GIFTED RILEY by Lacy Mierr

Chapter 64: Searching For Freedom

*Riley*

I crept through the winding halls of the house, utterly lost. There was no way to tell how to get out of here and I was sure I was more than lost at this point. I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up right back to where I started in the first place.

Moving through it all, I was pretty lucky in hiding away from the guards who were walking around mindlessly. It was easy enough to hear which way had people, so I would just redirect whenever I heard loud voices one way or the next.

Nothing was recognizable here. There weren’t any pictures on the walls and there wasn’t any unique furniture either. So trying to know where I had been already was nearly impossible.

I give these monsters one thing, they were great at making mazes for their prisoners.

I slowly crept through the building, my body sore from the misuse I was put through. My bare feet padded softly on the wood floor. At least having no shoes made it easier for me to soften my footfalls.

It felt like I had been trekking through this building for hours now. At some point, I made it down one hallway where I heard guards coming in my direction.

I glanced around for another hallway I could duck down, but there was nowhere to go as they closed in on me. That meant I would have to take my chances behind one of the doors.

I sucked in a breath, throwing a prayer to the Goddess that I didn’t walk into a guard’s meeting. Then I pushed into the door on my right. Just in time as the voices grew closer, seemingly pausing right in front of the door I had chosen..

I leaned against the door with my eyes closed and a sigh escaping my parted lips. I could feel the blood rushing in my ears while my heart was beating rapidly in my chest. The adrenaline running through my body forced me to have to think extra hard while my instinct tried taking over.

I finally took in my surroundings around the room as the guards didn’t seem to be moving any time soon. I flicked on a lamp nearby, worried that the main light would be too much and alert the people outside.

I seemed to be in a bedroom that looked to be unused for the most part. Dust was collecting on every surface. Everything looked to be otherwise tidy. Not a single thing moved out of place and there were little to no clothes in the drawers or closet.

The bed, which I didn’t think to check since there had been no movement with me turning on the lamp, made me freeze in my spot.

There was a lump underneath the comforter and sheets. I had half a mind to turn the light off again and ditch the room, but it was weird for

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Chapter 64 Searching For Firedom

them not to have woken up already with my intrusion.

I crept forward a little towards them with furrowed brows. My breath was stuck in my chest for a second time when I nearly mistook the person for Malik.

He had the same features, like his face structure. The same noise, same thin lips. If I opened their eyes, I was sure they would be the same color as well. But there was something wrong.

He was as pale as the white sheets under him. If he was breathing, I couldn’t tell how still this man was. He was completely lifeless. Like a corpse set on a pretty bed.

He was nothing like the Malik I had seen tyranting around. He seemed. all-powerful in some moments. If he and this man were to be the same person, then that just added to the amount of things wrong with Malik.

However, when I glanced at the nightstand beside the bed, I

understood. It was a picture of the man in the bed full of life and with a large grin – and Malik. Malik had an arm around the man in a playful

armlock.

The confusion began to set in. This guy on the bed was related to Malik, but it was kind of hard to tell from this picture. They could have been brothers with a large age gap, though it seemed more likely that this one was a son of his instead.

That would have to be it. Malik had his lifeless son set casually in one

Chapter Searching For Freedo

of the many rooms in this house. That wasn’t weird at all.

I backed away from the stranger, back towards the door. I pressed my ear to the heavy door, trying to hear for anyone on the other side still waiting for me. I waited a few moments without hearing anything before it was time to make my exit again.

I slowly opened the door, peeping my head out to look back and forth. There was no one in either direction, luckily. I took a deep breath to get the most of this small break then exited the sanctuary.

With a look around, I went to the right. Which should have been the direction I was going in the first place. Looking for that elusive exit once again.

It was another ten minutes of tracking through the halls when I came across a new landmark.

There were stairs down to the first floor. I hadn’t even realized I was on the second floor. I probably should have looked out the window while I was in that bedroom. It would have told me a lot, but the panic had already set in.

I inched towards the railing, glancing down at the floor below. I couldn’t see anyone below me at all and I couldn’t hear anyone either.

Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t heard anyone in the halls for a long time either. Perhaps they were in some sort of meeting. That would work out for me. It only meant that I didn’t have anything to

Chapter 64 Searching For Freedom

worry about while I ran as far as I could from here.

The double doors in front of the staircase were clearly an exit. One that I was ready to take.

Yet, I was still quiet as I moved down the stairs. I didn’t want to get caught so close to my freedom.

My hand caught the door handle, sighing a breath of relief. I was going to get out of here! This was it! I thanked my goddess for her help, swinging the heavy door open.

All of the relief I felt drained from my body as my eyes made contact with just the man I was trying to avoid.

“Now… Where do you think you’re going?” Malik grinned down at me with his arms crossed over his chest.

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