Scarred

Chapter 30

Eva's POV
"W-what's going on?" I hear Cas mutter as I force my eyes open. Both Cas and I are tied to chairs. Darkness floods the room, the only light coming from the moon peeking through the window. How long have we been unconscious for? And more importantly, what are these two doing and why?

"How much longer do we have to wait until the guard shows up?" Tyran says.
"It doesn't matter. Just let the kids go already, this doesn't sit right with-" Ryder begins.
"I don't care! Sacrificing others is the only way to get somewhere in life. If you don't let others suffer and die for you, then you end up like this one." He lightly kicks my leg, but despite that, it seems to hurt more than it should.
"What are you doing with us?" I groan.

"Giving you to the royal guard. They offered us freedom if we did, so of course we're gonna take up their offer. I can't stand another moment in this dump, but when you're a wanted criminal, you have little choice," he explains.
"Tch, as if. If you take into consideration my blood, I've been a wanted criminal my whole life," I argue. "And I've not had to sacrifice anyone for that."

"Really? What about Sebastian Ayres? Or Ada Sanos? Both died for your safety."

"How did you-?!"

"We were told all there is to know about you. You telling us your story was just a formality, or make you feel com-"
"That's it, I'm letting these kids go," Ryder says, pushing past. "I am not letting them hurt them, not when they're the reason I found out about my son."

"You Impures are all so sentimental. There's a reason us Pures are better and that's because such things as family only serve as a status for us. That empathy of yours makes you weak and easily manipulated."

Turning away, I struggle for a moment, trying to break away from the rope's grasp.
"Cas," I whisper. "I'm gonna burn the rope, get ready to run."
"Alright..."

"What are you two whispering about? There's no escape. Not a single person lives in this area, we're isolated from society. No one will hear you if you scream for help."
"Well that simply isn't true," I smirk, remembering how Flynn stayed behind. In an instant, the rope burns to a crisp, and as I grab the bag from the floor, Cas hops onto my shoulder in his dragon form. As I run, I notice how Ryder stays still, helping limit Tyran's movement.

"Thank you!" I call out as I begin running into the woods.

"What are you doing?" Tyran hisses.
"Protecting these kids!"
"Gah, you idiot! I'll kill you!"

I turn around as he says those words, watching as he pounces on Ryder, tackling him to the ground. Kill? He doesn't know. He doesn't know that if Ryder died, he does too.

"Wait!" I yell, running back to the doorway. "Stop it! You can't kill him, you-"
"Just run! Run and tell Daphne that I'm sorry!" Ryder refutes.
"No! You don't understand! Tyran if you kill him-"

"God! Just shut up! If you don't, you'll be next, understand?!"

"Eva, Cas, there you are!" Flynn emerges from the trees and rushes to my side, staring in shock at the two inside the house. "What's going on?"
"Tyran listen, if Ryder dies then- wait, stop it!"

As he holds the knife above Ryder's chest, I freeze. Go. Go help Ryder. Stop Tyran before he kills them both. Go. Go Eva, go.

Why can't I move?

By the time I finally come to my senses, the knife has already plunged into his chest, red blood going everywhere.
"Hah... that's what you get... that's what happens when you... wait, what's happening?" He pants, struggling to keep himself up right.
"I tried to warn you!" I shout, "I tried to tell you that if he dies, so do you, but you just wouldn't listen! You wouldn't...! And now you're both gonna die."

"W-what...?"

As I stare wide eyed at the two of them, I watch as their souls fade away. The chain lingering for a moment before disappearing along with them.

"They're dead..." I breathe.
"And we're in trouble, Eva, we've gotta go," Cas says. "The guard could be here any moment. And then we'll be caught and then-"

"No time to dawdle then, let's go," Flynn grabs my hand, dragging me along before I can dwell on the death of Tyran and Ryder anymore. It manages to snap me out of this state, and I begin to run, keeping a close eye out to see if anyone's following. I would use my flames to allow us to see, but that would just draw more attention to us, being able to blend in with the darkness may be our only advantage right now.

"We'll be alright, we'll get out of here, we'll be okay," I hear Flynn whispering. It's almost too quiet for me to hear, implying his words of reassurance are not for me. In fact, I can see him trembling.
"I swear we'll get out of this," I say, rushing ahead.

Suddenly, a net forms around me, pulling me and Cas up into the air. A trap. Of course, they've probably been setting these up all day.

"Eva, Cas!" Flynn calls, racing to catch up to us.
"It's okay, I've got my flames, I can-"

"Put out the flame, or we will shoot the boy."

Using my flame to brighten up the area, I look down to see guards circling us, all with guns pointing at Flynn.
"Eva, don't you-" Flynn begins, but I ignore him. The flame goes out almost immediately, plunging us into darkness once again.

"Eva Kim, you are under arrest by the order of the king. As for you two, Flynn Sutton and Casper Carmen, you'll be coming with us too."

One of the guards cuts the net off of the tree, but keeps Cas and I trapped in it, whilst others handcuff Flynn, forcing him into a carriage mere moments later. Carelessly, they chuck us in there with him, locking the door tightly shut.

"We're going back," I whisper, holding onto Cas tightly. "We're going back to the palace."

And there's nothing I can do about it.

Nova note:
Rip Tyran and Ryder
I mean
Imagine being around for one chapter only to be
Killed off the next

On a separate note, things are gonna get interesting now
Bye