Chapter 116 116- Never Add ‘Surprise‘ Items To His Hoard
LEXI
I stare at the door. It looks exactly the same as it did a minute ago, solid, reinforced, completely ordinary. Except now it feels different. Heavier. Final. I know it’s locked. I heard it. I felt it in the way the sound echoed through the room. But I still reach for the handle anyway, my fingers curling around it before I can stop myself. I twist it and pull. Nothing. I pull harder. Once. Twice. Three times. It doesn’t move so much as a millimetre. It’s like it was never meant to open from this side at all. Slowly, my hand slips away from the handle. I don’t move for a moment. I just stand there, staring at it, waiting for something to change. For him to come back. For this to somehow undo itself. But the door stays shut. Locked. Silent. Empty on the other side. My legs give out gradually and I lower myself to the ground, my back pressing against the door as if that might somehow bring me closer to him. It doesn’t. There’s nothing there but cold, solid metal and the memory of the lock clicking into place. I feel… Nothing. Completely numb. I can’t believe he just did that. I can’t. Why would he do that? My thoughts start scrambling, trying to make sense of it, trying to force this into something I understand. He’s scared. I know he is. I saw it in his eyes, that sharp, intense, almost feverish look. He’s been on edge ever since people started hunting me. Ever since things stopped being hypothetical and started becoming real. But he was so confident before. So sure that he could protect me without taking everything from me. That I wouldn’t have to give up my life. He was the one who made me believe that. So what changed? What flipped? Because this isn’t that. This is something else. It’s like something inside him just… Took over. My stomach twists as I remember Principal Istvan’s warning. The one I didn’t want to believe. The one I pushed aside because it didn’t fit with what I knew about Blake. About how he treated me. About how he looked at me. Be careful of Blake. You might be his weakness. He might try to control you. I squeeze my eyes shut, shaking my head slightly like I can push it away again. I don’t want to believe that. I still don’t. I want to trust him. But he is making it REALLY damn hard. I don’t think he’s going to hurt me. Not physically. I know that much. But trap me? Keep me here? Locked away like this, cut off from everything and everyone? I never thought I would even have to consider that. But now… Now I’m not so sure. I thought he cared about me. About me. Not just what I am. Not just what I represent. I thought he loved me. But now I don’t know what he sees when he looks at me anymore. A person… Or a treasure. Something rare. Something precious. Something too valuable to risk losing. Something to keep. My breathing stutters and I try to take a deep breath, but it doesn’t work. It catches in my chest, tight and wrong. My hand flies up instinctively, pressing against my sternum as if I can force my lungs to cooperate. I’m shaking. I hadn’t even realised it until now, but my whole body is trembling, small uncontrollable movements I can’t seem to stop. My vision blurs and hot tears spill over before I can catch them, sliding down my cheeks. Then the numbness breaks. A sob tears out of my chest, loud and sharp and completely out of my control. Fear crashes in first, cold and overwhelming. Then hurt. Then something worse, something deeper. Betrayal. Because this isn’t just about being locked in a room. It’s about him. About Us. About the fact that the one person I trusted to keep me safe… Is the one who just trapped me here. I wanted us to be partners, to take care of each other. Now I doubt that Blake is even capable of that. And that hurts more than anything else.
Time passes. I have no idea how much, because I don’t have my damn phone. I regret that immediately. In the rush, it didn’t seem important. Now it feels like the dumbest mistake I’ve ever made. If I- no, WHEN I get out of here, I am keeping that thing glued to my hand permanently. I force myself to take a few slow, steady breaths, dragging the air into my lungs even though it still feels tight and uneven. Eventually, the shaking settles just enough that I can push myself up onto my feet. Blake will come back. He has to. And when he does… I’ll figure it out. I’ll talk him down. Convince him he’s being completely unreasonable, overprotective, insane. Or… If that doesn’t work… I’ll run. The thought sits heavy in my chest. But I don’t let myself dwell on it. Not yet. Instead, I look around the room again, really look this time. If I’m stuck here for now, I’m not just going to sit on the floor and cry. I’m going to do something. And if that means going through his hoard? Then that’s his own fault. He locked me in here. I start wandering slowly between the shelves, my
steps quieter now, more deliberate. The space feels different when I’m not overwhelmed by it. Still excessive. Still unbelievable. But now I can actually take things in. I reach out and pick up a necklace, the chain cool against my fingers, the weight of the emeralds heavier than I expected. They catch the light as 1 turn it, deep green flashing in sharp angles. It’s beautiful. Ridiculously so. I set it back exactly where I found it. A few steps later, I pick up a tiara, an actual tiara, set with some kind of blue stone that almost seems to glow from within. It looks ancient. Important. Like it belongs in a museum, not… Sitting casually on a shelf. I turn it carefully, studying the detail, then place it back just as gently. I find a book next. The cover is worn but intricate, the pages filled with images of people I don’t recognise, clothing, places, symbols that feel unfamiliar and important all at once. I can’t read the text, but the illustrations alone are stunning. I flip through a few pages, then close it and return it to its place. I’m not here to take anything. I’m not like that. But as I move through the room, something shifts in my chest again. That earlier hurt, still there, still raw, starts to twist into something sharper Anger. Without really thinking about it, I reach up and pull out the earrings Blake gave me. The gold catches the light just like everything else in this room, like they belong here. Like I belong here. The thought makes something in my chest snap. I drop them onto one of the piles without ceremony. The necklace I’m wearing follows a second later, the soft clink of it landing on gold louder than it should be. I unclasp the bracelet next, my fingers hesitating slightly as the metal loosens around my wrist. For a second, I just hold it there. This one feels different Giving it up feels… Final Like I’m making a decision I can’t take back. My chest tightens again. But I can’t bring myself to put it back on either. Not right now. Not after what he just did After a moment, I tuck it into my pocket instead, pressing it down like I can hide it from myself as much as anything else. I’ll figure it out later. Right now. I keep moving. Because standing still makes it too easy to think. And thinking… Thinking hurts too much.
All of a sudden, the vault door opens. The sound is sharp and sudden, slicing through the quiet, and I spin around instantly, heart jumping into my throat,
1/3
8:17 pm
Chapter 116 116- Never Add ‘Surprise‘ Items To His Hoard
hope surging so fast it almost hurts.
“Blake.” The word dies on my lips. It’s not him. A woman stands in the doorway instead. She’s tall, poised, her dark hair falling reatly over her shoulders, ber posture straight and controlled in a way that feels… Deliberate. Her eyes catch the light as she steps forward slightly, zolden. The same molten, unsettling gold as Blake’s. My stomach drops. His mother. It has to be.
“Hello, I manage, my voice hoarse and rough from crying, I quickly swipe at my face, trying to get rid of any evidence of it, but it’s pointless. Between the tears and the flight, I probably look like an absolute disaster. She doesn’t react to that.
“Hello.” She replies calmly, her gaze sweeping over me in a way that makes my skin prickle. It’s not unfriendly. Not hostile. Just… Assessing, Like she’s trying to understand what she’s looking at.
“Uh… I’m Lexi.” I say, because apparently my brain has decided introductions are still important right now.
“Blake brought me here.” I add, not wanting her to think I’m some random person who has broken into her son’s hoard.
“I know.” She answers simply. There’s something about the way she says it that makes my chest tighten. Of course she knows. Of course she would. I shift slightly, glancing past her toward the hallway, toward the open space beyond her shoulder.
“So… I kind of need to leave…” I trail off, trying to sound casual. Reasonable. Like this is a normal request. She raises an eyebrow but doesn’t move. Doesn’t step aside. The doorway stays blocked. i don’t even consider trying to push past her. I might be upset, but I’m not stupid. She may be smaller than Blake. but she’s still a dragon. And unlike Blake… I have no idea where her limits are.
“I’ve seen pictures of you.” She says suddenly. The shift in topic catches me off guard.
“Online.” She continues, her gaze sharpening slightly.
“You’re the unicorn that was found at my son’s school.” She points out. I swallow and nod. There’s no point denying it.
“Yes.” I arower. Her eyes linger on me for a moment longer.
“You’re valuable.” She says. The word hits wrong. It’s cold and clinical.
“And Blake brought you here…” She continues, almost thoughtfully now.
“He did well. She remarks. My stomach twists.
“The only living unicorn… You’re a very good treasure. Precious.” She adds, like she’s reciting something factual. My breath catches. Precious. The word echoes in my head, too loud, too familiar. Too close to everything I was just thinking. Everything I was afraid of.
“I wonder if he would be willing to trade you. Hm… I’ll have to ask him.” She muses lightly. My chest drops.
“What? No, 11 start, panic flaring sharp and immediate, my voice rising without my permission. But she’s already turning away Like I didn’t speak Like it didn’t matter. The door closes. The lock clicks. And just like that, I’m alone again. Only now it’s worse. Because it’s not just Blake anymore. It’s this. This world. This reality. Where I’m not a person. Where all I am is something rare Something valuable. Something that can be locked away or traded
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
