Aethera inhaled the musty, humid hair shakily as she stepped forward. A small whimper escaped her as the hunter’s nails dug into her arm, making sure she didn’t attempt to make a run for it while he took off the manacles.

She was pushed to the ground the instant they were off, and her head hit the stone floor hard. She cried out, seeing stars, but the only comfort she was given was the loud clink of the prison gate being slammed closed.

With her hands now free, Aethera ripped off the blindfold that they had replaced. It took a few painful moments for her sight to return, and Aethera sucked in a breath of pain as she pushed herself to a sitting position.

Her cell was small, surrounded by bars. It was most likely made out of Darkstone. It was like a large cage, with others that were packed next to each other. All of the cages were identical, and all were empty except for the one on her left. The occupant appeared to be unconscious and Aethera cautiously crawled over to her, her heart battering in her chest.

The girl’s eyes were closed and there was a nasty cut above her eyebrow, but the steady rise and fall of her chest comforted Aethera that she was okay.

The space between the bars was too narrow for the other girl to attack her, so Aethera curled up, with her knees pressed to her chest, and let the tension seep from her body.

It had been so long since she had let her defenses fall away, but Aethera tried to let herself relax. Sleep, even. There was nothing she could do about her situation. She had already mentally prepared herself for whatever the hunters had in mind, and she could only hope that she could survive it.

But, the looming threat nagged at her. She had never felt so vulnerable before. There must be something she could do.

She felt a tear slide down her cheek, and more only followed as she thought about the future. What would they do? What did they want?

“Oh…h-hello?”

Aethera jerked, cringing at the spasm of pain that followed the rough movement. Her head snapped to the melodic voice, her eyes widening as the other girl blinked sleepily at her.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” the girl whispered. Her eyes darted around them, making sure they were alone before continuing. “I didn’t think they would get another replacement this fast.”

Aethera raised an eyebrow. “Replacement?”

“For the last one.”

“What happened to the last one?” Aethera pushed.

“You don’t want to know,” the girl laughed, though there was nothing funny about the conversation. “The screams told me as much.”

Aethera swallowed nervously, and the girl laughed even harder. “Sorry. I haven’t talked to another person in weeks. It’s hard to keep my humanity when I’m surrounded by monsters.”

“That’s a change of pace,” Aethera replied. “Them the monsters instead of us.”

“I like to think of it that way. Really, it’s the only thing that’s kept me sane this long,” the girl’s voice darkened. “This is the second time I’ve been here, mind you. It hasn’t been easy.”

“What do you mean?” Aethera inquired, leaning towards her curiously.

“I escaped,” the girl answered indifferently. “Don’t ask me how I did it though, I don’t feel like taking a beating for you, given we’ve just met. What’s your name, by the way?”

“Thea,” Aethera answered, barely hiding her shock at the girl’s stark honesty. “Yours?”

“Naomi. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. I don’t want to pry, but are you okay? That cut looks nasty.”

The girl swatted a hand, smiling. “I’m fine. This is nothing compared to what usually happens. They haven’t even reprimanded me for the escape yet, but I feel like killing my sister was punishment enough.”

“I’m so sorry,” Aethera whispered, horrified. “That’s terrible.”

“It is,” Naomi glanced down at her hands. “But, it’s in the past. The faster you learn to stop looking back the easier it is. Only think about the future, that’s how I survived.”

Aethera made a mental note of the advice and hesitated before asking her next question. She didn’t want to probe too far, but she also wanted to brace herself for what the government had in mind. “I expect it’s different for everyone, but what should I prepare myself for? What do you think they’ll do to me?”

Naomi remained silent for a long time, and when she finally answered, her eyes were full of sorrow. “It depends what you’re here for. If you’re a rebel, like me, then there really is no way to prepare yourself. The pain you will go through is unimaginable. And it isn’t just physically, it’s mentally too. If they realize that you aren't responsive to beatings, they'll hunt down your family and hurt them until you abide."

“I’m not a rebel,” Aethera replied, pity filling her at Naomi’s reply. What had they done to her?

“Then why are you here?” Naomi inquired. “There must be a reason.”

“I have no idea,” Aethera sighed. “I got into a rough place in New Orion and fled to the North Woods where I hid with my friend for a few weeks. They caught me and brought me here. No one has told me anything or interrogated me yet.”

Naomi frowned. “I honestly don’t know, then. They would never spare you if they didn’t want to use you for something.”

Though she knew that would be the answer, Aethera’s stomach coiled into a knot anyway. She cleared her throat, desperate for a distraction from thinking of the ways that they could torture her. “You said you were a rebel, right?”

Naomi nodded.

“I met one, in the North Woods. She tried to help us.”

“Do you know her name?”

Aethera shook her head. “No, but she had brown hair and eyes…and she could control vines. I think she had power over nature.”

Naomi laughed. “There’s only one rebel who’s known for her tricks with vines. Did she have a bow?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s Gaia Evans for sure. That girl never went anywhere without her arrows. Hell, I think she even slept with them. Was she mean to you? She’s known for her coldness too.”

“Not to me, no. But I don’t think she liked my companion very much,” Aethera chuckled. “Were you two friends?”

Naomi nodded. “I’ve known her for half my life. We both joined the Alliance at young ages, and there weren’t many children on the base at that time. We trained together for years before we went on separate missions. I haven’t seen her in a while, I miss our time together.”

Aethera smiled. “Well, I should let you get some rest, sorry.”

“It’s no problem. If I fall asleep before they take you, good luck?”

“Thanks.”

Naomi let her head fall in between her knees, wrapping her arms around herself. Aethera turned away and crawled back to the other end of her cell, planning to investigate her surroundings further now that her eyes had fully adjusted to the light.

The floor and bars were made of the same coloured material, identical to her manacles from before. It was definitely Darkstone, but Aethera couldn’t process how an entire prison could be built out of it. It was too expensive. The government couldn’t have possibly wasted that much money for captured Uniques. But, maybe the stone had something to do with how weak and malnourished she was feeling.

Aethera was disappointed to find that the cell was barren. There was nothing. No food, no furniture, no supplies. She would have to ask Naomi what to do when she had to go to the bathroom.

Though it was cramped and ugly, the cell was extremely clean and smelled sharply of antiseptic. The government didn’t want to risk them falling sick. The irony of it almost made her laugh.

Now that Naomi was asleep, Aethera felt her thoughts shift back to her many questions. When they came to take her, what would she do? Would she fight them? Would she cooperate?

She sighed. This was exactly the reason she had gone out that night to practice controlling her powers. To keep Adam and her safe. To prevent Adam from being executed and her from being locked up in one of these cells. It was the same ending, just a different trail.

Aethera hadn’t let herself think about it. It was too much pain, too much guilt for her to handle. She couldn’t risk breaking down while on the run from people who would take every chance to exploit her weaknesses.

It was a sudden rush of misery and realization that overcame her when she finally let go, letting herself cry. Her breath came in gasping, broken sobs as she bit her lip, trying to muffle her agony. It was too much. She deserved to die. Why did she think she could survive this? Why would she be allowed to have a different fate?

She had no friends. No family left. No one would miss her. No one would remember her. No one would cry over her or bury her or love her. There was no one left. No one except her. She was alone.

But, there was Hestian. Would he miss her? Would he remember her or cry once he found out she had died? Would he seek revenge for her?

Aethera shook her head. Desperation was clouding common sense. He barely knew her. He didn’t even know her name. Who was she to think that he might have loved her? Did she even love him? That was something else that she hadn’t let herself think about. Their relationship. She had pushed him away and refused to let him in. Was he trying to be her friend or something more? Did she want something more?

No. She didn’t. Hestian was a friend. Just a friend. A friend that she had lied to and manipulated into helping her. She didn’t deserve him either.

A loud bang startled her out of her thoughts and Aethera started, ignoring the pain in her ankle as she shot to her feet. She had already decided that she wasn’t going to play nice. She was going to be executed, either way, so she might as well leave behind a few bruises and sprains before they killed her.

“Occupant of Cell 314, stand back against the left bars with your hands behind your head.”

Aethera stood her place, staring at the place where the gruff voice had come from. It was too dark to see who was there. It was a genius idea, really, to make the cells brighter than a burning sun and have everything outside the bars be darker than the dead of night.

“Occupant of Cell 314,” the voice repeated steadily. “Stand backward against-”

“No.”

Aethera cringed as her voice wobbled, but hopefully, the guard was too impatient to notice.

“The King would like to see you. Are you going to come of your will or do we need to take extra measures?”

The King? Hatred burned inside her at the simple thought of him. King Rae was a coward, an idiot. If anything, he was the one to blame for Adam’s death and the plague that had killed their parents. He had made it crystal clear in various articles and broadcasts that he thought her species was nothing more than the scum on the bottom of his shoe. Why would he want to spare any time seeing her? There was absolutely no reason why she should be a person of interest. Did he want information about Adam's death?

The guard cleared his throat, waiting for her answer. Aethera didn’t offer one. She heard Naomi mutter something in her sleep, but she didn’t dare look over. Something told her that the prisoners weren’t allowed to talk to each other, and she didn’t want to give their new friendship away.

“We do not punish without reason. You will not be harmed so long as you obey the-”

“I don’t believe you,” Aethera hissed. “And I don’t want to see the King either.”

She heard the guard sigh and then the loud click of the cell being unlocked. She braced herself, but she wasn’t prepared for him to tackle her from behind. She landed on the floor heavily, gasping in pain as he twisted her ankle further. “You will be obedient, or I will teach you what happens when you disobey.”

She flinched and struggled in his grip, blinking away tears. She wanted to tell him that she would listen, that she would love to come along for the trip to see the King, but she had promised herself that she would not lose the little dignity and courage she had left.

She twisted her body, catching the guard by surprise as she lashed out with both fists, catching him in the chin. He grunted and slapped her before she could throw another punch, sending her back to the ground.

Aethera winced as she felt a sharp prick in her neck. The guard released her, but she found that she didn’t have the strength to fight anymore. Her arms refused to cooperate. Her legs felt like they weighed a million pounds. Her eyes were even heavier.

“No,” Aethera mumbled, her speech slurring. “I don't...you can't make me-”

“You will find that we can make you do whatever we like,” the guard promised, his reply driving into her heart like a knife.

Black spots clouded her vision, and Aethera couldn’t do anything but let the darkness take her.