Cevic

Chapter 30

“Sometimes you make choices, and sometimes the choices make you.”

 

-Gayle Foreman, If I Stay-

 

Future, past, now

 

I was conscious of the taste of copper in my mouth and the searing pain of my skull before I opened my eyes slowly. My limbs felt stiff, and it ached everywhere. I breathed in deeply, and a gust of stale air entered my nostrils and filled my lungs. The first thing I saw was a grey ceiling, dusty, old, and dirty, and a small light bulb that hung overhead, the only form of light source.

  I struggled up, leaning my weight on my elbows first, and stood.

I was in a grey room, lying down on the dusty floor that had not even been painted.

 A small mirror hung at a wall, a low wooden shelf chucked to the corner, a creaky wooden chair sat in the corner, and a digital clock set on the shelf. Its red numbers tauntingly stared back at me.

  20:20

  Still numb with pain, I stumbled over to the mirror, and stood before it, slightly swaying on the spot, giddy.

  The right side of my head was caked with blood, dried up dark red blood.

Spikes seemed to surface on my tongue at the sight of the blood. I looked away, exhaling sharply, and looked back again hesitantly. I could still see the prominent jagged scar that ran down my cheek.

  I breathed in sharply through my mouth; somehow feeling deprived of air, and looked around the room. 

  A barely detectable door that blended into the grey walls was at the left side of the room, with a conspicuous golden doorknob. I turned the knob slowly to the side. Expectedly, the door remained shut.

  There were only forty-minutes to go before nine.

Ice splinters seemed to settle in my stomach, dread flushing my previous hope down to the drain.

  Was I in captive of Markus Reynolds again?

Faintly remembering how I’d went out to close the door, I kicked myself mentally, aghast at my own stupidity. 

 But the scent hadn’t been a human’s.

A wave of giddiness hit me hard, and I touched the side of my head with a grimace. I needed to sit.

 I half stumbled my way and leant against a wall.

Did I have absolutely no luck at all?

 Lord Defas showed his slightly crooked teeth, smiling widely, and bowed slightly. “My prince,” he said with mock politeness, “I beg you to know that there is no hope and no reason in you travelling to Earth. I’m afraid I must say that the success rate is…not up to our expectations.”

  My pulse seemed to drum beneath my ears.

“Prince Eron, it will do you no good to accept His Majesty’s offer. All of us know that the riddle is but a faux,” said Lord Neham quietly with sincere worry. “The ministers will do everything in their power to make you look a criminal when you come back empty-handed.”

  A groan punched out from my mouth.

Princess Isha raised the cup to her lips, as if to hide her face. “You face many, many adversities and challenges, Eron. So many that I fear for you. You have many known and unknown enemies in and out of court, and on Earth and on Cevic.”