SWNOVELS Chapter Nine: Marley
“WAKE UP!”
Marley jolted, pain shooting through her back as she glared up at Sawyer who had taken the bed the night before and caused her to sleep on the floor. Loud banging came from the front door as she stood and grabbed her dagger before making her way towards it.
“MARLEY! WAKE UP!”
She opened the door, a frantic Ava ran straight in a closed the door behind her before speaking. “My Alpha, he picked up your scents! You need to leave now!”
Marley could hear distant howling as she stared at Ava for a few seconds before running back into the room to wake up Saywer, just to find him standing in the doorway with a glare on his face. “How?”
Ava shook while she looked out the living room window. “I don’t know! but I can help.”
She felt her heart jump more and more as she looked down at her shaking hands and tried to hide them. “How are you going to help us?”
“I can suck you two into a different location. I have never done it before but I know how to do it.”
Marley bit her lip, eyeing Saywer and his silence before she made the decision for the both of them. “Do it!”
Ava nodded, getting Marley to stand next to Saywer before speaking. “I had fun meeting you guys.” She smiled. “I don’t get to meet new people outside of my pack and it was nice to meet a human and... whatever he is.”
She softly laughed, her nerves getting the better of her as she could hear the wolves coming closer. “It was nice to meet you as well Ava and thank you, thank you for everything.”
The girl grinned before Marley’s world began to spin. She felt her hands grab her head as her eyes squeezed shut, her heart feeling like it was about to jump out of her throat before it ended just as it began.
soft grass surrounded her as she opened her eyes and looked around, Sawyer beside her as he grunted and stood. “What the hell did she mean by that?”
“What?”
He looked down, a frown on his face before shaking his head and eying their surroundings. “She said, ′they stopped looking for her.’”
Marley sat on the grass in thought, she knew what those words meant but knowing was a whole different feeling. “It doesn’t matter.” She mumbled before also standing. “What do we do now?”
Sawyer side-eyed her. “First we need to figure out where we are.”
He was right, as her eyes passed every tree and every bush the slow realisation hit her. They were in the middle of nowhere and as someone who only knows the tiny island of her own home, she had no internal map to begin to start figuring out their surroundings. Marley bit her lip as she tried to think, there were trees, trees, trees and more trees.
She tried to tap into her instincts, she had gotten lost before. Her island was covered in forests and she would often times find herself standing in the middle of nowhere and having to find her own way back home but this time there is no home. She did not know what Saywer was looking for, nor had she asked but something kept stopping her so instead, she turned her body towards a direction and began to walk.
“Where are you going?”
Marley didn’t turn around as she talked. “Finding civilisation so I know where we are.”
He did not respond, the sound of his footsteps syncing with hers was the only sound they made as they walked. Every now and then she wanted to speak but didn’t know what to say, just in their short time of being stuck with each other, all they did was fight. It wasn’t like she was doing it on purpose either, he was just physically impossible to talk to.
Her eyes slightly looked over at him, a permanent scowl on his face. What she hated the most was the fact that he suited it. “My father stopped looking for me.” She suddenly spoke after taking her eyes off of him. “That is what Ava meant although, I didn’t hear her say anything.”
“She only said it to me.” He mumbled. “Why would he stop looking for you?”
Marley shrugged. “He was arranging my marriage with some guy.” She then chuckled to herself. “It is kind of funny when I think about it, not only did you save me from getting murdered but you also saved me from a lifetime of hell.”
he paused in his tracks, her confused eyes looked up at his face to see anger in his eyes. She wished that she didn’t understand that look but she sadly did, luckily, just as it appeared, it was hidden by a blank wall. “If you are randomly sharing then I have to.” He grumpily stated with his arms crossed. “My species have been at war with a witch for centuries, she has almost completely wiped us out however we found a solution. Amongst the depth of the caves in The Kingdom of Vampires is a crystal heart. In my dragon form, I need to swallow it to gain its-”
“Wait! this sounds like-”
“The Tales of the Crystal Heart, yes.” He spoke through gritted teeth. “It was turned into a story to hide the truth. Anyway, this witch has made it hard for me to find because she keeps sending Ghouls to hunt me down and kill me. That night, the ghoul who was going to kill you was after me.”
Her lips slightly parted. “Ghouls... how could they exist?”
“How could any of us exist.” He shrugged. “My home, in my waters are mermaids. You will never see them anywhere else.”
Marley’s eyes widened, a wide grin forming on her face as she looked up at him. “I want to meet a mermaid! I have always wanted to meet one but I was told they were extinct... Actually, I was told that dragon shifters were all dead as well but... ”
He chuckled, a foreign sound that she wished she could hear more of. “After we find this heart and kill this witch, I will take you to my kingdom and show you the mermaids.”
She could feel her heart melt at his words as she looked forward and silently squealed to herself. As girly as it was, she has always loved the idea of mermaids. Being able to swim for hours without needing air, having a tail and being able to lure men to their deaths with just her voice. It sounded magical, impossible but magical.
She was so caught up in her mind that she didn’t notice Sawyer staring at her with a distant look or the two elves staring at them in confusion.