THE RUNE

"You killed her!"

"What? She pissed me off and correction, I didn't kill her only knocked her out!"

"Yeah, but it's been two days already and she's still not fucking awake!"

"Good, I hope it stays that way! Fucking bitch tried to poison me!"

"Enough! Leave her and let her get some rest, when she wakes up will determine if the ruby does work and grants whoever holds it eternal power!"

Those were the voices that were stuck in my head, although it was faint I heard them. A throbbing headache formed in my head as I opened my eyes. The heels of my palms dig into my tired eyes before I turn over and groan into the soft pillow. My face stayed buried there for a few seconds to avoid the harsh reality I dragged myself into by stealing the ruby.

But even though I had a throbbing headache, strangely I felt more rested than I ever had in a long time. Perhaps it has to do with the soft bed and soft pillow that smelled like…I forced my eyes open before I could think that thought and immediately sat up straight on the bed.

A groan escaped my lips as I held my head which felt slightly heavy on my shoulders. When I was sure that my head wasn't going to fall off, I stood up from the bed. I looked around the room and realized that it was looking a bit familiar. It was only when I turned and saw the giant portrait on top of the bed did I immediately knew why I had felt that way.

This was the prince's room, the one I thought was the king. But why was I in his room though? With the way he treated me and how I treated them I figured my ass should be waking up in a dungeon and getting ready to face the gallows by now but instead, I slept on the prince's bed. I looked around the room trying to figure it out but my head hurt so bad I couldn't think.

I shuffled around the room heading for the door when it suddenly opened. I immediately sobered up as I recognized Anya and the other guy I'm guessing was the one who advised me to run yesterday and called me borderline idiotic and a dead girl if I'm not mistaken.

"See?" Anya drawled out turning to look at her colleague, "I told you I didn't kill her, no matter how bad I wanted to." She said eyeing me while licking her fangs.

This time around she wasn't wearing any cloak, so I was able to get a good look at her. She was beautiful, the supernatural creatures always are. Another gift the gods blessed them with apart from immortality was beauty, which some use to their advantage to lure humans to their death.

Anya was exactly that, beautiful with the kind that would kill you if you weren't careful. Her porcelain skin contrasted beautifully with her lustrous white hair that fell in loose waves around her shoulders, her eyes a mesmerizing shade of icy blue, held an intense captivating gaze, seemingly reflecting the depth of her immortal soul.

Dressed in a sleek leather ensemble, Anya exuded an air of power and allure. The form-fitting outfit accentuated her lithe figure emphasizing both her grace and strength. The leather material hugged her curves in all the right places which made women like me jealous. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that her hands were adorned with unique rings. Each ring possessed an intricate design, featuring delicate patterns and precious gemstones, one of them in particular bore the emblem of a coiled serpent, its eyes glinting with an otherworldly glow.

These rings whispered of ancient secrets and untold power and the more I stared at them, the more captivated I became. With a ring like this, I could make a fortune in the black market!

"What? Stealing the ruby isn't enough for you and now you want something of mine?" Anya's cold voice snapped me out of whatever trance the ring had me in.

I cleared my throat as I took a step backward. "I was just admiring it, it's beautiful."

"Thanks, it belonged to my mother." She responded and my brows went up expecting a story behind it. "Took it from her finger after I drove a stake through her heart," Anya stated coldly and I stared at her for any sign of a joke but she had a nostalgic smile on her face as if feeling proud of herself.

Wow! I thought to myself shaking my head slightly. I turned to look at the colleague who still had a cloak wrapped around him and was wearing his hood up, covering his face except for his eyes. "Why am I here?"

Anya scoffed at me, "Shit! Did I hit you that hard?" She said frowning at me, "You stole the ruby, remember?"

I closed my eyes in frustration as the ruby was brought up again. I honestly do not understand why they are going crazy for one gem. "Yes, I know that." I said speaking slowly, "I mean why am I here in the prince's room? I mean, shouldn't I be in a dungeon?"

"Oh, that can be arranged." Anya stated, "And it was actually my first option but unfortunately your wretched life has become more valuable and we need to keep you safe."

I arched a brow up as I eyed them warily, "Safe from what? You guys?"

The cloaked figure stepped forward, "Believe me there are worse creatures than us and when they know what you have, they will come for you."

"But that's the thing, I do not have anything!" I yelled at them in frustration, "Haven't any of you been listening? What I did was steal the ruby and sell it, I don't have it with me, it's gone!"

"Is it though?" The man said and in one swift movement, he crossed the room and grabbed me by the wrist even though I tried to protest. Yanking my sleeves up, he pointed at the rune around my wrist. "Then how do you explain this?" He asked staring at me but all I could do was stare back at him because I wasn't sure exactly how to answer the question.