Word Count: 1619

~Millicent.

Kyser didn't return for hours.

This place is bare, with nothing to eat and air filled with dust. Every time I open a window, the sounds of the city cause me to close them again. Screams, yelling and fighting. Night have fallen completely, so I can't imagine where Kyser has gotten himself, especially without any of his power. No doubt he has rubbed someone the wrong way with his pale hair and arrogant smile.

Sitting on the couch, sunk deep within the cushions, I find myself cursing his name. I don't know why I thought I could trust him. He's probably left me here to never return, with no way of finding Sinful until he gathers enough of his power to get to me. Who knows how long that will take...

Getting to my feet, I take my fingers back through my hands. That's it. The city may have frightening sounds for someone who has lived their entire life in isolation, but I can't stay here.

I'll go hungry. I'll starve.

Winding down the stairs toward the ground of the city, I wrap my coat around me further. It took a lot of digging around before I found a stay cover with a hood to drag over my shoulders. I'm thankful for it, not just because the cold has settled over the city in a vicious, persistent rage, but because I don't need anyone seeing me right now. I'm sunburnt, my skin is dry and I'm not stopping until I get food.

Surprisingly, despite the sounds, the streets outside Kyser's strange apartment are completely bare. Stumbling over the cobblestones, I let the sound of my shoes scuffing against the grit of the red sand between the cracks of the path be the only thing anyone around here may hear.

I just need food. I don't have money, but maybe someone will be kind enough to offer me some if I beg. I've read about that in books, although I've never seen immortals be that generous in person.

But despite this, my drive never ceases. I can smell something in the distance.

Turning a corner, I spot a group huddled against a wall, discussing something in a tight circle. Pulling the hood of my coat a little lower over my forehead, I quicken my step. Their path is the only one I can see to get out of this small, dark square I've managed to get myself into.

And now, it's too late to turn back.

As I get closer, I notice their voices have a softer, lighter lilt than I expected. They are tall, drenched in dark clothing, and when they notice my appearance, they stare with eyes as pale as pastel morning sky. Women. They are all female, and they are all staring at me like I'm insane.

I walk past, listening keenly to their whispers, but I don't manage to pick anything up. Maybe it's nothing. Maybe it's just a group of women who just got off work, or are waiting for something...

Or maybe I'm naive. And their quick footsteps behind me are a real threat.

Looking over my shoulder, I notice them follow me down the street. And then they are running. I join them, running as fast as I can. But when you haven't eaten in days and just woke up in a desert earlier utterly dehydrated, your legs don't tend to work in the same way you imagine. So before I know it, someone's hand is on my shoulder tightly, pulling me violently to a stop.

I struggle, but I'm weak. There are at least six girls here, two of which hold me against a wall, my arms pulled painfully behind my back. No matter how much I kick, they respond too quickly, and no matter how much I scream, the hand slapped over my mouth muffles every sound.

"So the rumours are true. Millicent really is free," one of them says. The voice is rough, the sharp edge of a foreign accent entwined in her voice. They are natives to this are, and no doubt know this area much better than me. Even if I managed to escape, no doubt they would hunt me down.

"The pretty little Moon Goddess is powerless," another says. How do they know? That one sentence chants through my head over and over. The spell happened today...or yesterday. My time is skewed, but surely Kyser and I weren't lying in a desert for long enough for people to find out. I thought no one would know, and I could live a peaceful life. Clearly I'm wrong.

I scream against the girls palm, trying to gather what they look like. Only their mouths and eyes are visible. They all have light eyes and full lips, and are unnervingly strong. None have any discerning features, aside from the girl in front of me, who has a small white scar on her chin.

"We should take her back," they say. "She may still have residual power."

I'm dead. This might be it.

Someone wraps some kind of fabric around my eyes, tying it tightly against my head. Everything is cast into darkness, only accelerating my fear. I'm then lead, no, I'm dragged down the street, the tips of my shoes trailing across the cobblestone. Instantly my sense of direction is skewed, and I'm immediately unsure of where they are taking me. No doubt to a place I'll never be found, or never be able to escape from.

The don't take me very far, before I hear doors grind open, and I'm thrust without binds into a cold room. It takes them only a few moments to tie me down to what I assume is a chair, and remove my blindfold off.

I blink. Once. Twice.

Two of the girls who were once here are gone, and another two stand by the door. I'm left with the girl with a scar and another, whose hood is pulled so low there is no hope so determining her identity.

"Please. I don't have any power, I can assure you if that," I tell her, my voice shaking and rough, hardly sounding like it belongs to me at all. I'm not going to swear at them, yell or fight them. I've always taken a calmer, more controlled approach, especially to my people. Even if they don't like me, I ruled over them, as their goddess.

I'm in a warehouse, it appears. The ceilings are high, everything cast in darkness aside form the doors and the girls in front of me. The one with the scar pulls her hood back, a mane of brunette waves tumbling out. Clearly she is unbothered with me seeing her. Maybe they are going to kill me...

"Whether you have power or not, you're worth something," she tells me assuredly, crossing her arms over her chest.

I feel defeat creep within me. No, I can't give up yet.

"Please. I have a friend, a powerful friend who will find me," I tell her. I'm not sure where Kyser is, but I'm praying he has returned to the apartment and found me missing. Surely he is out there trying to find me. It's all I can hope for.

The girl rolls her eyes. "Your friend won't find us. No one finds us unless we want them to, so you might as well settle back and harness your powers."

My heart beat falters in my chest. Is this what the rest of my immortal experience is going to be like? It makes me wonder where Sinful is, and what he might be doing in this exact moment. Just the thought of never seeing him again has my stomach churning, a wave of sadness settling over me. He's my mate, no matter what I think of him.

"I told you, I have no powers and I have no way of harnessing them. I'm not used to you, so just let me go, and no one will have to know about this," I tell her slowly, trying to calm my shaking voice.

A smile spreads across the girls face, as she crouches down in front of me. "It will be in your best interest to harness your power. We have someone off the street that we found trying to steal from our store. If you don't heal them, you will both die. And I will go down in history as the one who ended the Moon Goddesses reign."

I know there are plenty of people who don't like me...but this?

"Don't, this isn't fair. I'm not lying when I tell you I don't have any power," I beg. My demands to let me go seem to be falling on deaf ears, as she turns away, motioning to someone in the corner to approach. The sound of dragging then follows.

Mortified, I watch as a limp body is pulled from the shadows by two of the girls, dumping it right at my feet. The moment I saw the hair atop their head, I know immediately who it is.

Kyser.

That fool. He must have gone out to get us food and clearly failed. There's blood seeping from a crimson wound on his head, staining his white hair an ominous colour. My throat turns dry, as the weight of the situation falls upon my shoulders.

How am I going to save Kyser without any of my power?

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