Fated

Chapter Ten

I was in agony.

My wrists stung. Something sharp was digging into the skin of my back. My head was pounding. And yet I couldn’t see a thing.

Where was I?

I had regained consciousness only a few minutes ago, yet I was no closer to figuring out anything about my situation. How long had I been out? I winced as another shock of pain zapped through my head. I let it fall forward, its weight too heavy for my battered body to carry. I was sitting on a chair, that much I could make out. My hands were tied behind my back, so tight they were starting to lose blood circulation. My legs were tied too, and the rickety old chair was digging Into my skin. Bile threatened to rise from my stomach, and I pushed it down, taking a few deep breaths to calm my nerves. The sound of passing cars in the distance kept me hopeful, at least I wasn’t stuck in the middle of nowhere. We were still in the city, something I could work with when I escaped.

If I escaped.

I lifted my head, barely making out a window to my right. Through it, I could see the sky was dark, the night devoid of any light. A concrete slab came into focus, a few feet passing the window by every now and then. I was in a basement, that much became clear, and as someone passed by again, I started screaming.

“Help! I’m over here, help me! HELP!”

“Good, you’re awake.” My head snapped forward, my eyes straining against the darkness. Eli came into view, red eyes trained on me, cruel smirk relishing in my misery. Behind him, a gray steel door was left ajar, white light peeking from the empty space beyond. “Don’t bother, no one can hear you.” Eli came closer, kneeling in front of me. “There is no escape for you, little Nova.”

“Why are you doing this?” My voice was hoarse, my throat aching and throbbing. I struggled with the bindings of my wrist, only managing to cause myself more pain. “What do you want from me?”

“You?” He scoffed, eyes narrowed into slits. “Nothing, this Is not about you, little fox. You’re simply a piece of the puzzle.”

The Familiar nickname shot through the haze in my mind, making my chest constrict in pain. It sounded vile coming out of his lips, wrong. I started putting the pieces together, fear coursing through my veins as his words started to make sense.

“Lucien,” I whispered, tears springing into my eyes.

“Exactly.” Eli nodded, pushing to his feet. “He’ll be here soon. The lovely thing about your bond, he can find you wherever you go.”

I struggled to swallow past the lump in my throat. If he knew about our bond, then he must have been watching us for a while. Did he join my gym only to spy on me? Did he take me just so he could get to Lucien?

“What do you want from him?” I asked, my voice rising with fear for my Fated. “What are you going to do to him? What do you want?” He turned his back on me, walking towards the door. Seconds before he stepped outside, he looked over his shoulder at me, a cruel smirk back in place.

“You don’t have to worry about that, Nova. Your only purpose here is to die.”

I didn’t know how long I had been there, darkness swallowing me whole, the only sound around me was the echo of my screams. My throat burned, my heart hurt, and my eyes stung with tears I couldn’t wipe away. Behind me, I could feel my wrists starting to bleed from the burn of the ropes as I struggled to free myself. It didn’t work, nothing worked, and I slowly but surely slipped into a state of despair. In the back of my mind, there was this distinct knowledge that I wasn’t afraid for myself. Eli’s words had no effect on me, the prospect of dying not even registering in my head. All I could think about was Lucien’s fate. I was terrified of what would happen to him, what Eli would do to him once he found me. A Broken sob tore itself from my chest, Lucien’s face coming into focus in my mind’s eye. We had just found each other, only to be torn apart so soon. I cursed the world, the universe, our fate for being so cruel. Then I prayed. I prayed to whoever would listen to me, to protect my Fated. If I was meant to die so soon, at least make sure my vampire was left unharmed.