Present day
I'm no stranger to a man's hateful stare.
Grew up with it.
Lived with it.
Survived it.
Especially with Todd.
It was his thing—one loud noise? Glare.
Laugh too loud? Glare.
Eat at the wrong time? Glare.
But this man?
Void doesn't glare. He eviscerates.
Since he tied me up back at the house—without even pretending to be gentle—he's been throwing those dagger-eyes my way like he's trying to kill me with just a look.
His "friend" finally stepped out of Rain's room carrying her like she was nothing but a broken doll.
Her head slumped.
Arms limp.
Eyes closed.
I started crying the second I saw her.
It's all my fault.
We didn't need the money.
We were doing okay.
I was just greedy.
Hungry for more.
And I forgot how dangerous this life really is.
Now she's slumped next to me in the back seat—still unconscious.
I want to hold her. Shake her. Whisper something comforting.
But I can't.
This asshole tied me up. Hands bound. Mouth dry. Heart thudding.
Void glances at me again—calm, cold, controlled.
"Why the fuck did you steal my stuff?" he asks.
I shrug.
What does he want me to say?
"Uhm... I don't know.
I'm a thief.
I like shiny things.
What the fuck did you expect?"
I glare back, even with tears in my eyes.
Because screw him.
He doesn't get to judge me.
The car jerks to a halt, and panic sinks its claws into me.
My eyes dart to Void.
He inhales deeply — like an animal catching the scent of blood.
That twisted grin spreads across his face.
"I'm gonna cut you open," he says.
Smiling.
Like it's a game.
Tears spill silently down my cheeks.
He hops out of the car like it's just another Tuesday.
I immediately start twisting and yanking at the ropes around my wrists, but they won't budge.
I wriggle toward Rain, shaking her with my shoulder.
"Wake up," I whisper through clenched teeth. "**Please, Rain—**wake the hell up…"
Nothing.
Her body stays limp.
My panic boils over into tears.
God, please… don't let anything happen to us.
The car door creaks open again.
The same man from earlier — Void's "friend" — grabs Rain's lifeless body and hauls her out like she's nothing.
I scream behind my gag, a muffled, broken "No!", flailing like a trapped animal.
It's useless.
I can't stop them.
I can't even touch her.
"Come on," Void says behind me.
I kick. I twist. I scream again.
He barely blinks.
He just lifts me like a duffel bag, throwing me over his shoulder.
My ribs ache from the weight of his arm.
I catch a glimpse of the ocean.
Cream-colored sand.
The sharp sting of sea salt in the air.
A beach?
Why are we at a fucking beach?
"Did you prepare their cell?" Void asks someone up ahead.
"Yes, my king."
My brain stutters.
King? King of what?!
He steps onto something solid. Wooden. Long.
I lift my head just enough to glance sideways—
A boat.
A fucking boat.
The man carrying Rain moves like a robot — eyes forward, no emotion. I scream into the gag again, flailing.
Kidnapping.
Trafficking.
Sacrifice.
My thoughts spiral.
Void tightens his grip around my legs. My muscles ache from earlier — the beatings, the struggling, the fear.
A sob slips out of me before I can swallow it.
I don't know where I am.
I don't know who Void really is.
But something tells me…
Im never coming home again.
The boat rocks gently as Void steps aboard, his boots echoing across the wooden planks.
I'm still flung over his shoulder like cargo. My head dangles near his spine, my wrists bound, mouth gagged, tears streaking freely down my cheeks.
The sea breeze brushes my skin, but it doesn't feel freeing.
It feels like the last breath of fresh air I'll ever get.
He walks toward the bow, toward a thick, rusted hatch half-sunken into the deck. It doesn't look like part of a normal ship.
No… it looks like it was built to trap things.
Things that don't belong above the surface.
Void unlocks it.
Crrreeeaaak.
The hatch groans open.
Darkness spills out like ink.
My heart stutters.
A stench wafts up—wet metal, old rot, and something ancient…
Like the breath of a creature that's been sleeping for centuries.
And now it's awake.
Without a word, Void starts down the iron staircase.
Every thud of his boots echoes in my ears.
My breath turns shallow.
My vision swims.
We go deeper.
The sea air disappears, swallowed by warm, damp stillness.
Lanterns flicker along the stone walls, casting long, unnatural shadows.
The air is thick.
Too thick.
It presses on my skin, like invisible hands.
He walks us through a narrow hall lined with metal bars and stone cells.
Some are empty.
Some... I can't tell.
There are shapes inside. Shadows. Maybe breathing. Maybe not.
At the end of the row, he slams a gate open.
Clang.
He throws me inside like garbage.
I hit the cold floor hard — the impact knocking the wind from my lungs.
My shoulder scrapes the wall, and I wheeze, curling into myself.
Then I hear soft footsteps.
Rain.
She's placed gently on the floor.
Like a fragile doll.
A princess.
Void crouches beside her, unties her wrists, then turns to me.
His gaze never leaves my face.
There's a flicker there.
Curiosity.
Like he's seeing something for the first time. Something he didn't expect.
But I don't care. I don't forget the bruises. The blood. The fear.
I scramble to Rain and pull her into my arms, sobbing now, whispering into her hair.
"Please wake up…"
I don't even realize my gag is gone.
Void stands at the bars, stone-faced.
"Romain, they're your responsibility now," he says to the man — the one who carried Rain. His voice is cool, detached.
And just like that…
He's gone.
Vanished. Like he was never there.
I hold Rain tighter, praying she stirs.
Because if she doesn't…
If she doesn't wake up soon…
Then I'm completely alone.
In a cage.
On a boat.
Headed to God knows where.
Owned by a man who wants to cut me open.