Beyond the Border | ✔

11 | rule 61

RULE 61: THERE ARE NOT EXCEPTIONS TO THE AFOREMENTIONED RULES. UNLESS THE COUNCIL AGREES.

✷ C H A P T E R      E L E V E N ✷

"Sage, we want you to save the Borderlands," played over and over in my head, like a steady drum, unrelenting.

Sage, we want you to save the Borderlands.

Sage, we want you to save the Borderlands.

Sage, we want you to save the Borderlands.

Sage, we want you to save the Borderlands.

Sage, we want you to save the Borderlands.

I could hear the distant rumbling of people around me, but I could not comprehend what anyone was saying — not when I couldn't even comprehend the words broadcasting through my mind.

Somehow, in the span of a day, my life flipped upside down. One minute, I was safely in the confines of the Borderlands. Then the next, I was in the Outside. Not only that, but somehow I had — imagine my luck — found a beast who claimed to be my mate. I was subsequently kidnapped by said man. My friends were then thrown into a cell. I then smashed through a window, hurt my wrist, and fled from the beast to find the Borderlands had only what I could assume was an underground compound.

Yet, the most insane thing of all was what had been proposed to me seconds ago.

Sage, we want you to save the Borderlands.

The world must really be crumbling down for the Council to depend on me. I'm not even trying to be humble or self-deprecating. I just know I am not the best woman for the job. Born and raised in the Borderlands, I had never been more than an arms-length away from help and protection. On top of that, my entire life was sheltered from the Outside; I knew bits and pieces of the horrors of the Outside, but I would not be able to navigate a life outside on my own. How I was then expected to help the countless men, women, and children of the Borderlands was beyond me, especially if I was to entangle my life with a beast.

The Borderlands were doomed, I concluded. I was going make history as the sole reason why the quaint life of the Borderlands had ended. I didn't imagine there were many worse ways to be remembered. Or any worse ways to live your life.

"Sage."

A bit of resentment started to bud inside of me. Why couldn't Memphis have been asked to do this? Sure, he was not mates with Theo; that I know of, anyway, but he did have family connections outside of the Border. His family must know of a witch, or they could at least try to find out. They at least know how to navigate the Outside, a world so foreign to me.

"Sage."

Another bit of me knew I deserved this punishment. If I had only stayed inside, none of this would have happened. The consequences I was facing were a direct result of my actions. Of course, I would give myself some leeway for the fact I didn't think I could have predicted these consequences in any lifetime.

"Sage."

Only the tiniest part of me thought I maybe had a one percent chance of coming out of this on top. I was a natural-born follower, not a leader. I think it was best demonstrated when Memphis so easily persuaded me to go to the Outside.

"Sage."

It seemed like my whole world was shaking — no, I was being shaken. Pa had rested a hand on my shoulder and was gently shaking me.

"I am sorry, Councilmen, she is not normally so speechless. I'd say she is usually the opposite," Pa apologize on my behalf, snapping me out of my intense thoughts.