Page 14 of Voices in the Stars (The Lost Witch #1)

I relaxed against his hold; any argument would be lost on him.

At least I really could enjoy the view now.

I’d had dreams that involved the stars before now.

They would’ve been brighter than I had ever seen.

I would be standing in an open field, staring at the sky as the stars swirled around me, a sensation of missing something pulling at me.

It felt like the universe had an inside joke I should’ve been a part of.

Here, there were thousands of stars above us, more than I was ever able to see on my rooftop, and that same sensation tugged at me now.

There was something here that I was missing.

How much longer could I possibly stay asleep? It had to almost be morning back in the real world. Soon, someone would come and shake me awake. Then I could be free of this world and this brute of a man. I just had to wait it out.

The world was proving that waiting it out would feel impossible.

The moon traveled up the horizon until it was shining directly above us.

My eyelids were heavy as the day weighed them down.

My nap earlier did nothing to combat the body numbing exhaustion I was feeling.

I was about to give in to sleep when he moved me again.

He lifted me off his shoulder and set me back on the ground.

I wobbled on unsteady legs as I turned away from his glaring face.

We were outside of a town. It wasn’t much compared to the circular one Klyn had taken me through. This one was just a handful of buildings nestled among the trees. It was almost eerily quiet, like the town was holding its breath. Waiting for us to move.

Few of the buildings were facing us. One had an image of a sleeping sheep carved into a sign above the door. There was more writing that I couldn’t understand. I took a step closer, squinting my eyes as I tried to make out any words.

I hobbled to where he stood in front of the sheep labeled building.

A wince twisted my features with each step I took.

My feet were already throbbing, and the stoney path made sharp pains shoot up to my knee, which wobbled with each step I took until I finally reached him. He just kept glaring, arms crossed.

“That the only expression you make?” I asked as I stood before him.

Reminding myself that this was all a dream helped chase away any fear I had of him.

That’s what I believed until he reached for the knife strapped to his side.

A scream lodged itself into the back of my throat as he grabbed my arm, pulling me toward him.

I tried leaning away, but his grip simply hardened.

I could already feel the bruises forming.

I finally pushed him too hard. This was it for me.

“There are too many people here for you to pull off any of your tricks.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I offered, eyeing the blade.

Cool beads of sweat trickled down my lower back.

"Honestly, even if I could, why would I want to leave?” I continued guessing what he was talking about.

“It’s been so nice here, and the company has just been amazing.

” I had little control over the words pouring out of my mouth.

My words wouldn’t stop until they were cut off with a scream as he swung the blade down.

It was quickly muffled by a warm hand pressed against my mouth.

My arms flopped down to my sides as the ties were sliced away.

I could almost moan from the relief that coursed through me.

I peeked up at him; a smirk was on his face as he kneeled, cutting the ties away from my ankles before standing and sheathing the blade.

I rubbed along my sore wrists as I watched him march into the building.

I glanced behind me. I wasn’t lying earlier; I had no idea where I was.

Everything around me looked exactly the same.

Honestly, it would’ve just been easier to keep following him.

I had tried this dream world on my own and almost died, something I’d like to avoid now.

At least, until I had an idea of where to go.

Even if that meant sticking with this brute.

Looking up at the stars did me no good, either. Their blinking chimed like laughter at everything I was going through.

“Fuck you,” I muttered up at them before following him.

It was eerily quiet inside the building.

The tension was thick as I walked through the doors.

Tables and chairs took up most of the space.

Lit lanterns decorated each one, creating a soft glow throughout the open space.

I pulled the hood over my face as the few people occupying seats stared over at me.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood as I looked for my kidnapper.

There was nothing secret about the way I was being stared at.

I felt like a piece of meat being offered to starved wolves.

He was standing on the far side of the room at the wood bar, trying to get the attention of the barmaid as she filled several glasses. I tried to hide my smile as I made my way toward them, watching her wave him off. Setting the glasses on a tray, she rushed away from him and the bar.

“‘Scuse me,” she muttered, moving around me, balancing the tray on her shoulder.

She carefully made her way over to the one table filled with the most people.

None of the dark liquid so much as sloshed in the wrong direction as she walked.

She set each glass down in front of the group of men, her pointed ear flicked as one of them spoke.

A chill ran through me as I locked eyes with one of them.

He had already been staring by the time I noticed, and me catching him did nothing to deter him. The entire time he downed the dark liquid, his hard gaze was focused on me. His mouth twisted in a smile, showing his yellow, chipped teeth.

I shuffled backward, pulling the hood tighter around me. I jolted as I backed into a hard wall.

“Scared?”

I recognized the kidnapper’s voice as he whispered in my ear. Pulling away from him, I shot him a glare before looking back to the man at the table.

“No,” I answered, making no attempt to keep quiet.

I faintly heard his chuckle before turning back to the bar as the barmaid returned. The other man kept staring for a moment, brows furrowed as he glanced between me and the kidnapper. His attention only lasted a moment longer before turning back to his friends.

My body shuddered as I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling that slithered through me. I turned back to the bar, feeling like I had been snapped out of a trance.

“Ma’am,” he called out.

Her shoulders tensed before she spun around to him, mouth open and ready to give him all she was worth.

“Listen sir, I don’t know…” Her words started stuttering until they faded away.

Emotions flashed through her wide eyes, and the tips of her ears dropped down.

Fear was what stuck with me, yet it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

A smile was plastered to her face as she wrung a towel through her hands.

“Atlas, I had no idea you were traveling through these parts. If I knew it was you?—”

“It’s fine,” he cut off her rambling, flashing her a smile. “We just need a room for the night, is all.”

Finally sparing me a glance, she looked me up at down. Her gaze mainly focused on the hood. “Of course, together or…?”

My brows furrowed at the fear that settled into her eyes as she looked at me.

“Two beds,” he answered.

She nodded, bending down behind the counter. Things were shuffled around until we could hear keys jingling as she reemerged with a single set .

“Follow me,” she said, walking from behind the bar to a set of stairs that were half hidden in the dark.

The man, Atlas, turned to follow her, making brief eye contact as he brushed by me.

Learning his name did nothing to answer the many questions I had about this stranger.

She seemed terrified when she realized who he was.

Was the treatment I’d gotten just normal for him?

Surely someone couldn’t just walk around acting like this and get away with it.

Then again, I certainly wasn’t home. I had no idea what kind of rules the dream world went by.

Maybe he was considered a gentleman here.

I had to choke back a laugh at that thought.

Even here, there had to be some standards.

The woman kept shooting us glances as we followed her up to a narrow hallway.

Numbered doors lined the walls on either side of us.

She counted each door we walked by, her fingers ticking them off of some mental list. She stopped after we’d passed six of the doors and reached the end of the hall to the last room.

She opened the door with a click, gesturing us inside. Atlas stepped aside, nodding his head toward the opened room. Taking his hint, I pushed past, ignoring their whispers as they joined together behind me.

The room was small. Two beds were shoved together against the far wall. A small table sat next to the head of the first bed. It would only take a few steps before I reached the first bed. I stayed where I was, in the middle of the small amount of open space we had.

“Food’ll be here shortly,” Atlas grumbled as he pushed by me.