She was going to die, that's all she could think of. This creature was going to take her back to whatever hell it came from and feed on her slowly.
She had to do something
A shriek bounced from the trees as the Cu Sith let go of her, and she landed on the ground with a thud and a crack; she might have just broken a rib. The Beast above shook its head frantically as though the movement would remove the long dagger sticking from its jaw. She didn't wait to see
Quickly lifting herself, she dashed into the dark night. Night? She had not seen that in months. If it were any other situation, she would have stopped and taken it all in, but…
A growl sounded behind her, and she picked up the pace.
Lyla knew she wouldn't be able to run for long, not with exhaustion of battle still weighing on her, so she took the next best option: she climbed up the nearest big tree. She did not stop until she was sure she was high enough and on a strong branch.
Her breath hitched when she spotted the creature stop beneath her, sniffing the air and looking in different directions before prowling off. She did not dare heave a sigh of relief.
Seconds turned into minutes, and hope started to blossom.
'Never give away your position even when it seems clear, wait,' Lysander had told her in one of their rare training sessions. So she did just that, and she was right to, because it circled back.
She could use her destruction to turn it to ash or create a weapon good to use from her position. Lyla ran through the options and just as she settled on what to do, a whistle sounded and the Cu sith sprinted.
Lyla watched as the creature stopped before a figure, the person looked in her direction – where the creature had been – then turned and left, the ten-foot dog following behind. Even through the darkness, Lyla knew who it was: the black cloaked man.
She waited a good hour, squeezed on the tree branch, before she decided it was safe enough for her to come down; her body barked in protest.
Lyla mastered enough strength to walk towards that familiar zing that always seemed to call her. She halted, all her hope shattered into pieces around her. She stared and stared at the swirling mist before her and its pristine presence, at the lack of a hole there.
It was here she was sure, even in the jaws of a beast she still knew. She walked to her left, then walked back and searched to her right. The hole was gone, together with her way back to Luminara. She should be happy, be glad that it meant they were safe, but…
Lyla turned and faced the land before her, blanketed in the brightness of the moon and stars. She had wished to see this land, and in their messy way, the heavens had finally brought her here. It was starting all over again; her in a foreign, unknown land, only this time she had no one.
She swore under her breath. Where would she even start
Cover, she needed to find somewhere she could hide out, staying here was too dangerous.
Lyla had never really noticed before how good her eyesight had become, but here, as she navigated the woods, it seemed she had changed in many ways. She followed a path that had broken twigs, assuming there had been recent activity. She could very well be leading herself to an animal's cave, but she had to try.
She was right, the path did lead to a small cave, and…there were bones at the entrance. She practically dashed out of there.
Dim light from a cottage drew her attention. She almost ran towards it, but instead she chose to survey the area first. A small footpath led to the entrance of the wooden door. On the porch was a sofa and rocking chair. Lyla walked to the side of the house, then to the back where a small garden lay. She peered through the window of the lit room, and before her was a cozy-looking living area, but she couldn't spot anyone.
Had the owner left, or were they sleeping and forgotten to turn off the lights? She moved to the front, contemplating whether it would be a good idea to knock on the door or wait it out for a bit.
She had just made the turn when someone held her from behind, one hand around her arms and chest, while the other held a sharp object to her throat.
"Move and I slice your throat," a deep voice said, digging the sharp object deeper into the skin of her neck. "Who sent you?"
Lyla winced not at the weapon on her throat, but the arm squeezing her; she definitely broke a rib.
"Who sent you?" the man pressed it deeper, and the trickle down her collarbone was enough to tell her he had drawn blood, "Who are you?"
"Well… if you stopped pressing the dagger….I could talk," she bit out
"You're talking just fine, so who the hel are you?"
"I'm lost."
The man snickered, "Wrong, try again."
"I'm not lying."
"I will kill you."
He would, she could tell by the coldness of his voice that he would. Without giving it a second thought, she lifted her leg and, with all the might she could gather, stumped it down on his foot. He let go
She turned, the dagger she had forgotten strapped on her thigh now in her palm.
For some reason, Lyla had expected to find a gruffy-looking older man, but…damn.
The male before had to be the most gorgeous man she had ever seen in her entire existence.
The man, who seemed only a few years older than her, surveyed her, his face a mask of cool arrogance; his eyes, which bore into her, were cold but slightly curious. His lips lifted into a smirk.
"You're stronger than you look. That kinda hurt."
"Good," she spat out, making him chuckle.
"Feisty too," he tilted his head, his eyes trailing down her before meeting her eyes, "who sent you?"
"Like I said, I'm lost, so no one sent me." Was he a criminal? Was that why he was so worried someone sent her
"Assuming you're telling the truth, who are you then and what are you doing here?"
Lyla quickly tried to come up with something believable without sharing too much. Obviously, she wouldn't share who she truly was, so the option of giving him her real name was out of the question.
If she claimed she was from here he might ask questions she wouldn't have the answers to making him even more suspicious, what if she just told him she was from the other side that she ran escaping the attack, he might have heard it being closer to the wall and if he didn't he eventually would but whose to say he would care to help her.
The male before her saw her hesitation and was about to speak, but she cut him off.
"I'm from Luminara. I was escaping the attack, and I accidentally ran here. The way back is gone," she quickly said
The man's brows scrunched in disbelief, shit, he didn't know about the attack. Lyla braced herself; she might just have to fight her way out of here. She didn't wait for him to say anything before making a run for it, catching him off guard.
"Hey, wait."
Lyla ran even though her legs felt heavy and her side burned with pain, ran faster when she heard the man running towards her. She screamed when he managed to stop her. He turned to her as she attempted to shove him off.
"Stop," he shouted, but she didn't
Lyla could feel her attempts weakening, 'no,' she thought, 'not now'
The last thing she saw was the man's starry eyes before she blacked out in his arms.