Her Legacy

XXVII. Remember

"They say time heals all wounds, but that presumes the source of the grief is finite." Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Prince

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Chapter XXVII – Remember

I was cold. I was hungry. And I really needed to pee. And I needed an aspirin.

Those were the feelings that came to the forefront of my mind as I regained my coherent thoughts. My head felt like it weighed two hundred pounds, like it was a mammoth effort just to lift it up. It was leaning against something hard behind me. I was against something.

The air smelled fresh. I was outside, hence why I was feeling so cold.

And my neck really hurt. I went to lift my arm to feel for any wounds, but I couldn't. My hands were bound. I blinked my eyes, letting in the light for what felt like the first time in ages. I squinted as my vision focused.

I was in the woods. What the hell ... how did I get here? Panic immediately set in as I realised that I was in a bad situation. Something had happened to me that was beyond my control. I struggled, realising properly now that I was tied to a tree. I had been taken, full on Liam Neeson taken, against my will and brought to the middle of nowhere.

My head snapped around as I panicked, looking for any markers, any signs of a trail, any campfire smoke in the distance. But aside from this clearing, the woods were so dense that I couldn't see anything.

The sun was rising. That meant that east was where the sun was, right? Not that it would do me any good knowing where east was if I had no freaking clue where I was. Was I still in Charlotte?

Holy shit. Someone had taken me against my will. Someone had tied me to this damn tree. Was I going to die?

Thinking about my own mortality made me freeze. I felt as if adrenaline was paralysing my body as I panicked, all sorts of horrible things flashing through my mind.

"Good morning."

I gasped in fright as a figure appeared in the clearing, making his way out of the dense forest. He was dressed for the weather, wearing a thick jacket, jeans, and heavy looking combat boots. I could see his tattoos poking out from the neck of his shirt. Lex was staring at me in a dark, disconnected way. He approached me, cocking his head as I recoiled, leaning as far back into the tree as I could.

He honestly looked like he had snapped. The almost evil blankness of his expression was practically sociopathic. I knew right this minute that I was the farthest thing from okay. Lex had snapped. He had taken me from safety as part of his warped mission for justice.

I was trembling. I could feel myself shaking, almost to the point where my wrists were getting burnt from the friction of the rope that was binding my wrists.

I was completely alone. I had no one to depend on but myself, and I needed to make myself safe.

"Lex," I said, my voice insane hoarse. "I haven't done anything wrong." I coughed, clearing my throat.

Lex's face cracked into a smile as he laughed. "I know you haven't, Sara. You're a by-product of a war you didn't start. Just like I am."

Okay, so I couldn't deflect blame off of myself. I searched my rapidly deteriorating brain for a plan B. "You need to let me go. You're holding me against my will. It's illegal. If you let me go now, I won't tell anybody what happened."

Lex just laughed even harder as he crouched down in front of me. He looked at me with his cold, icy eyes, cocking his head again, as if I were simple. "And what your father did wasn't illegal?" he challenged. "My father was only defending his pack and his territory. But your father couldn't just back off. He took it too far, and he murdered him!"