Lycan King’s Captives novel Chapter 39

The day unfolds like a façade, as Carina and Adina pretend everything is normal. We shop around for a while, and I watch as they try on clothes and admire jewelry, while I try my best to ignore them; yet Carina even forces me to endure their shopping spree, her and Adina forcing me to try on clothes.

However, I am shocked when Carina actually buys them, handing me the bag. I stare at her when Adina speaks. “These would go nicely with that dress you got her,” Adina says, and I raise an eyebrow at the heels, turning my gaze to Javier, he shrugs, also confused. It makes me worry about their true intentions with me. They are both acting as if this is nothing more than a girls’ day out, an afternoon of distraction and fun. I’m truly out of my element right now.

“Oh those are pretty, do you like this, Sienna?” Adina asks. I glance around, looking for the other Sienna, she may be speaking to when she thrusts them at me. “Try these on. Javier, help her,” Adina nods toward me. Javier kneels before me, grabbing my feet suddenly, and I wobble back, gripping his shoulder.

“No, I am fine.”

“Nonsense, they will look lovely with that dress,” Adina waves me off while Javier slips one of my flats off. He buckles the sandal up that has a tiny heel. “Perfect fit,” Adina announces, and I am quick to remove it. Adina pays for my shoes, and I lean into Javier.

“Maybe she is trying to make amends,” Javier whispers to me. I almost scoff. Adina making amends with the traitors’ daughter. He shrugs, nudging me to follow them as we leave, his hand on my lower back.

Carina then insists we have lunch together, leading us to a small cafe near the edge of the street. We take a seat in the sun, and Carina orders something for the both of us. Nothing fancy or extravagant, just a simple meal that might have been enjoyed by any trio of friends.

As the afternoon progresses, Carina cancels the driver who was meant to pick her up early. I try to shake off the unease, pushing aside the nagging sense that something isn’t right. It’s during the ride back home that the façade finally cracks.

Adina and Carina chat away, their laughter filling the car, when Javier’s phone rings. Eavesdropping on the conversation, I can tell it’s Xandros on the other end.

“I will head over there now. How long has he been there?” Javier’s voice sounds urgent, his tone laced with a mix of concern and determination.

“He left twenty minutes ago. Just stay out of view. I want to know who he’s meeting with,” Xandros responds before hanging up. He taps on the driver’s window, instructing him to pull over.

“I’ve been called away. I need to check something for Xandros. I will find my own way back,” he informs Adina, who dismisses him with a wave of her hand. Javier climbs out of the car, disappearing down the street.

The chatter in the car gradually dies down as we leave the city and approach an intersection near the back road leading to the castle. Suddenly, the sound of a roaring engine fills the air, and within seconds, our car is violently struck on my side. The impact sends us rolling down an embankment, a cacophony of metal and glass crashing around us.

In the chaos, Carina is thrown out of the car, her body tumbling through the air. My world is a blur as the car tumbles down the embankment. I feel pain everywhere as I am jostled about, disoriented but thankfully seemingly okay. I am hanging upside down from my seat belt, the leather digging painfully into my shoulder and my head pounding from being tossed around. I hear Carina screaming in terror from somewhere outside of the car and fear grips me as I try to make sense of what just happened.

Suddenly, a bright light fills the air, and I squint against it. A loud crash follows and then complete silence. The car comes to a halt, and I slowly unfasten myself from my seat belt, dropping onto the ceiling of the flipped vehicle.

Everything is spinning around me and for a second all I can do is sit here, trying to catch my breath.

The sound of screeching metal and the roar of an engine racing away snaps me out of darkness. The air is filled with a choking blanket of smoke, and I am pinned in by the twisted wreckage of the car. With every ounce of strength, I claw toward the shattered window, desperately struggling to break free of the savage flames that inch ever closer. Peering around, my stomach turns as I take in the lifeless body of the driver, hanging like a rag doll from the crushed front window.

My gaze shifts to Carina’s trembling form lying motionless on a nearby hill. Carina is lying on her back on the grassy slope twenty feet away from where we had been sideswiped by some unknown force or vehicle. I can’t see Adina anywhere as I choke on smoke. Seeing Carina on the hill I realize something. I can escape, a chance to find Toby and get out of this cursed city; it’s all within reach now! My heart races with anticipation at the thought of seizing this opportunity for freedom. With a sudden burst of energy, I wrench myself away from the car and run toward her, determined not to let this opportunity slip away.

A groan breaks through the chaos, and I turn to learn Adina is trapped within the burning wreckage. Adina’s cries for help pierce the chaos like a gunshot. Halfway up the hill, I freeze in horror as her screams become muffled by the smoke. My steps falter, and I turn back, dreading what I’ll find.

I cannot leave her to die such a grisly fate. Cursing under my breath, I race back to the car, crawling back into the inferno to reach Adina. Black smoke obscures my view as I listen for her cries trying to gauge whereabouts in the wreckage she is, getting on my hands and knees I peer into the mangled car.

The world around me grows darker as fire takes control of the car, the driver’s body burns. The smell of burning hair and flesh make me gag and cough as the front of the limousine is engulfed in a cloud of smoke and flames. Desperately, I search for Adina, spotting her trapped beneath the mangled front seat. Crawling through the wreckage, I shove away the twisted metal to reach her legs. She stares up at me in shock, her voice slows with disbelief and gratitude.

Her legs are trapped, and the heat intensifies as flames lick up the side of the car. Choking on the thick smoke, I try to pry the seat away, my hands trembling with both fear and determination.

“You came back,” Adina croaks, shock resonating in her voice. “Why?” she asks, confusion etched in her eyes.

I meet her gaze and respond, my voice filled with determination, “Because I am not my parents.” Together, we struggle against the wreckage, the relentless heat threatening to engulf us.

With a final burst of strength, I manage to free Adina from the wreckage, dragging her out of the burning car. Coughing and gasping for air, we stumble up the hill to where Carina lies unconscious.

I roll Carina over gently, patting her face in an attempt to rouse her. Adina’s voice trembles as she asks about the driver, and I can only respond with a grim shake of my head. “He’s dead.”

Adina’s eyes widen in horror and we both look away, unable to comprehend the tragedy that has unfolded. Dropping next to Carina, I tap her face, then pry her eyelids open.

Suddenly, Carina jerks awake, grasping at her chest making me jump. She gasps for air, her eyes wild with panic.

“What happened?” she croaks, confusion and fear evident in her voice.

Adina and I exchange a fearful glance.

“We were in a car accident,” I say softly. “The car flipped over and the driver…the driver is dead.”

Carina’s face goes pale. She pushes herself to a sitting position, wincing in pain as she does so.

“Why are you even here? Where is your car? I thought you were being picked up early?” Vin asks.

Carina seems taken aback by his question as she looks up at her father. “What?” she asks just as Xandros pulls my shirt up, and I hastily pull it down.

“No, you’re bleeding,” Xandros snarls in panic.

“It’s nothing,” I tell him. He growls, ripping my shirt open and gasping. “That is not nothing, Sienna!” he growls just as Javier and a few guards rush toward us, having finally arrived at the scene, but my attention is on Carina and King Vin.

“I canceled the driver; I wanted to stay. Why does it matter?” Carina asks.

King Vin scratches his chin, an air of curiosity mixed with suspicion hanging in the air. “Just curious,” he mutters, his eyes lingering on Carina. Ambulances pull up and Xandros rushes me straight to the nearest one. I’m loaded into an ambulance, the paramedics attend to my injuries.

Just before I’m whisked away, I remember the bracelet in my hand. “Wait,” I call out, holding the bracelet out to Xandros. “This is your mother’s, I think?” I hope it is, or I risked my life going back for nothing. Confusion clouds his expression as he takes the bracelet from me, his gaze questioning my actions.

“You went back for this?” he asks incredulously, his voice filled with a mix of surprise, disbelief, and anger.

“Your mother seemed upset over it,” I shrug. Xandros raises an eyebrow at me, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Mother!” he calls out to Adina, who limps over to us. He holds his hand out to her and her brows furrow, as she moves to take what he offers. He drops the bracelet into her open hand. “You found it?” she chokes on a sob, and I wonder what the story around it is, she clearly has some attachment to it. Maybe it’s a wedding anniversary gift or something.

“I didn’t. Sienna went back for it,” Xandros states, and she looks at me. The queen opens and closes her mouth, her gaze shifting between me, the burning car, and the bracelet in her hand. Xandros climbs into the ambulance, shutting the doors behind him, and I find myself face to face with him.

“That was foolish going back for that,” he tells me, and I know he is right. He bites his wrist, offering it to me, but I push his hand away. “No, I’ll heal.”

“Not fast enough once he pulls that out,” Xandros states, and I look at the medic who nods.

“Please, Sienna,” Xandros begs, his voice laced with desperation and concern. Reluctantly, I accept his blood, feeling a surge of warmth and energy flow through my veins. He pulls me into his lap, cradling me gently. “Ready?” the medic asks, and I am about to say for what when he rips the chunk of steel out. My scream is loud only to be swallowed by Xandros lips covering mine.

His blood rushes into my mouth, the pain dulling instantly, and I realize he cut his tongue with his teeth, feeding me more of his blood. His tongue demanding as his hand fists my hair, holding me in place, not giving me a chance to breathe while I feel the medic is prodding and poking me.

Finally, he releases me, pulling back and glancing down at my stomach. He exhales. “See, you’re all healed, well, mostly,” he murmurs, pressing his lips to my temple. His lips linger in the spot longer than necessary, yet I am too sore and tired to argue, instead relishing in his soothing scent and letting it calm my nerves.