President's Daughter's Bodyguard-Chapter 118: Wake Up!

Chapter 118: Wake Up!

Danielle woke up to the sound of soft chanting. Her eyelids felt heavy, as if someone had pushed warm sand over them.

She tried to breathe, but the air around her was thick, heavy, and humid.

It smelled like burning herbs and sweat. When she lifted her head, she realized she was lying on a cold stone floor with a rough blanket beneath her.

Her heart began to race.

She was alive.

She remembered the heat around her, flames rising, and the sound of a deafening explosion. She remembered Theo. She remembered Frank’s body. She remembered the shock. Then everything went dark.

Now she was in a room lit by firelight. Faint shadows moved on the walls. She blinked until the shapes settled into the outline of a heavy wooden door and thick stone columns. There was no window.

Danielle placed a hand on her ribs and winced. Her entire body throbbed, but not the way it should have after an explosion. She felt bruised, yes, but not broken.

Trying to move her wrists, Danielle paused when she felt rope. It was soft, and warm against her skin, like it had been chosen to avoid injuring her.

Panic crawled up her throat.

Someone wanted her alive.

She heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the door. She pressed her back against the wall and held her breath. The chanting became louder, like a sea of voices rising and falling together.

A woman stepped inside.

Her face was familiar. Danielle stared, convinced she was seeing something impossible. The woman wore a loose robe that revealed her hips and ribs. Her hair was braided with beads. Her eyes looked tired, frightened, and yet strangely calm.

She knelt in front of Danielle the same way someone kneels at an altar.

"Stay quiet," the woman whispered. "They think you are asleep."

Danielle tried to speak, but her throat scratched. The woman pressed a finger to her lips. Danielle stared at her, trying to understand, trying to place the face that seemed to echo something from her past.

The woman leaned closer and hushed, "You know me. Or you knew me."

"You cannot be real," Danielle muttered.

"I am. And I should not be."

The woman sat back on her knees and looked toward the door as if expecting someone to rush in. The chanting continued outside, rising and falling like waves hitting cliffs.

The woman said, "Argash wanted you alive."

Danielle felt a cold shiver move down her back. She curled her fingers into fists. "Why?"

The woman swallowed. "The Ceremony of the First Breath."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

The woman shook her head, "It is why I told them you were unconscious. If they knew you woke up early, they would begin the preparation."

Danielle’s breath came out uneven. "Where is Theo?"

The woman closed her eyes for a moment before answering. "They are bringing him."

Danielle felt something crack inside her. "He saw me explode," her voice trembled. "He thinks I died."

"Yes," the woman replied. "That is part of their plan. They needed him broken. They needed him bleeding and desperate. They believe you have some way to control him."

Danielle stared at her with disbelief. "Theo will kill them."

The woman looked down at the floor. "That is what they want."

The words hung in the air like smoke that refused to fade.

Danielle leaned forward and whispered, "You are Helena, right?"

The woman nodded slowly, guilt covering her face like a shadow.

Danielle asked, "How many of you are here?"

"Too many...Many were taken. Many were born into this place. Many don’t even know there is another world outside these walls. They only know the chants, the rituals, and the orders. They live and die inside the mountain."

Danielle felt a sick feeling spread through her stomach.

The woman reached out and placed shaking hands on Danielle’s shoulders. "Listen to me. Theo is being brought here. He lost a lot of blood. He is barely conscious. When he wakes up, the first face he will see will be Argash’s."

Danielle’s nails dug into her palms.

"No...I have to get out. I have to find him. I have to warn him."

The woman looked terrified. "If you try to escape now, they will restrain you in front of everyone. Argash will turn you into a tool. You must wait."

Danielle shook her head. "They want to use me against him."

"Yes."

"They want him desperately."

"Yes."

"They want him unhinged."

"Yes."

Danielle glared at the door. "Then I will not let them."

The woman grabbed her arm. "You can’t fight them yet. Danielle, please. Listen to me. You do not know how many guards there are. You do not know the halls. You do not know what Argash has prepared. You must wait until I can get you out."

Danielle stared at her in silence. Her heartbeat was loud in her ears. She studied the woman’s trembling hands and frightened gaze. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"You knew Theo’s mother," Danielle whispered.

Helena flinched.

That was the truth...

Danielle saw it in her eyes.

"Yes."

Danielle leaned closer. "Then help me."

The woman shook her head in despair. "If I am caught helping you, they will kill me."

Danielle didn’t blink. "They will kill me too."

Something broke in the woman’s expression. She looked at Danielle like someone looking at a lost memory, someone she thought she would never see again.

She whispered, "Theo thinks he lost you. They wanted him in pain. They wanted him to walk into the mountain with his heart open and bleeding. They wanted the grief to change him."

Danielle felt heat rise behind her eyes.

"But if he sees you alive...he will change in a different way."

Danielle asked, "What way?"

The woman looked straight into her eyes.

"He will burn the entire mountain down."

Danielle didn’t respond. She felt her pulse pounding. She didn’t know whether to cry or scream or rip the ropes off her wrists.

Helena rose slowly to her feet.

"I will return before they bring him...You must stay where you are. Don’t move or not let them know you woke up."

Danielle reached for her. "What is going to happen when he arrives?"

The woman paused at the door. Her hand hovered over the handle.

"He will see the fire first...ThenHelena women. Then Argash."

Danielle swallowed hard.

"And then?"

"Then he will look for you."