Chapter 4

Emma didn't know if it was day or night or how many days had gone by since she'd jumped after Killian through the portal. She'd completely lost track of time. It felt as if they were held captive for months but Killian had assured her it had just been six days.

So far they weren't any closer to finding a way out of this dungeon. They had no weapons, their bodies grew weaker and weaker with every passing day and they were clearly outnumbered. She had tried to awaken her magic but no matter how hard she concentrated it didn't work. But without her magic they wouldn't have the slightest chance against these monsters.

She tried desperately to hold onto her hope because she couldn't give up. She just couldn't. She needed to get back to Henry. But it was getting harder and harder to not lose hope. She had the mind of a warrior but everyone had a breaking point and she feared hers was nearer than she would wish. It wasn't even the physical torture that was pushing her closer and closer to the edge, it was the psychological one. She could deal with her own pain but hearing him in pain was ripping her heart apart.

The day after they had tortured her in front of Killian, they had come to get him alone and dragged him away. She had wrapped her arms around her body, digging her nails into her skin. She could imagine what they would do to him and alone thinking about it had made her whole body stiffen. But suddenly she had heard a clicking noise and she could hear a weird sound coming from every corner of the room. It had been a strange whipping sound, followed by a loud groan echoing through the room and she'd realized with horror that they had been letting her hear how they were torturing him.

She had crawled into a ball on the ground, tears clogging up her throat until she couldn't hold the sobs back any longer as she listened to the sounds reverberating through the room, flinching every time she heard the whip connecting with his body.

They never tortured them simultaneously again but they always let the other hear what they were doing. They had both tried. Tried to make no sound, knowing that the other could hear every single groan, every cry of pain. But they were never able to keep quiet, the pain being just too much.

Until she almost reached her breaking point when they threw him back into the cell one day. He stumbled to the ground, crying out with pain as he hit the concrete and Emma stared with horror at the pipe that was sticking out of his back.

He pushed himself up on one arm, searching her gaze, his eyes wide with shock, his voice only a hoarse whisper as he croaked out. "Emma, I need your help. I need you to pull it out."

"I can't do that." Emma replied, backing away from him. "Rule number one. Don't touch it. It might seal arteries. Arteries that would bleed profusely the moment you'll remove it."

"I'm not ..." Killian paused, gulping in some harsh breaths before his eyes found hers again. "I'm not gonna bleed out. I can feel their magic or voodoo or whatever the hell it is they are using to heal our wounds. It's already working. But it can't heal the wound as long as the pipe is still in me."

"You sure?" Emma asked, the thought of being all alone with these creatures horrifying her.

"You might even enjoy it. You know, make me hurt." Killian replied, trying to shoot her a cocky grin as he continued. "Like back in the hospital. Remember?"

"That's not funny, Hook."

"Emma, I can't do it by myself."

"Okay." Emma stepped closer, kneeling down beside him, wrapping her hands around the metal.

Killian gritted his teeth, waiting for the inevitable pain but the seconds ticked by without Emma making a move and he heard her soft whisper as her hands fell from the pipe. "I can't."

"Emma, you have to!" Killian snapped, swiveling his head around, regretting his harsh tone instantly as he saw her eerily pale face. "I'm sorry. I'm sure that was their plan all along. Psychological torture. I won't be able to keep quiet, Emma. There are spikes at the end of the pipe and you are going to have to tear them through my flesh to get it out. But there is no other way. I know you can do it."

His confident tone made her shoulders straighten and she gave him a curt nod, her fingers tightening around the pipe and closing her eyes for a second she began to pull, flinching as she heard his sharp intake of breath. But she kept moving, drawing it out inch by inch, trying to ignore his groans until one of his groans turned into a scream, freezing her in place.

"Keep going!" Killian burst out between shallow gasps. "Gods, Emma. Keep going!"

And she continued to pull, her whole body trembling as he cried out in pain, his agony making her almost stop but she just closed her eyes and kept going, relief washing over her as he finally passed out. The moment the pipe left his body she could see how the wound already started to close up again, the magic of the creatures obviously working.

"Killian?" She grabbed his shoulders and turned him around with some effort, placing his head on her legs, her hand flying to his throat searching frantically for his pulse and she relaxed slightly as she finally found it and felt it thumping steadily under her fingers.

"Don't scare me like that ever again." She whispered, brushing her fingers over his face, outlining his brows, his lips.

Her fingers kept moving and she didn't question what she was doing as she trailed her fingers over his scruff, caressing his cheek, waiting for him to recover consciousness. It seemed like hours before she felt him moving, his eyes opening slowly.

"Hey, beautiful." Killian rasped.

"Welcome back, pirate! I was worried for a second." Emma replied quietly.

Her fingers were still caressing his cheek and he reached up, closing his own fingers around hers and a jolt of electricity surged through their bodies, a blue light shooting out of Emma's hand, making them jerk back.

"Bloody hell! What was that?" Killian asked, staring bewildered at her hand before his mind caught up and he realized what he'd just seen. "Try again."

Emma concentrated everything on her hand, trying to force her magic to the surface but nothing happened. She had no idea what had just happened. She had touched him before. But his touch had never elicited such a reaction. Something had changed but she didn't know what exactly.

"It seems to only work when I draw power from you." Emma said hesitantly. "I could feel it. Something passed from you to me."

"Did something like this happen before?"

"No. Never."

They stared into each other's eyes, still shocked about what had just happened, both trying to come up with an explanation. Killian tried to remember what he had felt the moment he closed his hand around hers and sudden realization hit him. It was only working when they both had completely their guard down. No barriers, no walls. They needed to let each other in. Complete trust.

"Trust." Both whispered simultaneously as they came to the same conclusion at the exact same moment.

"And the circle is complete." Killian said softly, a small smile tilting up his mouth. "What's the verdict this time?"

"What verdict?"

"Are you able to trust me?" Killian asked softly, stretching out his hand, the situation so similar to the scene at the top of the beanstalk but this time Emma didn't hesitate and she curled her hand around his, their eyes locking and a second later blue streams shot out of their entwined hands, encircling them, a hot surge of power jumping from him to her, filling her with strength.

She could feel the magic thumping deep inside of her but suddenly the blue light flared and she could feel his fingers slacken around her wrist. She looked at him closer, seeing the stiffness around his mouth, feeling the power flicker and she jerked back her hand, severing their connection.

"Sorry! I took too much."

"It's okay. Just give me a second. I feel a little empty right now."

"I need to work on controlling how much power I draw from you."

"This could work, Emma." Killian straightened, his voice taking on an excited note. "We might find a way out of here. We might survive this."

"I know." Emma replied, a grin spreading out over her face. "When we work together we might be able to beat them."

"Partners?"

"Partners."

As she slipped her hand into his the blue light erupted immediately out of her hand but this time golden streaks were interwoven into the blue swirls and Emma wondered if it might be that their auras, as insane as this might sound, were trying to connect.

There had always been a connection between them, deep down she had felt it, right from the beginning. It seemed utterly ridiculous to even think it. But it felt as if his fingers were reaching out and were touching her soul. She had never believed in magic before she'd met her son. She had stopped believing that she could open herself up to someone ever again.

But what if she had found her soul mate? What if she had found the one person who could make her complete?

Killian stared with wonder down at their entwined hands. He couldn't grasp what was happening. He'd never seen anything like this before. People had threatened to rip his heart out with magic but this felt completely different. He could feel her reaching out for him. The blue light swirling up his arm, slithering through his veins, searching for his heart and as the light reached the middle of his chest it felt as if her fingers were stroking over it, as if the contact healed the broken part of his heart, the part that had shattered when Milah was dying in his arms.

Sucking in a breath, he almost wanted to jerk away, to push her back, overwhelmed by the intensity of the feelings rushing through him but then he looked up into her eyes and stayed, leaning even further towards her. His fingers tightened around her wrist and he watched fascinated as the golden streaks were dancing up her arm. They seemed to be an extension of his fingers as if they wanted to reach for her heart, as if they wanted to touch her the way she was touching him and then he was there, touching something deep inside of her. He didn't know how it was possible but it felt as if he was touching her soul.

The feeling was knocking the breath out of him but he didn't sever the connection, his eyes shooting up to hers and he saw the same emotions that were coursing through his body swirling in the green depths of her eyes.

In this exact moment they knew. There was no denial. No turning back. They just knew.