The Styles Brothers

Chapter Twenty: Lily

Elena's POV

The man eyed me, distaste evident in his familiar brown eyes. "Do not speak to me, mortal."

"Dad?" I questioned again in awe,  ignoring his previous request.

"My name is Charles de Carmelo, you Sixth Realm scum. Not this father figure you stupidly seem to think me."

I hastily scrambled to my feet." Charles de Carmelo was my father's name. Remember Mom? Cara Campbell?" I trailed off lamely. Maybe I really was just imagining this.

My hope was revived when I saw a flicker of recognition in those cold eyes. Not a second later, it was gone.

"Why have you come here?" Charles de Carmelo rose to his feet; irritated.

"We're looking for my brother, Sansavi Darkwood," Harry spoke up lowly.

"Ah, your twin brother, I'm assuming," Charles smirked evilly. My wrists tightened involuntarily at his smug face.

"What did you do with him?" I snarled through gritted teeth, struggling against the binds.

"Ah, Elena Victoria. Is that any way to speak to your father?"

My mouth went dry. I had been right. "Father," I pleaded, trying to work the newfound information to my advantage. "Please. Tell me where James is."

Charles seemed not to hear me, and if he did, he ignored me, studying his nails. "It's a shame your brother is missing," he said, as if it wasn't a shame at all. "You know, you look just like your sister, Sanvi."

I heard Harry's teeth snap together at the mention of his missing twin sister. When he spoke, he sounded as though he were struggling to make the words come out as explicitly as possible without screaming.

"Where," Harry said distinctly, "are my brother and sister?"

Charles clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "Now now, we can't go skipping bases, now can we? You are guests in my home, you ought to be treated like some."

Throwing his arms open grandly, he snapped his fingers. Two darkly robed figures materialized at his side. By some unspoken command, they descended upon Harry and I, roughly yanking us to our feet.

"Where are they taking us?" I blurted at Charles.He didn't respond, but waved merrily as we were forced from the room and into an eerily lit hallway. At the end, the cloaked person holding Harry took a left, while I was shoved to the right.

"No!" I shrieked, trying to throw myself towards Harry, who had a panicked expression. "Let me go!"

The person holding me responded by yanking me harder; the distance between Harry and I growing ever larger. "Harry!" I cried.

"Find James!" was all he yelled before he was pulled from my sight.

I shook uncontrollably as I was forced into a cold, white room. The robed figure led me toward a pair of manacles on the wall. It snapped them into my place, my arms now suspended above my head and my wrists bound together.

"Please," I begged softly to the person. It stared at me for a moment. Then, wordlessly, it pointed towards the hallway, then to itself.

"I-I don't understand," I whispered.

It shook its clothed head frustratedly. Raising up a hand that looked surprisingly human, it held up two fingers. Then, using its other hand to point to itself, it raised another finger to make three. I gasped as the pieces fell together.

"Are you.. Lily?"

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James's POV

My blood boiled in anger as the thing holding me forced me into a white room that held a simple chair and table. Shoving me roughly into the chair, I jerked my arm away from the figure, who retreated the room, leaving me alone.

I racked my brain, leaning my elbows on the table. How could we have been so careless? It was my fault we were trapped here, and who knows what they were doing to Elena. I shuddered at the possibilities.

"Ah, Sanvi," a familiar voice mocked.

"James?" I shot out of my seat, looking around the darkened room.

James emerged from the shadows, a haughty spring in his step. What shocked me was- he looked completely normal. Not a scratch, not a hint of a struggle flawed his skin.

"James.. what.. what are you doing here?" I hissed.

"You always were so clueless, Sanvi. Ever since we were children."

His voice had changed. No longer was it warm and joking; now it was cold and paired with a curl-lipped sneer.

"What are you talking about?"

Stretching out one of his long arms, he traced a pattern on the wooden table. "Well, since I'm obviously unnecessary and underappreciated in the Sixth Realm, and infinitely banished from the Third and Fifth, I thought, what better than to come here?" He smirked.

My mouth was agape. "What are you talking about? You're not unnecessary-"

"You and your little girlfriend seemed to kill that Night Crawler just fine without me," James shrugged. His eyes had yet to fade to green since he'd appeared.

"That was one demon!" I argued. "And you're not underappreciated, either-"

"Elena certainly seems to appreciate you more than I," James quipped. "As far as I can tell from your little kiss in the woods this morning." I looked down guiltily, even though Elena had initiated the kiss.

"James. Don't do this. Come home," I said flatly.

He clucked his tongue in mock sympathy. "No can do, Sanvi. I like it here," he grinned. "Oh, by the way. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

My brows knit together in confusion. "Who?"

James turned to the darkness in the far corner of the room, where a door presumably hid. He cupped a hand around his mouth and called out.

"Mother?"