Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 861

Chapter 71 : The Dead City

I could barely catch my breath as I realized the entire city was still here and clearly full of people and life.

There was something off about the way the lights had turned on.

I could see into the streets of the city but I couldn't see any actual people.

Sure, lights were coming on all over the place, but where were the people? Initially, I thought the lights meant there were people still here in Myrel.

But where were they? Why weren't they coming out of the buildings to see what was going on? Ashudder ran through me when an eerie thought occurred to me.

Were there people at all? Maybe these lights were just responding to my presence like motion-sensored lights that came on when someone walked in front of them.

Had we discovered a dead city that still reacted when someone showed up? For some reason, that creeped me out in a whole different way.

I kept staring up at the lights as they came on, and that was exactly how Abe found me, dragging Jared along behind him.

Jared was a little pale, but he wasn't screaming in pain anymore.

His power had been contained, though it seemed like he was weak.

I couldn't tell if he was conscious...

his eyes were closed and his breathing was heavy and labored.

I knelt down next to him and put my hand on his forehead.

He didn't have a fever but his skin felt a little cold and clammy.

What had happened to him in the cave? Why had he lost control like that? What had caused him all that pain? "Eliza, we have a problem,"

Abe said.

He stood over me and Jared, his shadow swallowing us as more lights came on behind him.

Slowly, I stood up and pointed to the city above us.

Abe turned around and tilted his head back, looking at the city above us.

I heard him gasp and a strange look crossed his face.

"Okay, we've got two problems..."

Jared shuddered and opened his eyes.

Panting, he jumped to his feet.

"Hey.It's alright, we got you," I said, touching his shoulder.

Jared's eyes whipped around wildly.

Those big, beautiful, captivating orbs were so restless and unsettled.

I rubbed his arm comfortingly and finally, his eyes settled on me.

"Eliza.What...what happened?" He creased his brow.

"Don't you remember what happened in the cave?" I arched my eyebrow.

Jared had really scared me.I hadn't gotten around to doing what the vision of Draven had told me to do to help him.But he seemed recovered now...except for not being able to remember.He shook his head.

"No."

He pointed to all the lights, tilting his head back.

"What's going on up there?"

How could he not remember? He'd been in so much pain, screaming bloody murder.Maybe it was better that he didn't remember.I followed Jared's finger and saw he was pointing to the terrace above our heads where there were shadowy figures moving around.

Were they ghosts? Were they just shadows? At this angle and in this light, it was hard to tell.

"As I was saying, we've got a few problems," Abe jumped in again.

l opened my mouth to reply.

Crunch.

Crunch.

All three of us whipped around in the direction of the sound.

From the shadows, a woman appeared.

She walked slowly and gracefully, like she was floating across the cavern floor.

Barefoot, her toes peaked out under the hem of her white, flowy, cotton dress.

The dress wasn't elaborate, but against her tanned skin and dark hair, it glowed ethereally, making her seem like an otherworldly creature.

At this point, I was willing to believe anything was possible.

"Follow me," she said, beckoning us with her hand.

Her voice was distant and soft, like an echo resonating off the walls, barely above a whisper and yet firm enough to hear over the cascading waterfall nearby.I swallowed and stepped toward her, my feet acting on their own.

"Eliza, what are you doing?" Jared asked, grabbing my arm.

"She told us to follow her," I pointed after the woman.

"We don't know who she is or what she wants.We can't just follow her," he argued.

"I don't know...I just feel like I'm supposed to follow her...."

"Come on, Eliza, we're already in way over our heads here," Abe added, standing shoulder to shoulder with Jared.

Great.

Now they were both ganging up on me.

"Trust me, please," I begged, widening my eyes imploringly.

Jared's jaw tensed and he cast his eyes aside.

I knew how he got when he was trying to be protective, but I couldn't let that interfere with every lead we got.

This was important.

I was doing this to help him.

"Come, come, my children..."

Ashiver ran down my spine as the woman spoke again, that same otherworldly voice prickling the hairs on the back of my neck.

There was something familiar about her.

I couldn't shake the sense that I'd seen her before, but I knew I'd remember meeting someone like that.

Her voice alone was enough to chill me to the bone.I'd definitely remember that...Before Abe and Jared could protest more, I turned around and followed " the woman.The ledge we were on led to a path that angled up to the city.The strange woman was already on the path.I followed at a distance.

She didn't seem dangerous but I wasn't going to take any chances, not until I knew more about her and why she was so familiar.

Jared and Abel walked close behind me.

I could practically feel the tension coming off of them.

They were both on high alert.

We got to one of the roads into the city.

All the buildings were ancient W] and carved with incredibly intricate stone columns and sculptures.

It must have taken hundreds of years to carve all those delicate details.

Every building we passed, lights flicked on.

I didn't see anyone turning on the lights.

Most of the windows were covered and I couldn't see anyone I moving around inside.

i Was there anyone else there other than this mysterious woman? Had I really seen shadows on the terrace, or was that a figment of my ; imagination? We approached a large, well-lit building with a fountain out front : splashing sparkling water droplets in lovely spiral patterns.

Suddenly, the air filled with music.