The Sanctuary

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

“MAREK!” The crown prince roared. 

I kept my eyes on Marek, on the sharp steel that lay cold against my throat. I need to get out of this. 

“Prove it!” Marek spit back. “Prove it now!”

Marek pressed the tip of his sword harder against my throat. I could feel it dig in to the soft skin. I swallowed hard, my jaw clenching. What could I do, what do I do…

The crown prince did nothing and I closed my eyes, tightly. I am at a Farsarian's mercy, I thought weakly. This was not how I wanted to die.

Marek pushed the dagger against me even harder, causing me to involuntarily cry out as pain shot through me. 

A collective gasp.

A hand, gripping Marek’s sword arm so tightly, I thought faintly he was meaning to break it.

“Do not touch her,” the crown prince murmured, his eyes flashing treacherously. 

The silence after his words was deafening.

“So its true?” Marek crowed. 

The men were staring, flabbergasted. Confused. I could only focus on the sword at my throat, looking for ways to escape it before the crazy man would actually kill me. 

And then, the ground rumbled. Marek pulled his eyes away from the crown prince and stared at the ground.

It rumbled again. 

“What the…” one of the men muttered.

And then the world underneath us cracked open.

Roots were shooting out of the ground, all around us, pushing up through the rubbled dirt and breaking free. The roots were grabbing the men and pulling them roughly down, under the ground as they screamed. We all fell to the ground, and I felt the ground underneath me shaking and groaning, as root after root broke through the dirt and found their way to the open air, pulling more and more men under.

Screams filled the air. 

“ALAYA!” The crown prince yelled at the top of his lungs. 

I tried to reach for my sword, scrabbling for it, but the ground tore apart in front of me and another root shot from what seemed like the recesses of the earth to grab another Farsay soldier, dragging him into the soil.

This was a nightmare. This had to be a nightmare.

I could barely make a noise, my fear making my vocal chords freeze up. I scrabbled backwards, frantically looking around for an escape.

 What was going on? 

I spotted the crown prince. He was barely clinging onto a piece of land. I tried to get to him, reach him through the quaking ground.

 But then someone had me in a tight grip, hand at my mouth.

“Devil be damned!” Marek screamed. “I have one of your own! If you want her to live, stop NOW!” 

The rumbling stopped. The world stilled.

Marek’s grip was tight and I fought against it until I felt the touch of cold steel at my stomach. “Do not move, you disgusting Forbidden,” He snarled into my ear.

And then I saw it. 

The other Riders, walking towards us. Edward, leading the group, silver eyes blazing. The rivulets of veins that ran down his face were large and pronounced. He was absolutely livid.