Chương 16: Chapter 14 – Put Your Boots On

Chelsea didn't say anything else right away. The weight of it sank in, pressing down harder than she expected. No reset. No second chance. No waking up back home. Just... gone.

"It's easy," Gerard said, stepping away from her, breaking the moment with deliberate lightness.

"Don't die." He added a quick wink, like he was trying to cut the tension with humor. Chelsea huffed out a breath despite herself.

"I'm going to level up a bit, then come to you," he continued, already shifting into action.

"What kingdom are you in?"

"I don't know," she admitted, shaking her head slightly.

"But I don't think it matters. Pretty sure if I escape, we'll be on the run."

"True," Gerard said with a small nod, already thinking ahead. He turned back to Magalesa.

"Can you keep this line of communication open? That way I can keep track of her."

"Sure," Magalesa replied quickly, almost too quickly, eager to be useful again. Chelsea raised a hand slightly.

"Oh, here's a question for you, Mr. Gerard. I wasn't allowed to..."

"Chelsea, you have to wake up. Chelsea. Chelsea!" The world shattered. The fog, the sun, Gerard, Magalesa, everything ripped away like it had never been there. Chelsea's eyes snapped open.

"Adriane, I..."

"There's no time," Adriane cut her off immediately, her voice low and urgent.

"Now is our one and only chance. Put your boots on." Chelsea blinked, disoriented, her mind still half in the fog-world.

"What?"

"I'm going to walk out the door," Adriane continued quickly, already moving, already thinking three steps ahead.

"Then someone will knock. It will be three knocks, followed by one more. Follow that person. Do exactly what he tells you."

"Oh, uh, okay," Chelsea said, pushing herself upright, the urgency finally catching up to her. Adriane was already at the door. She paused for a single second, drawing in a slow breath, composing herself, rebuilding the mask. When she exhaled, her posture had shifted completely back into that calm, obedient attendant. She opened the door, stepped out, and was gone. The room felt wrong without her, too quiet, too empty.

Chelsea stood there for a second longer than she should have, the sudden isolation clawing at her nerves. The plan had sounded solid when Adriane was there. Now... If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Now it felt real. Dangerously real. Her hands moved almost on their own as she adjusted her boots, tugging at them, testing the fit. They were perfect, of course they were, but she needed something to focus on. Can I run in these?

She pressed her weight down, flexed slightly. Yeah. Probably. She sat on the edge of the bed, scanning the room. There was nothing here that was hers. Nothing she could take. Nothing she would miss, except, maybe, the idea of safety it had briefly pretended to offer. Her thoughts flickered back, strangely, to home. If she ever made it back... her mom would absolutely lose it over her losing her uniform. A small, almost hysterical smile tugged at her lips. Then... Knock. Knock. Knock. A pause. Knock.

Chelsea's head snapped toward the door. That had to be it. She stood quickly, crossing the room and pulling the door open just enough to peek through. A guard stood there. His face was hidden behind a steel mask, smooth and expressionless. For a split second, fear spiked. Then he held something out to her.

"Put this on," he said. His voice was... gentle. Unexpectedly so. Chelsea blinked, then took the cloak. It was heavier than it looked, the fabric dense and muted in color. When she slipped it on and pulled up the hood, it seemed to swallow her shape entirely, blending into the stone around her. Even her wings... She had to manually tuck them in, awkwardly folding them tight against her back, but once she did, they disappeared beneath the cloak.

"Follow me," the guard instructed quietly.

"If I stop moving, you face the wall and don't move a muscle. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Let's go." He stepped out of the room without hesitation, and Chelsea followed, pulling the cloak tighter around herself. The hallway immediately felt wrong. Her guards, always stationed outside her door, were gone. It took her a second to realize why. She had slept through the rest of the day. At night, the castle felt like a completely different place. The long corridors were swallowed in darkness, broken only by faint reflections of light that barely kept them from walking blind.

Shadows stretched along the stone walls, shifting subtly as they moved. She hurried to keep up with the guard. The elevator stood empty. No Charles. No attendants. Just silence. The guard stepped inside and pressed a lever. Up. Chelsea frowned slightly. She had expected them to descend.

"Isn't..." she began quietly.

"Shh," he said, cutting her off immediately. Chelsea's mouth snapped shut. The message was clear enough, no talking. The elevator creaked and groaned as it climbed, each sound echoing louder than it should have in the enclosed space. Chelsea felt her chest tighten with every scrape of metal, convinced the entire castle could hear them. When the doors finally opened, the guard stepped out first, moving with calm, deliberate confidence.

He took the left side of the hall without hesitation, and Chelsea followed close behind, trying to keep her footsteps light. A few seconds later, he stopped, turned away from the wall, and snapped to attention. Chelsea froze for a split second before understanding. She quickly pressed herself flat against the wall behind him, belly first, wings tucked tightly beneath the cloak, forcing herself to go completely still. Her heart hammered so loudly she was certain it would give her away.

A door across the hall burst open, and two guards in full plate rushed out, their heavy boots striking the floor as they moved toward the elevator. They didn't so much as glance in her direction. They must be looking for her. The thought made her stomach twist, but she didn't move, didn't breathe, didn't exist until they disappeared. A light tap on her shoulder broke the moment. She pushed off the wall and turned to see the guard already moving again. She hurried after him.

He stopped once more, and Chelsea instinctively tensed, ready to press herself against the wall again, but nothing happened this time. No doors opened. No footsteps approached. After a brief pause, he continued on, as if it had just been a precaution. He led her into a large chamber, and Chelsea's eyes immediately locked onto the pedestal in the center. Etched into its surface was a glowing magic circle, intricate, deliberate, and unmistakably similar to the one that had summoned her.

The guard pressed something into her hand. It felt like a card.

"Step onto the stone," he said quietly.

"It will take you to one of the stations in town. Leave the building and walk directly across the street. Green door. It's the only green door. Use the same knock. Three, pause, one. Safe house." His instructions came quickly, but clearly.

"Go. Now." Chelsea didn't hesitate. She ran forward and stepped onto the stone. The world shifted instantly. She turned around, intending to thank him, but he was gone. The room had changed. Smaller. Bare. A simple stone space with an arched doorway. No time to think. She ran through it. Cold air hit her face as she emerged onto a quiet street. It was dark, the kind of empty that didn't feel peaceful so much as abandoned. She spun slightly, scanning her surroundings, until she spotted it. A single green door.

She hurried toward it, her boots striking the stone as she approached. Without stopping to second-guess herself, she knocked three times, paused, then knocked once more. The door opened immediately. Chelsea barely had time to react before everything went black.

"Oh, you're awake. I was starting to worry." The voice was sweet, almost pleasant. Chelsea's eyes fluttered open, her vision slow to focus. She was upright, but not standing. Her arms were stretched above her, her wrists bound, her weight hanging from them in a way that made her shoulders ache immediately. She was still alive.

"There's something in your mouth," the woman said as she stepped into view. Chelsea's stomach dropped the moment she saw her. The woman's eyes were wrong. Too wide. Too bright. There was an excitement in them that didn't belong.

"Welcome," she said, smiling.

"Sorry we couldn't have you casting your yucky demon spells in here." Her expression shifted into a pout.

"Not exactly sure what god I pleased to give me this gift, but I'm going to make the most of you."