THE PAWN AND THE KING

16

I woke up disoriented, blinking against the dim light filtering through the cracks in the taped-up window. The air in the room was stale, thick with dust, and an unsettling silence weighed heavily on me. The window was covered with old newspapers, yellowed and brittle, barely clinging to the edges of the glass. No sunlight, no sign of the outside world. It could have been morning or the middle of the night for all I knew. The room was run-down—faded wallpaper peeled from the walls, a chipped dresser leaned crookedly in the corner, and a musty smell made my stomach churn. I tried to shift, but a sharp, throbbing pain shot through my body, making me wince. My entire frame ached as if I had been hit by a truck.

I grunted in pain as I tried to move, the sound escaping before I could stop it. Almost immediately, I heard footsteps approaching from outside the room. The door creaked open, and a man walked in—a tall figure with a rough, unshaven face. His eyes flickered with something, but it disappeared just as quickly as it had come.

He looked at me, then glanced at the door before gesturing with a quick nod to someone outside. His hand made a silent signal, and soon another figure—blurred and shadowed—appeared in the doorway. I didn't know who they were, but I could feel the tension in the air tightening my chest, making it harder to breathe. My heart pounded against my ribcage, each beat echoing my growing panic. I was too weak to react, too exhausted to feel anything but dread.

The pain in my stomach flared again, sharper this time, and my vision blurred as the room spun around me. I clutched the thin, scratchy sheets beneath me, but my body gave out before I could say anything, and darkness engulfed me once more.

When I came to again, the first thing I noticed was a bright flash of ginger hair in front of me. A young woman was kneeling beside me, her face scrunched up in concentration as she looked down at her hand. Her freckles were vibrant against her pale skin, making her blue eyes pop in contrast. I grumbled audibly, irritation bubbling up within me. She noticed, and her eyes immediately widened as she mustered a wide, overly cheerful smile that almost made me wince.

"Oh, you're awake!" she chirped, her voice far too upbeat for the situation. "How are you feeling? You looked pretty out of it when they brought you in." Her brows furrowed in what I could only assume was concern. "But hey, you're alive, right?" She laughed, a sound that felt oddly forced.

I blinked, still dazed and struggling to process everything. The pain in my body persisted, a dull throb that made every movement feel like a monumental effort. I stared at her, trying to decipher the clash of her bubbly energy against the dismal surroundings. My mind was still foggy, a haze lingering around the edges.

"Where... where am I?" I croaked, my mind still foggy.

She tilted her head, her expression shifting to thoughtful. "Oh, sweetie, you had quite the accident. Nasty one, too. You've been out for a while." Leaning in slightly, she lowered her voice. "Honestly, I was starting to get worried." She glanced briefly at the door, as if checking for eavesdroppers.

Memories flooded back all at once—the night, the dark road, headlights in my rearview mirror, the black SUV tailing me, chasing me, and then the screech of tires as I lost control. My heart raced as panic surged through me.

"The SUV... I was being chased," I muttered, gripping the thin sheets tighter, my knuckles white. "Raeland—does Raeland know? Is he...?" My voice faltered, the desperation leaking through my cracks. The thought of him not knowing where I was gnawed at me like a persistent itch I couldn't scratch. But then I remembered...

Foolishness washed over me. Raeland worrying? About me? That didn't fit the narrative, not with everything between us. Not with Anna. The thought of her name made my chest tighten painfully, and my mind spiraled back into the reality I had been trying to avoid.