[ E D I T E D ]

♕✿~♕✿~Chapter 36//: Blood War♕✿~♕✿~

My senses slowly come back to me as I regain consciousness. The first thing I notice is the burning dryness of my throat, begging for water.

The second thing I notice is the dark, murky cell I'm in.

I push myself up into a sitting position quickly, grimacing as my head starts to throb. The corners of my vision darken a bit before going away.

I look down and realize that I'm sitting on a small, stiff bed. What is this place? Where am I? Suddenly, my memory comes back sharply, and my breathing quickens as I start to panic.

The outdoor gathering. The bullets killing the queen and king. Lucas' betrayal. The man from the ball night. The Rogue Dawn wreaking havoc on the palace as I was taken away.

Sydney. Mom. Dad. Were they okay?  They had to be. If something happened to them...

I need to get out of here. The desperation starts clawing at me as I stand up, wobbling on weak legs. I rush to the bars of the cell facing a stone path, and fall against them. The metal bites at my hands, and a sharp burst of pain registers in my mind as I run my hand against a small piece of metal sticking out. I ignore the bleeding cut, and look at what's beyond the bars.

Identical cells meet my eyes, but I can't see into them. The weak lights lining the ceiling of this place barely provide enough light to go by. The air is cold here, and the stone walls combined with the chilly air makes me think of an underground place.

I shiver, though not from the cold. Across from me, in the cell, I swear I heard some rustling. Like someone was stuck in the cell like me. Hope sparked in me. This person was obviously in the same predicament as me and had gotten on the wrong side of the Rogue Dawn.

"Hello? Can you hear me? Please, do you know how to get out here?" I shout desperately, my voice echoing. Silence answers me. I try again to get the person's attention.

"Please! We can work together to get out here! Just answer me, pl-"

"Shut up!" I jump away from the bars as a voice shouts back, annoyance laced in their voice. By the sounds of it, it was a woman.

The hope in me builds up as I try to figure out where the voice came from. I open my mouth to shout again when another voice, this one belonging to a male, comes from next to me.

"They're not going to help you escape. They've lost hope long ago."

A bit startled, I whip my head to the side. That voice had come from the cell next to me. Cautiously, I start to inch towards the set of bars on my right side.

"Hello?" I say, uncertain. The man laughs, and I wince at the sound that does not belong in a situation like this. I continue taking small steps towards the bar, but gasp and stumble back as the man suddenly slams into view.

The man looks to be in his late twenties. His dark, sun-kissed skin looks to be covered in a sickly shade, probably from being here for who knows how long. His dark hair hangs uncut over his forehead, and some pieces stick out all over the place. His eyes, which are a striking green, have a crazy look to them. The way they dart everywhere all at once make me think he's seen things that no one should see in their life.

He's mad, I realize.

I remember where I am, and gain my composure. I step towards the man, kneeling like he is so that I'm seeing him eye to eye. His eyes finally stop roaming, and he stares at me. I resist the urge to shudder under his stare.

"I'm Madison. And-I..." I breathe in and out, trying to calm my nerves. "I need to get out of here." I look at him, hoping he can see my desperation. "Can you please help me? Do you know a way to get out?"

He stays silent for a bit. He does nothing but stare at me, inspecting me. I can see him take in my blonde hair, the blue jewel still stuck stubbornly in my hair. My dress, which is now dirty and ripped at the hem. My bleeding hand, my foot missing its shoe.

All he does is smile crazily.

"You think you can escape?"

I swallow, still a bit unnerved by this man. But he's the only one listening to me right now. "Yes. I do believe I can. With the help of you, of course."

He lets out a short laugh, though it's not full of amusement. He looks at me in disbelief. "You think you can escape the Rogue Dawn? The leader?" He leans through the bars as far as he can. "You're crazy," he states.

"Not as much as you," I retort back, before shutting my mouth with a firm clamp. I silently curse myself for insulting the one person who I might be able to convince to help me escape.

But instead of looking insulted, the man just smiles. It's filled with humor, but still laced with the madness that is in him. "You're right about that," he agrees. "You're not as crazy as me. But you will be once you have to be down in this wretched prison for 7 years." With this bitterly said, he pushes away from the bar, clearly indicating that he's done talking to me. But I'm not done talking to him.

"Please. You must want to get out of here." Like him, I push myself up from the ground, gripping the bars for support. He stops in his track, and looks at me, sneering.

"And how do you know I want that?" he taunts.

I grit my teeth. "You just called this prison 'wretched'. Obviously you hate your imprisonment." He doesn't make a move to walk back into his dark corner, so I push on. "If you help me escape, I'll get you out of here as well."

I expect him to agree with my plan, or at least tell me he'll think about it. But instead, he snarls and throws himself at the bars again. Startled, I let out a gasp and fall to the dusty ground of the cell.

"Don't give me false hope," he growls. His eyes, which were filled with laughing madness, is now narrowed in anger. With that said, he lets go of the bar and stalks to the dark corner where I hear him plop down onto the hard bed. I can barely see his figure hunched in the bed, the lights providing barely any vision.

But it provides enough for me to see the symbol of the Rogue Dawn on an armband wrapped around his left arm.

I numbly walk to the bed in my cell. I collapse into it, and pull my legs up. It's what I used to do as a child when I was still scared of the dark and nonexistent monsters. But now, it seems as if these monsters have become much more real.

Who was this man? And what was he doing down here in this prison when he was clearly a member of the Rogue Dawn? It gave me a bit more hope. Maybe this man had done something betraying the Rogue Dawn. Perhaps he was put down here because of that.

Maybe he'll help me if I offer him vengeance to the people who put him down here.

I push myself up from the bed, determined to convince the man. I was not going to sit here and do nothing.

I sigh as I kneel down in front of the bars again. I can see the man's figure shift, as if he's looking at me, but his figure turns away again.

"Maybe we should start over." I decide to go with being nice to try to convince him again. "My name is Madison. What's your name?"

He doesn't answer me immediately. Maybe he thinks if he doesn't talk to me, I'll give up. But I won't. I patiently sit in front of the bars, waiting for his answer. Finally:

"Damon."

I repeat his name over and over in my head to make myself not forget. Damon stays in his bed, not moving.

"I know you're not exactly inclined to escape. You've been stuck down here for a long time, enough to make anyone go crazy and lose hope. But I'm determined to get out. And someone as determined as me will escape. If you help me escape, I can promise you freedom. And I can also promise you revenge." Here, I clench my hands in my lap. "I was taken by the Rogue Dawn against my will. Something happened to you that made the Rogue Dawn turn against one of their own." I see Damon's form tense a bit. "I know we're both burning with the need to get back at them for doing this to us. And I can give you that chance."

I stay silent, letting my words settle in the air around us. I hope and pray that he will listen to me, that he will agree to help me escape. The silence seems to stretch on forever, but I try to still my shaking hands to make sure I hear his response when he answers.

But as the seconds pass, and he still doesn't move from his bed, I start to doubt that he will answer at all.

As I'm about to turn away and go back to my bed to think of another way to convince him, he finally pushes himself off the bed. He takes slow steps towards the bars that connect his cell and mine. There's still that mad gleam in his eyes, but he seems to be considering my proposition.

He plops down in front of me, and smiles that mad smile once more. "Are you sure you can deliver those things to me, Madison?"

I'm not entirely sure, but the hope that he will help me escape makes me recklessly say, "Yes. I'll make sure of it."

He stares at me with amusement, as if he knows I'm not entirely sure I can do so. "Good. Just remember, if you don't deliver those things, I will hunt you down and make you regret it." The madness in his eyes seem to grow into something more, and something darker. A shiver runs up my spine, but I nod.

The sound of a door harshly being opened makes me snap my eyes away from Damon and towards the bars of my cell. The air suddenly seems colder as the footsteps of multiple people reach my ears. I look back at Damon to see a grim expression on his face. He looks at me, and I think I see a flash of sympathy.

"I'll help you escape if you can survive this. Let's hope you do, Madison," he whispers to me before quickly retreating to his bed. I stare at his figure with dread and confusion. What did he mean 'survive this'?

My question is quickly answered when four people, three male and one female, with the Rogue Dawn sun symbol on an armband they wear stop in front of my cell. Gulping, I wonder why they're here. Maybe they mean to take me away somewhere. It made sense. But how would they even get me out? I don't see a key or door, for that matter.

The woman steps forward and waves a hand. Three of the metal bars bend into a small opening. I gape at this sight. A magnetron. But why would any Silver join the Rogue Dawn, who was intent on killing them? This greatly confused me as the woman beckoned for me to get out of the cell.

I look back at Damon's figure. I can't see him clearly, but I can feel his stare on me. I'll help you escape if you can survive this. His words repeat in my head. I try to push away my nerves, determined to get my chance at escaping.

I step through the small opening and immediately, two of the men grab me by the arms. Their grips are like iron, and the woman closes my cell once more. She takes the lead, while the two men drag me along, with the other man walking behind us. The woman turns towards me with a piece of black cloth in her hands. I shudder as I realize she means to cover my eyes with it. Her cold hands barely touch my face as she ties the piece of cloth over my eyes. All I can see is the cloth, nothing more. They're making sure I can't escape.

I walk blindly as the men drag me. I take note of the turns we make. Left. Left. Right. Left. Right. Right. I let out a hiss of pain as my bare foot hits something hard. A stair. One of the men chuckles in amusement, my pain clearly amusing him. I feel bile rising up at this sick person who calls himself human.

I'm dragged up the stairs, and I stub my toes more than a couple of times as I'm forced to blindly climb up to wherever. I hear the same screech of the door opening, and I breathe in the fresh air that greets me. The air is salty, and I hear water. We must be near the ocean. In my mind, I think of the different cities in Norta. Some islands come to mind, but for some reason I feel as if I'm far away from home and not in Norta. The thought chills me to the bones even more than the chilly winter air of this place.

I take note of the texture of the ground with my bare foot. It feels as if I'm walking on cement, but the ground beneath me turns to hard dirt. We must be walking off some path. But soon enough, I'm walking back on cement. They're probably just trying to confuse me, I think to myself. But I will not let myself be fooled by their mind games.

Finally, we start to slow down. I hear another door being opened, and I'm pushed into some building. The air is uncomfortably warm, as if the heater in this building is blasting. The men let go of my arms and I resist the urge to cradle my sore arms that are most likely red from their steel grips.

I still as I hear a new set of footprints walking towards me. Suddenly, the air around me feels hot. A stifling kind that makes it difficult to breathe. I let out a shaky breath as I feel a pair of hands reach behind my head to untie the cloth making me blind. I watch the cloth as it falls from my face and to the floor. I don't want to look at the person in front of me because I already know who it is and I don't want to see his face.

But he won't let me. I feel him grab my chin and pull it up to force me to look into his cold, blue eyes.

The man from the ball no longer looks like the charming man who had helped me get to the ball. He has a wicked smirk on his face, and without his mask on I can see he's young, barely a couple of years older than me. He's dressed in black clothing, but unlike the nice clothes he wore before, the fabric looks ragged and old. Like the people who took me here and Damon, he's wearing an armband with the symbol of the Rogue Dawn on it.

I want to demand to be let go. I want to attack him for worrying my family. I want to do so many things that I find myself reeling in shock at my violent thoughts. This was not how I was raised to be. But in the circumstances I'm in, I can't help myself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you again, Madison."

I snarl, unable to hold back my anger. I launch towards him, my hands outstretched, ready to do whatever to get out of here. But before I can do anything, the woman from before waves a hand, and a snake of metal wraps around my abdomen. It squeezes, taking my breath away from me. I gasp as the metal suddenly disappears, dropping me to the floor. I take in a shuddering breath as I see the man kneeling down in front of me with that stupid smirk of his.

"Why are you doing this?" I whisper. "Why me? What have I done to you?" My confusion is growing more by each minute passing.

He just smiles serenely, as if everything is good. He reaches out and takes one of my locks of hair in his hand. He lets it go. "I just want my revenge. You can understand that." Here, he smiles wickedly. "Can't you, Addi?"

I stop breathing, stop moving as he says this. My eyes widen fearfully as I take in his words and the name he called me. There was only one person in my life who had ever called me that. And for a long time, I had believed he was gone from my life, never to be seen again.

It seems that I was dreadfully wrong.

I turn slowly to look at him. I swallow as I realize the similarities. Black hair, blue eyes, sharp intelligence reflected in his eyes. Just like--

"Nathan?" I gasp as this terrible realization comes to me. No, it can't be. We were friends, even if all we did was get each other in trouble. It was until he had disappeared from my village that I saw him every day of my life.

How could someone who had been my friend become this?

Nathan smiles, showing teeth, as he leans towards me. I shrink from his presence.

"That still doesn't explain why you've taken me," I say as I put as much distance as I can between me and him.

Nathan sighs, as if he doesn't want to take the time to explain. As if I should know. He stands back up, pacing the room we're in. I let my eyes go back and forth, taking in the room. It resembles something like an interrogation room.

"I know your relationship with Prince Ahren is...one of romance." Nathan stops pacing and looks at me with those chilling eyes of his. He comes closer to me. "You see, you may think he's the perfect prince, the one for you," He sneers as he says this. "But he is far from that. He has stolen something of mine and has claimed it when it belongs to me." His eyes darken.

I can't help but let out a short, humorless laugh. "So you took me to, what? Send the message to Ahren to never steal whatever object he stole?" I laugh again. "I never thought you'd be this childish."

In a quick second, Nathan crosses over to me in long strides and grabs the collar of my dress before slamming my head down into the hard floor. Darkness gathers at the corner of my eyes.

"He's committed a crime far worse than that. He's stolen everything in my life. What everyone should have in life, I don't have." Nathan lets go of me with disgust.

Groggily, I push myself up with my elbows. "How has he stolen everything in your life? He doesn't even know you!" I shout at him.

Nathan smiles, and his smile reminds me of Damon's smile a bit: mad. He comes towards me again, and I can't help but flinch preparing to get hit or something worse.

His uncomfortable warmth spills over me as he leans close into my face. Soon, I feel as if I can't breathe.

"Does this look familiar to you, Addi?" I flinch at the nickname he gave me when I was a child, but watch with wary attentiveness as he raises a hand. He takes something out of a pocket on his pants. The object he pulls out is a lighter. He flicks the cap open and I watch as he makes the lighter sputter fire. It seems plain and boring.

Until he moves the flame of the lighter into the palm of his hand.

I can't help but gasp as he makes the small ball of flame build up. Suddenly, the uncomfortable heat he always emanated made sense. Why he had the trademark black hair of the Calore family.

"You and Ahren are--" I can't even finish the statement, too shocked to say the word: family. The idea that these two, who were so different, were related was strange to think about.

He smiles as I realize this. He stands up and stares down at me as he motions to someone. The people who brought me here move forward from the shadowy corners they were standing in, ready to take me back. But my question is still unanswered.

"Why me?" I whisper once more. Nathan once more bends his knees to crouch down beside me. I try to pull away as he grabs my face in his hand, but he tightens his grip on me. With his other hand, he touches my collarbone gently. My heart starts to race, wondering what he will do, when a searing pain comes from my collarbone. I scream, unaccustomed to the pain as it continues. Small wisps of smoke come from where Nathan's hand meets my collarbone.

Finally, he pulls away and lets go of my face. The people from before drag me up from the ground, and I hang limply in blind pain as white races across my vision. They start to drag me out of the room, not bothering to cover my eyes with the blindfold, as I'm in too much pain to take notice of anything.

Before I'm dragged out of the door and taken back to my cell, I hear Nathan respond to my question, and I'm barely able to take in his words through the pain I feel.

"He took everything away from me. So I will take everything away from him."

♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~

End of Book One.

So, I hope you guys enjoyed this last chapter! This is by far the longest chapter I have posted. It's about 3,666 words! But I wanted to get in every detail before finishing this first book up.

It feels strange to be finished with this book! I can't wait to continue this story in the sequel. My plan is to first figure out a title for the second book and make a cover for it. Then, I want to plan out the plot line before jumping into this next book.  But when it's all done, I'll be sure to add an update to this book to tell you guys when it's up!

Sorry this chapter took sooooooo long to get up! I had gotten King's Cage, and I had finished reading it in about 4 days. And oh... my... gosh. I'm heartbroken by everything that happened in it! So I was stuck in this book coma after reading that ^-^

I just want to say THANK YOU. Thank you to everyone who has been on this journey with me. When I first started this book, I was not expecting to get a lot of support, but then all of you amazing readers have come! Thank you so much for sticking with me, and voting and commenting! I just love reading and responding to your comments! You all leave such sweet messages, and it really makes my day whenever you guys leave a comment! So THANK YOU ALL <3

Have a great week guys!

Glass_Sword