Yohana sat in the back of the car like a lifeless doll. She was in total shock, her eyes wide as she stared at the back of the driver's seat.
She just felt a cold that started from her chest and spread to her fingertips.
But as the car sped further away from the ruins, the shock began to wear off, and reality came crashing back in.
The scent of the blood, her uncle's blood, filled the small, enclosed space of the luxury car.
It was suffocating.
Suddenly, her stomach lurched. Something rose in her throat, and she felt like she was going to puke right there in the car.
"Stop," she choked out, clutching her stomach. "Stop the car!"
Iskander looked at her, his brow furrowing as he saw how pale she had turned. He signaled the driver, and the car screeched to a halt on the side of the dark, tree-lined road.
"Do not try to…" Iskander was still saying something, but Yohana didn't wait for him or for anyone to open the door.
She fumbled with the handle, tumbled out of the car, and fell onto the nearby grass.
She stayed there on her hands and knees, retching until her throat burned and there was nothing left in her stomach.
She stayed down for a moment, gasping for air.
She waited for Iskander's or his mocking voice to call her back, but he didn't.
She tilted her head slightly.
Iskander was still in the car, talking to the driver, his back turned to her open door. The guard in the front was looking the other way, checking the area's security.
She felt it was her chance; no one was looking at her. No one was keeping track of her at that moment.
This was it.
This was her chance to run away.
She didn't look back as she slipped slowly, then faster, into the thick darkness of the forest.
The further she got from the car, the more the silence of the woods wrapped around her.
She didn't get far before her stomach churned again, forcing her to stop and puke until she was gasping for air, her hands shaking as she gripped a tree trunk for support.
Yohana was well aware of what she was doing.
She knew that her actions might put her brother in danger, and the thought made her heart ache.
But after seeing how inhumane Iskander truly was, and how easily he could rip a heart out while looking fazed, she just couldn't believe his promises anymore.
Being with that monster wouldn't guarantee anyone's safety; it would only lead to more blood, and she couldn't stand there to see that.
"I will come back… And that day would be the day I'll kill you with my own hands!" Yohana gritted her teeth as she rose to her feet once again.
The loathing she felt for him was the only thing keeping her legs from giving out. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve, gathering all the courage she had left to escape into the deep shadows.
"Moon Goddess, let me just reach the place where I am safest," she prayed in her heart, closing her eyes for a split second, taking a breather, then she took a few more steps, her heart leaping with a tiny spark of hope that maybe, she had finally slipped through his fingers.
But she had barely taken another step when a cold, familiar voice reverberated from the darkness behind her.
"You really did come a long way just to puke, my slave!"
Iskander's voice was so cold and deadly that it made the whole atmosphere freeze.
Yohana froze on the spot, her blood turning cold.
She didn't even have to turn around to feel the overwhelming weight of his presence.
He wasn't panting or out of breath; he sounded like he had been standing there the whole time, watching her struggle.
"Did you think the trees would hide you from me?" He stepped out of the shadows.
"Or did you truly think I was so distracted that I'd let my most 'valuable' possession just wander off?"
Yohana's hands balled into fists, but she couldn't move.
The predator had caught his prey, and the look in his eyes told her that the slightest of freedom he had given her earlier was officially gone.
"You monster!" Yohana growled, spinning around to face him. Her voice was filled with hatred, even as her body trembled. "You will never be able to get what you want from me! I'd rather die than be your puppet!"
"Oh…" Iskander raised a brow, his expression flickering with a dark, mocking amusement. "And what exactly do you think you have that I would want?" He asked, taking a slow, predatory step forward.
Yohana went quiet. She didn't know what to say.
Instead of answering, she turned and tried to run again. She scrambled through the brush, her heart hammering against her ribs, but she was exhausted and weak. She didn't even make it five meters before she felt the air shift behind her.
Iskander had finally had enough of her games.
He moved with a speed that was impossible to dodge, appearing right at her shoulder.
Before Yohana could even draw a breath to scream, he brought the edge of his hand down hard against the side of her neck.
Yohana's knees buckled, and she collapsed into the dirt, her body going completely limp.
Iskander caught her before she hit the ground, hauling her up into his arms.
He looked down at her pale, blood-streaked face for a moment. "You're a stubborn little wolf," he muttered and then turned back toward the road, carrying her effortlessly.
He reached the car and tossed her onto the back seat like a discarded doll before sliding in beside her.
"Move," he snapped at the driver. "And don't stop again until we're inside the palace gates."
~~~~~
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