Change of Heart

Chapter 21

**

As I breathed in through my nose, the smell of smoke burned the inside. I began coughing from the sudden burning sensation only to inhale the smoke itself.

Pushing myself up, I realized the ground was heated, burning even. I began coughing even more with the inside of my throat beginning to ache. Lifting my head slowly opening my eyes, I dug my nails through the ground clenching my fists. Without even thinking, my body felt like it was beginning to break down. Tears instantly fell from my eyes sizzling as they hit the ground.

Shaking my head in disbelief, I wanted to scream out at the top of my lungs. I didn't want to believe my eyes...I wanted them to deceive me...but from the air alone, I knew I wasn't dreaming. In front of me were bars, like a jail cell. Past that, everything was surrounded by burning fire with the smoke filling the air. A large and aging castle stood tall straight ahead. Darker than darkness itself, just staring at that castle immobilized me. More tears fell from my eyes only to disappear as they hit the ground. There's no mistaking it. This is where the king lived; the kind of hell...Zander.

I sat there, crying out all my tears. Why? Why did it have to come to this? Bringing my head down, I couldn't stand the sight anymore. Please...Alex...please come and rescue me! Realize I'm not there...that I'm here...that I'm-

A scream sounded from behind me resulting me to jump. The sound of a door opening began to ring in my ears. My breathing became irregular, afraid that I was going to be grabbed again. Shutting my eyes, I waited to be grabbed from behind...unlike every other time, I was ready for it...but, it never happened.

Someone behind me began to groan. It sounded familiar in a way. Slowly turning my body, I noticed Zoey struggling to get up. "Zo...ey.." My voice was quiet and frail. She looked up at me, and let out a disappointing sigh. Zoey slowly got up and walked over to me. Considering she's a demon, her body is stronger and can withstand more.

Taking a seat next to me, she winced. "I'm sorry. I didn't warn you soon enough." She placed her hand on mine, offering me comfort. "Alex was right, I should've never trusted him."

I lightly shook my head, forcing myself to speak. "No...it's not...your..fault.." I started coughing again, this time hurting worse than before.

"That's right...you're only human so the effects on you are even worse." She helped me reposition myself, allowing me to rest my head on her shoulder. "I know our first meeting wasn't on good terms, but I truly am sorry it turned out this way.

Breathing out again, I muttered. "How...did they..know...where..?"

The way she hesitated, it sent chills down my spine. "After he attacked you guys personally, he said he put some sort of tracker on you so that he didn't need the use of a tracking demon again." Zoey stopped for a minute, catching her breath. I didn't like where this was going, not that I like any of this from the start in the first place. "He found out about your so called dance, and figured that was the best time to strike, especially considering you'd be dressed up for the occasion."

Clenching my fists, I began crying out even more than I thought was possible. He knew everything...he had it all set up, perfectly. In the end, he got what he wanted...me.

My body was burning up from the ground causing me to sweat. I still felt weak, and my throat only got dryer. My head still rested on Zoey's shoulder, who fell asleep. I heard the latches on the steal door in front of us. My body tensed and I couldn't move a muscle. The door flew open, and two demons walked in. They both had the appearances of a human, like Zoey had, but the were both covered in black robes, masking their faces with hoods. One of them grabbed my arm jerking me up while the other took a hold of Zoey.

I was too weak to resist, but somehow I managed to scream from the pain. The men dragged us down a dark hallway. There had been cracks emitting the light from the fire outside throughout the walls, but that was the only source of light.

Unsure of how much time had passed, we exited the tunnel only to end up at the front gates of the castle. The second those doors opened, it was as if my body had just woken up from a hundred year slumber. Knowing that Zander was in there, my mind and body began to resist. I began struggling pulling myself away, but the demon was stronger than I was, pushing me inside deeper and deeper.

When we reached the center of the castle, the demons threw Zoey and I to the ground. I groaned as I pushed myself up.

"Welcome, my sweet, dear Serine!" The sound of Zander's voice burned the inside of my ears. Suddenly, my face was lifted up only to see Zander standing right in front of me. "At last, I finally have you." With his presence hovering over me, it was too overwhelming to even force a move.

Zander leaned closer to my face giving me a most frightening smirk. He placed his lips against mine causing mine to quiver. No...this isn't happening...it can't be...As the tears rolled down my cheeks, Zander wiped them away just as Alex did. He really did want to take everything away from Alex...everything. "There's no need to cry. After all, you belong to me now."