Captive: Hopeless

Chapter 52 - Dungeons

"Am I to understand that my offspring live?" Thane asked, and Kay nodded.

"If the drugs had worked, we would not be having this discussion, and Azera would not be dead."

"Why do we have until high tide?" he asked, and she fidgeted.

"When Azera thought Akira was out of it, she ordered one of her men to open the floodgates' valves in the prison of 'the fallen gods,' as she called them. She wanted the high tide to drown them so they could die with their father. She told him she'd have to get the others back from Panus and kill them, too. Azera started to walk away, and the guard asked, 'What of Kay, should she join her sisters?' and Azera smirked, saying, 'Why not?'"

When she stopped speaking, Thane rose slowly from his chair.

"The full moon rises tonight, and with it comes the high tide," she informed Thane and a frown crinkled his brow.

"How do we find them?" he asked, dialing his phone.

"I already have, Father. Come, let's go," Akira said from the door, and even though she was her old beautiful self, something had changed. He went to her and hugged her tightly like he was having a hard time believing she was really there.

"Should you not rest?" he asked, letting go.

"No time. It's a two-hour drive, and we will be lucky to make it."

***

They followed her out the doors, and no one stayed behind as they got into their vehicles and sped off, paying no heed to the speed limits, and they were lucky not to get caught.

Marcus and Adrian shared a car with Kay, each taking a hand and holding onto it for the entire drive, and she smiled to herself.

Amid all this turmoil, happiness filled her as she leaned against Marcus, and he drew her head against his shoulder. It would not have bothered her to stay like that forever, his heat taking the chill from her body and his heart beating steadily against her ear.

***

The cliffs under the old prison were dangerous and slippery, and they descended as fast as they dared. The metal bars of the underwater entrances to the ancient dungeons were barely visible above the water's surface.

The men jumped in without waiting. Their combined strength and a crowbar bending a bar far enough away for someone to pass through that wasn't a bulky werewolf or a vampire male.

It was clear which one to pick. Kay was slim and a good swimmer, while Akira might still be too weak.

No werewolf would be safe with the ancients, so Adrian and Marcella could not go. Kay and Akira glanced at each other, and before anyone could stop them, they jumped in and wriggled through.

***

It was a lengthy swim and further than the old maps indicated. The water rose with every passing second, and the swim back would be longer and even more treacherous. Already the currents grew stronger, and only their superior strength pushed them forward.

They surfaced in a long narrow room, perhaps twelve meters long, and judging from the water level; it would be completely submerged at high tide.

Eight dungeons were situated side by side, each with an ovoid opening, a strong barred gate, and a high-tech locking system.

"Are you shitting me?" Akira hissed, noticing the locks.

"There's no time to waste. If they are still even in here, I hope they are all together and not Azera-mind-screwed. Otherwise, we're going to drown in here," Kay said, and her sister glanced at her.

"They are in here. I can feel them, can't you?" Akira asked, and Kay's forehead wrinkled as she nodded, sensing the pull of their blood and bonds.

"I don't hear anything, and if the cavalry comes to save you, you don't stay quiet. Unless you're tied down, gagged, or tired of living."

"We're wasting time, Kay," Akira got out of the water, looking slightly unsteady.

She followed, her gaze searching instinctively for booby traps.

"Azera would not put explosives down here that might create a way out," Akira said, but she wasn't convinced.

"The lady might have wanted to block the only way out."

Her sister froze mid-stride.

"Azera had no time to plan this—she had not reckoned on being dead," Akira dismissed the idea, running to the first dungeon, but it was empty.

"Nice try, Azera, but we stopped buying your lies a long time ago," a voice said from next door, and they ran forward.

The cell contained a tall blond woman that was easily the most perfect specimen of their species that Kay had ever seen. A glacial chill radiated from eyes that were full of distrust and loathing.

"Whether you buy it or not is irrelevant, as long as we're not in here when the mousetrap fills with water," Kay said when her sister seemed too overwhelmed to speak.

"Akira?" she prodded, slapping her hands together sharply when nothing happened. "Water! Drowning! Do we really need to die again today?" she reminded, snapping her sister out of her trance and barely noticing how that name stilled the succubus in the cage.

They are alive! For now. Newest Version ©2014-2023 All rights reserved. If you find this on any other platform but Wattpad under @CSDreamer, please report it. No part of this book may be copied or reposted without the author's permission.