DPOV

The moment the Snow Dragons engaged me I knew something wasn't right. There were so many of them, yet they seemed to take turns in approaching me. They weren't trying to kill me which was strange. They had had a few opportunities already, but they didn't take them. In fact, I heard one of them calling out to another to 'stick to the plan' and not 'overdo it.' Whatever their plan was, it included me being alive. That should have made me feel better, but it didn't.

I was determined to fight my way out of this and get back to Rose. I knew she had gotten away and towards the others. They hadn't seemed too interested in following her which again let me to believe I was crucial to their plans.

I had killed two of them already, and I felt the spine of a third break underneath my muscles. I swung my heavy sword, and a fourth lost most of his head. When I survived this, I would have to thank the blacksmith. But still, they kept coming. Whoever organized this raid had a lot of influence to gather so many Snow Dragons.

There was a slight pause in the battle as they were regrouping around me, circling me in. They stepped over the dead bodies of their fellow Snow Dragons seemingly undisturbed by their fall. They were circling me, each one of them taking a turn and lashing out at me. One of them got me in the leg, their fangs ripping apart the scales and skin, leaving a bloody mess. It hurt, but the wound was superficial - he didn't use enough power to critically injure my leg, just to make it harder to run from them.

They kept coming at me one at a time, sometimes two at a time, but always alternating. Their strategy was to wear me down, and it was working. I had to constantly keep my guard up on all sides. I didn't have eyes on the back of my head, so I had to make do with my other senses, but I couldn't last much longer.

They were picking up the pace so they could finish me. I had had enough, I had to end this soon, or I would be done for. I inhaled deeply and was about to unleash my flame with the last bit of strength I had, hoping to take out as many as possible, when I felt something hard and heavy on the back of my head and the world went black. I lost my sight before I lost my hearing, and I fell unconscious to the desperate plea of my Roza, not to take me.

I woke up with a loud groan. My ears were still ringing with my Roza's screams. I wondered why she was screaming until I remembered how I got here.

I was chained to the wall with heavy duty shackles. The cave I was in, was dark but lit with fire torches so we could see. Dragons had much better eyesight than humans, but we still needed a bit of light, even we couldn't see in perfect darkness. I couldn't see beyond the alcove and the corridor leading out of it, the end being engulfed by blackness.

I tried to determine where I was. Based on how injured I was, and how sore I was now, I'd probably been passed out only a couple of hours. The slight cuffing on my wrists by the chains led me to believe the chains had been on me for almost that entire duration. And seeing we were in a cave and the mountain range beside the lake was the only one in the vicinity, I deduced we were probably still pretty close to the lake.

I rolled my shoulders and tested my body as best as the shackles allowed. I had thought it strange that they seemed to be holding back. I knew I was a skilled fighter and their initial lack of success in killing me I attributed to that fact, but soon I realized they didn't want me dead. They wanted me for information, probably on Isaiah. Or maybe these are Dragons who worked for another leader and simply wanted information about the front. Maybe these were the eyes I have been feeling on me for the last two days. Or maybe they have a sick fetish for chains.

I was injured. I had a few bruised ribs, some cuts, and bite marks. There was a bite taken out of my left leg that hurt like hell, but most of these were surface wounds. They stayed away from any real internal damage that might end up with me dead. The fact Snow Dragons were able to show that kind of restraint in battle meant they were either evolving or they feared the person who told them to take me, more than they needed blood and violence.

The light of the torches became brighter, and I someone around the corner. Judging by the color of the scales of this Dragon, it wasn't a Snow Dragon. I wondered what kind of Dragon would associate themselves with Snow Dragons, but when I saw her snout and recognized her, I knew. Galina.

Galina used to train me. She was a very respected member of the military, and I was a recruit in her squad. She had always been rather strict with the rules. I never really understood why she insisted so much on rules and doing the right thing. But later I realized she imposed those rules on herself because she didn't have the internal moral compass to make those decisions without them. And when Galina learned that her mother had been raped by a Snow Dragon, and she was the product, suddenly she felt she didn't need to follow those rules anymore and she went rogue.

We hadn't heard from her in a few decades and assumed she was dead. But we were wrong. I now understood how the Snow Dragons were able to organize. With a dominant creature like Isaiah and a mastermind like Galina, who, at least in Snow Dragons terms, could control her violent urges long enough to actually make an informed decision, they were able to achieve more than they had done in millennia before this.

This didn't bode well for me.

She approached me and seemed pleased I recognized her immediately.

"Dimitri. My favorite student. Such a shame that you there won't be anything left of you when I am done."

"What do you want Galina?"

The cruel smile on her face was something I hadn't seen from her, but showed that she had embraced her Snow Dragon heritage without a doubt. How my once so honorable mentor could fall so hard, I didn't know, but I consoled myself by thinking that she was dead and this monster had simply taken her place.

"I want you on your knees. I want you to beg for death. I am going to break you and then in front of all my men, in front of all your men, I will finally end you, showing the world we are the superior race. Once they see their great General Dimitri fall, they will bow down to me."

Any other Snow Dragon, and I knew they would sooner kill me than be able to break me. They didn't have the patience to slowly torture someone to the breaking point. One provocation, and they would lash out and this would be over and their plan avoided. But with Galina, I knew she could do it. I knew she knew that delicate line between death and almost death. I knew I had a strong pain threshold and I wouldn't break so easily, but I also knew Galina would stop at nothing. My only hope was that she messed up and killed me.

I almost laughed at the realization that death was the preferred option.

Escape would be better, but I knew that wasn't realistic. I knew Stan. He wouldn't spare the man power to go after me. And rightly so. They had a mission to complete - that was assuming most of them survived. I knew from her screaming voice before I passed out that Rose was still alive, but I had no idea about any of the others. I had been a bit too busy fighting my own foes to pay much attention to them.

"You can torture me all you want, I won't break."

She laughed. A laugh reflecting the soulless creature she now was. All warmth that she had once possessed had left her voice and in its place was an ice cold sound.

"I don't expect this to be easy, and honestly I am looking forward to the challenge, but you will break."

The certainty she held within her voice frightened me because I believed her.

"But first, we need to move. This was a nice place to wait for your friends to leave you behind, but on the odd chance they decide to be stupid and brave, we are moving you to a more secure location."

As if on command a few Snow Dragons stepped into the light and started to work my shackles. They unhooked them from the wall, but they didn't release me from them. They pulled me forwards, and I had no choice but to follow.

I was taking in my surroundings, but I didn't think it would do me any good. There were six Snow Dragons flanking me and then there was Galina. She alone would be hard to fight. I was injured and tired and chained, and I had to fight my way through six monsters and the person who taught me everything. Oh yeah, I was also in a maze of caves deep inside a mountain with only a few torches.

So I let them lead me away. They pulled my chains and kicked me to make me walk faster, or maybe they just did it to humiliate me.

I didn't know how they expected me to fly; the shackles ran across my back and between my wings to prevent me from flying. But judging by the smile on Galina's face, she had thought of everything.

Once we were outside and ready to take off, she placed a collar around my neck. I recognized the markings on the metal. They burned bright, and I could feel their effects when she held it close to me.

The markings were similar to the binding spell put on Rose, and the moment she clicked the damn thing in place I felt all my power fade and my connection to my flame was gone. It also resulted in me transforming into my human form which is probably why she put it on in the first place. They could carry me now.

Luckily the shackles fell away, my wrists being way too skinny in my human form to support them, but it didn't matter. The claws of a Snow Dragon worked just as well to contain me.

"Where are we going?" I asked, not really expecting an answer, but needing to ask anyway.

"Where nobody will ever find you."

And with those ominous words, we took off. It felt strange not flying myself. I had gotten used to my human form from spending so much time with Rose. I knew Galina was hoping that the collar had more of an effect on me. And it was hard not being able to touch my flame, but I felt comfortable in my human form, and I knew Rose had been cut off from her flame for years and she was just fine, so I wouldn't give Galina the satisfaction of it getting to me.

What was getting to me was the distance and direction she was flying me in. I had thought she would take me deep into the northern mountains, to some Snow Dragon stronghold, but instead, she led us south towards the edge of the Fire Dragon realm, where it bordered on a desert. I couldn't deny the brilliance of that move, even if it was used against me. Nobody would be looking for Snow Dragons in the Fire Dragon realm and certainly not where it was the hottest. The desert area was mostly deserted, so no one would be able to spot the occasional Snow Dragon flying overhead.

And she was right; no one would ever find me there.

When we arrived I was shackled again. There were two sets in the room they were keeping me. One smaller, obviously meant for my human form, and one larger, no doubt designed to keep my Dragon form under control. I noticed the larger shackles also contained the binding spell. I wondered how she got them. My grandmother was one of the few who could perform that spell, and I doubt she would forge shackles from it. My grandmother wasn't a saint, but she would never agree to make that.

Galina saw me eyeing the shackles in clear recognition.

"You have seen these before? They are very rare; there are only a few of them left. The binding spell is ancient. I wanted to make more, but I haven't found anyone who was able to reproduce the spell. And after a few failed attempts that ended…badly, no one was willing to try. But I only need these. The spell has held for centuries, and they will hold a little longer. My guess is that even with your strong will you won't be able to outlast this spell."

Another reason I needed to make sure I wouldn't break. I couldn't let her know my grandmother could probably forge her shackles.

"They are designed to keep you from accessing your flame. The one around your neck is meant to keep you in your human form. Some torture methods work best when the skin is nice and pink and squishy. The shackles are simply to keep you weak, while we are off feasting and resting."

She walked closer to me and ran her long claw over my chest leaving a small drop of blood in her wake.

"You know what that means right. That you will never be able to access your flame again. That you will always be weak. That the great General Dimitri is no more. So what are you fighting for Dimitri, give up now and spare yourself some pain and suffering."

I laughed. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. And my bruised ribs, and my sore muscles. But I laughed anyway.

"If you think this is all it takes to break me, I am feeling a lot better already. And if you think that I judge my worth by my strength you never knew me at all."

Anger and frustration flashed in her eyes but was shorty replaced by the thrill of the challenge.

"I actually hoped you wouldn't break yet. I have so many things I want to try on you. But for now, rest. Rest and imagine all things I will do to you."

She left the room laughing, and I wanted to slide down towards the ground but realized the chains wouldn't allow it. I groaned. Having me standing up all day and night for God knows how long was torture in and on its own.

I didn't sleep that day. Not only was it hard standing up, but I was actually imagining what my future looked like, like Galina suggested, and it wasn't good. A few days ago I had imagined me lying in bed with Rose next to me, naked of course after we had just made love. I had imagined us sitting on my sundeck together and bathing in the lake in the cave. Now I was imagining her grief-stricken face as she realized I wasn't coming back.

The next few days I didn't see Galina or anyone else. They didn't bring water or food, and I was beginning to think they had forgotten me. I knew Galina didn't think that I could be broken by fasting, but maybe she just wanted me weak. Well weaker. The collar was beginning to be a real bitch.

On the morning of the fourth day, she finally stepped into the chamber where I was held. She had two large Snow Dragons with her, and in my human form, they looked like mountains.

She took the collar off and the chains, and for a moment I felt my flame again. I immediately transformed, and the moment I was a Dragon again, they shackled me to the wall in the chains with the binding spell.

The loss of connection to my flame nearly left me weeping, and I knew that that had been Galina's intent. They could have put the shackles on before I transformed. That would have reduced the risk of escape during that small moment of freedom. But that small moment of freedom was what Galina wanted. I was beginning to acclimate to the binding spell and conform to a new normal. But losing my flame all over again a second later was devastating. I knew Galina was preparing to use that more often.

But at least for today, she had also been planning something physical. In a weird way, I was looking forward to it. The inaction didn't sit well with me, and at least I knew what Galina was going to do instead of imagining it. The Devil you know right?

Galina took a large iron rod and heated it up with her flame. I wondered now that my own flame was blocked, if I would be as fireproof as before? I should have asked Rose if she ever got burned.

But I suppose I would get the answer soon enough.

I was determined not to scream. I had no doubt that whatever she was going to do with that thing would hurt, but I would not give her that satisfaction. I some weird way I wanted to be like Rose when that idiot human had her whipped. She never let out a sound, she never broke. I was holding onto that. I imagined her strong, defiant gaze as Galina stepped closer.

But as she lifted one of my scales and forced the hot poker inside the soft and tender flesh beneath my scales, I screamed, and I knew she had won the first battle already.

I know many of you wondered if Dimitri would 'turn' Snow Dragon. And seeing as I made the Snow Dragons a separate species the answer is no. The next part will be slightly different from the book. The events will change Dimitri and Rose, but I simply couldn't imagine Dimitri hurting Rose no matter how much he was tortured. So I made the decision to change him in a different way. Also Rose will go through some changes. In blood promise, she sacrificed a bit of herself when she was captured by Dimitri and here she will change as well. But differently. Fun times up ahead, Fun times.