Chapter 129 129- Never Touch The Weird Glowing Orb
LEXI
LIES! HE IS LYING!!! The alarms are going off in my head. The realisation doesn’t creep in slowly, it hits all at once, sharp and unmistakable. He’s lying. Not clumsily, not even in a way that suggests he knows he’s being caught. That’s what makes it worse. He genuinely thought that would work. He thought he could get away with telling me he would take me somewhere safe, because in his mind… it probably IS safe. Just not for me. The thought makes something cold settle deep in my chest. He wasn’t trying to trick me with something obviously fake. He was trying to convince me of something he actually believes, that handing me over, controlling where I go, taking me somewhere I don’t want to be… is still ‘safe.‘ But… deep down, he doesn’t really believe it, which is why it’s a lie. That makes it worse. Much worse. Every instinct in me starts screaming at once, loud and urgent and impossible to ignore. It’s not subtle, it’s like alarms blaring in my head, drowning out everything else. My stomach drops, and a sharp, electric fear shoots down my spine. He does not think wherever he’s taking me is safe for me. Shit. I need to get out of here.
“Uh… thanks,” I say quickly, forcing my voice to sound lighter than I feel.
“But… I actually already know where I want to go. Besides, Blake will be here any minute, I’m sure. So I should probably… go meet him.” The words come out rushed and uneven, barely holding together as an excuse. I can hear it. I know it sounds bad. I am terrible at this. Bluffing, lying, thinking on my feet, none of it comes naturally to me. Still. Fake it till you make it, right? I start walking toward the door, forcing my posture to stay relaxed, like I’m not seconds away from bolting, like I don’t feel like prey standing in front of a predator. One step. Two. Three… and then my legs stop. Just… stop. Mid–step. Like I’ve run straight into an invisible wall. My body jolts slightly with the sudden halt, confusion flooding in for a split second before it’s replaced with something much worse. My legs feel wrong. Heavy. Numb. Like they don’t belong to me anymore. No. No, no, no! shit! I twist sharply, heart slamming against my ribs, and look over my shoulder. The professor stands there, completely still, one hand hovering over some kind of glowing orb he’s pulled from his desk. The light pulses faintly beneath his palm, magic steady and controlled. Of course. Of course. Damn it.
“I need you to stay right here while I call the hunters over,” he says calmly. His voice is completely different now. Cold, flat and certain. All the concern from earlier, the urgency, the willingness to help, it’s gone. Not fading. Gone. Like it was never real to begin with. My chest tightens painfully. Really? Him? He’s the one? Out of everyone… HIM? The quiet, ancient, slightly grumpy teacher whose name I never even bothered to learn?
“You?” I demand, the word coming out sharper than I intend.
“Seriously?” I ask. He shrugs, completely unbothered.
“Yes, me,” he says simply.
“I’m old. It’s time.” he adds. I stare at him, trying to process that.
“That’s it?” I ask, disbelief bleeding into my voice.
“That’s your reasoning?” My mind scrambles to make sense of it, grasping at the most obvious explanation.
“So… you want my horn so you can stop ageing?” I ask. He scoffs, visibly disgusted.
“No,” he says sharply.
“I’m not a monster. I don’t want to live forever.” He tells me, like I’m being ridiculous somehow. I blink, because apparently there are limits. Kidnapping me? Acceptable. Selling me? Fine. Immortality? Absolutely not.
*I’m just tired,” he continues, almost conversational now.
“Students. Lectures. Repeating the same material year after year. Answering the same questions over and over again.” He gestures vaguely, like he’s describing something mildly inconvenient instead of explaining why he’s about to hand me over to people who want to carve me up.
1/3
Chapter 129 129 Never Touch The Weird Glowing Orb
“I want to retire. And I want to be comfortable when I do.” he says. My stomach twists.
“You are worth a great deal of money to a lot of people.” The words land heavily. Not shocking. Just… wrong.
“So this is what I need to do. You understand, right?” he finishes. I just stare at him, because I don’t. I don’t understand how he can say all of this like it’s reasonable, like it’s justified, like I should agree with him. He is just looking at me like I’m not even a person. That look… I’ve never been looked at like that before. Which… is why I know I won’t stay mad at Blake, in fact, any anger I had at him is basically gone now. He messed up, but he never looked at me like I’m not a person. Not really. We need to talk things out, and we will. Assuming I don’t die in the next few hours that is… Then he moves, lowering the orb back onto the desk and reaching into his pocket, and pulls out a phone. I blink once. Twice.
“You… you lied to me.” I say slowly, then sharper.
“You do have a phone!“1 point out. Of all the things happening right now, THIS is what snaps something in me. He rolls his eyes.
“I told you I rarely carry the infernal thing. Not that I didn’t have it with me now.” he says smugly. My jaw tightens. Right. Technically true. Still a lie. I swallow hard, frustration and fear tangling together in my chest. I really need to get better at this. At spotting it. At asking the right questions. At dealing with people who know how to twist the truth just enough to get what they want. Because I’m not used to this. I’m not used to people knowing I can tell when they lie, and working around it anyway. I’m not devious enough for this. And unless I figure out a way out of this situation very quickly… that’s not going to matter anymore.
The professor starts to dial a number on his phone, completely calm, like this is just another task for him. My stomach twists as I watch him, my legs still locked in place, that numb, heavy feeling refusing to let me move.
“Hello? Yes. I have her. She’s in my office,” he says, his tone flat and businesslike. He pauses, then sighs heavily, irritation bleeding into his voice.
“What do you MEAN you don’t know where my office is?” he demands. I blink, thrown for a moment by how… annoyed he sounds. Not excited. Not tense. Just frustrated. He turns away from me, pacing the room as he starts trying to give directions, speaking sharper and faster as whoever he’s talking to continues to get it wrong.
“No, not that door, no, you’ve gone too far, turn around, no, the other way!” he snaps. After a moment, he moves toward the window and peers outside, his expression tightening.
“Wait, I see you! You aren’t even going to the correct damn building!” he hisses. There’s a pause, then his frustration spikes again.
“Huh? What do you mean you followed the sign? There is no sign here!” he insists angrily. A sign? There shouldn’t be a sign here. My thoughts stutter, then something clicks into place. The Academy. It’s interfering. It’s buying me time. A flicker of hope sparks in my chest, small but real. My neck is starting to ache from being twisted toward him, so I slowly turn back toward the door. Watching him isn’t helping me, and right now I need every scrap of focus I can get. The door is only a few steps away, so close and yet it feels impossibly far. My vision swims slightly as I stare at it, the edges blurring just enough to make it look like it’s shaking. I blink hard, trying to steady myself, and then I hear it. A faint sound. A soft rattle. Someone is trying to open the door. I glance back at the professor, but he’s still pacing, still arguing, completely absorbed in the call. He hasn’t noticed. My heart starts racing again, but this time it’s not just panic. It’s hope. Whoever is on the other side of that door might help me. Or they might make this worse. But honestly, I don’t think things can get much worse than this. It’s a risk, but it’s the only one I have. I swallow hard, my throat dry, and focus on the door.
“Please, open it.” I whisper to the Academy, my voice barely there. For a split second, nothing happens. Then I hear it, a soft, distinct click as the lock releases, and I hold my breath.
2/3
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.
