Page 120 of Cursed in Glass
I would never be his equal, even if he made me his queen. And the worst part about all of this was that I genuinely cared for him. Despite everything, I feared I could fall for him, fall for a man who measured his relationships in hours, when I took years to build mine.
Kye could never be my partner. He was my jailer. A beautiful, gentle, and even caring one maybe, but still only a jailer. And in a few minutes, he’d become my owner, as soon as the two of them determined the price they both could agree on. Whatever relationship Kye and I could ever build from now on would forever have a price tag. I’d know exactly how many gold coins I was worth to him. Or maybe he’d pay with his cum diamonds?
That thought added insult to injury, bringing both a bitter smile to my lips and a hurtful prickle of tears to my eyes.
There was nothing I could do to stop this. If Kye didn’t buy me from Leslo, thebrackwould sell me to someone else, a stranger in some faraway place. I had no control over my destiny. I lost it the moment I climbed into Leslo’s van in the airport’s parking lot.
I took another step away from them. I didn’t want to hear their voices. I couldn’t even look at them, turning to stare out into the ocean instead.
The sun hovered low over the horizon now, spreading a warm sepia glow over the water. Not far from the shore, the glow gained a pink hue. It was pretty, with the shimmer I’d learned to associate with magic in Nerifir. I stared at it for a moment, theshimmer dancing in my vision through the film of tears welling in my eyes.
What did those ballerina-pink sparkles in the water mean and how did they get there?
Then realization hit me.
“A patch of pink shimmer over a body of water,”Kye had said when I’d asked him to describe what a portal back to my world looked like.
Was that it? A portal to my world? Did the door to escape finally open for me when I was at my lowest point yet?
My heart skipped a beat, then thudded high in my throat.
Was that really it? A portal?
Kye had said there was one on the shores of Sarnala, hadn’t he? Why not right here? He’d also mentioned that some of them were open only for a limited time. What if this one was closing soon?
Even if I was mistaken, and it was not a portal but just a play of light in my blurry vision? What did I have to lose?
“It’s a deal then,” Leslo’s voice boomed behind me. “All our bargains are now complete, Your Majesty. And all promises fulfilled.”
It was now or never. I had no time to lose and no chance to think it over.
I ran.
I sprinted for the vague pink glow in the ocean as if my life depended on it. I leaped over the foamy waves rolling ashore, then waded through the water until it was deep enough to swim.
“Maren!” Kye’s voice roared behind me, sounding shocked and indignant.
I couldn’t allow myself to think about him. I couldn’t let his voice stop me.
Pushing off the sandy bottom, I brought my arms up and dove under. With my eyes open, I aimed for the glowing disk of pink shimmer up ahead.
The closer I swam, the brighter and clearer it became, beckoning me with the tunnel of white-pink light in the middle.
It was the portal; I was sure of it now.
I was so close, so close to being free. I stretched my arms, my hands sinking into the magical light. The shimmer ran up my skin, drawing me out of the briny water of the ocean and into the fantastic stream of the mysterious River of Mists, toward the only freedom I could have. Away from Nerifir and the extraordinary, beguiling man who’d trapped me here more effectively than a cage or a chain.
Warm, sparkling air engulfed my face and shoulders, guiding me through. My vision spun, my mind growing dizzy.
Did it work?
Was I free?
As the magic of the River of Mists almost enclosed me, a firm grip suddenly seized my ankle. One thing was certain, wherever I was going, I wasn’t alone.
The light dulled around me. The shimmer faded. Overwhelmed by the power of the River of Mists, my mind went dark.
End of Book 1
