The Bride

Chapter 38//: Is it really you?

Lucas lets out a sigh. "Whatever. Just remember that what's about to happen to you is entirely your fault."

The guard frowns, his eyes narrowing into slits. "What the hell do you-"

He's cut off by Damon grabbing him by the neck and pulling him into a chokehold. The other guard jumps to attention, ready to defend his comrade, but Lucas jumps on him. They both let out startled cries, but Lucas and Damon are quick to quiet their voices.

I run past them, jumping out of reach as one of the guards tries to grab me and stop me from running in. I knew it would only be a matter of time before the guards used their abilities to knock down Damon and Lucas, and then they'd be after me.

Running into the palace feels surreal; the extravagant interior and high ceilings are familiar to me. I rush down the halls, praying that there won't be guards stopping me anytime soon. But that was definitely the least of my worries. My biggest worry right now was figuring out where Ahren was.

There were no guests loitering in the halls. That means the coronation has probably already started. I remember the guard saying there were Silencers in the throne room. After thinking for a moment, I decide to start by looking for the throne room.

But I don't move an inch. I rack my brain, trying to remember back to the tour almost three months ago from when I had first arrived to the palace. But as I try harder to think about it, my memories leave me. Panic claws at me; I couldn't remember at all where the throne room was.

I had no time to waste. Nathan would be preparing to kill Ahren at any moment. I start walking quickly down one hall, trying my best to listen for any voices that would possibly lead me to the throne room.

My feet are soft on the marble, not making any sound. I barely breathe, focusing all of my attention on listening for voices.

After walking for a couple seconds longer, I give up on this hallway. I haven't heard anything yet, and I doubt I will if I keep on walking through this hall. I turn around and make my way back to the entrance hall.

I stand there, trying to decide if I should go straight or left. But I quickly make my decision once I hear the clamp of boots that sound like it belongs to a guard. I go down the left hallway.

My pulse is quick, my feet quicker, as I make my way down the long hall. There was a mental clock in my head ticking down the seconds I had left.

I almost let out a loud cry of relief as I hear the faint sound of a voice floating towards me. I walk quicker down the hall, the voice getting louder and louder. It was muffled, but I could definitely catch words like "promise" and "uphold". It sounded like an oath of some sort.

My steps slow down as I spot two guards stationed at a door. If there were guards here, this was definitely the room Ahren was in.

The thought of seeing him again was unreal, and I was worried for a second that this was all just a dream and I was going to wake up back in that cell in the Rogue Dawn base. I take in a deep breath, my heart beating erratically. It was time to go, to stop Nathan from causing any more harm to people.

I exhale slowly. I had to go now. There was no time to waste. I rush over to where the guards are, who are looking at me like they are ready to dismiss me as soon as I reach them.

"Ma'am, do you have an invitation to the coronation of His Majesty?" one of them asks me doubtfully as she looks me up and down.

I ignore her question. "You have to let me in. There's someone dangerous that's planning on assassinating the prince, and I need to stop him," I say in one breath. The two guards merely look at me like I'm a crazy person.

"Ma'am, I assure you, our security is very good today," the other guard starts saying. I cut him off with a harsh look. I wasn't going to stand here and listen to him repeat the same words the guards outside had uttered.

"Well your security won't be enough to stop this man. You're going to have to let me in now." I move past them, already grabbing the door handle. The woman slaps my hand away, glaring at me with a hand on her gun strapped to her hip.

"Who do you think you are coming here and trying to get in to the throne room?" she demands. I stare back at her coolly.

"I'm Madison Williams, that's who I am," I snap back. My words have the effect I had hoped it would have on them. They stagger away from me in shock, staring at me with wide eyes. I pay them no attention as I push past them and open the doors with no hesitation.

I rush in to the throne room, my eyes looking around the room until they land on the person standing straight ahead of me. My breath catches in my throat as I stop in the middle of the room.

Ahren, to say the least, looks shocked to see me. His grey eyes scan my face in disbelief, his mouth hanging open as he stares at me. He blinks rapidly as if to make sure I'm not a hallucination his mind has conjured. As he stares at me, I do the same to him. I take in his polished military uniform and his neat black hair. However, he also looks extremely tired. His skin is pale and there are dark circles under his eyes, hinting at the sleepless nights he's had.

Seeing Ahren in person again, something that I had thought not possible these past few days, makes the events of the past few weeks bubble over inside of me. I let out a short, breathless laugh as tears start to gather in the corner of my eyes.

I couldn't believe it. I had actually made it. Ahren was alive and well.

Ahren finally speaks. "Madi?" He whispers my name gently, almost as if he's afraid that I'll disappear if he says it any louder. "Is it really you?" he asks in awe.

Something lodges in my throat upon hearing him say my name, and I can only nod in response as I give him a watery smile. I take a step towards him.

A shadow moves in the corner of my eyes.

And then a shot rings out, and Ahren is falling to the ground as the guests scream in alarm.

♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~

I mean, were you guys really expecting them to truly be together again in this chapter?? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Okay, okay, I bet I really am tearing your guys' hearts apart. Buuuut like I said before, they have to go through a lot of pain before being together again.

Please don't murder me because of this chapter 😬

Have a great rest of your week guys! Or maybe I just made it worse with this chapter. Oops.

Don't worry, the next chapter will be up soon!

Glass_Sword