The Priestess' Affair [Books 1 &2]

𝐗𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠'𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐦

-HER-

The next couple moments were a complete blur as I broke off into a run. Since Nico was holding my hand, at first, I had to tug him behind me, but as soon as he realised that those troops were after me, he was the one leading the way.

My heart was pounding in my chest, resonating with the loud gongs of the shrine's bell. I could hear the troops chasing us not too far behind us. I didn't know what was happening around me at that moment. The only thing that mattered was how much the distance remained between the troops and me.

I didn't know where I was going, and neither did Nico seem to have the same idea, but we were going somewhere, running down the town's crowded streets, shoving people away until he took a turn and we entered a narrow alley. From there, he continued to lead me somewhere. My main focus was on the troops, so for the moment, I didn't care where he was taking me.

I just wanted to get away from the troops as soon as possible; otherwise, Vittoria would have my head on a silver platter. Not that seeing me with Nico would make her particularly pleased but still, it was better than being caught by the troops and dragged to the town authorities, who would then check the records and find out that I don't exist.

Even worse, if they find out that I should be dead.

It felt like we were running for a while, but it didn't matter. I wanted to get as far away as possible from those troops, this town, everything in my life, and start fresh.

I knew that it wasn't possible, but at the moment, the adrenaline rushing through me, the air combing through my hair as I ran, the feeling of being led somewhere— away from all the chaos in this world made me feel that I was free and going somewhere new for the first time where I could begin again.

It was an incredible feeling— an excitement you felt while looking forward to something you've always wanted. However, it didn't last forever.

We must have been running for a while because soon, my lungs threatened to give up, and pain shot through my legs. Nico was a fast runner— he had that unnatural speed and the long legs to cover more distance, unlike me. It was taking me extra effort to keep up with him. We kept running until I noticed we were out in the woods. We had managed to leave the troops behind us, but I was still feeling uneasy.

We stopped for a while, catching on our breaths. I was frantically looking around to ensure they weren't hiding in the shadows of the woods, preparing to leap out and catch us when we let our guards down. All this while, I felt his eyes on me, studying me pensively.

"What was that?" He asked after a while.

"I tried to scam the wrong person," I answered, collapsing on the ground and taking deeper breaths, urging my lungs to return to normal. I noticed we were at this clearing in the woods where the sky was somewhat visible through the tree covers. But around us, the woods were thick and dense.

"You mean those stones?" He asked, sitting beside me and pulling out that small bag from his pocket.

"Yeah, they're all fake," I breathed as my breathing slowly returned to normal. I closed my eyes and focused on my breaths for a while, ensuring everything in my body was alright. Beside me, I heard him fiddle with the stones.

Silence descended between us. For some reason, the woods remained silent as well. Not a single bird could be heard anywhere. It felt abnormal. There was this stillness in the air as if it refused to flow in this direction. Everything around us was holding its breaths, waiting for a predator to catch its prey.

With my eyes closed, I tried to absorb the energies in the air to ensure we weren't in danger when I felt something. At first, it felt incredibly unnatural.