Page 98 of Tortured Soul
“Anyone here?”
Nothing.
“Maggie, is that you?”
The book slid back again, the spine reaching the edge of the shelf.
“Maggie! What’re you doing? You hate when—”
The book was now nearly falling to the ground and I reached for it hastily, a second before it would’ve been too late.
“For fuck’s—”
It opened suddenly and almost fell from my hands. My jaw slackened at the pages turning like the wind blew on them until it stopped, going back a couple of pages.
My throat dried at the title.
Dragons; Stars protecting humankind.
I looked around, careful not to move. Did Maggie make the book fall for me? She couldn’t know. Or was it a warning?
“We can’t trust Dragons, Ania,” my twin brother’s frantic voice echoed in my head. “They’re selfish. They only want more power and riches. You and Dimitri should flee, before it’s too late. I’ll handle mother and father.”
Goosebumps erupted along my arms and I shivered from the sudden cold seeping through my bones as the memory unfurled.
“I can’t leave you here,” I said, teeth clattering from the freezing rain soaking my clothes and hair. “What if they turn on you?”
“They can’t use me as their incubator.” He looked around us warily. It was late, most people were already locked in their homes. “They need a Maiden for their Shard Carrier. Untouched. They won’t care that you found your fated mate, they’ll take you from him. So flee, Anastasia. Take Dimitri away, take him to bed, and get this over with. They won’t care about you anymore.”
“You told me not to do that when he first showed up! If they don’t hunt me down, mother or father will.” I shook my head, defeated. “I can’t—”
“By then, it’ll be too late!” Aghen hissed, shaking me by my shoulders. “You won’t be ‘pure’ anymore, and Dragons will have to find another Maiden for their Shard Carrier to breed.”
I stared into my brother’s terrified gaze. His eyes were an unusual color, shining like polished gemstones under the faint moonlight.
Aghen should’ve taken us farther to talk about this. Maybe we should’ve gone to our usual spot, at the bottom of the cliff, but the waters were high. And inthe forest, we might have stumbled upon Dimitri. He didn’t need to know about all of this.
“We still have time,” I said. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out. Convince him and father to change their mind, to revoke the oath.”
Aghen shook his head. I wasn’t sure if his eyes were filling up with tears or if the rain was making them wet.
“They’ll never agree to it, Ania. If you don’t run away, you’ll be nothing more than Amyntas’ possession, siring his Dragon heir, used by his warriors…Is that what you want? Spending your entire life pregnant and constantly abused? Because I can’t bear it. So, for once in your life, listen to me and fucking run away, or you’ll—”
“Why are you still here, so late?”
I jumped, dropping the book on the floor and turning around sharply, panting.
Carter stood a few feet from me, studying my face. My hand placed itself over my racing heart, like I could somehow stop it from bursting out of my chest.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked, his eyes narrowing. “Were you crying?”
My fingers softly wiped the wet lines under my eyes and I looked at the droplet on my fingertips.
Was I crying?
How did that memory escape from the tight box I locked it in?
I closed my mouth and wiped my hands on the skirt of my dress.
