Entwined Fates (Editing)

Chapter Twelve

Eli and De shot up out of their light sleep. De rubbed his eyes tired eyes, and Eli glared hatefully at the man standing at the door. He simply chuckled. I noticed that while his skin had some lacerations, there were no lesions growing on it. His eyes were relatively clear, but there was blood caked all over his matted hair. He looked at me with a sinister smile.

"Come." They way he said it, he expected us to follow orders. But none of us moved. He growled menacingly, before pulling out a bow and aiming it at Eli's chest.

"Come." I couldn't refuse him this time. Instead, I slowly raised my hands and made my way to the door. He seemed satisfied and lowered his weapon, though I had a feeling he was nowhere near done with it yet. There were two guards outside, in similar condition as the man. One of them bound a rope around my wrists, and the other did the same to Eli and Declan. We were guarded, one each, as we made our way up a long, damp staircase. Water dripped off the ceiling, landing with eerily loud drips on the cold floor. The walls here were also cracked with moss and vines crawling up their smooth surfaces.

Finally, I saw torches begin to light up the dark walkway. My eyes adjusted to the brightness soon. Whenever one of us would slow or falter, we received a hearty kick to the back of the knee. I was about to walk past a small intersection when my guard roughly yanked me to the side. We went down another, narrower tunnel until we arrived in a small room. There were cages lining the walls, and small vials filled with a purple liquid. A large pot was bubbling with what looked like the same thing. I roamed my eyes around the cages, trying to peer into the darkness, when I gasped.

Rhys and Dimonte were chained to the walls. There were cuts surrounding their faces, small blister like bubbles covered their faces. Their clothes were tattered and dirty, their eyes barely showed sanity.

"Ari..." Rhys called out weakly. In response, the man guarding me kicked my behind the knees, causing me to fall onto the floor painfully. I heard a growl of anger come from Eli's mouth as he struggled to free himself, but he was simply treated the same way as me. De was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

"Sir," the guards said stiffly. I turned to see who they were looking at. A man walked in, his face and body was covered by a long black cloak. He was tall and imposing, muscles could be seen even under his baggy clothing. With a flick of his hand, the guards pulled the three of us forwards onto a pedestal. The man grinned evilly, though his eyes were still hidden. I shuddered at the malice in his smile.

"Ah, I see you've found her. I must admit, I expected someone smarter, stronger... male." I felt my blood boil at his criticism. "Never matter. With her and the dragon, I will have this in the palm of my hand." He sighed, as if he was suddenly the most content man on earth. Now let's get this started.

"Wait," I yelled. "What are you going to do?" He cocked an eyebrow at me.

"Well, little lady, I will turn your friends into Bleeders, like them." He motioned at Dimonte and Rhys. "You, on the other hand, are a little more tricky to deal with. You will have to be a Bleeder first, of course, but then we must cut your bond with your pesky little dragon friend." My eyes widened as I tried not to show fear at the possible death of Driana. "Then, you will be free as a dragon rider. Never mind though, none of this should be your concern. You just need to drink this." He pointed at the vials.

"Never," I snarled, throwing him a burning glare. He simply laughed, as if he hadn't a care in the world.

"Oh darling, you don't get a matter in the choice!" He petted my head as if I were a dog. I resisted the urge to growl at him. He picked up one of the vials and shook it gently before moving over to Eli.

"Drink up little one, or the girl dies," he threatened. I felt a knife being pressed against my throat, so hard it started to draw blood. A trickle ran down my neck and I shivered. Eli's eyes widened, and I shook my head the best I could at him. He pursed his lips at me. I could see the indecision in his eyes. His jaw slowly loosened and I wanted to scream at him. His lips were about to part when he suddenly broke his rope bondage apart and threw a hefty punch to the strange man's face, causing him to drop the vial.