When I woke, I felt more conscious than the last time I came to after being knocked out twice in a row. The bad news was that I knew where I was, and what had happened to get me here, and it made me squirm.
I forced my eyes open, waiting for them to focus to the dark before I could get a good look at my surroundings. I was in a small, dingy looking cellar; the walls were rough stone, there was dirt and stains on the matching floors, and a single chair sat in the middle of the room facing me. It was empty, for now.
I tried to move my arms, which was when I realized they were held up above my head. I tried to tug at them; the chains rattled against the walls, but didn't budge from my wrists or the ceiling where the chains led to. I grunted as I tried to stretch my legs out to the chair in front of me, but it was too far away.
I glanced around, trying to take in more of the room, which was when I saw I wasn't alone. My eyes widened in shock as I took in the body that was hanging beside me, also chained with their arms above their head and their legs dangling unconsciously on the floor.
"Terk?" I whispered loudly, trying to poke my right boot out to nudge him awake. He didn't respond. His shirt was covered in blood stains, but I couldn't tell if he was still bleeding or not. I knew he couldn't turn into a wolf, but did that mean he couldn't heal like one either?
"Rhea?"
I breathed a deep sigh of relief as I saw Terk begin to move, lifting his head slowly with his eyes screwed closed as if waking from a bad dream. His voice had come out croaky and strained, but he didn't sound like he was dying, which was the first good piece of news I'd received in weeks.
"Terk, are you okay?" I hissed at him, not sure why I was trying to keep quiet when Anthony knew exactly where we were since he was the one to put us here.
"I'm fine," he groaned as he stretched a little too tightly, crumpling his body back into itself. "Where the fuck are we?" He pried an eyelid open and tried to scan the room. All he saw was depressing stone and no way out.
"Some dingy cellar," I scowled, tugging uselessly at the chains around my wrists. "He figured out that I've been using the gemstone, and forced me to take us here."
"Do you even know where 'here' is?" he demanded, a little more awake now as he glared around the room in irritation.
"No," I admitted weakly. "I still don't know how I did it; I was never able to fully figure out what I can do. But I think he thinks it's all coming from the gemstone, not me."
"Which doesn't help us if you can't use your magic without it," Terk sighed, and I winced as I realized he was right. I was useless, and we would probably be stuck here for a long time. How was James supposed to find us?
"We can get out of this," Terk said suddenly, and I shot a look of disbelief his way.
"How?" I snapped. "We're chained to a wall in the middle of nowhere. I cannot use magic to get us out, and you cannot even turn into a wolf. What chance do we have?"
"I'm a lot more resourceful as a human," Terk assured me with a scowl. "As would you be, if you knew how to control your powers."
"I'll work on it," I growled.
Silence passed for a few moments, until I heard Terk sigh in defeat.
"I'm sorry," he muttered finally, and I felt a stab of guilt at his tone. I knew exactly what he was talking about.
"Please, don't be sorry; no matter who he sent in there to guard me, we would've been screwed just the same. All he had to do was grab me; I couldn't even defend myself."
"It doesn't matter; James trusted me, and I betrayed his trust. I failed him. And now we're both in trouble. If I'm not dead by the time we get out of this, he's going to kill me."
"I won't let him; he wasn't there to protect me, so why should you get the blame? It was stupid of us to think we were safe so soon after his last attack. But you did not get us into this mess. If anything, I am to blame."
A loud bang jolted us out of our confessions, and we both jumped and looked to the door as a shadow stepped through the empty archway. I fought back a growl from Arya and watched as Anthony stepped into the dim light of the room, his eyes glowing.
"You're awake, my dear," he announced, as if he had been waiting centuries for this moment. He moved closer to me, his eyes never leaving mine, as if Terk wasn't even here. "And you are finally mine, to do with what I please."
"Don't you dare fucking touch me," I spat at him, throwing a sporadic kick at his legs that he barely dodged. He laughed gleefully, clapping his hands together as he stopped right in front of me.
"That's it, stay angry; it's sweeter that way."
I opened my mouth with another angry retort, but his hand zipped up and clamped over my lips, and he pressed his body flush against mine. I squirmed in panic, trying to get him off of me, but it was of no use.
"Get the fuck off of her," Terk shouted angrily, and Anthony blinked in surprise, as if he forgot he had another guest. He pushed away from me and I gasped for air, feeling as though worms were crawling over my skin wherever he touched me.
"You are quite protective of her, aren't you?" Anthony questioned Terk, but the other man merely glared at him, keeping quiet. "What, got nothing to say now? Why don't I rip out your fingernails; will that get you talking?" He paused, pursing his lips in thought. "No, you're right; it's much too soon for that. I think I might start a little gentler."
"Why are you doing this?" I pressed, feeling the pain in my voice. Anthony turned to me, raising an eyebrow.
"Because it's fun, my dear," was his reply, which was accompanied by a wicked smile. "But you don't mean that, do you? Well, my dear Rhea, let me tell you a secret. I thought that killing you and your friend might be a little premature, seeing as how you're the only leverage I'll probably ever be able to get my hands on. But your mate knows exactly what I want; we only have to wait for him to come find us, so he can give it to me. Only then will I kill you and everyone you love."
I paled slightly. "You're expecting him to give up his throne for us," I breathed in disbelief, earning me another grin from my captor.
"An offer he can't refuse. I've left him a few clues to make his way over to us, but that won't be for a few weeks, now. So, I thought what better than having ourselves a little fun while we wait? Who wants to go first?"
"If James sees we've been injured," I jumped in quickly, "he's not going to make a deal with you."
"Nonsense. You are werewolves; you will heal before he even knows you're missing."
With that being said, he launched forward with his fist curled into a tight ball and slammed it into my gut. I cried out in pain, doubling over as best I could in the awkward position my arms were in above my head, but unable to do anything to defend myself.
"Now, shut your mouth before I rip it off," he growled, his tone suddenly menacing, and I felt tears spring to life in the corners of my eyes, but I kept my mouth shut. If we were going to be stuck like this for weeks, antagonizing him was the last thing I wanted to do. At least I knew he didn't want us dead. My magic might've worked on its own if it thought my life was in danger, but now? Now I just felt hopeless.
"You're a sick fuck, you know that?" Terk spat. I felt another savage punch connect with my ribs and heard them crack as I howled in pain. I felt like one of my bones was sticking out of my flesh, and the thought made me feel sick as I tried to breathe steadily.
"Keep talking, and I'll keep hitting," Anthony hissed, grabbing my hair and yanking my head back. I felt it crack against the stones behind me, but I couldn't do much more than grunt as I struggled to breathe. All my energy had been expended; I was still recovering from my fall off the cliff. "You will do as I say, or so help me I will end that boy's life in front of you," he murmured in my ear. "James will still trade the throne for you, remember that."
Suddenly, the pressure was relieved and I felt my head sag forward again, the breath coming back to my lungs in a fit of painful coughs. He didn't say anything else; he simply turned around and stalked out of the room, the door slamming closed behind him.
"Are you okay?" Terk asked urgently, as soon as we were alone, and I choked on another cough as I tried to formulate my feelings into words.
"How much longer are we going to have to do this for?" I whimpered finally, my voice barely audible as I still couldn't breathe properly from my cracked rib.
"I will do everything I can to protect you, Rhea," he replied, a hint of determination in his voice. "No matter what it takes. If you can try and stay strong for me, I will do the rest, okay? We'll get out of this. I promise you."