Dorian turned left and walked down a flight of stairs, beckoning me close behind him. Seeing as I had no choice, I followed close behind. The farther down we went, the colder the air seemed to get. It grew crisper and held an eerie chill to it. I was getting medieval castle vibes from it.

Suddenly, we stopped at a simple metal door. Dorian turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "You can act, right?" He asked seriously.

"What?"

"Because I'm going to need you to play the role of a distressed girlfriend." He continued, ignoring my confusion.

Before I could open my mouth to protest, two men, who I hadn't been aware of before, roughly snatched my backwards and held me tightly. I yelled in shock and struggled uselessly in their arms. One of them pulled out a gag and tied it around my mouth, silencing me.

Dorian smiled at me as I squirmed in his guards' grip before taking a deep, composing breath and turning back towards the door. "Showtime." He said, looking at me over his shoulder with a smirk.

He threw open the doors and waltzed into the room, grinning at whatever sight was underneath the balcony. I couldn't quite see, but based on the grunts and pained exclaims that I heard, I could tell it was nothing good.

"Hello there, Alexander!" My eyes widened at the mention of his name. I tried to pull away from the guards, but they pulled me back into submission and pushed me onto my knees.

Dorian winced. "You're not looking too good, are you?" I could see a sadistically satisfied look glimmer in his eyes as he spoke. It was as if he enjoyed looking at the suffering.

"I think you and I both know the reason you're in this situation." Dorian continued.

"My final answer, asshole, is no." I heard Alex respond shakily.

"Well, perhaps I might have a little...bargaining chip that might change your mind." Dorian motioned for the men to bring me ahead.

I let out muffled yells as the guards dragged me forward and shoved me into the railing beside Dorian. I shook off my gag and my eyes widened as I looked down at Alex.

One of his eyes was red and swollen, almost to the point where it was closed. Both his nose and the now opened wound on his temple continued to bleed and he was covered in scars and bruises. Two men were on either side of him, holding him down on his knees as he looked up angrily.

Even in his bruised and battered form, he maintained his fiery burning rage.

"Alex!" I yelled out.

Fear flashed in his eyes as he saw me and he tried to stand only to be shoved back down.

I turned back to Dorian with anger festering inside of me."What the hell did you do to him?"

"Nothing he didn't already deserve."

My eyes narrowed. "What is wrong with you?"

A small smile crept onto Dorian's lips. "A lot of good things."

"Let him go now." I demanded, ignoring Dorian's previous statement.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." He began. "You see, he and I are attempting to come to...an agreement of sorts."

"An agreement? On what?"

"His survival, obviously." My heart dropped as he continued. "You see, I have something that Alex values very much. And he has something that I value very much. I'm hoping that, with his cooperation, that we can make a trade."

I already knew what Alex wanted: Me of course. But...what was it that Dorian wanted? Alex didn't have anything of value, at least, not that I knew of. I didn't see him bring anything with him. He had nothing.

"You really are one of the denser people in life aren't you?" Dorian asked when I was silent for a few moments.

I glared at him angrily. I was anything but dense! Not like I had to explain that to him though. In fact, it was because of him that I had to get wise! All those months of running and hiding had made me smarter. But I wasn't going to stroke his already inflated ego.

Dorian chuckled when I didn't respond. "How dandy. Now I have to explain everything to you." He began. "And no one likes to hear a monologue." With a sigh he jerked his head towards Alex. "Prince Charming down there doesn't have any physical thing that I want. What I need from him is something that's intangible. It's more of a...coercive ability that he has."

"Alex doesn't have any mental powers." I defended.

"I never said he did." Dorian said. He began to walk around me in slow, taunting circles like a shark circling its prey. "Tell me Circe, who has been with you since day one of this new life of yours? Who have you trusted with the deepest darkest parts of you? Parts that none of your other friends are aware of. Who do you confide in? Who has your undying and unwavering trust?" Dorian stopped when he was right in front of me and leaned down with a taunting smirk. "Any ideas?"

Alex. That was who. I looked over my shoulder to see Alex looking up at me fearfully. I didn't blame him. I was scared too.

"Mr. Hollestelle wants you back Circe. But that's the thing. I want you too." Dorian said, walking back towards the edge of the balcony.

I whipped around to face him. "Excuse you?"

"Do you remember the night we first met? When I gave you and your friends a choice?"

How could I forget? That night was practically burned into my subconscious. And for all the wrong reasons.

"That night, you impressed me. You had guts. Guts like I hadn't seen in years. It was...Infatuating in a sense."

I scowled. "What does Alex have to do with any of this?"

"I want you on my side, Circe. Not just on my side, but by my side. I want you to be my second in command in my plan to make the Normals pay for what they did to our kind." Dorian's eyes gleamed as he spoke, as if the words that had just come out of his mouth weren't the words of a deranged mad-man

I blinked. "W-what?" This had to be a dream. If I pinched myself I would wake up in Euros, safe and sound with Alex waiting for me outside my door so we could head to morning training. We never got kidnapped. Alex hadn't been beaten to a pulp. I wasn't being faced with this major choice.

"Just think about it Circe, two powerful beings like us shouldn't have to settle for anything less than what we deserve. We deserve power. Power that can only be taken in a broken society like this one. Power that you can acquire if you side with me." He extended his hand. "What do you say?"

"No Circe! Don't do-" One of the men shoved a cloth in Alex's mouth to silence him as he continued to struggle against their firm grasps.

"Well, Ms. Lewis? I'm waiting."

This was insane. I was 17! I was supposed to be studying for midterms, not deciding whether I wanted to bring about the extinction of Normals. Which I didn't! But...did I really have a choice this time?

He had Alex. He could order for him to be killed at a moment's notice right there in front of me. I would never be able to live with myself if I was the reason he died. And what about my friends? He was able to lure me out easily. Imagine how simple it would be for him to get his hands on them too. My heart pounded in my chest. Was this really going to be it for me? For my new family?

No.

It wasn't going to be. I wouldn't let it. I knew exactly how this was going to play out and it wouldn't be pretty. Dorian currently had the winning deck.

I guess it was just time to turn things over in my favor.

My mouth ran dry as I opened my mouth to form words that tasted like poison. "I accept."

Alex looked up at me in shock, his green eyes so wide I could barely see his pupil.

Dorian smirked. "I knew you would." He snapped his fingers and the men began to drag Alex away and out of sight. I tried to rush to the edge of the balcony only to have Dorian grab my forearm and hold me back.

"Where are you taking him?" I demanded fiercely, glaring at Dorian in a deadly manner.

"Don't worry, Circe. He'll be fine. Thanks to your wise decision, Alex is going to live to bitch another day. He's simply being escorted to the infirmary." Dorian said with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

I looked back down one last time to see Alex's eyes still fixated on me. His eyes were often a safe haven for me. I'd look into them and see genuine affection. I wouldn't have to be fearful that he'd change his opinion about me. But now, as I looked into his eyes, I saw an emotion that I hoped I'd never have to see: blatant fear.