Warning: This chapter contains scenes of violence. If you're not comfortable with this, feel free to skip to the next chapter.
I eventually regained consciousness again, but my heart was pounding in my head, drowning out any other sound around me. Everything in my body hurt, ached, it was excruciating. I made a weary attempt to lift my head but the sight I saw on myself was a mess.
My clothing was ripped and torn in all places which left my skin exposed to the freezing night air. Much of my skin was discoloured and bruised, many of the purple marks in the shape of handprints which covered parts of my body they had no right to touch. To make matters somehow worse, I was covered in some kind of sticky substance, and I didn't even want to begin going down that road of guessing what it was.
I wanted to cry, to scream, but no tears came out. It felt like they were all over me still, like I would never be able to get their contact away from me.
"Look who has awoken at last," one of their voices echoed from within the darkened corridor.
No words could describe the things I wanted to say from them, but instead I simply trembled in fear like some kind of helpless, injured animal. They stepped into the room so that I could vaguely make out their features in the pale moonlight, but what truly haunted me was that manic grin, that grin that would haunt me for the rest of my life.
The dark haired one was carrying a large case which he placed down on the floor beside the bed and opened up with a click. The blonde looked on over his shoulder happily, the pair of them exchanging smug looks between each other. I continued to try and wrench myself free of the restraints but to no avail. Instead, I watched as the dark haired one pulled out what looked like some kind of iron rod, but it was glowing white.
"W-w-w-w-," I trembled, but no coherent words escaped me.
"She is speechless, frate. Isn't that sweet?" the blonde one tilted his head slightly to the side.
"Please, j-just let me go," I begged, already knowing the answer.
He tutted at me condescendingly. "You are foolish to believe you will leave these walls, little Italian whore."
"W-when the Volturi find out about this, they'll-"
"They will what? It is funny that you truly believe your pathetic scum will stand against us and rescue you. After all, you are nothing but their worthless whore, and they are nothing but power-hungry bastards we could destroy with ease," he brought his face up to mine and snarled.
"Don't talk about my mates like that," I warned them, trembling in anger. One thing was to hurt me, but another was to threaten to hurt them. I would lay my life down for theirs if that ensured their safety.
"Aren't you sweet," he taunted, delicately tracing the bruises he'd left across my body proudly with his index finger, as if admiring his handiwork.
The dark haired one began to bring the rod closer to my exposed torso and I squirmed in an attempt to get away. "G-g-g-get that thing away from me!"
"This?" he smiled condescendingly and shot the rod an admiring look, "Like the Italian scum, we do not offer second chances. I promise it will hurt like nothing you have ever felt before, you worthless blood-bag."
Without any other warning, he placed it directly on my flesh. It took a short moment for my body to process it, but then I let out a gut-wrenching scream as my face contorted in agony. It felt like I was being burnt alive, the heat suffocating me while I struggled for breath.
He continued to place the rod down in different areas across my torso, each time just as painful as the last. I could feel the sting of warm blood trickling down my sides as it dripped onto the derelict concrete floors of the goddamn torture chamber.
Tears streamed down my face and I trembled from the immense agony I was being put through. The last thing I smelt was what seemed like burning flesh before my eyes rolled back into my head and everything suddenly went black.
The kings had been completely restless while they planned Eliana's rescue, constantly feeling their mate's physical and emotional turmoil through the bond. Whatever those disgusting creatures were doing to her, it meant she was in almost constant agony, discomfort, and longing to be back with them.
The entire guard were summoned into the throne room only an hour after her location had been found. Of course, the guard loved to gossip, so they were all already fully aware of Eliana's current situation. Aro stood at the top of the dais wearing a black overcoat over his usual black Armani suit, black cloak in hand, while Caius and Marcus stood either side.
"Dear ones," Aro continued his calm façade with his arms spread open, "I am sure you are already aware of why we are gathered here so I will not waste precious time. The Dacian coven has committed treason against our queen, and for that they will pay the price. We will find her and bring her to safety, destroying any members of their coven found in the process. You know your stations. Go."
With that, the crowd of guards dispersed in half so that Aro could march through alongside Marcus and Caius, followed by Renata, Jane, Alec, Felix, and Demetri, the remaining guards just behind with the hoods to their black cloaks drawn over their heads.
Throughout their search through Romania, Demetri continued to attempt to track Eliana's whereabouts but was still unsuccessful. The fact that she was so sweet to the guard only served as more motivation for them. They would never betray their queen, and she never deserved to be put through something like this.
"I thought Eli was under protection from the Denali coven and the guards Caius already sent," Chelsea whispered so she wouldn't get in trouble for not giving her full attention to the search.
Demetri turned his head to face Chelsea, who was just behind him. "Contact has been lost with the guards. Corin and Heidi have been sent to Denali to assist in finding evidence there, but we can only assume the worst."
Chelsea's eyes widened and she probably would've burst into tears should she have been human. Afton quickly saw her reaction and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders as the group continued to trek through the forests of Romania.
While Caius' regret for not keeping Eliana safe as he should've as her mate weighed down on his shoulders and Aro felt an overwhelming need to protect his mate from danger, Marcus wanted nothing but revenge on those disgusting low-lives they should've destroyed fully years ago. He had failed on Didyme before, and he would never forgive himself if he made the same mistake again, not to his little Eliana.
The kings halted in their tracks as Marcus turned on his bond sight once more. His hand brushing against Aro's, he focused his attention solely on the three identical bright gold ties stretching from their hearts into the distance.
"Are we getting any closer to her location?" Caius asked them.
"I believe so, yet there is still a fair distance to cover," Aro responded, continuing to lead the dark cloaked guard through the forest.
"The bond is beginning to dim on Eliana's end," Marcus informed them. "Whatever they are doing is draining the energy and life out of her-"
Within a flash, all three of the leaders cried out in pain, their hearts clasped over their unbeating hearts as they landed on the cold, damp ground on their knees. Their guards were instantly by their side to help them to their feet yet the pain refused to recede. At first, many of the other guards assumed this to be the work of Jane, what with her ability and all, but they quickly realised that Jane was actually busy tending to Aro with her twin.
Somehow, Marcus was still able to turn on his bond sight and realised that the ties were flaring up brightly on her end. This was due to the agony Eliana was being put through, and therefore caused them to feel it at almost the same magnitude.
The kings were only just beginning to recover slowly as the pain began to dull away. "W-what was that, brother?" Caius gasped as Felix pulled him back up carefully.
Santiago helped Marcus back onto his feet by his arms, though he was still shaky due to the pain still being mildly present. "That was the bond flaring up. Eliana just experienced pain inflicted on her by the Dacians more severe than that, we only experienced an echo of that pain."
Caius growled angrily and his nails dug into his palms so hard that they formed faint cracks. That pain was much more agonising than even Jane's ability ever was. To think that his wonderful Eliana was suffering from something much greater only heightened his drive to rescue her from their grasps.
The twins each held one of Aro's arms and helped him carefully to his feet, though he did still stumble ever so slightly. He snarled as he angrily yanked himself from them and marched forward confidently, continuing in the direction of the bond.
They would not rest until they found Eliana.
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
Author's note: No joke, this is the shortest chapter I've ever written at only 1,500 words approximately haha. For some reason when I wrote this chapter I couldn't take it seriously at all, because all I could imagine was roughly 50 people in completely black cloaks casually wandering through the forests of Romania like some kind of emo family day out sksjdksds.
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love hearing your thoughts, stay safe, and ily lots!