The room was silent for a good ten minutes before Wentworth spoke. He had spent the first ten minutes walking around Richie and examining his tattoo. It was like he was testing something but didn't know what to do about it.
"You're Tenebrian?" Wentworth asked, breaking the silence.
"Yes, I've already told you," Richie said, more confused than angry.
He would've blown the flute and called Iris, but he wanted to know why the hell he was being observed and not one of the others. Richie didn't say anything as Wentworth mumbled to himself, circling around Richie once again.
"How old are you?" Wentworth asked, gently grabbing Richie's arm and looking at the spade.
"Eighteen. I've just turned eighteen," Richie responded.
Wentworth dropped his arm and went over to a table sitting in the corner of the room. There was a pitcher of ice water on top and he poured two glasses, handing one to Richie.
"Thank you," Richie said, though his expression showed annoyance.
He drank the water greedily, the ice making the liquid feel that much better. In Tenebris they didn't have ice unless it was winter. In that case they didn't want it because it lead to deaths and sickness.
"Richie, I want to run a test on you," Wentworth said out of the blue, making Richie instinctively step away.
"Why would I let you run a brain scan on me? The last one I got stuck me in poverty," Richie replied sarcastically, his fingers clutching the flute tightly.
"It's not a brain scan. It's a blood test. I don't think you're Tenebrian but I can't prove it without running the test." Wentworth refilled Richie's glass, handing it back to him calmly. "If you wish, you can call your dragon in and have it with you. The Lucantian's as well."
Richie shot him a glare. "I'm Tenebrian. There's no way I'm anything else," he said flatly, unwilling to consider he may be anything else.
Wentworth smiled sadly. "I don't think you are, Richie."
"Why would you think I'm not?"
"Let us preform the test and you'll understand."
Richie could see the pleading look on Wentworth's face. It was one he'd seen on the beggars he often donated food to in Tenebris. There was no menacing thoughts behind it. It was fear and hope, hope that he'd be willing to help and take part.
"I want to call my dragon first and Eddie gets to be in here," Richie said, crossing his arms to let Wentworth know that it wasn't up for negotiation.
Wentworth nodded and guided Richie from the room, calling up to the balconies in the main hall. He caught the attention of Avi, and she met up with her father and Richie, looking between the two curiously.
"Take him to call his dragon. Send Jynx to find the twins. They'll be setting up the test," Wentworth informed her, walking toward the stairs. "I'll be meeting you in the lab with the Lucantian."
Avi hummed in agreement, ordering her leopard to follow the commands. Jynx purred and ran off, leaving Avi and Richie in the hallway together.
"Come on, we shouldn't keep him waiting," she said, opening the door they came in through.
It was no longer pitch black and instead filled with light from torches on the walls. There was a small circle in the cave, that Richie assumed was the main door that lead to the outside.
Avi let him call Iris, who appeared with Eclipse minutes after he'd blown the flute. Immediately Richie realized something was wrong, making Avi close the door in terror once the dragon had gotten inside.
"What the hell?!" Richie asked, running over to his dragon.
Eclipse scrambled onto Richie's shoulders, whining loudly. There was an arrow protruding from Iris's leg, making her limp. Her nose was bloodied and she seemed panicked.
"Those are not our weapons," Avi hissed, kneeling next to Iris and tugging the arrow from her flesh. "Look."
Richie nearly screamed in anger. There was a small arrow and a sun on the tail of the arrow.
"Luceat is here," Richie whispered, his heart rate picking up. "Oh shit, fuck, we're so fucked."
Avi looked at him, her eyes narrow. "What do you mean by that?" she snarled, making both dragons growl at her.
"We came for help. Luceat, they've taken over Pona and are planning the mass extinction of Tenebrians. We know you hate Luceat, so we figured that the Konillians would be willing to help!" Richie explained, ripping the sleeve of his shirt to stop the blood seeping from Iris's wound.
Avi appeared as though she didn't know whether to be pissed off or terrified.
Edwin and Katie ran into the mouth of the cave, both panting. "Father wants to see us," they said in sync.
Richie made sure that Iris wouldn't die in his absence and followed the three. Eclipse was still locked onto his back, nuzzling into Richie's neck and examining the room.
They entered a room on the ground level of the mountain. It was a stark white room with a chair in the middle and a counter covered with a white paper.
Eddie was sitting on the counter. He smiled when Richie came in, standing up to go hug him.
"Are you okay?" Richie asked, holding him protectively.
"Yeah, I'm fine. They just sat us in a room. Everyone's okay and they're all together," Eddie responded, wincing when Eclipse chirped in glee and climbed onto him. "I can't say I missed this asshole."
Richie continued to hold onto Eddie, but he realized that Wentworth was speaking with his children, clearly panicked.
"We either need to do the test fast or not at all," Katie said, her jaw clenched.
"They can't know where we are. It's impossible!" Edwin argued. "We have time."
Eddie grabbed the back of Richie's neck, forcing eye contact. "What are they talking about?" he asked, knowing that Richie knew something.
"They may have seen the dragon!" Avi snapped. "I mean, they clearly saw her, and what if they saw where she landed?!"
"Richie!" Eddie snapped, his eyes wide with fear and anger. "What's going on?!"
The chatter in the room was cut off by a loud rumbling. The whole room shook, making everyone clutch onto each other.
Eddie grabbed Richie's hand and buried his face in Richie's chest for protection. He didn't know what was going on, but he was terrified.
"It's okay," Richie whispered, the rumbling stopping before starting again seconds later.
It continued periodically shaking, everyone trying to keep from screaming in fear. They could all hear yells echoing from the main hall, clearly from Konillians who had no clue what was going on.
"Richie!" Eddie yelled, making fearful eye contact with him.
Richie looked at Avi and Katie, who were both standing clumsily, trying to make their way to the grand hall. Then, he saw Wentworth grabbing a first aid kit and Edwin following him. They were yelling about getting those who were injured to safety and finding their bonds.
"Come on!" Avi yelled at Richie and Eddie.
"What's doing this?" Eddie asked, his voice scratchy and weak from fear.
Another rumbled and more screams echoed as Richie looked at Eddie.
"Luceat."
