Inked

Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Zane's voice echoed in my ears and I suddenly felt as if my entire world tilted. Was this real? Was that a declaration towards me? Or...was I interpreting it wrong, and he actually meant something entirely different? Terrified that I was reading too much into his words, his grip on my wrists had left my skin raw and red. The indents of his fingers still glaring a white hue as my skin slowly infused with color.

"What do you want?" My voice trembled and my hands shook as they fell to my side. Could I really have him if I gave him what he wanted? Just the thought of being able to see Zane in all his naked glory left my mind in tatters. I could feel my blood boiling to the point I almost could not control my incubus side any longer.

Zane just shook his head, before saying, "That is not something I can tell you."

"Why say something so ominous!? You shouldn't have said anything in the first place then!"

"Your mind is not stable enough to know what I want, Keiran."

"How do you know? Are you calling me a child?"

"No," Zane began, "You misundertoo-" I cut him off with a wave of my hand.

"I don't need to hear anything else, Zane." Before he had the chance to stop me, I walked away as fast as I could, going through the door to Earth side, not even bothering thinking about where it would transport me to. All I could think of was getting away from Zane.

It didn't take me very long to realize that that may have been one of the stupidest things I had ever done. My grandmother's voice rang in my ears about my grandfather even as I became surrounded by a group of unknown men in an unknown Earth side forest. Just from their ethereal appearance, I could tell that they were from Elysium. There were around six men that surrounded me, and all of them looked fierce with their frowning faces.

"Keiran D'Arrow?" One of the bulkier men asked, he seemed to be the leader. I just glared at him from where they cornered me against a tree. I just stuck my chin out, refusing to answer. Inside my head, I was berating myself for running away. That had to have been the stupidest decision I had ever made. The leader took my silence as an affirmative, he took a step toward me, his other men caging me in. "I need you to come with me. His Eminence requires your presence."

They were indeed from my grandfather, I stared at them, trying to figure out how to get out of this situation. But first, I needed to make my own voice heard. "I will not go with you."

The leader's face scrunched up in confusion before he tilted his head, staring at me like he didn't know how to proceed. His men took a step closer to me. A sudden sense of claustrophobia welled up inside my heart. I needed them away from me. Now.

My powers flared and all my skin turned pitch black. Everything around me turned dark, even the clouds in the sky rumbled ominously as thunder clapped from afar. My fingers twitched as sparks flickered between my fingertips. The thugs in front of me shuddered and took a step back, their eyes wide but full of resolution.

"You need to come with us, Keiran D'Arrow."

"No," I said again, the sparks from my fingertips lighting the area around me in almost a neon glow. "I am not going anywhere with you. If my grandfather wants me, he can come find me himself."

And with that, I released the sparks contained within my hands. That was the last thing I remember clearly.

Everything around me was hazy, my ears were ringing and I couldn't feel my hands or feet. They were completely numb. As if from far away I heard my name being called out. The voice was hoarse, as if they had been screaming it. Somehow I could tell that it was Zane calling out my name, but I couldn't move from where ever I was. I was frozen and I still could not see anything around me.