My heart thundered as I read the text again. The chat popped up, indicating he was sending me another text and I swallowed a nervous breath. His forgiveness had been something I wanted, but I didn't think it'd be like this. We hadn't talked in almost two weeks.

Syn: I'm sure an apology from me to you is also long overdue...can we meet?
9:01 p.m.

Me: Right now?
9:01 p.m.

It was getting pretty late, he usually-

Syn: Yes. I miss you more than I'd like to admit.
9:01 p.m.

I was stunned into silence at how quickly he responded to my message. Even if it was the simplest text, Syn was horrible with responses. You could ask him the time and he'd lag as if his phone wasn't right in front of him. It was infuriating, yet right now I didn't even have time to think between his replies...maybe he was really serious-

Syn: I need to tell you something.
9:02 p.m.

Me: Are you sure we can't call? You usually hate when I'm out late, no?
9:02 p.m.

Syn: No, I need to see you face to face. As for you being out late, I can make an exception this once. Come to me.
Syn: Please...?
9:03 p.m.

Me: It's really unlike you to spam.
9:03 p.m.

Syn: What can I say? I'm desperate for a reunion, Princess.
9:08 p.m.

Me: Why not come to the palace?
9:09 p.m.

Syn: I'd rather not be there right now. Xavier and I aren't on the best terms. Meet me?
9:09 p.m.

My brows furrowed in confusion as I thought back to the past couple of days. Xavier certainly hadn't mentioned him and Syn being on bad terms. At least not to me...

My fingers hovered over the keys and I bit my lip in deep thought. It definitely went against my better judgement- I thought Syn's as well, for me to be out in a supernatural city when I was...well I guess that didn't matter anymore. There was no longer a lingering threat of me being attacked by some vampire in the city. I could protect myself now...

...but he didn't know that, did he?

Making up my mind, I took a deep breath and sent my response.

Me: Where?
9:12 p.m.

*Syn shared a location with you*

I opened the map to see that he was just a ten-minute walk from the palace. That should be easy enough. A few days ago I wouldn't have felt safe being a human in the Jeradua streets at night, but now I didn't have a care in the world.

Me: What time?
9:13 p.m.

Syn: Right now if possible. There's somewhere I'd like to take you.
9:13 p.m.

Me: Be there soon.
9:13 p.m.

I dragged myself out of the bed and opened my luggage to pull out my sneakers. I liked heels but I refused to wear them on a walk. When I was done making myself look somewhat presentable, I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed.

I was wearing a tight plaid dress with a white long-sleeved tee under it and my hair was in its usual messy waves. I didn't look like a model, but I didn't look bad. I shrugged at my reflection and turned away. It would have to do. Besides, Syn had seen me look worse than this.

I grabbed my purse and phone and walked out of the room. I scurried a few doors down to Xavier's room and knocked on his door. He opened it shirtless and looked down at me with a sleepy expression. "What's up?"

"I'm going to go meet Syn."

He furrowed his brows. "I thought he was in Hell."

"I don't know," I said with a shrug. "He texted me and asked me to meet him."

"Wow. That asshole didn't text me." He said as he feigned hurt. I giggled at his dramatic tone and shook my head. He probably didn't want to tell me about his and Syn's argument. I mean, it truly was none of my business.

"You kids have fun." He grinned.

"Shut up." I said with a smile. Before I could stop myself, I cleared my throat and looked up at him. "You and Syn are best friends. No matter what you're going through right now, it'll pass."

"That's sweet," he said slowly, "and as much as I wish we were going through something, we're not. Just your average boring sexy best friends."

"Right." I nodded slowly.

He raised a brow and crossed his arms. "Do you know something I don't?"

"No." I shook my head. "I don't know anything. He just told me the both of you aren't on good...terms?"

He furrowed his brows, seemingly perplexed by my admission. "Well I mean we haven't talked in a few days...but I wasn't told about anything...? That's really strange, but anyway, I'll talk to him. Thank you for letting me know." He smiled. "Have fun, okay?"

"Of course, and I'm here if you want to talk or anything."

"I know."

I smiled at him before turning away and rushing out to the entrance of the palace. By the time I made it, I was completely out of breath and mentally cursed Syn for choosing a room so damn far from the entrance. I may have needed the exercise, but this was cruel.

Taking a few deep breaths I walked out of the palace from the yard and into the street. The sidewalks here were a lot less busy than in Juva, but it was so much more refreshing. Kids were running around and playing as music and lights flowed throughout the kingdom.

I smiled at a few people passing by and they bowed. I didn't like it- the fact that they knew who I was and that they were doing it, but I didn't have the time to object to it. Not tonight at least.

Ten minutes later I was at the location where Syn had messaged me, but I didn't see him. I looked around and saw an abandoned building in front of me with no people nearby. The previously occupied streets were now barren- I didn't even notice when I had stopped passing people. I just was so caught up in getting here.

Glancing around once again with no luck, I took out my phone and shot a text to Syn.

Me: I'm here.
9:43 p.m.

Syn: Come in.
9:43 p.m.

I looked up slowly at the building in confusion and shook my head. I pressed the contact to call Syn, but it kept ringing with no answer. I lowered my phone from my ear and shook my head as I looked around again. My phone vibrated twice with a text from him and I looked down.

Syn: Come in baby.
Syn: <3
9:44 p.m.

Baby?

What the fuck-

Shit.

Suddenly everything felt off. Syn never called me baby or sent me hearts. He was actually disgusted when I sent them to him.

Well I mean we haven't talked in a few days...but I wasn't told about anything...? That's really strange...

Xavier's words passed my mind and I froze. What if he wasn't trying to be secretive about their argument. What if it didn't even happen?!

How did I know this was really Syn?

I took a shaky step away from the building and put my phone in my pocket. I turned to run away when an arm wrapped around me."Let go of me!" I screamed as I kicked and punched them. Before I knew it, another person was on me and lifted me from the floor.

"Stop struggling," a man threatened.

I immediately calmed myself down and closed my eyes as Cleo had instructed me, but before I could open them...I felt a needle prick my neck and my world went dark.

꧁꧂

A sudden pain across my face caused my eyes to flutter open and close again. I moved in my grogginess and groaned as I felt chains on my legs and arms. This felt oddly familiar.

"Open your eyes, bitch!" A voice yelled as my chin was gripped. I felt their nails digging into my skin and my eyes opened.

A smile appeared on my lips as I looked at the girl in front of me and I laughed softly at the irony. "Hey Mia, nice to see you."

She slapped me across the face and I couldn't help but laugh again. It hurt like crazy, but it was so pathetic that she was still vying for Syn's affection. I guess she still didn't learn her lesson from when he "attacked" her.

I slowly brought my eyes back to her and looked around the area. We were in an empty house that was oddly luxurious for a place that you took someone you kidnapped to.

A few men were behind her and behind me. If I counted right, there were almost twelve men in suits guarding all the exits. I wouldn't be able to just use my new abilities with everyone in here. I was limited to what I could do since I truly just learned about it days ago.

If I wanted a chance at least, then I needed to be smart.

I brought my eyes back to Mia to see her circling me with a gun in her hand. "Why a gun when you can just snap my neck?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm going to drag this out. You're going to suffer before I kill you. Just like you made me suffer," she spat.

"Wow. How ever did I make you suffer?" She glared at me angrily and whipped the gun across my face. I scoffed as blood dripped out of my mouth and I turned to her once again. "Ouch," I said as I opened and closed my mouth to ease the pain in my face.

Mia laughed and crouched down to my level. "You stole my man."

Oh please, bitch.

"I'm not having this conversation with you again. If you're going to kill me just get on with it."

"She has a smart mouth," A man behind Mia said as he stepped closer to us.

I thought he was one of the guards until I eyed his clothing. He was dressed in a fur coat with a suit under it and a long top hat on his head. He looked absolutely ridiculous.

As I looked at him longer I began giggling softly and his eyes snapped to mine. "What the fuck are you laughing at?!" He yelled as he stepped closer to me.

"You."

His hand connected with my face in a hard slap, but I didn't mind it. The pain went away after a few seconds and I shook my head to move my hair from my face. I should've feared for my life but I couldn't, everything that was happening was almost humorous to me.

The only thing I was afraid of was anyone I cared about coming here to try to save me and end up hurt. So if I didn't want that to happen I couldn't wait for them to realize I was gone and come help me. I needed to rescue myself.

"It's okay, daddy. She's just a crazy bitch," Mia said as she laid a hand on the shoulder of the livid man dressed like a chinchilla.

"No. I don't take disrespect from anybody." He said as he shrugged off her arm. He looked back at me and gripped my chin with his disgustingly moist hands. "You better be careful before I take you for myself. You'd fit in with my girls."

He roughly let go of my face and I looked at Mia with a raised brow. "Is this your pimp?"

Mia glared at me and shook her head. "He's my boyfriend."

"Oh okay." I said dryly. "What was I thinking? Who would pay for-"

Before I could finish the sentence Mia fired the gun in my direction three times. I closed my eyes at the sound and anticipated pain in my body, but nothing came. I peeked my eyes open and I was met with her angry expression that was laughable in this moment.

"How do you miss when I'm literally tied to a chair?" I asked. Mia's cheeks became red and from behind me, I heard one of the men laugh and try to cover it up with a cough.

The man in the fur coat took the gun from Mia and fired the gun at me. I let out a small scream and I gripped the armrest when I felt the shooting pain. The bullet had hit my thigh and through teary eyes, I watched as blood oozed out. I took a deep and shaky breath to calm myself down. I refused to let them see me cry. The pain was excruciating, but I forced myself to look back at them blankly.

"Thanks," I said as I swallowed the sob that was about to come up.

Mia laughed and I turned to her. She truly was an unfortunate girl. If things had been different maybe we could've been friends, but no, she had to be a psychopath.

I felt the warm blood drip ooze out of my wound and down my legs. I looked down at it to see it wasn't healing, most likely because the bullet was still snuggly lodged into my skin.

"Syn and I were going to get married!" she spewed.

"Did he say that?" I asked.

"No, but I know him. I know him better than anyone. I've seen him do the most evil things and I didn't run because I loved him. Look at you...you ran. I would have never done that."

"What does that matter now?" I took a shaky breath and looked back at Mia. "He doesn't love you. I don't know if you're slow or delusional...maybe both but he doesn't love you at all."

"But he loves you?" She shrieked.

"No." I said with a shrug. "He doesn't love anyone I guess...how did you get his phone?"

"Let's just say that you took a lot of his focus away these past few weeks. He tends to be careless when you and alcohol mix." She rolled her eyes. "I'm going to fix him though." I burst out into laughter at her words and she crossed her arms with a scoff. "I'm going to enjoy giving you a slow and painful death."

She turned to one of the guards and waved her hand and he immediately rushed into another room. A few moments later he came back into the open space, rolling a cart with a white sheet over it.

As it came closer I could see several blades and strange items that made me sick just to look at them. Mia picked up a syringe and a small bottle with a liquid and held it up. "I thought it would be harder to take Syn's phone you know?" She asked as she placed the syringe into the bottle. "But he was passed out on the floor and I just took it, it was so easy. Don't even get me started on how easy it was to get you here..." She giggled and walked over to me with the syringe that now had a red fluid in it.

"What's that...?" I asked slowly.

"Don't worry about it. Just know that it's going to hurt," she pouted. I watched her and winced as she roughly grabbed my arm and inserted the fluid. After a moment she stepped back and looked at me. When nothing happened she turned to the man behind her. "How long does this shit take to work?" She tapped her foot.

"Give it a moment," her boyfriend said as he kept his eyes on me.

I waited along with them for something to happen when I suddenly felt a painful crawling in my stomach. I groaned in pain as I felt another movement in my feet. My skin felt like it was stretching from the inside and I looked down at my legs.

Under my skin, I could see the shape of a snake crawling inside of me and I held my breath. In agonizing movements both of the snake-like creatures traveled through my body, making me scream out in pain as I dug my nails into the armrest.

The snakes traveled to my back and instantly...they stopped moving. I began panting as I waited for something to happen, but nothing did. As soon as I let myself relax a bit, I felt my spine being snapped. Mia laughed as I let out a blood-curdling scream and I felt my bones throughout my body being crushed. I watched the snake travel to my leg and as my bone snapped I watched my leg bend out of place as I cried out.

"Should we give you a little more?" Mia asked as she grabbed the syringe. "Actually, let's try another one."

This time she pulled out a blue vial and filled up the syringe. The needle painfully pierced my skin, but I was numb to it as the crushing of my bones became overwhelming.

After the blue substance was in me, I began writhing in my seat as I felt nails scratching my skin. Through blurry eyes I watched my arm being continuously sliced open by nothing.

It was as if invisible entities were scraping my skin all over with knives.

"If you weren't such a bitch I'd be giving you the antidote right now," she said as she glanced at a green vial on the cart, but this is fun." She clapped her hands together. "Anyways, enjoy yourself Queen," she said as she walked towards the stairs. "I want at least three guards watching every entrance outside," she ordered as she pointed to the guards. "You." She pointed to one man. "Stay here and watch her. When she stops suffering, come upstairs and let me know."

The guard nodded and everyone else walked outside to position themselves outside.

I was left in the living room alone with the man appointed to watch me and he kept his eyes trained away from me. This was my chance. If I wanted to get out of here I needed to make a move now.

I closed my eyes to try to calm myself down to use my powers but I couldn't. My body was in agony and nothing I did tore my mind away from it. With Mia gone I let my sob out. I winced as my salty tears fell into my open wounds.

Whenever they would heal another one would pop up in its place. The cuts weren't deep enough to kill me, but they were still painful. My skin continuously tore as my bones were twisted in all directions and I began coughing up blood.

At this time I wished that I had stayed with Syn long enough for me to learn how to use this necklace because I didn't think I could do this on my own.

Thoughts of Syn began passing through my mind and through all my pain I imagined myself in his arms. The torment soon became a background to my thoughts and the moments I shared with Syn were at the forefront of my head.

I closed my eyes and felt tears fall down my cheek as a smile appeared on my lips. With a deep breath, I ignored the pain and looked up at the guard.

"Put down your weapon," I said in a shaky voice.

The guard remained still and I sighed as I realized nothing had happened, but less than a second later he put the gun down. He immediately looked up towards the stairs as his eyes widened. "Mi-"

"Don't speak," I commanded softly. His mouth closed shut and his eyes widened in horror as he screamed into his closed mouth.

He moved to run to the stairs.

"Come to me."He fought his legs on his walk over to me but ultimately failed. "Pick up the antidote and give it to me."

His body trembled as he picked up the syringe and vial. With shaky hands and a tear-stained face he plugged the syringe into it. A moment later I felt the needle prick my skin again and I let out a shaky breath.

The snakes in my skin crawled out through an open wound and I watched the bloody gashes on my skin close. My clothes and skin were bloodied, but I was healed for the most part. My bones painfully snapped back into place and I screamed silently. "Unchain me."

The guard made noises to protest, but he moved behind me and snapped the chains open. When I was free, I stood up but fell back down when a sharp pain in my thigh stopped me. I looked back down and was reminded of the bullet in my leg.

I bit my lip in pain as I put my finger into the wound. I whimpered as I pushed my injured skin, and when I felt the small object I pulled it out and tossed it on the floor. A few moments later, the injury healed and I stood up on shaky legs. My body was sore, but I was no longer hurting.

I faced the guard and smiled at him. "Thank you for your help. You can leave."

When he was free from my compulsion he held the gun up at me and screamed. "Mia!"

At his betrayal, my skin heated and I couldn't contain my anger any longer. My jaws ached in a foreign pain and I lunged at him....

...going directly to his neck.

My head shook wildly as sunk my teeth into his skin. I unintentionally drained his body of his blood and dropped him to the floor. My eyes widened in shame as I realized what I had done, but I couldn't help myself. His blood was exquisite on my tastebuds and I ached as I smelled the blood around me.

I heard footsteps coming toward me from all around the house and I sighed. I turned and saw men with guns surrounding me, but I paid no attention to them.

I pivoted in my spot and my eyes landed on the red-headed girl who had just severely pissed me off.

"Hello, Mia."