Selene was quickly separated from the man the moment he saw one of the Xyiom warriors turning towards her direction.
Selene turned to look at the warrior briefly, and when she turned back, the man had disappeared into the crowd of the other humans.
She tried to catch his face again, stretching her neck, but she didn't see him. His face was etched in her head, but it was not anywhere that she could see.
Where did he go to so swiftly?
He would definitely be in the Obsidian Keep, but Selene also knew that the walls were large enough to keep enough humans there. She could spend the entire day touring the place.
However, his words kept nagging at her heart.
"Help us kill the kind, and you and your sister will be free."
For a moment, Selene stopped thinking about Lyra, which was the sole reason she was there, and she started thinking about this man.
She didn't even get to know his name, but the fact that he was from Malik made her shudder.
It was easy to disbelief that he was sent from Malik, but then again, just the day before, Selene had overhead Khael being told of an impending war.
Was it possible that Khael, a Xyiom and non-human would be disturbed about the rebel of a human?
Before Selene got captured, she had heard scary stories about Malik.
He left Rivenwood a long time ago, and that was because he had become too rebellious to live among his fellow humans.
From what Selene heard about him, he could take on a whole clan and succeed. Words had it that he had wrestled with wild animals of all kinds and overcame without a single scratch. A few years ago, some humans had pleaded with him to save them from the captivity, brutality, and invasion of the Xyiom Kingdom, because they believed that he could.
Malik had accepted initially, but then turned around and declined later.
Up until now that Selene heard his name, she had no idea why he turned down the offer to help the humans.
Still, his offer lingered in her chest.
Kill the Xyiom King.
Kill Khael.
Selene was consumed with the thought for a moment, but it dawned on her that she was spending precious time that she would have been using to find and speak with her sister. Khael only gave her a day, which wasn't enough, and Selene had no idea when she would get the freedom to come out of his chamber again.
Freedom.
Malik was offering freedom to not just Selene and her sister, but to all the humans living under that captivity of the Xyioms.
Looking around, a wave of agony settled in Selene's heart.
These were people like her. She cared for them just as half as she cared for her sister. Many of them had been separated from their families and might never return to see them again. Some of them watched the warriors of Xyiom take the lives of their loved ones.
As Selene looked at them, many of whom had sorrowful expressions, she understood what it felt like to be in that position.
She might be in the king's chamber, having being possessed as his, but she was just as much a slave as the rest of them.
Selene was tired of looking around. If Lyra was there, she would have seen her by now, which even made Selene more worried.
"Where is my sister?" Selene asked herself.
She wanted to ask the other humans there, but they didn't seem like they were pleased with her. It was as though they blamed her for being chosen, meanwhile, Selene never wanted to be pegged as King Khael's possession. They all thought that she was probably happy and free in his chamber.
Well, they were wrong.
She might not be going through the same captivity they were going through, being that most of them had to satisfy the Xyioms, but she wasn't any better.
"Where is Lyra, my sister?" Selene walked up to one of the warriors overseeing the Obsidian Keep and asked.
They all knew Lyra as her sister, because they had been the ones who caught them escaping and wanted to punish them.
"She is in the nestle," he responded grumpily.
Selene's heart beat faster.
"Take me to her, please," Selene pleaded, even though she knew that Khael had already given the offer for her to be taken to Lyra.
The warrior led the way and in no time, Selene was ushered to where Lyra was.
The nestle was a place where human casualties were kept. Those who were wounded but still found useful were taken there and nursed to health.
The moment Lyra saw Selene, she began to sob.
The two sisters hugged each other tightly.
"What's wrong? Why are you here?" Selene asked worriedly.
She felt ashamed and disgusted at herself for failing her sister. She was supposed to be protecting her sister, and not leaving her here all by herself.
"I am still healing from the punishment," Lyra said.
Her voice was soaked with pain and agony.
Selene was confused. "What punishment?" Selene asked.
As far as she could recall, they didn't even get to whip her or Lyra before King Khael showed up and intervened.
Fresh and hurtful tears spilled from Lyra's eyes.
She turned around and Selene beheld the welts on Lyra's delicate body. Selene gasped in shock. Agony and rage rippled through her.
"They still punished me, sister," Lyra cried.
Selene squeezed her eyes shut in pain.
While she was in Khael's chamber, her sister was being punished for something that she initiated. How could this have happened? Why didn't Khael protect her sister? Why didn't she insist on Lyra coming with her?
Selene's heart was sore with grief.
"Word has it that Malik is planning a war against the Xyiom," Lyra said amidst tears.
Selene opened her eyes in shock; Lyra knew about it?
"It's the whispers going on among the humans," she further explained when she saw Selene's shock and confusion. "And I heard that he seeks to give you an offer," Lyra added.
Obviously, Lyra had gotten way more information than Selene could have imagined.
She began to cry again. "I am tired of being captive here and in pains, sister. I don't want to remain in this agony and captivity," she sobbed deeper.
Selene's heart was broken.
"You won't," Selene tried to console and reassure her.
Lyra held Selene's hand and looked at her with pleading eyes.
"Then take the offer and set me free, please," she begged.