The Rosewood Prophecy

Chapter 58

Indigo

I awoke with a pounding headache. With my eyes squeezed shut, I tried to wait out the pain in my head and calm my breathing. What happened?

I was heading back to our cave with Aaron in the blizzard. The storm was terrible, and every gust of wind threatened to blow us away. I couldn't even see Aaron's back; the only thing that told me he was still in front of me was the rhythmic tug of the rope between us. I was thinking to myself how cold it was and how there was snow in my coat when a particular large gust of wind slammed into me from the side. I tried to steady myself with the rope line, but something struck my head and everything went black.

And now I'm...where? I slowly opened my eyes. A floor of solid gray came into focus. I pushed myself to a sitting position, wincing at how the room spun. It was small square room, completely bare and devoid of any decoration. The walls were a dark gray color and felt like solid stone. The floor was cold and uncomfortable, but so was the entire room. I drew my knees up to my chest and huddled in my coat for warmth.

There was one door set in the wall directly in front of me, but I didn't see any way to open it from the inside. There weren't any windows, so I couldn't look outside nor tell what time of day it was. Eight candles were set in candleholders around the room. My sword was gone; I had no weapons on me except for the silver dagger I had received at Goldhedge, tucked in the inside fold of my coat.

I must be in Lord Victor's stronghold. Where else would I be? Who else would attack me, knock me out, and stick me in a windowless room? Lucian was right; Lord Victor was the cause of the sudden blizzard. I just hope everyone else was safe.

The rope that tied me to Aaron was still around my waist. I looked at it, noting that it had been cut in the middle. Does that mean that Aaron wasn't captured? I prayed that that was true.

A rumble of rock grinding on rock disrupted my thoughts. I looked up to see the door slide open. I felt his presence before I saw him; the room's temperature dropped ten degrees, making it colder than it already was. I heard the click, click of boots on hard ground. A figure clad in all black meandered into the room.

"Lord Victor." It wasn't a question. This guy had to be him; it had to be the most feared being in Crystallea. I wanted to get into a defensive stance, but my limbs refused to listen to me. So I sat there, staring up at the cloaked figure, my heart beating fast.

"Hello, Indigo." His voice was smooth, like chocolate, but it sent goosebumps up and down my arms. "So nice to finally meet you in person."

"Uh..." I didn't know how to reply. Should I risk angering him? "What do you want with me? Why have you brought me here?"

"Indigo, why do you make it sound like I want to hurt you?" Lord Victor sounded genuinely hurt. The black floor-length robe he wore whispered as he slowly drifted towards me. "I just wanted to talk with you, that's all. I'm not going to hurt you."

I raised my eyebrow incredulously. It was so ridiculous I stopped being afraid. "You expect me to believe that? After you've mercilessly killed so many people, including two of our closest friends?" I wanted to laugh. "Don't be ridiculous."

Beneath his hood, Lord Victor's crimson lips curled into a smile. "No, seriously, Indigo. I really do just want to talk with you." Whipping his cloak and robe out of the way, Lord Victor sat down in front of me. I scrambled away in alarm, stopping only when my back hit the wall.

"What are you doing?"

Lord Victor sighed. "Indigo, please, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you." He reached up and pushed his hood back, revealing his face. "Look into my eyes. I'm not lying to you."