Obsidian's Reign ¹

∷ Chapter 20 ∷

THE DARKNESS SEEMED to swallow Clara whole, enveloping her in thick folds and blocking her vision. If not for the secure grip she felt on her wrist, she would have assumed she had fallen into an abyss, left to wander without a destination. Her mind was a mess of confusion, pondering over the stranger's method of teleportation. It was horrifying—akin to being plunged into the depths of absolute nothingness.

Just as soon as the darkness had consumed her, however, it was quick to give way to blinding light, leaving Clara blinking continuously in an effort to adjust her vision to the piercing contrast though it lasted but a mere minute. The edges of her blurred perception cleared as time passed and when it reached normalcy, she found herself staring at the one Marek had addressed as Prince Adric. He stared back at her, a slight smirk tugging on his lips.

"What's wrong?" he asked, though it was obvious the question was not posed out of concern. "You don't like being teleported?"

Clara shook her head once, stopping herself almost immediately when she felt her head starting to swim with nausea. She didn't feel so good, no doubt the result of the sudden teleportation, and was certain she would have emptied her stomach if she had anything within to retch.

She averted her gaze, eyes latching onto the emblem engraved upon the top of the door, a comforting indicator that although she had no idea where she was, at the very least, she had not left the confines of the castle. An unsolicited groan escaped her as she pushed herself off the floor, her hand moving to cradle her throbbing head.

She was well aware of the intense stares boring itself into her profile, the culprit of which was the prince, who happened to be crouched uncomfortably close to her. Despite her best efforts to ignore his presence, there was only so much she could do, and before long, her gaze found his, noting with concern the way his eyes seemed to dull into something of a more emotionless state.

As though in a trance, he reached forward and twirled his finger around a strand of her hair, letting it fall back into place soon after. He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, laughing at the way she winced and leaned away from his touch.

"You're so fragile," he commented. "I could snap your neck right here and you'd be dead."

The hand that had been left midair between them inched closer to her neck, spurring the panic within her as she pushed further away from him and struggled to stand.

"Please, stop," Clara said with a distinct frown. "You shouldn't touch people you're not familiar with."

The light returned to his eyes as he chuckled humourlessly.

"Then shall we get familiar with each other?" he asked.

When she remained silent, he continued, "My name is Adric Cain. I'm a prince in one of the smaller kingdoms part of the Middle Level."

At the new information, Clara's frown deepened. There was another ruling kingdom in the Underworld?

Seeming to have read the cause of her furrowed brows, the prince said, "Don't worry, we're not important. No one cares about a small monarch placed beneath the Averos' reign. Of course, that didn't stop us from contesting for the throne. We've been trying for several years, in fact. But as we all know . . ."

He sighed dramatically before rolling his eyes in petty annoyance.

"The Averos are much too powerful to defeat. To be honest, we've long given up the pursuit of the throne, but . . ."