~19~

It's been two weeks since leaving the castle. Since then, Thelia hasn't spoken once, seems to have only thoughts of serving this male whenever he calls her. I don't like it, but can't do anything.

Now, we have landed and the male leads us to a patch of earth and orders us to dig. I do, if only because I don't want Thelia to feel alone. Eventually, we uncover a trap door and open it. The male pushes Thelia on, then me. I scream as I fall, then I hit the bottom and think I've broken something. Not really sure what because everything hurts. Thelia doesn't help me, just stands and stares. I frown and get up myself, limping on one leg.

The male jump down and points down a tunnel. Thelia leads the way. I follow her, running my finger through the dirt on either side, creating swirls.

We turn several times, then the male enters a code into a panel that unlocks a door. We enter and I see people in cells, skinny and hurt. They all looked horrible. One male catches my eye and he seems familiar, but I have never met him before.

Our escort leads us down the hall of cells and through another door, then another hall before unlocking a big steel door. He pushes us inside and shuts us in, locking the door.

I shiver, having only metal for walls, it was cold. Thelia sat down and stared, saying nothing. I didn't see much of anything I could use except the single light bulb on the ceiling. That was it.

"Thelia?"

She blinked, opened her mouth. Saod nothing and closed it again.

I sat down against the door and sighed, wanting out, wanting home.

What felt like an eternity later, the door opened again and a male with a huge gun grabbed Thelia and left. I worried for her, worried she would get hurt.

I heard a scream and broke my control.

I cried and cried. I begged for Kesar to help us, begged for Thelia to be the stronger one, begged for peace.

The screaming turned into a roar. I cringed and started pounding on the door. Screaming, I wanted to help the dragon, wanted to make their pain go away.

Something sprayed into the tiny room, and the next thing I know, I was.

I woke up some time later to water being poured into my mouth. I coughed and spluttered, blinking up at Thelia. She set the glass aside and let me sit up. I moved away, hugged my knees to my chest, then listened to the deafening silence.

Not long after, another male appeared and grabbed me.

I followed, being led to a room that held a chair, cabinets, and a large metal table. I was put in the chair and tied down. After a few minutes, a girl was brought in, chained to the table, then injected with something. A minute later, she began to scream, then turn into a blue-purple dragon.

I sat in awe and horror as she tried to fight back, the chains were strong, kept her in place. She saw me then and stared, eyes narrowing. I wanted to tell her that I was not one of them, that I wanted to help.

"Jose, is it?" A male with greying black hair and dark brown eyes strode in, a smile on his face. "It a pleasure to meet you! My name is Edgar. I run this place and everyone inside." He stands in front of me, leans forward. "My question to you is if you'll be a good girl and cooperate?"

Not really understanding what he was or what he was doing, I tilt my head, made him keep talking.

He did. "My friends and I are very nice and want you to understand that what we do here is necessary for the human race survival. The dragons are taking from us, using us, killing us. I want to show you that you don't have to be afraid to fight back, to not do whatever they order you. We are stronger in numbers, together. Jose, we can make a better world where dragons don't exist."

I don't speak.

Edgar frowns. "Will you go fetch Gideon please?" he asked one of the guards. One left. I looked to the dragon female and saw her watching me carefully.

A minute later, the guard returns with Gideon. "Sir?"

"I thought you said she could talk?"

"Yes, sir."

"Does she have something wrong with her brain too?"

"Possibly, sir."

Edgar sighed and snapped his fingers. A guard untied me then stepped back. "Leave this one be. She will do no harm."

They all went to a corner of the room and talked in hushed voices while I slowly went to the dragon. She stayed still, but I smiled just a little.

The dragon huffed a breath and nuzzled my hand. "Jose," I whispered to her. She nodded.

I said nothing more and left the room, no one paying attention to me. I went to the hall of cells and found the male who seemed familiar, stopped right outside his cell. He looked up, frowned. "Why are you not locked up?"

I shrug. "Man talk Jose sick." I stare at him some more. "Who?"

He raised a brow. "You don't talk well, do you?"

I scowled.

The male laughed. "I'm Juskah."

I nod, looked into his eyes once more. Then it dawned on me. "Zargis?"

He sat up, alert. "What about him? Is he hurt? Did he not make it?"

I furrowed my brows. "Father Zargis?"

"Yes. Who are you? How do you know him?"

I studied him for another moment, turned and walked away. I had to get a message out to Kesar!