Page 26 of Fated

Without a word, he then took a few steps to the left, stopping in front of what appeared to be an ordinary section of rock. With another effortless hand motion from him, the stone shimmered and shifted, revealing a hidden alcove. Inside, two sleek black motorbikes gleamed, their polished surfaces catching the faint light.

The sight of them sent fear spiking in my bloodstream, and at that moment, Ash turned his head toward me, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as if sensing my fear.

I remained rooted to the spot, my feet seemingly wielded to the rock beneath as Calyx mounted one of the bikes. It purred to life, the sheer quietness of the engine surprising me, a gentle hum. Calyx sped off, disappearing around the bend of the cave, swallowed by shadows.

Ash climbed on his bike and pulled it up right in front of me.

He waited, his dark eyes fixed on me.

I couldn’t move.

“Areya, are you going to get on or just stand there?”

There wasn’t really a choice was there? I could either get on willingly, or Ash could make me.

Reluctantly, I stepped forward, clumsily climbing onto the bike’s back, keeping my dress tucked around me. My hands hovered, unsure where to go, so I awkwardly set them on my legs.

“You better hold on,” Ash warned, his voice carrying a subtle edge of amusement. He revved the bike’s engine. That was all the warning necessary.

Instinctively, I threw my arms around his solid, muscular frame, holding on as if my life depended on it—which it probably did. Had I just heard a chuckle reverberate through him?

As the bike began to move, panic bloomed in me, gripping my chest like a vise. I squeezed my eyes shut, burying my face against Ash’s back, inhaling deeply. His scent wrapped around me like a soothing balm, smelling like fresh pine after a rainstorm, crisp mountain air, and a faint trace of sandalwood mixing with something warm and familiar, like sunlit linen.

It calmed me, grounded me, pulling me back from the edge of my spiraling fear. In that moment, I didn’t care if I acted like a raging addict, leaning into the combination of his intoxicating presence and that mind control power as if it were my sacred drug.

The bike accelerated, the sensation of the world rushing past me overwhelming. My whole body pressed hard into Ash as I gripped the bike with my legs. I had no idea how Ash could breathe under the death grip I had on him. Honestly, I didn’t care. The wind was roaring around us, fierce and relentless, whipping my hair into a frenzy and drowning out everything.

“Areya!” I heard Ash’s voice cut through the wind. I didn’t move a muscle. “Areya, open your eyes.” It wasn’t a command.

Hesitantly, I cracked open my eyes, ever so slowly peering out from behind Ash.

I had every intention of taking a quick peek and burying my head right back into his body, but the sight greeting me stole every huff of breath from my lungs.

A vast endless desert stretched out before me, its goldendunes bathed in the cool light of night. But it was the sky above that really captivated me.

It wasn’t just a sky; this was a veritable masterpiece. The deepest, most vivid sapphire blue spread across the heavens, so striking it almost didn’t seem real. The stars, far larger and brighter than any I had ever seen, glittered like shards of diamonds.

They didn’t just twinkle, they blazed with a brightness, making the sky look alive as if someone had flung a swathe of shimmering silver across a clean canvas.

Suddenly, I felt impossibly small, utterly insignificant in the face of such beauty.

“It’s breathtaking,” I whispered, not even sure if Ash could hear. He could.

“I figured you would like it,” his voice carried back on the wind.

I loosened my grip on his torso ever so slightly, tipping my head back to feel the wind against my face. It felt as if I were flying, soaring over the sandy hills and dunes of the desert. I allowed myself to get lost in the moment and right now, nothing else mattered. The weight of fear, the constant dread clinging like a second skin, faded, leaving only a sense of freedom and wonder.

I wished to stay in this pocket of peace forever, or at least a little longer. For the first time since learning about the magic existing in the world, this truly did seem magical.

How long we rode through the desert like this, I couldn’t say, only that it wasn’t nearly long enough. All too soon, the bike came to a slower speed, a sprawling gated compound looming, pulling me harshly back to reality. The sensation of freedom was ripped away, and the familiar dread that had become my constant companion now returned full force.

Calyx was already waiting at a small, weathered guard station just outside the gate, his bike idling. Ash pulled up beside him and parked too. My gaze shifted to the large man sitting on a stool outside the small guard station, and as I took in his features, I nearly gasped.

His skin was deathly pale, the color of white powder, and the hollows beneath his eyes were so dark they looked like coal. His irises—gray like Ash and Calyx’s—marked him as a ripper, but unlike them, he looked horribly sick, nearly dead.

Ash dismantled and pulled something out of his pocket, flashing it to the guard.

I thought the guard would open the gate and wave us forward, but instead, his whole body took on an unnerving, unnatural stillness. His eyes became frantic, darting as if searching for something and then landing on—me.

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