2025-02-01 12:00:58Darkness closed in on Kael as he fell into the depths of unconsciousness. Pain reached out to him, a burning fire within his ribs and limbs. Then cold stone beneath him, damp air clamped around him. His eyelids fluttered open on the dim glow of torchlight flickering against the crumbling stone walls. Chains rattled in the silence.
He was captured. A groan slipped past his lips as he shifted, the weight of iron shackles biting into his wrists. The metallic tang of blood filled his mouth. His body screamed in protest with every movement, and as he tried to sit up, a boot slammed into his chest, forcing him back down. "Stay down, little brother," Darius murmured, his voice dripping with amusement. "You’ll only make this worse for yourself." Kael coughed, spitting crimson onto the floor. His vision cleared enough to see Darius looming above him, his golden eyes gleaming in the dim light. The smirk that wore a wedge of malice across his jaw sent a fresh wave of hatred through Kael's veins. "You should've stayed dead," Darius continued, kneeling beside him. "It would've been easier for everyone. Instead, you chose defiance." Kael clenched his fists, his wrists grinding painfully against the shackles. "Go to hell." Darius laughed, the sound hollow. "Hell, little brother? Look around. You’re already there." He stood, turning to a nearby table where an array of cruel instruments lay gleaming. Blades, hooks, and brands tools of agony, sharpened by years of use. He traced a finger along the edge of a dagger, thoughtful. "Do you remember when Father used to discipline us?" Darius mused, picking up a thin, curved knife. "Pain is a teacher, Kael. It forges the weak into something useful. But you? You've always been broken." Kael steeled himself as Darius moved toward him. The first slice was slow, purposeful. A thin line of fire erupted across his collarbone, warm blood sliding down his skin. He gritted his teeth, trying not to yell. He wasn't going to give Darius the pleasure. "Still so stubborn," Darius sighed. "But that won't last. Everyone breaks eventually." A scream echoed in the chamber not Kael’s, but another’s. Darius paused, his head snapping toward the heavy iron door. The muffled sounds of a struggle seeped through the cracks shouts, the clash of steel, and then silence. Darius’ smirk faltered. He turned, grabbing his sword from the wall. "Stay here, dear brother. I’ll be back to finish our lesson." Kael sat there as Darius ran through the door and left it slightly ajar, his breath in ragged gasps, pounding heart, thinking someone was in here. Torches flickered on the walls, casting strange shadows that darted back and forth. He saw her then, slip through the doorway and slide across the room like a ghost. Selis. Her face was coated with blood hers or someone else's, Kael couldn't tell. Her eyes went to him, and without another thought, she plunged forward, and in her hand, a dagger gleamed under the firelight. For one moment, Kael thought she'd come to end it. But she cut through the chains binding his wrists. "Can you stand?" she breathed. Kael nodded, even as pain flared through his limbs. He pushed himself up, swaying slightly. Selis pressed a dagger into his palm. "We have to move," she said. "They'll be back any second." Kael didn't ask why she was helping him. There would be time for questions later. For now, survival was all that mattered. They slipped into the corridor, blood thick in the air. Bodies littered the floor guards cut down with lethal precision. The path ahead was clear, but Kael knew it wouldn't stay that way for long. Then, from the far end of the corridor, a slow clap rang out. Darius. He stepped forward, sword dripping with fresh blood, his golden eyes burning with something close to delight. Behind him, more figures emerged from the shadows assassins clad in black, their weapons drawn. "Well, isn't this touching?" Darius mused, tilting his head. "A rescue attempt? And here I thought you had more sense, Selis." Selis stiffened to Kael's side, her grip on the dagger tightening as she watched in horror. "Move aside, Darius. This doesn't have to end with more blood." Darius laughed. "Oh, but it does. You of all people should know that." He charged. And everything went away. Everything got blurred into this haze of movement. Kael barely parried the first stroke, his poor body straining to keep him upright. Selis spun forward, engaging another of the assassins, those daggers flickering like liquid silver death. Darius pressed harder, his strikes relentless. "You're slow," he taunted, slamming his sword against Kael's with enough force to send him reeling. "Weak. Broken. You should've never come back." Kael gritted his teeth, forcing himself to keep moving. But he was losing. Every block rattled through his bones; every counter felt sluggish. He was running on the last embers of strength, and Darius knew it. A sharp pain exploded through his side. He gasped, stumbling backward. Darius had cut deep, his blade coated in Kael's blood. "It's over," Darius whispered, raising his sword for the final blow. A sudden scream split the air. One of the assassins crumpled, a dagger buried in his eye. Selis twisted, catching another by the throat with a brutal slash. For a split second, Darius's attention wavered. Kael didn't hesitate. With everything he had left, he drove his dagger into Darius’ thigh. His brother howled in pain, staggering. Kael seized the moment, twisting the blade before ripping it free. Blood poured from the wound, but Darius didn’t fall. Instead, he grinned, his golden eyes wild with fury. "You’ll regret that," he growled. Kael took a shaky step back, his vision blurring. "Kael!" Selis shouted, grabbing his arm. "We have to go!" The corridor behind them was open, their only hope to escape. But Darius wasn't done. He yanked the dagger out of his leg, standing upright, the wound exposed to the air. "Run all you want," he shouted after them. "I will find you. And when I do, you'll wish I had killed you here." Kael gazed at his brother once more before turning away from him. They ran. The city was ahead of them, but so was the hunt.
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