Word Count: 1640

~Kezziah

Jamie's fear told me everything.

Whoever may behind me has him so frightened, he's seized with fear, unable to say or do anything other than stare. I'm frozen too, muscles rigid under the hand that lays on my shoulder, tighten as each second passes. I have a feeling that if I wanted to escape, it wouldn't be an option.

Suddenly snapping into reality, Jamie says no more, quickly shoving his door closed. I hear the lock click, leaving me be with whoever has scared them so much.

When they finally remove their hand, I slowly turn around, knowing I have to face them at some point. The moment that my eyes do land on them, I'm initially taken aback, unsure if I'm seeing right, or if I'm in some kind of drug induced hallucination. I don't remember being given anything back at the institute.

Because it makes no sense that he's here. Fate.

I've only seen him in photos from dusty books written thousands of years okay. In person that cobalt blue hair is so much more vibrant, and the darkness in his eyes is so much more sinister.

If I could back a few extra steps, I would. "I don't know what I did to cross you, but whatever it might be, I'm sorry."

Fate immediately smirks. The only reason I can pin him to being here is because of Time. Maybe he is sent here to take me to Time, wherever Time may reside. Either way, Fate looks as though has appeared from the shadows alone with his wispy black shirt that looks as if it's made of silk and tailored trousers to match.

"Believe it or not, you haven't crossed me," Fate tells me, to which only makes me relax slightly. "It's not uncommon for me to stick myself into business that is not my own. I can't have interesting events happen without me."

I gape at him, trying to fathom whether he is being truthful in his admission, or he has an ulterior motive. "I wouldn't say I'm interesting at all."

Fate shrugs his shoulders, stepping backward. A silent invitation for me to follow. I do so, as he leads me back out the gate, toward the park. I watch each of his footsteps as he glides effortlessly toward the bench I earlier occupied. As frightened as I am to follow this man, I doubt I have much of a choice.

How can you run from Fate?

When I sit wordlessly beside him, ensuring there is enough room between us, he turns his full body to face me. He looks excited, as if I have any information to dish out in his favour. I simply can't wrap my head around why he has any interest in speaking to me.

"I wouldn't say you're all that interesting either," Fate replies, smiling loosely, baiting in a retort. My eyes narrow on him. Charming. "However, I have to admit, all the drama going on has drawn me in."

"And how would you know of any drama in my life?" I question.

The moment those words left my mouth I felt foolish for asking. Fate raises an eyebrow at me, the smirk on his face only growing. He's Fate, and I doubt little goes by him. Especially in the immortal world where Time's business becomes everyone else's. From our talk thus far, I'm unsure which side Fate takes. Mine or Time's. I have a feeling it's the latter.

"There's not much that gets past me," Fate tells me, as if I wasn't already aware. I listened in school when Fate was spoken about. We exist because of him. "And this I'm especially curious about."

"You'll be disappointed to know it doesn't matter. I've escaped Alden and going to hide from Time. I have people to help me," I tell him firmly.

I don't have people, however, perhaps Avia can get me further help. I'm relying on her to help me more than I should. I don't have another choice. And by the way Fate looks at me, chest moving with a light chuckle, he's doubtful my plan has much to it. Even I feel foolish saying it.

Instead of ridiculing me right away, Fate's gaze drifts down my face and to my neck. Immediately I flush bright crimson, knowing what he is looking at.

"Can I have a look at your mark?" He asks.

Hesitating, I almost question how he knows about my mark. About the brand. However, I know better, and as ashamed as I am, I turn around on the bench so he can access my back, where the worst of the brand lies. There's little point hiding from him what he requests to see. An immortal who could kill me at whatever moment he pleases is someone who demands respect and shall receive it.

His gentle hands pull up the back of my shirt, and I freeze. Who knows what powers those fingers possess. The same fingers trace the pattern on my back, silently marvelling at it. Time has quite the talent with creating brands with magic. Perhaps that's why so many love to hate him.

"He's done quite mark hasn't he," Fate murmurs. "It's growing too."

I flinch. "No, it can't be."

Refusing to accept the idea that more of Time's brand is consuming me, I shove my shirt back down and turn around to face Fate again. My back still burns with the feeling of his touch, even after it left my skin. And strangely enough the uncomfortable feeling seems to be growing within my veins.

"It's fairly obvious to my eyes. I don't know about yours. His power over you is increasing. Soon you'll be a worthless mess who only answers to real commands," Fate tells me, leaning his back against the bench nonchalantly. He's roping me in.

I bite my teeth together. "I'm not his slave, if that's what you're insinuating."

"Not yet," Fate mutters with a shrug.

I'm trying to dig for his motive before he can strike me with it, yet I can't seem to. He's as elusive as everyone gossiped about. Whatever he is planning, I highly doubt it's going to benefit me. Immortals do all they do for themselves. For their amusement or for their pleasure. Or maybe revenge. Either way, Fate is here for a reason that can't be pleasant.

"What do you want? I need to get out of here before day comes around. Alden will surely put an alert out for me and people will notice my face," I tell him quickly, glancing around.

"The sentence of immortal life can get quite tiresome from time to time," Fate mentions, a glint in those dark eyes appearing for just a second. "Naturally, I want to have some fun, so thank me later."

Fear is suddenly instilled within me.

Before I can react, before I can pull away and make a run for it, Fate reaches out and grabs me. It doesn't matter how hard I pull and how loud I protest, his grip is like a vice, locked around my forearm, refusing to release any slack.

"Get off me," I snap, as if it were to help my situation, Fate pulls me closer until his mouth was right against my ear. I shiver.

"I'm taking you to your darling mates house," Fate says. "I'm sure he would love to see me."

The sinking feeling consumes my entire stomach. He's taking me to wherever Time dwells within the immortal world. Somewhere dark and lifeless I assume. And there he will dump, collect whatever reward for assisting Time, and leave me there.

Where I will belong to Time forever.

~Alden

There's no way I'm about to get any sleep tonight.

It's bothering me that she's out there. Where exactly, shouldn't be an issue to keep track of. I doubt she can go far without my camera's picking me up, and even if she gets close to the borders of the Wisdom Pack, I'll know. And I'll be waiting there for her. Right now she can have her fun, but I doubt it will last more than an extra day.

Yet regardless of how much I rationalise this, I cannot stop thinking about it. What if she escapes and Time gets to her before me? Before all the questions have been answered and I've been able to save her...

I've paced the room most of the night until my legs became sore. Thinking maybe I could sleep, I wandered back to my bedroom. When that didn't work, I came back to my office.

Now, I sit sipping my drink and waiting. Waiting till sunrise.

A knock on my door disrupts my thoughts. Putting my drink down, I clear my throat and beckon them in. It's one of the few people I trust with the information that Kezziah has escaped. A long time worker for me as a guard.

"What's going on?" I ask, as he hastily comes into the room, pulling the door closed behind him. There's a grimace on his face, and my stomach automatically sinks.

"It's Kezziah. We lost sight of her," he tells me quickly. "She's been taken."

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If you guys want more of Alden, the rest of available now on Radish (:

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Hey guys! Just want to let you know, that if you are a Radish Reader, the updates for the books I'm currently writing are going up a bit late, so I'm sorry about that!

I have a major law exam worth 25% of my grade tomorrow so once that's done I should be right back into writing (:

Sinful's own story is up now on Radish! I wanted to make it apart of the Seven Sins series (which will have stories involving Cian and other characters you've seen before)

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Instagram: Sophie_Midika

~Midika 💜🐼