Page 42 of Fated

“If you wanted to sit on my lap, you could have just said so.” His eyes locked with mine, and that cocky smile was back, his lips curving into a devious line.

“Oh, myGod!” I groaned, throwing my hands over my face, wishing to disappear into thin air. Heat flooded my cheeks, burning so intensely I was certain I resembled a tomato.

As much as I tried to focus on anything else, it was impossible to ignore the very real, very distracting sensation of Ash’s hands on my body. He let out a low, amused laugh, clearly enjoying my discomfort. Swallowing my embarrassment, I managed to scramble off his lap and into the next seat. Buckling up quickly, I let out a relieved sigh before my eyes caught sight of Ash’s still unsecured strap sitting loose by him on the seat.

Ash followed my gaze. “Really, Areya?”

“The sign says to buckle your seatbelt.” I shrugged and gave him a sheepish smile, implying,I like to follow the rules.

“I didn’t realize the seatbelt police were on the train.”

Mortified, I dropped my head into my hands. A few moments later, curiosity got the better of me and I peeked through my fingers. The train was flying at an incredible speed, blurring through the dark tunnels. I straightened in my seat, shoving aside my embarrassment.

“Twenty minutes to Echo,” the robotic voice announced over the speaker.

I glanced at Ash. “So, this isn’t exactly what I expected.”

“No, it isn’t,” he agreed, his face suddenly sober, clearly processing the fact that he had been lied to about the lake.

“Do you have any idea who Madam Pearl is?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“No idea.” He shook his head, his usual arrogance gone.

“Do you think we’re safe and not walking into some type of trap?”

He paused before answering. “I don’t sense a shred of evil down here.”

I nodded, and we both fell silent the rest of the ride, the quiet hum of the speeding train filling the space between us.

Eventually, the train began to slow before coming to a stop, and the robotic voice rang out again. “Welcome to Echo.”

The doors slid open, and we stepped out into another dark and eerily quiet cave-like area.

We followed an exit sign through a narrow tunnel until we emerged into what looked like the middle of a train station—a very empty one.

The station felt abandoned.

In the middle of the vast open space, a series of benches circled around a large fountain featuring a woman with a large winding tail. Various food stalls lined the walls, but every one of them was closed, their lights off, and their counters covered in dust. We passed what looked like a souvenir shop, stopping for a moment to peer inside the window. It had clearly been closed for a long time, the shelves coated in dust, and thick cobwebs clinging to all the corners.

The tunnel from which we had exited bore a sign above it that read:Kingdom of Astern.As we continued walking, other tunnels branched out from the main hall, each with its own sign overhead. The first we passed was labeledKingdom of Titan,and a few paces ahead was another tunnel,Kingdom of Ellington.

This one had been boarded up, with a large, weathered “Closed” sign hanging across it.

We walked in silence until we came to a tunnel labeledKingdom of Ambrosia.Ash stopped abruptly in front of it, his gaze lingering on the sign.

“Does that mean anything to you?”

He shook his head, but I couldn’t help noticing him glance back at the sign as we walked away. A little farther ahead, we passed another tunnel markedGardonia Library of Knowledge.

Then finally, we found ourselves in front of a set of large, tinted doors.

The wordExitwas etched into the glass.

Ash stepped forward, pushing one door open and gesturing for me to walk through.

As I did, my mind faltered, struggling to keep up and process my surroundings. The sunlight, though warm and pleasant, caught me off guard.

Glancing toward the sky made me squint, seeing bright clouds floating lazily above, and my mind was scrambling to make sense of it.

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