“You two know each other?” the guy accompanying Ryder asks. I don’t remember him from earlier.

“no, not really, we just crossed paths, if you know what I mean.”

Oh, I know what he means, crossed paths? This mother... I go to retort, but a sharp pain in my back stops me.

Did that stupid lizard just pinch me?

“shut up, he’s trying to signal you not to say anything.”

Oh right, I offer a tight smile, which seems to appease the other guy.

“well let’s get you cleaned up and ready to see the boss.”

“What boss?”

“shut up and be still, let me make you all pretty.”

I slap his hands away from the sheets that are holding my dignity, my mind not really grasping how the hell this was happening to me.

“Hey, keep your hands to yourself, mister.”

“Relax little girl, it is nothing I haven’t seen before; besides you are not my type.”

“But you haven’t seen me before...have you?” I ask uncertainly, he might be the one who took my clothes off me leaving me with the bodysuit.

“Can we hurry this up? If he gets cranky there’s no telling what would happen.”

“if who gets cranky? Can anyone tell me what the fuck is happening?”

“Wow, someone is in a mood,” we all turn towards the door and the shadows enter...all three of them, I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that there are three of them.

Ryder and the other guy bow down low surprising the hell out of me, I hold my head straighter staring at them, daring anyone of them to tell me to bow or some shit like that.

“My lord, we weren’t expecting you here, your father asked us to prepare her for the banquet.”

“Lord?”

“oh, boy I knew they looked familiar, girl we need to get the hell out of here, we are deep in light mage territory and to your incredibly stupid head, it means we are not safe.”

I almost reply to Nyx out loud sick of everyone calling me stupid; try getting kidnapped then drugged motherfuckers and see if your mind functions like it should.

Being called stupid all the time does wonders to a girl’s esteem, I was beginning to think the IQ test I took was rigged.

“Allow us to introduce ourselves seeing as we are about to become very close,” says the third, new shadow, interrupting my self-deprecating thoughts, “I am Dain, this is Cain and Jain, we are Brights.”

He says that with so much flourish I got a feeling I’m supposed to know what it means, “very original guys and fitting,” I answer laying on the sarcasm heavy which makes Ryder palm his face and Nyx smacks my face with his tail, the little fucker is lucky they can’t see him or his ass would be smarting.

“The Brights, Mahina, are the ruling family for the light mages,” Ryder says.

His tone irks me, why is he speaking like he’s explaining things to a toddler?

“And?”

“Such disrespect and flippancy would be disciplined out of you in no time,” Ryder’s friend says as he sits up seemingly done with “getting me ready.”

The fact that I was still staring at the princes was why I could tell where the sudden chill in the room came from as they all dropped their semi-friendly semi amused faces fixing their eerie dark eyes on the guy’s back before schooling them, it happened so damn fast I thought I was seeing things.

“well let’s get moving, don’t keep your father waiting.” The idiot who still couldn’t read the room says patting Jain and Cain on the back while motioning them towards the door.

“Garian, you would do well to remember your place before you cease to exist,” comes from Dain, before he fixes a bored look on the said subject.

That name is a little too badass for him, I’m going to name him Chad.

“You are right, Chad suits him more or Ted, he definitely looks like a Ted” answers Nyx from wherever he is.

I’m so busy baptizing the guy in my head I almost miss the smug look he gives the princes before proceeding to dig himself a deeper hole, “we all know that can’t happen, I’m very valuable to the king, in fact, I would bet my sexy ass if any people were to cease existing it would be you three and the sorry excuse of an elven woman you dragged here.”

“Hey, why would you drag me into the family drama,” I retort whilst trying to catch my balance on the stupid ass heels he put on me.

Cain, aka shadow A, hooks his arm around mine helping me up while keeping me stable, “I thought the stumbling from before was from the drug turns out tiny here can’t use her legs properly.”

“you shut up bastard I still have a bump on my head with your name on it, I won’t be surprised if it caused permanent damage.”

His brothers scoff stepping out behind Chad and Ryder gives me a look as we follow them out, a look Cain catches because he turns to me with questions in his eyes.

I shrug taking advantage of my newfound balance to strut out in Ryder’s wake a soft weight landing on my neck signalling that Nyx decided to hop on for the ride, let’s see what world I’ve been shoved into now.