Blind Love( Completed, Kings Series, Book 4)

Rope

(Diana's POV)

Old habits died hard. If somebody tied you up, you would try to untie yourself. That's what anyone would do. Right? And, that's what I did, but I did it the wrong way. I did it the normal way. Nothing normal worked anymore, didn't I know that? But, I didn't care. It was the feeling of holding that teddy bear snuggled in your arms as a child as you lay in bed afraid of monsters knowing a nightmare was coming, it was that warm kiss your mother gave you as you left for school knowing full well you'd hate it, it was that fake laughter which burst from your lips when all you wanted was to disappear. You knew it wouldn't work, still, you hoped, you wanted to believe it would. Well, guess what? It didn't.

I struggled against the ropes. Like a normal human being. I struggled a lot, hoping thinking that I was strong enough to break it. To the point that my skin felt raw but I didn't achieve a thing. I then tried to chew the rope. Since I no longer had the fangs, it didn't work. In the end, I thought I was gonna lose my teeth. I lay down, just a bundle on the floor, chewing my lips in anger. The damn rope was getting the better of me. How would I get the better of it? I couldn't lose Samuel. Not after my parents. Not after Jenny. I couldn't. I had to find the answer to this.

I wasn't strong enough to cut the rope, but I had some powers. I was the Queen of Colors, right? I liked the sound of it. Yeah, right. I had to use my skills to get out of here. A piece of cake.

The rope is nothing but an object with color, anything with a color can be manipulated. You can shape it like a play dough. All you have to do is go deep into its essence.

I kept repeating this to myself. I had to untie myself and then I would try the same thing with the door and open it. The plan was simple: Free myself. Escape before Samuel got in here.

I could do it.

I closed my eyes. I focused on the touch of the rope on my body, merging with its energy would be much easier. I was in a crowded bazaar, looking for a specific seller and a specific good. That's how it felt. A laundry basket was what I had. The essence of the rope was almost lost, it was tainted by a stream of colors, gifts from all its previous users. I had to search for the core, I didn't have an inkling what it was or where it was or how deep it went.

Do it, damn it. There was still the door, it would be a replica of this challenge. I hadn't even managed this one. Fear dumped Mount Everest in front of me. How would I do it? What if they came back before I could do it? What if Samuel was already here? What if it was already too late? Mount Kilimanjaro settled her humongous body next to Everest.

I was panicking and it had to stop right here, right now. I took a deep breath.

Let me go down. Slowly. I have the time. Let me help you. I threw away a dirty beige. Then a silver. I started cleaning up the mess around the core. How could an object as thin as a rope hold so much in its midst? So many stories, so many lives had touched it. And, it had simply saturated them all. The aura of a wild, rogue creature lingered, a Ferox maybe? It was harder to dispel. I felt the rope breathe as its burden lightened. It was a mixture of joy and sadness, a joy of slimming itself, a sadness of parting with the clutter. The attachment to our past held most of us hostage. It was the same with the rope. But, nothing I did was permanent. I didn't know how to throw the dirt out of the room, all I knew how to do was clean up the mess, basically tidy the room, make it bearable.

It felt like forever, but I began to feel the vibrations of one specific color letting itself be known as the room looked spacious for the first time. It was the color of Tuscan sun. Dazzling. Beautiful. Who knew? When I lifted the last color lying on its surface, it shone brilliantly. I held my hand, it stretched towards it, encompassing my whole wrist. It felt weird. We were making contact. For the very first time. What do you need? the Tuscan sun asked. I need help, I answered. "I need to be free. Please free me." The color drew back. "No, don't, please," I begged. I felt myself being pushed out. I tried to hold back, but the force was too strong. The force of the rope, what a joke!

I opened my eyes. And then I felt it. The loosening of the rope around my body. The rope uncoiled, the Tuscan sun smiling at me. I rubbed my wrists and ankles in disbelief. I'd done it. Confidence was my new name.

Then I was up, facing my second challenge, the door. But before I could do anything, the door opened on its own.

"I eavesdropped on your conversation," I heard. I didn't ask how. I didn't even know how I'd heard that. I hadn't gone deep into its essence. But, I would not question my gift. It had saved me from doing this again. "Thank you," I said.

What a crazy world this was proving to be. I had just befriended a rope and a door.

I walked out. There was no blackness. I would make it out. Samuel, I'm coming back to you.

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(Samuel's POV)

"She is not in the room," Cian said.

"What do you mean she's not in the room?" Ruan said, repeating the same sentence.

Probably his horror and shock mirrored mine. While I was extremely proud of her escape, the whole plan went into null if she wasn't here.

"Damn it, find her!" Ruan roared. It was funny really how he was ordering his older brother. Thankfully, Cian was lost somewhere in that blackness and wasn't even aware. "I need her blood."

"What?" I said. He certainly wasn't going to drink Di's blood.

"Doesn't matter. I'll finish the ritual," he said, taking the crumpled piece of paper in his hand and smoothening it. "Hold him tight. He won't like this."

"Riley," I shouted. This was the time to show himself. I could fight, but what was there to do? If I killed anyone, the shadow wouldn't immediately leave his body. The shadow could function in a dead body for some time. All I would achieve would be the murder of an innocent. I looked at the ones holding me, I knew all of them. Could I kill them knowing full well it wouldn't achieve much? "Riley!"

As always thanks for reading

Alena