As I roused from a heavy slumber, the first thing I was aware of was the coolness of the air and it's loamy fragrance. The ground beneath me felt like I was sitting on rocks and even though my mind felt awake, my body was asleep. I was in some kind of a half awake state, and all I could hear was muted voices. "Hey," I heard a deep voice, but it all sounded like someone was talking trough a tube. I was never more aware of the heaviness of my body. I soon felt someone touching my shoulder.

"She's not awake yet." A similar voice spoke as I tried pushing my eye lids up so I would see who was talking, but I failed.

"You were too harsh." The same hand moved down my shoulder and that was the first thing I felt. Pain. Like a huge bruise. "She's barely alive." The voice faded as I groaned trying to blink my eyes open, but I was just met with blurriness. Colors, figures, but everything seemed mixed.

"I was just following the king's orders." It's like the voice echoed in my head, and my brain was slowly absorbing and registering the words. Pressure suddenly hit me, like all my blood rushed in my head and an unbelievable ache thumped. My whole body felt like it no longer belonged to me. Some parts felt numb, while others hurt like hell. Suddenly, I felt my right arm being lifted and my whole body was slowly pulled up. My back was radiating with strong dull pain. It burned like someone was cutting me with a knife, slowly and painfully. I soon realized my arm got wrapped around someone's shoulder. Someone big and tall.

I opened my eyes slightly, just to be met with a spinning room, a boring cell and dark wooden doors right in front of me. "Hey, can you walk?" I heard a voice ask, but I couldn't even shake my head no. My legs were shaking and I was practically hanging from his shoulder. The ache that consumed my whole body was dull, as if some lazy torturer was standing right behind me, only applying enough pressure to give me the urge to scream in pain. It sat there, just to the side of the right shoulder blade toward the spine.

"Dude, help me out." My thoughts were mixed, the picture before me was still like a cloud of fog right in front of my eyes, but even though I barely saw the guy that walked closer to me, I knew it was one of the guards. Soon, my other hand was wrapped around someone's shoulder and I whimpered in pain that bloomed from my back. I felt them trying to find the right position to hold me, but it was worthless. "This isn't working." The same voice spoke while the other one just released me and I almost fell on my knees. But no matter how much the pain consumed me, how unbearable it was, all I could think about was Dimitri. Where is he?

My legs were lifted from the ground and I felt someone's hand on my lower back, holding me in midair, bridal style. I clenched my jaw at the sudden burn. The pain from my back throbbed in my guts. It was deep and warm, but not in a nice way. It felt like someone had their hand in there and was squeezing my wounds either gently or as hard as they can. When it waned I could move just enough to wrap my arms around his neck, but when it returned all I could do was hold still and breathe, breathe slow and deep until it had passed. My eyes were shut, closed tightly, and I felt like he was moving. No words can explain how grateful I was for his decision to carry me. My legs simply felt numb.

Pain seared through my back better than a branding iron, burning all the way up to my head. It was impossible to open my eyes completely as I still felt like I was in this unpleasant mid-awareness. I heard them talking, their muted voices echoing in my head and I just wished they could talk quieter. Every word they said thumped in my head, gave me the feeling like my blood was constantly rushing in my ears. "She's human. It's still too much." The one that carried me said while my head was leaned on his shoulder. I was unable to keep it straight.

"You heard what the king said, Silas. This girl's no human." The other voice spoke as my ears were slightly adjusting to their volume.

The guard held me still, so my body wasn't swaying, causing the pain to ease down for now. "She's not a vampire either. It'll take ages for her to heal properly." I opened my eyes, my brain unconsciously reacting to the thought. If I'm no human, no vampire, then what am I? But I never got the chance to hear. Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by a key clicking in a lock, soon followed by doors screeching. I frowned at the annoying sound, but I couldn't cover my ears.

And then I heard his voice. "Amelia," So soft, so calming. Dimitri.

~

Dimitri's POV

The doors went open, screeching as the wood slightly banged against the gray cement wall. I prayed it was her. But it took a few seconds till someone walked in. The light caused me to frown as my eyes were finding it hard to adjust the sudden brightness from the hallway. And there it was. The picture before me that took all the air from my lungs. Silas carrying a girl. My girl. Amelia. Her body looked so small in his arms, as she had one of her hands around his neck while her other one was resting on her stomach. "Amelia," A gasp escaped me as my heart suddenly thumped loudly against my chest, causing my head to feel dizzy. She was hurt.

Her skin was pale, like the snow in the biggest storm. Her long dark hair was swaying as her eyes were closed. Those beautiful hazels that once held so much energy and good. Good that always caused me to move forward. I tried moving, feeling my brain starting to panic. Silas started putting her down as the sight before me caused my breath stop dead in my throat. The sides and the back of her shirt were covered in dark red. Blood. My breaths were fasting from the things that were going trough my head. "What did you do to her?!" I yelled as I unconsciously tried moving forward, but the chains just banged together and pulled me back.

She looked lifeless. I could hear three other heartbeats in this room, and only one was barely beating. In that moment my mind was blank. All I knew was her. "Silas! I asked you a question! What the fuck did you do to her?!" No matter how many times the chains pulled me back, I kept trying to straight up. And this son of a bitch just stood there, following my father's fucked up commands.

"We're under king's orders, Your Highness." He said simply as he stood up after he put the chains around her wrists. Her small wrists that also had blood on them. Her both palms were covered in blood as her head fell lifelessly against the wall behind and she frowned in pain. A small breath of slight relief escaped me when I saw she was aware. Half conscious. At that moment, all I wanted to do was strangle him. Silas was one of the best guards, helped me trough a lot and even broke the rules when I asked him to. Now, he was just one of them. One of the monsters.

Leaving her there, they both turned around moving towards the door, but all I saw at that point was her. My Amelia. As soon as the doors closed, I tried moving again. "Amelia," I repeated myself again. All I could do was call after her, but I wasn't even sure if she heard me. My heart felt like it was squeezed, causing my breaths to come out short and sharp. My world became a shadow and my vision was darkened. All I did was pull. Unconsciously pulled to release myself from the chains. I stared at her across from me, sitting there half alive, and I was tied up. But I had to get to her.

First pull. Nothing. Second pull, nothing. But my mind went completely blank when I heard a painful moan from her. My heart teared apart. So the third pull, the chains broke loudly and I felt a liquid down my wrists. Blood. But I didn't seem to register it. As soon as I felt myself free, I rushed over at her. I didn't realize that my speed was back, but the wounds were not healed just yet. And they burned like a lightning strike. My knees were bruised and they hurt as fuck, but I kept kneeling next to her, grabbing her hand as soon as I felt her close.

Her eyes slightly opened, her breaths coming out from her mouth, slow yet uneven. "Dimitri," She whispered, and it felt like my heart was being torn from my body when I heard her weak voice.

"I'm here. I'm here, baby." I mumbled, putting my hands around her, careful not to touch her back. Her hands shook as she put them on my arms and leaned her head on my chest. I kissed her hair and caressed it. At this point I didn't know if I was calming her down, or was it me that needed to feel her close. My muscles relaxed slightly when I felt her hand on my upper arm, but her grip was weak, her hand was cold and her fingers were shaking. "God, my love, what did they do to you," I mumbled against her hair as I pulled back.

When I looked at her, she was almost unrecognizable. Her skin was pale, her eyes barely opened from exhaustion, and her lips were the lightest shade of pink, dry as red blood was freshly dripping from the cuts on her lower lips. I wanted to take her hand in mine, but I saw deep scratches on her palms, causing me to stop and freeze. I took her hand, staring at her cuts intently. They looked like scratches from nails. Did she do this to herself? The silence around us caused her to relax, but she still had that painful expression on her face as her eyes started closing.

"No, no, don't close your eyes. Stay with me. Eyes on me, baby." I brought her chin up so she'd look at me, but she could barely hold her head straight.

And even in this state, she obeyed my word without any hesitation. She was struggling, but she was now looking at me. I could see the hazel in her eyes, but the fire in them was gone. The blooming fire was down to just smooth embers. "Dimitri," She whispered as she looked at my stomach. Her hand traveled down my chest and she gently ran her trembling fingers down my wounds. Even though she was barely touching me, I cringed as I remembered the pain. I will heal, but her... "Why aren't you healing?" The feminine melody cleared my thoughts even though her voice sounded raspy and quiet.

I never got the chance to explain to her how, but I already told her that my father used something to slow the healing process. Yet, she looked worried. Even in that state she looked worried. "Amelia, you're the one that's hurt. I'll heal baby, but right now, you need my blood."

She shook her head slightly. "No." Straight answer. But this time, I wasn't going to leave her a choice. I feared the thought of what might happen to her if she didn't heal in that exact moment. I feared the world without her. Without my addiction. My light.

"I'm not asking." I said, and just when I was about to cut myself so she'd drink, she stopped me, taking my hand in her weak bloody palm.

Once again, all she did was shake her head. "Dimitri," It was warning. A beg for me to stop. And I did. I froze staring at her and having no idea where she was getting with this. She knew my blood could heal her. "If I drink your blood..." She stopped, looking like she somehow hoped I would understand her, but all I could think was 'If you drink my blood, you'll heal.' All I wanted was to help her. I saw tears in the corners of her eyes. She was doing her best not to lean on the wall behind as her whole body was tensed.

I looked at her in silence, completely lost. I knew the pain, and I could only imagine how she felt since she still hadn't learned how to control the healing, how to banish the pain, but I was positive that I can help her. She shook her head and looked down, a tear slipping down her cheek. "Dimitri, I... I don't know if I'll be able to survive that again." Her eyes found mine, those hazels looking glassy from the tears that she held. The door of that possibility that was once open and welcoming, was locked and disinviting. Like someone just scratched my opened wounds, my mind went screaming.

I stared, she stared. I knew exactly what she was talking about. I knew why she stopped me. "I can't, Dimitri. I can't go trough that again." She said. I wanted to stop it. I wanted to slain myself for not being able to stop it. For letting this happen to her. I kept blaming myself, but I also knew that I couldn't do that to her. If she asked me not to give her my blood, I simply wouldn't. "If I die, I want it to stay that way. It's the only thing that will save me from this. And I don't want to wake up."

From that moment, she couldn't control her tears. It looked like her mind was going trough some kind of a free fall. I leaned in, taking both her trembling hands in one of mine and pulling her into me. Her whole body started trembling from how hard she was crying. Her sobs echoed in my heart, causing an unbelievable ache. It hurt me seeing her like that. It teared me apart. Ruined me. I knew that I won't let anything happen to her again. I vowed to myself that I will never let her go again. I held her close, and I hated it. I hated that it seemed like I was saying goodbye to her. I'll never say goodbye.

I kissed the top of her head, slowly inhaling the strawberry smell. Just thinking about the possibility of losing her brought desolation to my soul. It made me feel empty. "Never, baby. I'm never letting you go." I mumbled against her hair and kissed her again. As she cried, there was a rawness to it, as if the pain was still an open wound. And it was. Her sobs were stifled at first as she attempted to hide the ache, the pain, but then overcome by the wave of her emotions she broke down entirely. All her defenses seemed to be washed away in those salty tears. And it hurt. Like a burning iron to my heart, it hurt seeing her like that.

Amelia. My sweet Amelia. I wasn't thinking when I wanted her to drink my blood, but she opened my mind. I would never do that to her. I refused to think about it, but something inside my stomach kept anxiously turning. Fear. Fear of losing her. She was right. If something happened... If something happened to her while she had my blood in her system, she would turn. And I knew the life of a vampire. There was a second where a part of me started hesitating if I should or shouldn't give her my blood. If I did, even if something happened to her, she'll wake up. She'll be with me. Mine forever. But the other part was stopping me. Stopping me from ruining her life.

~

Hours. Hours of holding her and it wasn't enough. Her helpless crying eventually stopped, but the fear... It was running trough her blood system like poison. I could clearly sense it. Her body stopped trembling, and her heart started that even rhythm, but I could feel her muscles tense from the pain that her wounds caused. But not just physical, she was in pain emotionally. That emotional pain seeped out in her words and it hurt to hear them. Looking her in the eyes, it hurt to read it. To read that ache that her soul was holding. I sensed what was inside that troubled her. Fear. Yet also there was so much goodness there too, bravery, tenacity. She held on like a fighter. And she was one.

I closed my eyes as I listened to the silence. It was filled with her shallow breaths and rhythmical heartbeats. She inhaled deeply and pulled away slowly, looking up at me. "I love you, Dimitri." My heart thumped one loud rhythm against my chest, even though it wasn't the first time hearing those three words from her. But the way she said it, it squeezed my heart even tighter, feeling a burning liquid in my eyes. This wasn't goodbye, yet she made it sound like it was. I was helpless. Couldn't do anything to stop her pain, get her out of here... Free her from this hell.

"I love you, Amelia." I tried offering her a smile, wanting to show her that it would be okay, but she didn't seem to buy it. Her expression suddenly turned like she heard the worst thing. Her eyes slightly widen and her lips went parted. Braking our gaze, she looked towards the door and kept quiet. I looked at her in confusion, feeling strong chills suddenly leaving fire marks down my whole skin. She kept quiet, almost like she was listening to something.
"They're coming."

I frowned, my thoughts going blank as I tried turning her towards me again to see what she was talking about. "Amelia, who's coming? What are you talking about?" I asked, but she kept her eyes on the door. Moving my head to her chin, I moved her to look at me, and I saw that helplessness once again in her eyes. That horror that they held. All she did was shake her head, like she just said something and looked down.

But the weird thing was, not even a minute later, I heard footsteps. Four beating hearts. Closer and closer to the door. I knew she could hear it too cause the silence that was dominating between us was indescribable. And then the lock clicked. The doors flung opened, and the monster was in. My father. Seeing his face raised the fury inside me. Like fire, my soul burned. Much like coffee, its bitterness drew me in to take sip knowing I would be more awake than minutes before. Behind him walked, oh, my so loving brother and two of his best guards. The expression on his face held so much arrogance, I just wanted to punch it away.

He looked at her, and it burned me. "Well, look at you two. Isn't that just adorable." He smirked, while Christian and the other two stayed quiet behind him. Behind 'the king'. Instinctively, I stood up, not even minding the pain that the wounds caused. I knew something was going on, but I wasn't letting him take her again. I just prayed silently that this time he'll take me instead of her.

I stood in front of her, not even realizing that I was protecting her. "What do you want?"

He just grinned, and I looked behind him, trying to find an answer in Christian. But he seemed like he was... Absent. He was here, but his eyes showed nothing. "I'm here to finish up what I started." Before I could even think trough what he said, I saw him rushing towards me, like a gust of wind, and soon his full strength yanked me against the hard wall as his hands held my shirt, holding me still.

The sudden pain caused blackness in front of my eyes and a groan to escape me, but when I opened my eyes I saw him in front of me. Like they say, the eyes are the window of the soul, and his soul was empty. I'm not sure if he even had one. Only evil was wandering around those dark eyes, like a silent black shadow. "I gave you two love birds enough time. But guess what son. Time's up!" He said it so casual, almost cheerful.

I gathered my whole strength, trying to push him away, but it was impossible. "What are you talking about?!" Was all I could ask. And then, all he did was slightly move away. The disgusting smirk on his face grew bigger as he saw the shock in my eyes. Christian had Amelia. His both hands on her jawline, holding her straight on her feet as he was holding her from behind, dominating every single one of her sharp breaths. "Let her go." I said simply, trying to sound calmed, but the anger caused my voice to tremble.

My body unconsciously moved forward, but my father held me still and something else pulled me back. Chains. My hands were handcuffed on the wall behind, not even leaving me an inch to move. He just shook his head. "No no." The king said and just grinned. "Oh come on, Dimitri. You're blinded. Can't you see that she's been lying to you this whole time. The only reason she's here is because her father sent her." My blood boiled in my veins, yet my body felt cold. Almost numb from the thoughts that went trough my head. I knew that he was spitting lies, but the sight before me made my whole inside panic.

I breathed deeply, clenching my jaw as all I could do was fix him with the fury in my eyes. "What do you want?!" I exclaimed, but his expression didn't change at all.

His hands were still holding me still by my shoulders, and I knew he was putting a lot effort in it. That's why he didn't let the guards hold me. They couldn't. "Oh, I think you already know, son. I want her dead."

My heart thumped loudly against my chest, but it was all anger. He was driving me fucking insane with his words. "If you hurt her again, I swear-,"

"-You'll kill me?" He smirked even more. "How? You can barely move." His eyes traveled down my body, fixing the wounds on my stomach. "I'm not going to lie to you. You look terrible, son. Still can't heal?" I squeezed my teeth, feeling the helplessness wander around my bones. I wanted to kill him. Right there. "Look, Christian can snap her neck any second now. All he needs is a simple nod from me. So, I'll give you a choice." I looked at him, not even aware of the pain that was blooming from my back.

"What the fuck to you want?!" I repeated the same question again, but he just looked more serious now.

"You'll take over the throne, find a descent Queen that matches our standards, and kill this useless little girl yourself." I clenched my fists and moved forward, but his hands were keeping me still against the wall. The handcuffs were making the whole situation even harder. "Or," He looked back at her and then back at me again. "We'll kill her right now."

I tried moving again, but when he pushed me back again, I groaned loudly. Not because of the pain, but because of the fact that I couldn't do anything. "I'll never let you do that!"

He smiled. So annoyingly evil. "Then you do it." Was all he said, causing my stomach to turn. I looked at her, and that was the breaking point. I loved her. I loved her so fucking much, my heart literally teared seeing her like that. Her large hazel eyes were helpless, filled with tears and pain. Christian's arm was firmly placed around her whole waist, holding her still, while his other one was holding her jaw. She looked at me, like it was the last time she was seeing me.

I looked at my father, and groaned. "You fucking monster." My voice came out deep and raspy, almost unrecognizable, but his expression just went more serious. "You're lying to yourself if you think I'll ever hurt her."

He let out a frustrated breath. "And you're lying to yourself thinking that you love her." There was no point of convincing him, cause in that moment I saw it. He already made a decision. Fear shook me, as my whole body went numb. "You're wasting my time, Dimtri!" I roared, but I kept looking behind him, checking on Amelia. She was only a few feet away, and I could do nothing. "Do it, Christian."

That was the border. My world melted away and all I saw was them. "No!" I yelled before anything happened. My body pushed forward, but the strength was to big for me to win. My hands were tied. Literally. "Christian, don't." I warned him, my eyes snapping wide open. He looked at me, staying quiet and I swear I saw pity in his eyes. But that's not what I needed right now. I need him to listen to me.

"Kill her, Christian." My father said, not bothering to turn around. His nascent voice filled the silence of the four cement walls, speaking straight to my own primal centre. Despite the ambient temperature, my skin was icy, all blood diverted to core organs. That's when the adrenaline hit such a fever pitch that I could no longer think straight. Everything around me went black, and she was the only light. I wanted to beg for them not to take that light away.

"No," My voice trembled. "Let her go. Please," I looked at my father, feeling my heart starting to register the whole situation, even though my mind wasn't able to. "I'll do anything." He smiled at my words. Like I just said the most bizarre thing in the world. But I never stopped looking for another solution, never let that small spark of hope become extinguished. And I had no freaking idea how I could find hope in this situation, but I refused to lose her.

My father fixed me with those dark eyes of his, but when he was the helplessness in mine, he was satisfied. He fed on fear, pain, chaos. He caused it. Turning around, he looked at Christian and their eyes met for split second. That's when I saw it. They were the same. Christian would do everything my father tells him to, just to win some kind of a battle. Disorientation in my head was a given; and the cold that roamed trough my blood was a killer. Just there, my mind went swirling, my heart lost the beats as my eyes fixed Christian.

But before I could say anything, he spoke. "Sorry, brother." And that was the second where my world shattered. My breath caught in my throat like there was a knife twisting in my neck. Her eyes... They looked at me till the last second. They held release instead of fear, yet they screamed 'I love you'. His hand that was on her waist moved to her neck while the other one held her jawline. And in split second, he snapped her neck, like it was a thin branch. Less trouble than peeling an orange.

Darkness peeked from the corners of my eyes as my heart stopped dead in my chest, just before the mad beat caused my whole body to shake. No! I wanted to scream, but I could no longer find my voice. Right there, in front of me, he killed her. In that moment, my world collapsed - where there was light became shadows, the pain coming and going like waves on frigid sand. Though my mind called out for hers the connection was gone... She was gone. Her dark hair flew on the side, as she lifelessly fell on the floor. I stared, breathless, unable to move or do anything at this matter. The picture before me... It was more than my heart could take and it felt like the dark clouds loomed in from above to obscure the sun.

And everything went silent. My whole world went silent. They took away my Amelia. My love.

***
Alright, so that was harsh... So many questions are still unanswered, but the main one is, is Amelia really dead? Comment bellow to tell me your thoughts, and just like before, I'll update as soon as I can. I won't let you hanging much, I promise. Also, for those who don't know, this was the end of the first part of the book. The second one starts with the next update. It's not exactly a cliffhanger, but I will try my best to write as much as I can, as soon as I can. It will be sooner than usual, I promise, cause I'm really excited for what's to come next ;)
Thanks lots for reading! Kisses kittens, :*