The group of four stood just outside of Dorian's office. Glancing over to Nik, "By now Veera should be shackled down in the dungeon, show them the way. I'll catch up in just a few." He nodded slightly keeping his head slightly bowed as he glanced over Julia with a light smile before his eyes landed back on Nemia. Hovering over her for a few shared heartbeats. The energy between the two was thick enough to cut with a knife.
"Will do, Dorian." Nik replied, breaking the two's spell. Dorian glanced back over to Nik, straightening himself and nodded. Turning on his heel, he took off. Disappearing down the corridor.
Nemia watched after him till she could no longer see him. Her wolf pacing in her head. She was agitated, consistently giving low growls of disapproval the further he walked away. Nemia was thankful though that aside from the growls, her wolf was otherwise silent now. She couldn't take hearing that word again. Couldn't take hearing her demands at the moment.
She let out a breath, realizing just then she's been holding one in. Who knew how long because she sure didn't.
"Its only been two minutes, give her a moment." Julia's voice rang distantly in Nemia's mind.
'Two minutes?' Her brows knitted closely. Then, she blinked. And blinked again, before finally pulling herself back to the here and now and she spun. Nik and Julia and stepped off to the other side of the corridor, leaving her standing in the center. Realizing she had been standing here watching after Dorian for at least two minutes like a lovelorn fool.
'Gods, why?' Her mind stressed. She shook her head and stepped towards the other two.
"Ah, I think she's back." Nik retorted with a chuckle. Shaking his head and pushing off the wall with his foot, his arms crossed against his chest.
Without missing a beat, Nemia stomps her foot down onto the toes of history right foot. Which would have been mildly effective, if she still had her heels on.
Nik chuckled again and shook his head, letting his arms drop before motioning them to follow. "How about we save that aggression for Veera, yeah?" He called back over his shoulder.
Nemia looked over at Julia and mouthed, "I may kill him."
Julia smiled cheekily and shook her head. Grabbing Nemia's arm, they started following after Nik. Julia patted the same arm she held of Nemia's with her other free hand. "Well, you was right Nem." Julia said in a jaunting tone.
Nemia looked over at her, confused. "What could you possibly mean right now Jules?" She asked skeptically.
"The night before last, when you first came back home. After months I might add." She glared momentarily before her eyes switched to amusement as she opened her mouth again. "You said you bet your first meeting with our king, Dorian would be more than memorable enough for him to remember your name." She squeezed Nemia's arm, not being able to contain the giggle that erupted from her.
"Yeah.. definitely memorable.." Nemia responded, though rather blankly.
Julia's face softened. "Is it really such a bad thing to have found your mate Nem?" She pressed, care and concern mixing together in her eyes.
Nemia gave a hollow laugh and shook her head. "I honestly couldn't tell you." She exasperated. She stared at the back of Nik's head as they continued on, having already went down one flight of stairs and was rounding on another.
"Why? What's so bad about it?" Julia half laughed and threw her free hand up in the air carelessly and to her side. "I would love to find one, it gets lonely."
"I prefer solitude." Nemia replied blankly. Watching Nik's shoulders tense just barely, obviously listening in. Not that either one of them was talking in hushed tones to try and hide the conversation anyway. What was the point?
"Yes, yes. I know. Lone wolf over here.." Julia stated dryly. "But you found your mate, surely your wolf doesn't want to let that go."
"The wolf inside me is just a part of me, I make my own decisions. From my own free will. She does not control me." Nemia growled lowly, but her wolf decided to growl back.
'We are one in the same, Nemia. Don't you dare deny me.' Her wolf growled. 'And my name is Adira!'
Nemia stopped for a moment. Did her wolf finally just name herself? She shook her head and fell back in step with Julia. Who was just staring at her with wide doe-like eyes. Nemia's lips twitched ever so slightly. "I'm sorry."
"Is that apology to me, or your wolf?" Julia questioned.
"Both... And.. she just named herself. Adira. It's..."
"Beautiful."
Nemia spun on her heel, her breath catching in her throat. Dorian had caught up to them. Slowing his incoming, given that he had sprinted through the castle to catch up to them as they reached what was sure the bottom of the castle. There was no natural light reaching it's way through any cracks or windows. There were no windows from the seems of it down here, which made sense honestly if this is the dungeon.
"Dorian." Nemia breathed his name. Everything she had said and thought a few minutes before, seemed to disappear. Well, kinda. There was something in the very center of her core that pulled away.
Dorian came to a complete stop about a foot away from Nemia, a charming smile curving the outermost edges of his lips.
'Control.' The word echoed in her mind, a mantra. 'Control. Control. Control.' She returned his smile with a light one of her own.
A loud creak of old, heavy metal hinges rubbing together distracted Nemia as she turned to see Nik opening an old, thick and obviously heavy iron door with a small slit at average height eye levelthat had two iron rods stuck between. Meant to keep hands from reaching through coming from inside.
She could hear a soft, sob coming from inside now. Her lips twitched again. "Julia, you probably should stay out here." Nemia spoke without glancing over. She could feel her gaze and could practically hear Julia's silent questions and complaints. Nemia didn't care though, it was better for Julia to not see this side of her. The side Donovan created. "Honestly, all of you can wait out here." Her voice empty of emotion. Flick. There went the light switch.
Dorian's hand rested lightly on her shoulder then, "Oh no, that's not happening." He looked down at her pointedly. "We have a certain way we do things here."
She knew the confliction was evident on her face at the moment. She needed answers and she knew she could get them. But he is the king. Could she really deny him? Loosely speaking, yes. She one hundred percent could. But would she?
After a moment, she nodded her head slightly and stepped to the side, letting Dorian enter the cell first. If he couldn't get the answers she needed however...
Nemia was the last to enter, scanning every inch of the filthy, dark room. Sunlight would never penetrate this far down and the electricity wasn't running down through here. Which was probably for the best for certain creatures to be locked away. Though none of them needed any light to see.
Veera made an awful, high pitch screeching sound the minute Nemia walked deeper into the room and past the others enough for Veera to see her. "You." She hisses, pulling against the chains she was shackled into against the wall. Her arms stretched above her head and at a slight angle to look more like a v. Her legs shackled to the walls at a normal standing position, her feet a foot apart from each other.
Fresh blood was trickling down her arm, the blood still sleeping from the wound Nemia had left from her bite she had left earlier. "Why isn't this healing?!" Veera screeched. "What have you done?! It's never taken this long for me to heal from a typical mangy mutts bite!" She sneered.
Nemia laughed dryly. "I'm no, typical mangy mutt." She retorted. "I'm a hybrid."
"Same damn difference, you're obviously wolf dominant. Why isn't this healing." Veera hisses again.
Dorian had moved closer to Veera, checking out the wound left by Nemia a bit closer. While Nik leaned against the door frame, smirking.
"I'm no normal hybrid either." Nemia shrugged. "My wolfs canines are coated in vampire toxin that causes blood to flow more freely and slows the healing process of nearly every creature on earth."
"That's impossible." Veera spat.
"As I said, I'm not normal." Nemia shrugged again, walking closer to Veera and smiling as she stiffened and tried to push herself deeper into the wall. "Scared yet." Nemia chomped at the air in front of her, about two feet in front of Veera.
Dorian cleared his throat, looking between Nemia and the prisoner. "As much as I would like to let this continue. We are here for more pressing matters." He turned to put his full focus on Veera now. His eyes darkening and the room zapped and crackled with the powerful presence he exuded. "Veera Daines. You have committed treason. You attacked a room full of civilians and council members. You aided in bombing Romania's King's ballroom!" He growled, his teeth elongating. "You aided an at large criminal."
Dorian paces back and forth in front of Veera, glaring at her and never breaking eye contact. "You've done more in the past Veera, and I have been more than gracious with you." He punched the wall just above her head, a layer of stone cracking off causing a greyish white dust and small bits of rock to fall over Veera head. She flinches and whimpered.
"I, I.. My King. " She lowered her head as best she could in her current circumstance, casting her eyes down to his feet. "I apologize King Dorian. I-if you let me go, I swear I'll leave Romania and never come back." She risked a glance up at Dorian then. She has softened her voice to a near whisper and gave off an air of innocence.
"I really don't think I can let you go this time, Veera." He growled out, spitting to the side after saying her name as if it left a bad taste.
Panic flashed in Veera's eyes. "King Dorian, please." She begged.
Dorian glared at her for a long moment in silence. Nemia shuffled restlessly to the side, watching their exchange. She did know their history, and it was no business to her what it was but.. she did know, Veera was lying. She had no intentions of leaving Romania. It was there, in that fleeting glint deep in her eyes. She was playing them.
"Maybe... Maybe you can earn your freedom." Dorian got closer.
"Anything, name it." Veera hastily responded.
"Tell me everything you know of Malcolm and any one else possibly involved with him." Dorian stepped back, tucking his arms behind his back.
Veera stared back at Dorian for a moment, then glanced over to Nemia before responding. "All I know is he reached out about a month ago. Asked if I'd be willing to play as a distraction during the treaty formal. The pay was upfront and it was an easy enough job." She glared back over at Nemia. "That is until you showed up."
Nemia smiled toothily and waggled her fingers in a cutesy, sarcastic wave.
Dorian snapped his fingers to get Veera's attention back on him. "What else?"
Veera awkwardly shrugged. "That's it. He wanted a distraction. I gave him one. I barely spoke with him, only met him once when he paid me. All other contact was through the cell." She blinked up at Dorian slowly, her eyes empty.
"Dorian.." Nemia stepped toward him a bit as he turned, looking at her. "She's not telling us everything."
"Excuse me? Who do you think you are? I told you all I know for one but for two .. that is our king you are talking to and you better address him as such. Using only his given name with no title, such a disrespectful little bi..." The sentence was just barely cut short as Nemia was suddenly inches from Veera. She let out a bloodcurdling screech as Nemia dug her fingers deep into the wolf bite on Veera's arm.
"A disrespectful little what?" Nemia growled. "I will talk and address Dorian however I see fit. I have every right to call my mate by only his name!" Her nails dug in even deeper and another scream of pain rattled the cold, stone walls of her cell. "Now, how about we sing a different tune this time and tell us the fucking truth about what you know about Malcolm."
Veera sobbed and shuddered as Nemia pulled her hand out of her wound, terrified at the sudden flash of red she sees flash over Nemia's eyes. "Okay, okay..." Her voice broke. "It was a month ago, he came to me asking for my aid. Just like I said. Just, he wasn't alone. He had a huge guy with him. A werebear I believe. Had Grosu tattooed around the base of his neck. The other guy didn't really say anything, it was more like he was there as a body guard?" She looked between Dorian and Nemia. "After that, he'd call every few days to check my progress and make sure I had enough strength to create a distraction large enough for him to be able to slip in here and...." She swalled, looking down. "He didn't want to be noticed while he slipped into the dungeon.. this dungeon... He let out Kyth... Said he needed his abilities to, in his own words, open the earth and let the makers fall." She looked back over at Nemia and stared for a moment. "That's all I know, really this time..." She looked back to Dorian. "Please, King Dorian. I swear, I'll leave... I swear." She meant it this time.
Dorian took a step back. "Kyth? Really?..." He called over his shoulder. "Nik .."
"On it, be back in three."
Nemia stared blankly at Veera. Kyth was bad news. Especially is the plan is to get Kyth's dragon form back. Which was taken by a group of witches. Those whitches sacrificed themselves, all 12 of them, to lock away the mighty dragon form of Kyth's to save the world from his destruction.
Roughly 400 years ago, the war of the dragons race was at large. Then, after many battles and the desolation of several cities and villages, there was a stillness. Most dragon races found a common ground and created a treaty of their own against each other. Kyth though, he disagreed with the whole thing and took a handful of other dragon folk with him as he left. A few years later, Kyth and his newfound dragon army began to wreak havoc. First starting with small villages, slowly going larger and larger. Until finally, he started targeting the capitols of any and every area he could reach his power out to. Eventually, a group of 12 witches got together, trying to create a way to stop this from happening because up until this point, any one who tried to stand in their way or stop them met an untimely end. No one could get them rough his ranks. It took the 12 witches a year to come up with a spell powerful enough to do the job, but with every spell comes a price to the caster(s). And such a powerful spell, had a very high cost. After their spell, the entirety of the group turned to stone. Frozen in time and place.
Its said that each member of the group holds a piece of Kyth's dragon form. Though, that's just speculation.
Just then, Nik cam bursting back into the room. "Veera wasn't lying.. Kyth is gone."
The three of them turned to look at Veera, and Julia's head suddenly popped into the door frame from outside. "Guys, I don't think things are going too well up top..." She nodded her head down the corridor from the way they came in. The three of the shuffled towards the door of the cell and poked their heads out. The could see what looked like three maids holding each other up as they stumbled down the corridor towards them. One of them looked up, noticing them.
"King Dorian, p-please h-help us..." The girl mumbles before collapsing and like a domino effect, the other two girls followed the first one down. Nerium Oleander clung to the air around them and watered down the corridor...
"They've been poisoned.." The four of them stated in unison and looked between each other. Shit.