"Step one: Light me on fire. Step two: walk clean away. I won't burn long and evidence of your done wrong will be gone in seconds, I swear."

Adelina stretched and yawned as she woke the next day. Her back had stiffened and her body was sore from the time she spent sleeping on the floor. The carpet was a plush soft white, but flat and hard. She groaned as she pulled her body up and leaned against the white wall behind her. 

Why did I have to fall asleep on the floor, she thought to herself.  She stalked over to the bed and laid herself down.

After a restless hour and her mind replaying the previous day's events, she decided to get up and take a quick shower. She limped, as her body ached with every step, into the shower. Turning the water on, she let her body relax against the tile wall. The hot water glided down her body and relieved her aching muscles. 

She slid down the tiled wall and let her body slump over while the water flowed down her tangled hair and onto her body. Sitting there with her head laying to one side, her thoughts began to circle around in her head. She started thinking about her family and what Daniel had said. 

"What could he have meant by trust no one, even those close." her voice echoed off the shower walls. 

She pondered what he had said, but couldn't make sense of it. She knew better then to trust anyone inside these walls. He had to have known that as well, so why was he warning her? There had to be more to it.

 She sat there longer letting the water turn from hot, luke-warm and then to cold. She shivered as the water slid across her skin and let the cold wake her up from the haze she felt she was in.

She lifted herself up and moved her body out of the shower. She wrapped a soft white towel around her body and opened the door to the room. She walked towards the large closet to the right of the room when she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Startled, she twirled around to face Asmund, who stood by the doorway to her room.

"Seriously, haven't you ever heard of knocking!" She screamed at him, furious that she had no privacy.

"I apologize, as that was rather rude of me. I'm not used to knocking around here so you'll have to excuse me. But I wasn't here for a peep show, I can assure you." He gave her one of his infamous smirks.

"I would, however, like you to take a walk with me. Get dressed. I'll be back in 15." Asmund stated plainly and exited the room.

Adelina was furious, but she still listened and got dressed. Her mind kept telling her that this would be a chance to for her to get some answers.  Asmund seemed to be the only one out of the three brothers who even had half a heart and seemed willing to be honest. She looked through the closet, grabbing a plain gray t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She was in the middle of tying up the laces on the boots she had found when a knock came from the door.

"Come in!."

Asmund entered the room and she took in his appearance. He was dressed casual, in a bright blue shirt and faded jeans. She stared at him a moment longer before diverting her gaze back down to her shoes. 

"Like what you see?" He stated quirking an eyebrow up.

"You sure are egotistical huh? No, but it is odd to see you in jeans. All I've ever seen you in are suits and ties."

"Well, you are in luck, I had no meetings today. I am all yours." He boomed and Adelina rolled her eyes.

"As much as I'd love to sit here and talk about how wonderful I look, let's go for a walk. There are some things we need to discuss."

Asmund stuck his arm out and gestured for Adelina to proceed through the door. They walked through the halls in silence, before coming upon a door. Asmund pushed open the door and  she automatically felt the sun warm her skin, even though it was a cold day. As her eyes adjusted, her mouth dropped open to the wonderful sight that laid in front of her. The garden in front of her had the most beautiful fountains and ponds. The water glistened in the sun as it flowed through the ponds. She took in all the statues perfectly placed and carved into beautiful angels. She strolled up to one of the ponds and let her gaze focus on the water. At the bottom, she noticed beautiful koi fish in the bottom. They weren't swimming much, as the water was cold, but she could still make out all their beautiful shapes and sizes. There was one fish that was so white that it almost blinded her when the sunlight hit her. She smiled wide, as she watched the fish move at the bottom. She lifted her eyes and let them take in the rest of what laid  in front of her. The flowers were all dead and frost had covered most the ground, but she could tell it would be lovely in the spring.

Asmund studied her as  she stared in wonder at the garden in front of her. The sun shone on her pale skin making it shimmer and glitter. Her hair swirled around her face as the cold wind blew. 

She really was an angel, he thought to himself. There was no way something that beautiful could come from a human.

"When your new room is ready, in the next day or so, there is an exquisite garden that will be attached."

"Oh," She stated still fascinated by the flowing water. 

"Did you think you weren't allowed outside? I was sure we had told you that you could go outside your room now, but it is quite boring." 

"You act like I'm going to be staying here for an extended period. Do you honestly think I won't try to escape?" 

"Oh I'm expecting the entertainment of watching you try to escape, over and over again." He laughed and the sound echoed off the concrete walls that surrounded the area.

Adelina turned away from the pond and shot Asmund an angry look. He chuckled at her temper.

"Enough of this. Walk with me." He held out his arm. Adelina looked at his outstretched arm and scoffed.

"I'll walk with you, but stop trying to act like a gentleman."

They both began to walk around and she let her eyes focus on her surroundings. The concrete walls stood tall and blocked out the view, but she remembered they were high on a mountain. There were guards constantly moving around the area. Some guards carried guns while others carried large swords and axes on their backs. She watched them and tried to memorize the patterns and routes.

"This place was built before the war, although heavily damaged during. It was built to be able to withstand fires, bombings or escapes. We made some improvements."

"And you're telling me this why exactly?"

"I can see the look in your eye. I know you want to escape, but you should probably get that idea out of your head. I'm being realistic with you Adelina." Asmund stopped to stare into her eyes.

"My brother, he is volatile. All of us can be temperamental, after all it's in our nature. Falentine is the worst of all of us. If you try to escape, he will punish you. He will use your family or whatever means he can to hurt you. Taavi and I wouldn't let him physically hurt you, but he will find other ways. I just think you should know that."

"I'm not scared of him. I am not scared of any of you."

"You should be." Asmund said in a serious tone that made her shiver in fear. She tried to cover it up as she grabbed her arms in her hands and tried to stop herself from shaking. 

"I didn't bring you out here to scare you." He paused staring into the distance.

"There are some things we need to discuss." He tapped on Adelina's arm and led her to a wooden bench facing one of the angelic statues. The statue was painted all white and the wings spread brilliantly. Adelina thought it luck, for it could escape from this place. 

"Why are you so concerned about me? Why should I even trust you?" 

"You shouldn't trust me. Listen, you can hear waht I have to say or not. If you want to walk out of here right now I will let you go back to your room."

She considered storming back to her room, but she was curious as to what he had to say. She didn't trust him. She figured this was all a way to try and manipulate her, but she had to at least hear what he said.

Asmund let his gaze focus on the sculptures in the garden and away from Adelina's curious eyes.

"My brother mentioned the sacrifice a few nights ago to you. There is obviously more to it then what he said. The ritual requires a lot of different things and will take days to complete. There is something important, though and I think you should know. Blood will be spilled and people will die. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but you need to know."

Adelina gasped, all the color draining from her face. 

"You guys are going to kill me?" 

Asmund laughed at the thought.

"No, not you. You are far to precious for us to give up. But people you care about will die."

"And you can't stop this from happening?" Adelina sobbed as the words hit her and tears started rolling down her eyes.

Asmund didn't utter a word as he shook his head. He watched as tears leaked out of her eyes and onto the pavement below them. He knew this would break her heart, but he couldn't let it be a surprise. There was so much she needed to know, so much he couldn't tell her yet.

"Who?"

"My brother will have my head if I go into detail. I've already said more then I should."  

They both sat there in silence. Adelina let the tears flow freely. She felt herself breaking even more than she already had.

"How did it come to this? My entire life changed so fast. All I ever wanted was to be left alone and to live happily with my family and Daniel. Why can't you guys just let me have that? A quiet and simple life away from all this."

Asmund kept silent as he refused to meet her gaze. After a few more minutes of the awful silence Adelina wiped her eyes. 

"Take me back to my room." Adelina said her meek voice came out as a whisper.

Without another word Asmund lifted his body up off the bench. Adelina began to stand, but her legs shook underneath her as she started to crumple to the ground. Asmund caught her just before she hit the concrete beneath them. He  put her back on her feet, not letting go until he made sure she was steady. They walked in silence back to the room. Adelina had spent the walk deep in thought and a haze clouded her vision. They stepped back into the room and Adelina threw herself onto the soft bed.

"When does it start?" She asked before Asmund could leave the room.

"Soon." He said as he watched with creased brows as her body shook violently with sobs.

"There is something else."

"What else can you possibly say now?" 

"You need to ask Daniel next time you see him where he was the night we arrived in your town." Asmund stated as he turned on his heels and left the room.

She deserved to learn the truth.

Even if it would break her heart more than it already was.