Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 861

Chapter 71 : The Dead City

I could barely catch my breath as I realized the entire city was still here and clearly full of people and life.

There was something off about the way the lights had turned on.

I could see into the streets of the city but I couldn't see any actual people.

Sure, lights were coming on all over the place, but where were the people? Initially, I thought the lights meant there were people still here in Myrel.

But where were they? Why weren't they coming out of the buildings to see what was going on? Ashudder ran through me when an eerie thought occurred to me.

Were there people at all? Maybe these lights were just responding to my presence like motion- sensored lights that came on when someone walked in front of them.

Had we discovered a dead city that still reacted when someone showed up? For some reason, that creeped me out in a whole different way.

I kept staring up at the lights as they came on, and that was exactly how Abe found me, dragging Jared along behind him.

Jared was a little pale, but he wasn't screaming in pain anymore.

His power had been contained, though it seemed like he was weak.

I couldn't tell if he was conscious...

his eyes were closed and his breathing was heavy and labored.

I knelt down next to him and put my hand on his forehead.

He didn't have a fever but his skin felt a little cold and clammy.

What had happened to him in the cave? Why had he lost control like that? What had caused him all that pain? "Eliza, we have a problem,"

Abe said.

He stood over me and Jared, his shadow swallowing us as more lights came on behind him.

Slowly, I stood up and pointed to the city above us.

Abe turned around and tilted his head back, looking at the city above us.

I heard him gasp and a strange look crossed his face.

"Okay, we've got two problems..."

Jared shuddered and opened his eyes.

Panting, he jumped to his feet.

"Hey.It's alright, we got you," I said, touching his shoulder.

Jared's eyes whipped around wildly.

Those big, beautiful, captivating orbs were so restless and unsettled.

I rubbed his arm comfortingly and finally, his eyes settled on me.

"Eliza.What...what happened?" He creased his brow.

"Don't you remember what happened in the cave?" I arched my eyebrow.

Jared had really scared me.I hadn't gotten around to doing what the vision of Draven had told me to do to help him.But he seemed recovered now...except for not being able to remember.He shook his head.

"No."

He pointed to all the lights, tilting his head back.

"What's going on up there?"

How could he not remember? He'd been in so much pain, screaming bloody murder.Maybe it was better that he didn't remember.I followed Jared's finger and saw he was pointing to the terrace above our heads where there were shadowy figures moving around.

Were they ghosts? Were they just shadows? At this angle and in this light, it was hard to tell.

"As I was saying, we've got a few problems," Abe jumped in again.

l opened my mouth to reply.

Crunch.

Crunch.

All three of us whipped around in the direction of the sound.

From the shadows, a woman appeared.

She walked slowly and gracefully, like she was floating across the cavern floor.

Barefoot, her toes peaked out under the hem of her white, flowy, cotton dress.

The dress wasn't elaborate, but against her tanned skin and dark hair, it glowed ethereally, making her seem like an otherworldly creature.

At this point, I was willing to believe anything was possible.

"Follow me," she said, beckoning us with her hand.

Her voice was distant and soft, like an echo resonating off the walls, barely above a whisper and yet firm enough to hear over the cascading waterfall nearby.I swallowed and stepped toward her, my feet acting on their own.

"Eliza, what are you doing?" Jared asked, grabbing my arm.

"She told us to follow her," I pointed after the woman.

"We don't know who she is or what she wants.We can't just follow her," he argued.

"I don't know...I just feel like I'm supposed to follow her...."

"Come on, Eliza, we're already in way over our heads here," Abe added, standing shoulder to shoulder with Jared.

Great.

Now they were both ganging up on me.

"Trust me, please," I begged, widening my eyes imploringly.

Jared's jaw tensed and he cast his eyes aside.

I knew how he got when he was trying to be protective, but I couldn't let that interfere with every lead we got.

This was important.

I was doing this to help him.

"Come, come, my children..."

Ashiver ran down my spine as the woman spoke again, that same otherworldly voice prickling the hairs on the back of my neck.

There was something familiar about her.

I couldn't shake the sense that I'd seen her before, but I knew I'd remember meeting someone like that.

Her voice alone was enough to chill me to the bone.I'd definitely remember that...Before Abe and Jared could protest more, I turned around and followed " the woman.The ledge we were on led to a path that angled up to the city.The strange woman was already on the path.I followed at a distance.

She didn't seem dangerous but I wasn't going to take any chances, not until I knew more about her and why she was so familiar.

Jared and Abel walked close behind me.

I could practically feel the tension coming off of them.

They were both on high alert.

We got to one of the roads into the city.

All the buildings were ancient W] and carved with incredibly intricate stone columns and sculptures.

It must have taken hundreds of years to carve all those delicate details.

Every building we passed, lights flicked on.

I didn't see anyone turning on the lights.

Most of the windows were covered and I couldn't see anyone I moving around inside.

i Was there anyone else there other than this mysterious woman? Had I really seen shadows on the terrace, or was that a figment of my ; imagination? We approached a large, well-lit building with a fountain out front : splashing sparkling water droplets in lovely spiral patterns.

Suddenly, the air filled with music.

An orchestra was playing inside the building we approached, and I could hear the song perfectly.

Gasping, I glanced at Jared.

The song was the same song from the locket...

I'd recognize that music anywhere.

The woman led us up a large, wide stone staircase into the building.

We found ourselves in a ballroom with cathedral ceilings.

It was huge, the largest room I'd ever been in.

Made of white marble with a matching floor, it was a very elegant room.

The orchestra music thrummed and echoed off the marble walls.

There was something else in the room too.

Misty shadows moved around me.

They swirled and flew around in intricate patterns.

I caught sight of pointed legs and outstretched arms as the mist took form and then became mist again.

After a moment, I realized they were dancing.

I turned to Jared and Abe.

"They're ghosts..."

"Ghosts?"

Jared asked, arching an eyebrow.

"You see them, don't you?"I asked, panic making my stomach gurgle.I remembered how Abe hadn't been able to see my vision of Draven in the cave.

Was I hallucinating again or having some kind of waking dream? "We see them,"

Abe assured.

"They're dancing.It is very beautiful and...little sad."

I sighed, hanging my head.

Jared came up behind me and put a comforting hand on my back.

I didn't know why it made me sad to see dancing ghosts.

I didn't know who they were or what had happened to them.

Still, my heart clenched slightly.

There was something tragically beautiful about ghosts dancing to an orchestra playing an old lullaby.

Finally, the woman who led us here turned to me.

In the bright light of the ballroom, I could finally see her features better.

Gasping, I took a half step back.

She had the same eye color as me, and there were other similarities between us.

Our body shape, skin tone, and hair were oddly similar.

I rubbed my palms together.

She looked even more familiar in the brighter light, and not just because we had similarities in our physical appearance.

Tilting my head, I studied her.

She didn't seem to notice or care as I looked her over.

Where had I seen her before? My dream...

I'd seen her in my dream.

She was Draven's mate....

"l know you," This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.

I blurted out.

"We've never met."

"I...it's hard to explain."

I bit my lower lip.

Did I really want to tell this woman I'd seen her in a dream? She didn't strike me as the type to be surprised by anything, but I didn’t want her to write me off immediately.

"I have the Cryptex."

Narrowing her eyes, the woman stepped forward.

She walked a half circle around me, examining me closely.

I felt like an ant under a magnifying glass as she studied me.

The only question now was whether she was just a curious child or whether she'd burn me with the reflection of the sun through the glass.

"What are you doing?"

Jared asked gruffly, a small growl rising in his throat.

The woman's eyes shifted.

She looked right past me at Jared.

Her eyes narrowed even more and she stepped back into a corner with shadows.

"Come with me," she said again, beckoning us into the shadows.

I immediately stepped forward.

Jared and Abe followed.

The woman came out of the shadows again and held up both her hands.

"Not you two."

She gave Jared and Abe a hard look.

"Only her."

She nodded at me.

"No.Eliza isn't going with you alone!"

Jared insisted.

"I've got this, Jared.We need to know," I said, holding a hand up to him.

Jared crossed his arms.

"I don't like it, Eliza.We don’t know where she's going to take you.The three of us are in this together.We shouldn't split up."

"tt will be fine," I assured him.

It wasn't like Jared didn’t have his reasons to be concerned after everything we'd already dealt with and what the Cryptex had done recently, not to mention what had just happened in the cave.

Yeah, he had good reason to worry.

The way he worried was kind of… adorable, especially since I knew I'd win.

He could huff and puff all he wanted, but we both knew that when I wanted to do something, I'd doit.

"I can do this," I promised.

"Eliza..." I ignored Jared's continued protests and followed the woman into the shadows.

The music stopped and I glanced back.All the dancing ghosts were gone.