Chapter 69: Typos and wrong numbers

Noah’s POV

Memory/Dream (twelve-years-old Noah):

"You know you look better when you’re happy" someone says and I lift my head to look at the person.

The person I call ’them’ is leaning against the wall. I wrinkle my nose at him, sitting up to fold my legs under me.

Their hair is matted and dirty. Parts of their skin are bleeding, and they look like they had been fighting all day.

I love them so much. I love them as big as I love my daddy. I wish my dad would marry them and make them my new parent.

"Why do you look so bad?" I ask with a playful giggle, and they match my giggle with a smile, a very weak one.

"I escaped" they say and I stop laughing.

"Escape what?" I ask and they come closer to the bed.

"What’s my name, Noah?" they ask gently and I draw my brows together.

What sort of question is that? I always know their name.

They took care of me all the time, if I wasn’t at the temple with Freya, I would be doing silly things with them.

"You’re so strange, what sort of question is that" I laugh in the way a confused twelve years old would.

"Noah, what is my name?" they ask firmly and my eyes widen with fear.

"You’re scaring me" I whisper.

I know their name...I know their name is... them? They?

"W-why don’t I know your name?" I ask in a cracked voice and their eyes grow sad.

"They made you forget me, baby" they say, stepping away from me.

"Why?"

"I took you away from your father and Winslow. I took you far, far away to the angels" they say.

"You took me to play hide and seek...but I can’t remember anything" I pout and they come closer to me again.

"I wish you never came back" they say and I gasp.

This is why dad doesn’t want me to call them by their name.

They stole me from dad!

I open my mouth to say something, but I feel someone slapping me on the cheeks.

Present:

"Here take this" Freya’s soothing voice says and I moan painfully but open my mouth.

My priestess pours a bitter liquid into my mouth, and I almost spit it back out as the warm sludge-like substance slides down my throat.

"Mmfg" I complain but she makes me close my mouth with her hand under my jaw.

"You have to swallow it, Noah" she says firmly and I blink slowly, trying to fight off the disgusting taste.

The aftertaste feels scarily like dish soap.

Where is Elias? Is that drink safe for my baby? Where am I?

"Uh..." I say, but my throat feels too sore for me to say anything.

"Uh...where am I?" I ask.

This place doesn’t feel or smell like the Deus home.

The Deus home is usually lively and smells lovely, but this space smells strange. It smells like a stuffy warehouse.

"I’m saving you, dear Noah" she says and I croak the word back at her, "saving...me?" I ask.

"Yes darling, the Deus easily handed you to me. I’m glad they got tired of you" she says with tender eyes.

Oh...I guess I have my sign to stop Elias more important to me than he is.

I shouldn’t have fallen in the first place.

"Are you taking me to my dad?" I groan and she smiles softly at me, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"You know you father loves you more than his own life, right?" she says and I nod.

Of course I know that. Dad has been by my side since I was little. He has always been the one who loved me the most.

There’s a bang on the door and Freya looks back.

"Hold on, I have to attend to this" Freya kisses my head and breezes out of the room.

Alone, I frown and push myself up.

Whatever she gave me to drink must have been magic.

I feel a hundred times better than I’ve ever felt, and my senses are slowly sharpening.

I turn my head to the side to take in the details of the room I’m in.

There’s no window in here, only a small air vent high up on the wall, and it’s clear that the bed I’m lying on was just brought in here.

If we’re going to my father, why are we in a place like this?

Freya’s phone dings and curiously, I get out of the bed to see what is on it.

She used to always let me use her phone when I needed to call my dad or search up something important.

I lift the phone and my heart jumps to my throat as I read the new notification.

It’s a bank alert notification.

I look over my shoulder before I click it, and the money sent to Freya is huge enough to pay two years rent in a penthouse.

The receipt has a narration that shows me it’s a downpayment for Noah Goldsmith from a person called Styles

Downpayment for...me?

A text message arrives and with shaking hands I click on it.

S:

Just sent. Hurry up and do what you’re supposed to. priestess.

The balance will be sent once he’s delivered to me.

This has to be some sort of fever dream. Right?

Why am I dreaming of something as silly as this? Downpayment? Pfft, I’m literally Freya’s child.

I scroll to their previous messages and stop at a particularly jarring one.

S:

He’s no longer a virgin?

I waited this long for what?

Freya:

I’m sorry. It was just a minor inconvenience.

S:

Does Governor Goldsmith know?

Freya:

No, this is behind his back.

S:

Since the good is damaged, I’ll pay half the price.

Freya:

That’s not fair. I wasted my life on him.

I promise he’s worth it.

He has all the theory to make sex good. Make you orgasm in minutes.

I stare with horror as Freya’s words grow more incoherent. She’s desperately trying to convince the person called ’S’ to take me.

Freya:

H’e obidentt

Raped goods. He csn tqke hard sex well

No neeed to be carefu with him

Add some money. I’ll bring him

Please.

S:

Fine. Let’s come to an agreement.

But how can we throw the Gods off?

My city can’t take a raid from those monsters.

Freya:

I’ve given him a poison I cultured by myself.

It acts like nausea.

Either the gods will think he’s pregnant and discard him, or he’ll be near death and be handed to me.

I exit the message app before I can read more. I can’t take it anymore.

My father doesn’t know what she’s doing. He doesn’t know that the woman I adored as a mother is trying to sell me.

She’s the woman I grew in front of...the woman who taught me everything I know.

I open the phone app and blindly start to dial a number.

What did I do to deserve this?

The person I call ’They’ tried to kidnap me. The woman is called a mentor is trying to sell me. Elias, the only person I dared to be myself with, gave me up.

The door opens behind me, and I hit the dial icon to make the call.

"Noah, darling. I brought you some salad" Freya’s soft voice calls and I turn the phone to her face, tears blinding my eyes as I wait for my savior to pick up.

"It’s over, Freya...it’s over" I say with a shaky voice and her eyes widen.

"Noah...who are you calling?" she asks, holding her free hand over her mouth.

"MY DAD!" I yell at her and her shocked face slowly morphs into mockery.

"Poor darling, you don’t even know your father’s number. I raised the perfect dumb doll!" she says and starts to laugh.

I look at the phone screen for myself.

No...what am I doing?

I’m not calling my dad...I’m dialing a number I accidently memorized in the hotel room while waiting to be called by my captor.

I’m calling Elias Deus’s brother.

"You had one chance, pup. You had one choice and missed it" she says in that eternally soft tone.

"One chance" she whispers and takes the phone from my hand to place it on the dusty table.

No...no...

"Go sit, dear. I have to dress you up for your new owner" she pats my shoulder while I stand there frozen.

Why me?