Chapter 05: A Glimpse of Trust
Roxie’s breath caught in her throat as she pressed her back to the cold, stone wall, doing her best to blend into the shadows. The footsteps, heavy and deliberate, echoed down the narrow passageway. Dorian’s hand was firm on her arm, guiding her silently as they moved deeper into the shadows, trying to stay ahead of whatever—or whoever—was coming their way.
The sound grew louder, and Roxie’s heart thudded in her chest, each beat a reminder that the danger they were in was far from over. Her thoughts raced, the adrenaline pumping through her veins as her mind tried to calculate the best course of action. They couldn’t be caught. Not now, not when she was so close to figuring out how to get back to Earth.
Dorian’s grip tightened, and he motioned for her to follow as he ducked into a small alcove, hidden from view. Roxie followed him without question, her feet moving swiftly and quietly. They crouched, the walls pressing in from all sides, and waited in tense silence.
Through the cracks in the stone, Roxie could just make out the faintest silhouette moving past—two guards in armor, their weapons drawn, eyes scanning the darkness. They were on high alert.
Roxie held her breath, praying they wouldn’t be spotted. She could feel Dorian’s presence beside her, his body stiff with concentration, every muscle coiled like a spring, ready to spring into action.
The guards passed by, their footsteps fading into the distance, and Roxie allowed herself to exhale in relief. But there was no time to relax.
Dorian rose to his feet first, motioning for her to follow. “We need to move,” he said, his voice low, his eyes scanning their surroundings as he led the way.
Roxie followed, but her mind was still reeling. She’d never been in a situation like this before—never been so close to the edge of disaster. The tension between them was palpable, but it wasn’t just the guards that had her on edge. It was Dorian himself.
He was hiding something. She could feel it in the way he moved, in the way his eyes flicked to her, always guarded, never fully open. Roxie couldn’t decide if he was someone she could trust or if he had his own agenda.
But for now, they needed each other. She didn’t have the luxury of second-guessing every move he made. She needed to focus on getting herself—and him—out of this mess.
They moved through the winding corridors, each turn bringing them deeper into the heart of the palace. The air was thick with tension, and Roxie couldn’t help but notice how the quiet was beginning to press in on her. The palace was more like a maze than she had ever imagined, its corridors seemingly endless and its walls whispering with secrets long buried.
Finally, they came to a door, its surface sleek and metallic, unlike the rest of the stone walls around them. Dorian’s hand hovered over a small panel beside it, and with a subtle click, the door slid open.
“After you,” Dorian said, his voice low but not without an edge of amusement.
Roxie didn’t hesitate. She stepped into the room, her eyes scanning the space ahead of her. It was a high-tech control center, far beyond the royal palace’s usual medieval architecture. Holographic screens blinked to life as they entered, casting eerie blue light on the room’s metallic walls. There were maps, star charts, and data feeds from across the galaxy.
“This is where it all happens, isn’t it?” Roxie said quietly, more to herself than to him.
Dorian didn’t answer at first. He walked over to one of the screens, his fingers flying over the interface. “This is where the crown keeps its most sensitive information. Plans. Resources. The stuff they don’t want anyone—especially outsiders like you—getting their hands on.”
Roxie raised an eyebrow. “You mean they’ve been tracking me this whole time?”
Dorian turned to face her, his expression unreadable. “They’ve been tracking everyone. The royal family doesn’t take chances. But they’ve underestimated us.”
Roxie was about to ask what he meant by that when the sound of footsteps echoed once more—this time, from multiple directions. Dorian’s eyes narrowed, and he moved swiftly to the far side of the room, pulling a hidden lever in the wall. A portion of the floor slid open, revealing a set of steep stairs leading downward.
“We’ve got to go. Now,” Dorian said, urgency clear in his voice.
Roxie didn’t need to be told twice. She followed him without hesitation, descending the stairs into the depths below. The moment they reached the bottom, the heavy door at the top slid shut with a resounding thud, sealing off their pursuers. But Roxie knew that wasn’t enough. They couldn’t just escape. They needed a plan.
They stood in the dimly lit chamber, the air thick with the smell of old machinery and the faint hum of a distant engine.
“What now?” Roxie asked, her eyes locking with Dorian’s. “We’re not safe yet.”
Dorian exhaled slowly, his gaze shifting toward one of the dimly flickering screens in the corner of the room. “We can’t keep running forever. We need to find a way to stop this.”
Roxie’s pulse quickened. “Stop what? The bounty hunters? The royal family? Or the whole damn galaxy from falling apart?”
Dorian turned to face her fully now, his eyes piercing, almost as though he were seeing her for the first time. “All of it. You’re not the only one stuck in the middle of a bigger game. I didn’t ask for this either, Roxie. But right now, we have no choice but to finish what we started.”
For a moment, the air between them seemed to crackle with something—something unspoken, a shift in the tension that had been building ever since they’d met. It was brief, fleeting, but it was there. And in that moment, Roxie realized that she wasn’t alone in this after all.
They were both tangled in this mess. And somehow, they would have to work together if they wanted to survive.
“Okay,” Roxie said, her voice steady despite the chaos swirling around them. “Then let’s finish this.”
Dorian gave a slight nod, his lips curling into the smallest of smiles. “We’re not out of trouble yet. But together, we might just stand a chance.”
And for the first time, Roxie believed him.
