My vision cleared in a flash, and the world came back in sharp, painful focus. I had Sire pinned against the wall with my hands wrapped around his neck and he had his hands around my wrist.
Sire's grip on my wrist was tight, his fingers cold as stone, and I could feel the steady pulse of his malice through every inch of me. He'd had his hands around my wrist long before I regained consciousness, but the pressure, the weight of it, hadn't meant a damn thing until I fully came to and registered that he was touching me. And then the pain hit.
It was like a fire igniting in every vein, a furnace burning through my body, filling every inch of me with agony. I gasped, my chest seizing with the force of it. Sire's hand tightened, and a sound, a low groan, tore itself from my throat—a sound I didn't recognize as my own.
I let go of him as my legs buckled underneath me. I wanted to scream, to tear away from him, but the pain... God, it wouldn't stop. I fought to focus, to remember where I was, what had happened, but the agony was relentless, a tide that didn't care how much I struggled.
"There she is." He drawled, unphased as kept one of his hands on my wrist while he fixed his clothes with the other. "It's too bad though. I was going to find a way to keep you in that state. So magnificent. The perfect champion for me. But you are impervious to my touch when you are in that state and we can't have that now, can we?"
"Y-you killed her," I forced out between clenched teeth, my voice raw, desperate. "You killed Mira."
He barely spared me a glance. "Hmm. She served her purpose." His lips curled into a cold, cruel smirk, his voice void of remorse. "It's your fault, really. You're weak, Jay," he spat, his voice cold as steel. "You let yourself care. You let yourself be human."
Every word of his made my blood boil, fury seeping through the cracks of my agony. I hated the sound of that word from his mouth. Human. A weakness, something beneath him. And it was my fault Mira was dead. My failure. My weakness. I could feel the rage boiling in my chest, but it was smothered by the numbness that spread through me as the collar clicked back into place around my neck.
The magic locked in, choking off my power, silencing the anger and leaving me with nothing but pain. My bones were brittle, my body too weak to move. I could hardly breathe. My head fell forward, the darkness threatening to consume me.
"Take her to the lab." Sire's voice was like ice.
The lab. The word alone made my stomach twist. The cold white walls. The blinding lights. The smell of chemicals and blood in the air, mixed with the metallic scent of magic that clung to everything. I could hear the sharp clink of footsteps echoing off the walls as they dragged me forward, every step heavier than the last.
The doors opened to the lab, and it was just as I remembered—sterile, clinical, and soulless. White. The hum of machines and the metallic clatter of instruments in the distance. The room was full of racks and shelves, all lined with strange vials, jars, and half-finished experiments. Cold light flickered overhead, casting shadows on the walls that seemed to watch me as they pulled me inside.
The smell of antiseptic hit me first—sharp, sterile, and suffocating. It made my head spin, like I was already drowning in it. There were glass containers everywhere, glowing faintly with something that didn't belong in this world. The floor was scuffed, worn, the faint traces of blood still lingering in the cracks between the tiles. The walls were lined with runes, pulsing softly, like they were alive.
I was thrown onto the cold metal table, and the restraints were snapped around my limbs, the metal biting into my skin. I couldn't even summon the strength to fight back. The collar choked off everything inside of me, leaving me empty, useless.
Sire walked in, his footsteps slow and deliberate, ominous in the otherwise quiet of the room. His presence filled the place with oppressive authority as he walked towards me. His eyes, cold as ice, locked onto me, and for a moment, I thought I might just scream. But I couldn't. I was too weak.
"I want every drop of humanity drained from her. Her emotions, feelings and memories too," he said, his voice casual, like he was discussing the weather. "Find it. Strip it from her. We're not wasting any more time."
"Yes, Sire," Doctor One muttered, his voice small. I could hear the fear in it. He was the first doctor I met here as a kid. He is also the one in charge whenever Sire isn't here.
"I want a champion I can control. Find the root of it all and take it. Make sure there is nothing left that can rebel. I want her broken completely. Do not fail me, Doctor." He turned away and left without a second glance.
The door clicked shut, and I was left with the doctors and the cold, detached hum of the machines. The lab felt like a tomb, suffocating in its silence and heavy in their reluctance. I could feel the darkness pressing in, swallowing me whole.
Doctor One sighed, shaking his head. "You heard him. Let's drain her of everything that makes her, well....her."
"This could kill her, doctor. Then it will be all these years of hard work and research down the drain." A female doctor I named Bitch simply because she was, answered.
"You want to go tell him that, doctor? Be my guest." Doctor One snapped back at her.
Bitch sighed in unhappiness as she walked over to the table. She raised her hands and let it hover just a few centimetres above my chest.
I muttered a weak "please," hoping maybe, just maybe, there was a sliver of humanity in her.
But all she did was sneer, her voice dripping with disdain, "If only you had followed orders. If only you had been what we worked so hard for. Maybe you wouldn't be in this situation."
See? Bitch.
She started chanting and the runes in the room flared a sickly red. A surge of agony like I had never felt before, ripped through me. I had thought nothing could possibly surpass the kind of pain Sire could inflict with his touch but this was different. I could feel everything part of me being shredded and pulled apart–mentally, physically and magically– everything that made me, me.
I could hear a sound—deep, guttural, raw. It took me a moment to realize it was coming from me. A noise I didn't recognize. The sound of my body, my soul, breaking. It tore through the air, a noise that didn't feel human.
Please, No more. This was it. This would kill me. Maybe it was for the better. I would finally be free. No more pain and suffering. I'd get to be with Mira and....No, not yet. I couldn't die like this. Not without killing Sire. I had to be the one to kill him even if it was the last thing I did.
Mira deserves that and I will give it to her.
So I closed my eyes and I did something that I have never done before. I prayed. I prayed to whoever or whatever was out there that listened.
Help me. Please.
I don't know how long I laid there praying, Screaming and throwing my desperation right into the universe. It could have been hours, could have just been mere seconds when suddenly, something shifted.
The collar's magic snapped back, and the pain—the fire inside me—suddenly faltered. I barely registered the change at first, but then I felt it. Something—someone—was there.
A warmth. Gentle, like the softest touch. A warm mother's embrace. A feminine voice whispering into me ears: Help is here, my child.
Bitch recoiled, stumbling back like she had been physically pushed. "What the hell?!" She screeched, her voice high in panic.
"What is happening?" Doctor One demanded, confused.
"It's not working." Bitch gasped, wide eyed. "Something is blocking me."
Before Doctor One could respond, the lab trembled with a violent explosion, dust raining down from the ceiling as lights flickered. Several jars that were kept in the shelves that lined the walls fell to the floor and shattered sending shards of glasses everywhere.
"What the hell is going on?!" Another doctor screamed in panic.
A guard burst through the door, frantic and panicked, "We are under attack. You need to leave. Now!"
"But-"
Another violent explosion rocked the place, followed by a cascade of screams, silencing whatever protest they had. They all rushed out of the room, the door closing shut behind them.
I blinked trying to clear my vision. Seriously, who ran out into the open when there is an attack. Are they stupid?
The door slammed open again, this time bringing with it the scent of bonfires and fiery, fiery power.
A figure appeared in the doorway—tall, lithe, with wild, fiery red hair cascading down her back. Her eyes were the sharpest green I'd ever seen, fierce and unwavering as they locked onto mine. She wore black leathers, sleek and tight against her body, twin swords strapped to her back. Her presence filled the room like a storm, commanding, powerful. The weight of it was enough to make the room shift, the machines seeming to buzz louder in response to her.
"Gods! Are you alive?" Her tone was startled and concerned.
Am I that close to death or does she really sound like the most beautiful thing I have never heard in my life? Her voice was strong and sultry at the same time. I wanted her to keep speaking.
She didn't hesitate for a second. She moved faster than I could blink, her hands strong and warm as she cut through the restraints, her gaze never leaving mine. "Stay with me," she whispered urgently, her voice a low command that was both soft and unyielding. "You're not dying here."
And just like that, she lifted me from the table. Her body was firm, steady beneath mine, her arms strong as she held me against her chest. I could feel the warmth radiating from her, her breath steady and calm as the lab around us began to shake.
My vision narrowed and my head lolled but I smiled. I smiled, even as the darkness pulled at me because, for the first time in forever, I felt safe.
I had called and she had answered.
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