Cruel Deception (On Hold)

Chapter Five

“You lied...You’re a liar...No…I thought you were…I…I…” I stammered, the room was spinning. Angel’s face went from a beyond happy to an incredibly hurt expression. He pulled the ring back to his chest and looked at it. The hurt of his face was so pronounced. I felt like crying. I ran up the stairs. People were starting to shout and ask questions. Confusion spread through the masses. I pushed on up the stairs tripping a little at the last red velvety step, and threw myself out the door and into the night. I was in shock. Had I made the right choice? No, that much was certain. He should have told me. He had done what he thought he needed to do to save me. He couldn’t actually love me, but the pain on his face that still lingered in my mind said he did. He lied, like everyone person besides my peasant family, he lied. He was just as bad as Ratri and my father. Had this been the plan all along, have him make a move on me when I was fearful? We had just met, how could I’ve lost myself to my feelings? He was a seducer; he’d made me so trusting. Never trust, wasn’t that the first lesson I’d ever learned?  I needed time to think. Time which I probably wouldn’t get.

“Miss Dahlia, we need you to come with us.” Two guardsmen said in sync before me blocking my path. My thoughts settled, my only option left was to run away. To live, I would have to run away. When I didn’t move the guardsmen came closer.

“I’m sorry.” I mumbled. I used my magic to bring sleep to the front of their minds, and they fell instantly asleep to the ground, on top of each other.

“Dahlia!” Raoul voiced called. I looked around to find him in a hover car, just down the path the window down and the door opened. “Hurry! They’re coming!” He cried, his worried eyes darting from me to behind me. I looked behind me to see at least five guards rushing over. I threw myself into a sprint toward the hovercraft. Sprinting was the one thing I was best at. I threw myself into the craft just as Raoul took off; we headed higher into the dome away from the confusion and the angry guards. Away from Angel, My father, and Bran. My scraped leg hurt as I pushed farther into the flying hovercar. The door closed automatically. I put my head in my hands and started to silentlycry. Raoul said nothing from his seat in front, just kept driving.

What was a crying about? Maybe that I had just broken the heart of a guy I’d just met, but I cared for? Maybe because I hadn’t used my head, I’d just gone with feeling. I felt betrayed. But maybe he’d thought of it differently. Maybe he thought he was trying to save me, or maybe he thought of me as a challenge. I think that may have been partly the reason. Sure I was attracted to him, I’d thought about marrying him when we were in the maze but I wasn’t ready, knowing someone for an hour wasn’t enough. To make a decision that big in the space of seconds wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to know I loved him and that life with him is what I truly wanted.

I remember briefly what happened next, Raoul stopped and he helped me out of the car, I think I was still crying. He helped me into a small house, and into a small room with a bed, he put me in there, I laid down.  I cried until the darkness of sleep consumed me.

“You can’t keep her here, they are looking everywhere for her.”

“What do you want me to do, give her back to them?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t do that.”

“You’re going to have to give her up eventually, a guard will come knocking and we have no place to hide her. They have already started to search this side of town.”

“We can’t just abandon her, we’ll I can’t at least.”

“You have two choices, let her stay here and you both get caught, or give her up and you may be able to see her. Either way the sorcerer’s bride to be will be found one way or another.”