Chapter 1.39: You Need to be Silenced

Her emotions were getting the best of her, and she needed to settle down. Taking out her hurt on Ezekiel wasn’t right. The comment was raw for him and she had to realize the Cleo he knew was a child. If she had mistreated him with ignorant words and statements, Leila could work on fixing it. They would have years together for her to learn about the two’s former relationship and how it could be fixed as adults. Still, it hurt like hell to have it all thrown back into her face so suddenly. The man hadn’t meant it that way subconsciously, but she wondered if deep down he did. Either way, it stung to the point that she had to gather her thoughts before addressing him properly.

Plus, from the look in the blonde’s eyes, he didn’t want to have that conversation here. They had to have it in private, and she would have to find a way to make it genuine. Leila couldn’t force this out of him with mind control. No, she had to start drawing a line somewhere with him. If they were to maintain a relationship after his freedom, she needed to act like a decent human being. This just made her internally groan, and she rubbed her eyes. Just one choice had changed the entire trajectory of their dynamic and his role in her plan. It was hard to be grateful for such an invasive power when it caused her physical and emotional pain at times. She laid her head against the carriage’s cool window and listened to its wheels grind on the ground.

The environment was a beautiful contrast to the tense thoughts swimming in her head. They were heading out of the forest and heading towards a large bridge. It looked sturdy enough that she wasn’t worried about anything happening and focused her attention on the water below. It was blue, making her wonder how untouched this place was by man-made pollution. In the real world, to come across water of this color, you would have to travel to a seaside location or go on a cruise. Leila noted that she’d try to organize a day on the lake with Alek sometime soon. They both could benefit from fresh air and the privacy would allow her control over his decisions.

‘Hopefully, I can do it before Cleo’s mother finds out about my schemes.’ She shuddered and rubbed at her forehead. The woman was a foe she didn’t want to deal with right now. Leila knew she’d lose in the end, so delaying it until she had a fighting chance was for the best. ‘That woman could ruin everything if I don’t play my cards right.’

"Cleo." Ezekiel's voice startled her out of her thoughts. He quickly grabbed her leg, forcing her to turn her attention to him. "Something's wrong."

Immediately, the long-haired teenager pushed away any prior issues they had to listen to him. The man had a dark look on his face that he directed outside the carriage. It put directly his free hand on his knife, itching to take it out. Leila had brought some weapons with her that were carefully hidden by her thighs. She looked towards the driver's compartment and noticed the man looked nervous. It drenched his face in sweat with his gaze unreadable. Quickly, she mentally prepared herself for an ambush. The man could be in on it or worse, the driver was an imposter. She didn't speak in case either theory was true. There was some anxiety bubbling up at the thought of a fight, but she shut it down.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

There was no time to worry. She would fight tooth and nail if it came down to it. The blonde tightened his grip on her leg and took his knife out. A low rumble filled their ears, coming from outside, beneath the bridge they nearly crossed. It was like the noise acted as a signal as the carriage stopped. Her eyebrow twitched as the sweaty man suddenly braked and a tense silence filled her ears. Whatever that noise was, it was a sign to get moving. The two travelers looked at one another. She gestured her head towards the carriage door and he nodded. As soon as he let her go, Leila kicked the door open. The driver yelped in shock at her move and then started to panic. The dark-haired heiress watched Ezekiel follow her while the other man demanded they get back in the carriage.

The bridge was mostly solid, with slight gaps in between each plank. It wobbled, not from the added weight but from something below. Leila grabbed onto a nearby rope to steady herself as the bridge swayed. Across from her, Ezekiel was watching the emptiness beneath them intently. There was a large drop before you were met with endless water. The water was swishing erratically, creating bigger and bigger waves with each cycle. The heiress was sure the movement wasn't natural. Growling, she looked around and found no one. But she was sure someone was controlling the sudden hurricane. She resisted the urge to slap herself. Of course, they'd eventually send a magic user after her. Leila wondered how strong they were and if she would have to expose her powers to fight them.

Either way, she had to get onto stable ground to have enough focus to defend herself. "Ezekiel! We have to get off this bridge!" She shouted with a high-pitched yelp as the bridge sharply snapped left.

This knocked her off of her feet and onto the planks. At the sight of her struggling, the guard ran over, nearly falling himself from the rapid swaying. Coming to her side, the man wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her. Leila felt her anxiety quadruple as he carried her across. The magic-user attacking them was making the water start to fly upward. Huge waves that took up nearly below came swimming upward. The carriage was flying around the bridge with the accomplice attempting to escape. This made her curse in disgust. The coward didn't even care if they killed their partner in their frenzied attack on her life. It was just like the royals throwing away the people who sacrificed to help them. The driver was learning that the hard way.

Ezekiel was panting as he ran. "This attack is too powerful for just one plant magic user to be here. They would be too tired from manipulating the plants in the lake to cause waves to fight us."

The dark-haired woman nodded. She had wondered how the lake itself was being controlled. "How many do you think are there?"

"Two, maybe even four." Once they got off the bridge, he let her down. Immediately, she took off her shoes in a rush while he observed the area. "What would you like me to do?"

Leila’s blood ran cold as she realized the man had fallen under her spell. She looked over at him and saw his eyes. They were no longer gold and focused, but purple with a shiny glaze. During the entire fight, she wouldn't be able to control him fully, and that worried her. Her hands balled into fists as she opened her mouth, only for it to clap shut. Something shot out from the ground, startling her into stepping back. Ezekiel quickly jumped out of the way but missed her arm to pull her with him. To her shock, it was large vines that had come out and they headed straight towards her. The assassin instinctively bent to the side to avoid them, but they followed and wrapped around her body.

"Cleo!" The guard cried out as it lifted her into the air. Leila let out a scream as it hurled her body into the abyss below within a second.