Hope seemed to shuffle uncomfortably as I continued to toss items into my suitcase. “I don’t think that’s why they’re taking you, Sass. I think it’s for something else.” I never asked what Hope was to Kiznitch or how she knew so much. It was very strange for a civilian to know so much about Kiznitch and live to tell about it. I never asked, though.
“What do you mean?” I zipped up my bag.
Hope’s hand came to mine, pausing the movement. There was something in her fist, and when I opened my hand, a heavy ancient style pendant fell in it.
I lifted it up by the string to inspect it. “What’s this?”
She pushed my hand down and unzipped my bag. “Please don’t show anyone that, but Saskia, it is imperative that you hold on to this now, do you understand? You must guard it with your life.”
I examined it quickly. The blood red oval stone was held together by a metal dragon that was woven around it.
It was ugly.
I’d never wear it, let alone guard it.
I laughed, but Hope’s hand came to my face and she forced it toward her. “This is not a joke, Sass. We don’t have much time. Damnit,” she exhaled, shooting off the bed and rubbing the palm of her hand over her tummy. She seemed off. Weird. And not in a way that made me comfortable. “I thought I’d have more time.”
“Hope?” I asked, suddenly heavy with regret. I should have known better than to laugh. I know this life. This world. “What is it?” Our family, the Royals, were anything but royalty in Kiznitch. We were the mundane, never special enough to become Midnight Mayhem. My father watched security cameras and my mother was a nurse—that’s all we would have ever been and what I would have ever been.
My door opened and the man who was with Delila stepped inside. I squeezed the pendant in my hand instantly to hide it. “It’s time, Saskia. Let’s go.”
I nodded, my eyes going to Hope. I quickly shoved the pendant into my side pocket and made my way to her. “I love you. I will text you, okay?”
Hope turned to face me, her hands coming to my face. Hope was beautiful. She had long blonde hair that had a natural curl, and dark brown eyes. Her skin was so soft and flawless it made me envious at the best of times. At thirty-eight, she looked twenty-eight. Her eyes searched mine, pulling me in for a hug. Her lips came to the shell of my ear. “Do not trust anyone, Saskia, and when you must, you run.”
I never thought much on how this would happen. How I would come about as being a part of Kiznitch. A part of something that essentially ripped my family apart. Only, Hope was right. The reason to why they took me wasn’t at all what I was expecting.
Not even close.
There’s a knock on my door, pulling me out of my thoughts from the past. I swing it open and find Perse leaning against the frame. Perse is with King, and the story to how she got here is contrastingly different to mine.
“Hey! I was thinking since we are set to disembark tomorrow, we could swim some laps tonight?”
Perse and I have been swimming laps since we boarded this ship as a way to keep fit. There is a gym, but running on a treadmill is almost impossible when the ground isn’t stationary.
“Sure,” I say, clutching the door handle. “What time?”
My room is nicer than what I would expect from a cruise ship, but not entirely, because this is Midnight Mayhem. The whole crew is on the same level, too, which is convenient. I’ve been with Midnight Mayhem for almost three months now, which means it has been three months since I last saw Hope. We keep in contact through texts, but I haven’t seen her in the flesh. I’ve somewhat noticed the distance that I’ve started to feel from her, and I don’t know if that’s because of my current predicament or something else. I’m hoping for the former.
“Now?” Perse answers, her eyebrows raised. I instantly felt a connection to Perse. I didn’t know what it was at first, but I felt it, and I think she did too, only she looks at me more like a fragile doll who can’t handle things. Oh, so much she has to learn. So much I want to share with her, only I have colossal sized trust issues.
“Sure! I’ll grab my things and meet you down there.”
Perse closes the door and I move around my room, gathering what I need so I don’t have to come back here until I’m ready for bed. I think I prefer doing shows in America as opposed to international, and for the first two weeks we were abroad, I was sick, popping ginger tablets as if they were candy.