightly closer. But when he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, he simply shook his head, tiredly rubbing at his eye. He's been awake for far too long to believe everything his eyes saw.