Chapter 1 - Raven
Luck was one twisted son of a bitch. If I ever crossed paths with him one day, I was going to punch his lights out for doing this to me. All of this.
I drew in a deep breath and opened my eyes, fixing my gaze on the grimy wall. Its coldness against my forehead did nothing to calm me, and Arden’s restless pacing was most definitely not helping. No matter what I tried, my damn powers refused to cooperate. Not that it was surprising, considering I had no fucking idea what the hell I was doing.
Thanks to me, we were stranded in the worst place possible. Well, second worst, since it would’ve been even shittier if we ended up giving Hathan an unexpected visit. My point still stood. We were screwed.
“I can’t do it! I don’t know how to do it! Nothing is happening!” I growled, pounding my fist into the crumbling concrete before turning to face Arden. He stood close in case I miraculously started glowing again, but no matter how much I focused on reaching that mind space where the spark happened, it just felt like I was trying to push through the worst constipation in the world.
Taking another step closer, he slid a hand over my shoulder, squeezing it gently. Apart from the initial shock of seeing this place—and learning where I had taken us—he showed no other signs of distress. He looked as composed as if he were standing in the middle of his royal gardens, letting me find my way between the high, intricately styled bushes, even though he knew exactly how to get through that maze.
“It’s alright. You’re just overwhelmed right now.” Warmth spread through my shivering body as he rubbed my back—a painful reminder that we were no longer in Jernen. This place was always chilly and stuffy in the worst of ways, and feeling the foul, dirty air on my skin made me shudder. Arden’s hand slid over my neck before cupping my cheek and lifting my head.
He raised an eyebrow, as if expecting me to magically shake off my anger and frustration when all I wanted to do was scream and punch things. I bit my lip until the spiteful words went down my throat. This was my fault, so he didn’t deserve to take the brunt of my anger.
“We should find you some clothes.” He let his hand fall from my face, turning around and giving the city another appraising look. The surrounding buildings were taller, especially the looming Orion Center across from us, so there wasn’t much to see apart from crumbling walls, shattered glass, and occasional lights flickering from windows. “It’s cold, and you might get sick. Not to mention this cloth is almost transparent.”
I looked down at the thin chemise that reached the middle of my calves and grimaced. It was going to be such a pain if I had to fight in this thing. Shaking my head, I tried to embrace the elusive calm. Staying here was out of the question, and going anywhere without a plan was stupid. We needed to find weapons and a hideout, then scout and figure out if anything had changed in the last three months. Once I knew we were safe, I was going to figure out how to get us back. Somehow.
With my determination growing, I forced myself to meet Arden’s eyes, almost sighing with relief when the expression on his face was one of concern, not damnation. He was worried about me. He clearly had no idea how much danger he was in. I had to focus on that.
He refused to let go, I reminded myself as I took one deep breath after another. He knew this could happen, and he still chose to hold on.
A dome of calm finally slid over my reeling mind. He trusted me; that’s why he held onto me even when I tried to push him away. And now it was time to justify that trust by keeping him safe.
“I…” I licked my lips. I wanted to reassure him since I was about to throw him headfirst into the chaos that was my world, but before I could say anything more, Arden smiled gently, smoothing down my messy hair.
“I know,” he said, brushing his lips over my forehead like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Lead, and I will follow.”
How the hell was he this calm when he was just teleported into another world? He should be gawking, pointing, and hyperventilating or something. When I ended up in that lake, I was confused as fuck and in full denial. And leaving this place behind meant fairly little to me, while Jernen was everything to him. He might be even more insane than I thought.
“Right.” I nodded, pushing away the urge to lean into his touch. I couldn’t afford to rely on him right now. He was the one out of place, and he wasn’t prepared for the dangers here, even if he was very good at pretending otherwise. His well-built figure, clear skin, and bright eyes were only going to make him stand out even more. Not to mention our clothing. I was actually lucky that I was wearing just the underdress because my ceremonial gown would have been like a beacon for all kinds of crazy.
“Let’s go.” I stepped toward the roof door, hoping the damn thing would open since climbing down the side of the building after the day I had was just going to be too much.
Turning the handle, I pulled, sighing with relief when it budged. The screech of the metal sounded especially loud as it echoed down the dark staircase before disappearing into the depths of the structure. Considering that Orion HQ was right across the street, we had to be in one of the central areas of Boston. If we were lucky, the military’s proximity would have spooked any criminals, sending them to the outskirts. But then again, life had proven time and time again that lucky I was not, so I clenched my teeth and prepared for the worst.
“Keep your eyes open,” I whispered, motioning for Arden to follow me down the stairs. “If you see someone, punch them. Don’t bother asking questions or giving warnings. If they point something at you, just… duck and hide as fast as you can.” I stopped at the last step and gave him a warning look. “Do not try to protect me. Out of the two of us, I’m the only one who has come back from the dead.” Arden shot me an unamused glance, but I was already turning my back to him, muttering, “I just need a second to switch my brain to this place.”
We continued, with Arden walking so close that our hands brushed when I slowed down to peek around the corner. I waited until my sight adjusted to the darkness, cursing under my breath when I recognized the familiar layout.
The building must have been used as an office at some point, but only piles of rubble and dust remained to keep the naked walls company. Everything looked relatively sturdy, so the chances of the floor or roof collapsing were small, but that posed another problem.
There was no way this place was empty, not with its location and all the perks it offered. I had hoped it would be a residential area—this way we wouldn’t have to worry about encountering anyone since nobody in their right mind would leave the safety of their home even if they heard a scream for help. But in an open space like this… it was impossible to tell how many people lurked about, or how friendly they would be upon seeing us trespassing on their territory.
I motioned for Arden to stand close, trying not to wince as pebbles and glass dug into my bare feet. After spending months in comfortable shoes and clothes, sleeping in soft beds, and eating like a queen, it was strange to be back here. My instincts were waking up, but I was no longer the person I was before I left. And this new me… I could only hope she could survive in this place where one wrong move could mean the end of everything.
We walked slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. Just when I spotted a broken Exit sign, the shadows in front of me shifted, and I thought the creature that had been haunting my nightmares materialized there. The only reason I didn’t scream was that I had no air left in my lungs. I hadn’t seen the thick pipe flying towards me until it slammed into my stomach, throwing me back. As I fell, all I could hope for was that if any of my ribs broke, they wouldn’t puncture my lungs. Recent events led me to believe that I could heal from pretty much anything, but it still hurt like hell.
At least it wasn’t Hathan. That thing wouldn’t bother with weapons. That thing is a weapon.
I rolled to the side with a grunt, watching through my double vision how Arden intercepted my attacker. A shout rang out, followed by a loud thud, and then Arden crouched by my side, catching my face in his palms.
“Raven! Are you alright? Can you stand?” he asked in a hushed voice, his eyes feverishly scanning me for injuries. Gritting my teeth and nodding, I allowed him to help me up. Pain blinded me as I staggered, and before I knew it, Arden was throwing my arm over his shoulders. Even as the needles in my chest intensified, I reluctantly pulled away from him.
“I’ll be fine. Stop babying me,” I snarled, irritated at myself that I didn’t see the strike coming. The other man was lying still on the ground, but his chest was moving, suggesting he wasn’t dead. Arden picked up the fallen weapon and handed it to me just as voices filled the hall. “Stay close,” I mouthed, waiting just long enough to see him nod.
We sneaked to the closest support column, then hurried past a pile of half-rotten desks. I spotted them then—at least half a dozen figures fanning out, checking every dark corner, and kicking around every object big enough to hide a body. I was just trying to figure out the best way to navigate around them when a flash of metal caught my attention.
I saw the gun almost too late, and without thinking, I pushed Arden back, barely ducking before the bullet ricocheted off the stone beside my head. Shouts drowned out the echo of the shot as dust and pebbles rained onto the floor.
“Run!” I yelled, grabbing Arden’s hand and pulling him in the direction of the broken Exit sign. Another bullet hit the desks as we dashed past them, sending splinters everywhere. Arden’s fingers slipped from my grip when I tripped and almost fell, but by the time I righted myself, he was running beside me. He reached the narrow metal door first, yanking it open while the shouts and sounds of heavy footsteps drew closer. The moment Arden shut the door, I wedged the pipe between the handles. Something heavy smashed against the metal, bending it inward before more little dents appeared on the surface as our pursuers fired several shots.
My fingers found the railing, and I hissed, “Go, go, go!” before stumbling down the steps. We were already four floors down when I noticed the lights flickering below. I made the mistake of looking over the parapet and almost lost my head as a blast of energy flew past my face, the smell of burned hair tickling my nostrils.
“Back up, back up!” I whisper-shouted, nudging Arden in the direction we had come from. We returned to the floor we had just passed, only to find the door there stuck. I threw my shoulder against it, groaning as more pain was added to my already aching body, but the damn thing didn’t budge.
Arden brushed past me, throwing his own weight against the metal. After the third attempt, the door almost fell off the hinges. I helped him push the fallen unit that had been blocking it back into place and once I was sure we weren’t being aimed at, I grabbed the fabric of my chemise and tore it above my knees.
Fucking hell with fucking dresses! This was Randrea all over again.
The voices on the staircase grew louder as the door gave in an inch. Arden moved into a defensive stance as if he were planning on fighting barehanded, but I tugged his elbow and gave him a sign to follow.
We had already crossed half the floor when cheers boomed behind us. That’s when another figure jumped at us, wielding a thin metal poker. I reacted faster this time, ducking under it, but because of me, Arden had no time to move. I could swear I heard a crack when he blocked it with his arm, but I was too focused on sinking my fist into our attacker’s stomach to be sure. The soon-to-be-dead guy fell to the ground with a grunt, his weapon rolling out of his fingers as he gasped for air. Seizing the poker, I raised it above my head, preparing to strike him down.
Enough with the playing nice shit. I was no longer in Jernen.
“R-R-Raven?” the stranger croaked, and I halted the weapon just before it could split his head in two. My eyes widened at the sight of his bruised face, the wide nose that had never healed right after the second time he broke it, and the thin lips that seemed so pale in the darkness, he looked like he had only a gaping hole where his mouth should be. His hair was matted on his forehead, more gray than black thanks to the dust sticking to it, but it looked just as unruly as the last time I saw him.
“Zhang?” I gasped, lowering my weapon slightly. “What the hell?”
“I could… say the same… thing!” he panted, pushing himself into a sitting position and staring at me as if he were seeing a ghost. “Where... have you been? No! How are you alive? We thought you were dead!”
“That’s a long—” I started, but Arden hissed beside me.
“They are coming! We need to move!”
I glanced over my shoulder at the figures creeping near, those with guns walking cautiously in the front while scanning the shadows. There were at least two with blasters, three with regular guns, and just as many with various weapons that could do equal damage at close range. There was no chance of fighting our way out of this. I looked back at Zhang. “Are you with them?”
“That’s also a… long story.” Zhang rose to his feet with his hand still pressing to his ribs. “Come. I can get you out.” His eyes darted to Arden, then back to me. “Hurry!”
As much as I didn’t like this situation, trusting Zhang was much smarter than taking my chances with the angry mob behind us. In this world, he was one of the few people who hadn’t betrayed me yet. So, no matter how strange it was for him to join a gang when he had resisted for so many years, I could hear his reasons once we were safely out of there.
Arden nodded, looking back one last time before we hurried after Zhang. When he stopped in front of a small door barely visible in the dark corner of the floor, I clenched the poker until the metal dug into my skin.
“In here, quickly! I’ll distract them!” Zhang urged. I stared at the darkness on the other end, listening for any noise that would suggest this was an ambush. “I know it’s hard for you to trust me, but you have no choice. Get inside, Raven!”
I gritted my teeth and stepped through, turning my weapon between my fingers. Man, I missed my knives. Once I got them back, I was never taking them off again.
A broken desk lay on its side against one wall, while a disemboweled sofa occupied another. There were no other exits, so at least he wasn’t leading us into an ambush—just a potential trap.
The door closed behind us with a soft click.
“Do you trust him?” Arden whispered so softly that I could barely hear him, although I could feel his breath on my face. I opened my mouth to say I did, but nothing came out. So I just stared where I thought his eyes were, cursing myself yet again for getting us into this mess.
“I don’t trust anybody in this world,” I replied, bitterness seeping into my mouth. This wasn’t Jernen or even Paralea. Trusting the wrong people didn’t end in disappointment here—it ended in death.
Footsteps sounded outside, so we flattened ourselves against the wall by the exit. It was almost funny how seamlessly we moved without exchanging a word, as if we could assess the situation and think on the same wavelength. I would have smiled if I wasn’t so pissed and scared that I was going to get not only the Chosen killed, but the king of Jernen, too.
The seconds ticked by slowly until, finally, the group outside moved on. My body shook with anticipation by the time the door creaked open. Even before Zhang stepped through the threshold, I was pressing the poker against his windpipe. He swallowed hard as our eyes met.
“They are gone,” he announced, twisting his body so I could see behind him. After ensuring nobody was waiting to shoot us, I turned back to Zhang.
“Thanks,” I muttered, and he smiled at me. It wasn’t the familiar smile I remembered, full of somber acceptance and little hope. No, this one was sharper, weaker, and dripping with something that sent an icy chill down my spine. Just what had happened to him while I was gone?
“We don’t have much time.” Zhang stepped back, looking left and right. “It won’t take them long to figure out I lied. We need to get out of here before that happens, or we’re all dead.”
Arden moved closer, his fingers brushing against the small of my back. It lasted only a second, but it sent a wave of determination through me. I straightened my shoulders and nodded for Zhang to lead the way.
He guided us through the space with the confidence of someone intimately familiar with its layout until we ended up on another staircase, much smaller and way steeper, with half of its stairs broken or missing. Stumbling after him, we tried to walk quietly while the building echoed with voices calling to each other as they searched for us.
Once we reached the lower levels, Zhang rushed us through a series of wide, empty corridors. Luckily, we only ran into two of the gang members, so Arden and I made quick work of them. With no windows and very little light coming from scarce, half-broken lamps in the walls, it was hard to tell where we were going. The abandoned subway tunnels in these parts were a great way to move around without exposing ourselves to Orion HQ’s radar, but if he kept going down, we’d soon reach the Underground, and that wasn’t a place I cared to revisit.
I was just about to ask Zhang where he was taking us when he disappeared behind the corner. Wincing from the throbbing pain in my feet, I sped up.
“Zhang, wait up! We should…”
The moment I stepped into the next tunnel, I dug my heels in at the sight of the six vicious-looking men blocking the way. Two of them held blasters with their fingers already on the trigger, while the others stood almost leisurely, their guns strapped to their waists as if they couldn’t be bothered to unholster them. Arden collided with me so hard that he had to grab my shoulder to steady himself.
“Behind us too,” he whispered in my ear before pressing his back to mine.
I gritted my teeth. Were they part of the crew we just escaped from? No, that made no sense. Why would Zhang sell us out now, after helping us slip away from them? And if that wasn’t the case, what was with this setup? It was almost like they were waiting for us…
I stared at Zhang’s stiff back as he kept walking toward the men, when something else caught my attention. His fingers were squeezing a small, black object, his knuckles turning white from the force.
Was that a radio? Fuck me!
“Zhang?” I clenched the poker tighter, even though I knew it was useless against their weapons. He flinched at the sound of my voice, turning halfway, but his eyes remained fixed on the ground.
“I’m sorry, Raven.”
My heart sank, and I tried to call on my powers again, more desperate to see the light glowing beneath my skin than ever before. Nothing happened.
Fuck! I should have seen this coming. But Zhang, of all people?
I don’t trust anybody in this world, my mind spat my own words back to me, and I almost laughed maniacally. It seemed I did trust Zhang; otherwise, his betrayal wouldn’t have stung so badly.
“With that bounty on your head, if I hadn’t done it, it would have been someone else,” Zhang said when he stopped by the armed men. One of them stepped aside as if to let him through, but he didn’t move, just added, “I’m truly sorry.”
“Fuck off!” I snarled, spitting on the ground between us.
“Don’t feel guilty, Zhang,” another voice spoke from behind the group, and the men parted, allowing a familiar face to pass through. Dressed in black from head to toe, the man rubbed his lips thoughtfully while his sharp gray eyes bore into mine. “She brought this on herself.”
“Killian!” I gasped, hope flickering in my chest… until I saw his expression. There was no trace of the usual amusement in his gaze. The look he gave me was nothing but cold calculation and spite.
Arden tensed behind me, his uneasiness fusing with mine.
Damn it! I needed to make sure he survived this, even if I didn’t. I had to get him out, no matter what. This was all my fault.
“Whatever you think I did, I didn’t do it. Let’s talk about this,” I said carefully. He couldn’t be this pissed because I didn’t finish that job, could he? Not pissed enough to kill us.
Killian smiled lazily, finally looking like the man I had learned to rely on in my darkest moments. I held my breath when he raised his hand, hoping he would order his men to stand down. As if reading my desperation, his smile widened, and he said, “Shoot them.
