Sweet Innocence and Gentle Sin || 𝐀𝐂𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐑

Chapter 3: My Name Is Freedom

To all things housed in her silence, Nature offers a violence.

~)(~

Wings slammed against the stone wall. A vicious growl escaped gritting teeth. A hand pushed against mine, which held a dagger to skin. I pressed my weight into him, and the dagger dug into his neck.

He stopped trying to push me off, and his eyes traveled across my face. Bright golden eyes. I was at least a foot shorter than him and surprised myself with my own strength. Or... maybe he was just holding back.

"Who are you?" He asked, filling the silence around us. His voice was deep—so deep it was frightening. Like listening to the voice of death.

"None of your concern," I responded, pressing my blade until a line of red appeared on his tanned neck.

A smirk appeared on his lips. I had only a moment to suck in a breath before I was spun around, and now the roles were reversed. He had taken my arm and squeezed over my hand that held the dagger. The blade now pressed into my skin. He held my other wrist against the wall beside me.

The wings rustled from behind him, and I blinked away the film of surprise. "You're an Illyrian?" It was less of a question and a more spoken thought.

"Never seen one?"

I brought my gaze back to him and said, "where I come from, creatures like you don't get the luxury of flight."

The dagger pressed deeper against my throat. I felt a pinch of pain and could feel the skin rip open just enough to bleed. The Illyrian tilted his head, eyes skipping between mine.

"Who are you?" He asked again, placing emphasis on each word.

I brought my knee up and kicked him between the legs before spitting in his face. He let go of me and stumbled back, giving me enough time to run to the door. I heard him huff a laugh and turned back to see him wipe his face and turn with a lethal movement to face me.

Maybe that wasn't the best idea...

I ran out of the room and slammed the door behind me. The staircase missed every few steps, but I eventually jumped down to the first floor of this place, which looked the least damaged from the elements.

A few candlelights lit up the halls, casting shadows all around. I started running down the hall, hoping to find an exit somewhere. The darkness in front of me took form. Tendrils of shadow reached out like claws and grabbed me.

I skidded to a stop and slammed down onto my knees. A spark of pain ran up my legs, making me yelp. The shadows took my hands and held them behind my back, then wrapped around my abdomen to hold me down.

I watched as a figure formed from the darkness. Curiosity filled my eyes—before I scowled. The Illyrian from earlier was now standing in front of me. He looked down at me with eyes of boredom—as if he went through this kind of stuff daily.

He bent down and pulled a dagger from his belt, using the tip of the blade to lift my chin up. I glared at him. He smirked at me.

"Give me a name," he demanded, pressing the blade below my chin.

I challenged his tone and did my best to sound just as demanding. "Take me to whoever is in charge, then I'll talk."

He raised a brow, head tilting. "Fine."

The shadows lifted me from the ground. His hand squeezed my upper arm, and I was led down the hall. Though my hands were bound behind my back by shadows, I couldn't feel them. It was some kind of magic. I studied my captor as he dragged me down the hall. The same shadows that bound me seemed to billow around him like seagrass. It almost looked like the darkness came from him.