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Chapter 107: I Was Their Only Hope
*Ciana*
My breath came out in low and shallow pants as I heard the protests from Nita and the roars from the
king.
However, I couldn't see anything from here until I saw Theo and Nita being escorted out of the room.
When Theo walked past the closet, I thought I saw him shift his eyeballs very subtly.
Yet I understood what he wanted from me.
Stay safe.
I had hoped for this plan to go smoothly but I should have known someone like Sebastian wouldn't be
easy to trick.
It wasn't like I didn't consider bursting out of this closet and playing the hero, but that would've been
flat-out stupid.
Theo had placed me here for a reason and I agreed with him on that. At this point, I was their only
hope, and getting myself locked up with them really wouldn't do us any good:
When I was sure everyone had left the king's suite, I counted to 100 before slowly opening the closet
door and peeking down the hallway.
Empty.
Perfect.
Keeping my steps as light as could be and sticking to the corners, I managed to get out without drawing
any more unwanted attention.
Where would Jake be? I needed him. Now.
He would know what to do in times like this.
My legs took me back to Theo's wing. Jake had to be waiting there. However, as I got close, I stopped
when I heard someone jogging over from a distance. My first instinct was to hide, but then I recognized
the footsteps.
"Brook?"
"Ciana! Thank the Goddess you're here!"
A sense of foreboding rushed through me. "What happened?"
"They took him." She cried. The tears streamed down her face and her cries got harder with each
passing second. "They put him in chains and took him away."
"Who, Brook? Who did they take?" I pulled out of her hold and grabbed her shoulders. "Jake?!"
"Yes!" she sniffed. "One moment he was at the library with me and the next these guards came barging
into the door and put chains on him. They beat him into submission because he was trying to push me
out of the way."
My heart sank.
"I came here to seek help for Prince Theo because Jake is his Beta." Brook probably noticed my face
was as pale as ash. "Ciana, don't look at me like that. You're scaring me now..."
"They took everyone then." I stared at her solemnly. "Brook, we're in big trouble now,"
"Everyone?" She wiped away the last few stray tears.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtI nodded. "Prince Theo and Lady Nita included."
"No..." Brook covered her mouth with her hands.
We looked at each other worriedly, and we both saw panic in each other's eyes.
What was I going to do then? Everyone I knew that could help was gone and I had no idea where to
even begin!
Brook grabbed my hand and looked me in the eye. "Ciana, look at me. Take a deep breath."
What she said sounded familiar...
She forced a smile on her face, and said, "That's what you taught me on our first day here,
remember?" Then she took a deep inhale and let out a long breath.
I followed her and did the same. Inhaled...exhaled.
King Sebastian wouldn't kill Theo, at least, not now. With Justin and Maggie dead and Warren
unconscious, Sabastian didn't have many other options. The only one that carried the royal bloodline
was young Prince Alexander, but he was too young to be sent to battlefields like Theo.
Therefore, he needed Theo, and at least would spare his life until he found someone or something to
replace him.
I took a few more cleansing breaths and felt much better.
Smiling back at Brook, I squeezed her hands. "Brook, you're amazing. Thank you!"
"You're welcome. I learnt from the best." She blinked a few times rapidly. "It seems that you have some
clue now. Mind sharing with me?"
"I didn't know you could read minds," I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood a little. "Yes. I think I have
an idea of where they might be, well, at least where Theo might be."
"Once we find Prince Theo, he can point us to the right direction where others might be, even if they're
not with him."
"Exactly."
Brook and I started walking towards my side chamber which was connected to Theo's suite. "Theo is
the crowned prince and it would make the royal court look bad to have the crowned prince in a public
prison."
Brook nodded. "That's true. News would spread quickly."
I continued, "If I were the king, I would need to hide Theo someplace where no one could have easy
access. Somewhere no one even knows."
Brook was following my train of thought. "Somewhere that is close enough for him to check on the
situation easily and frequently."
I nodded. "You stay here and stay out of sight, okay? The king just got betrayed by the woman he
desires and the heir to the throne. He's going to be even more paranoid. Watch out for yourself and
stay away from him."
She nodded her head and I snuck out of the room.
It was deep in the night, and I'd been circling around the king' s wing for a while now.
The place was guarded heavier. The patrol was more frequent, and it was even harder to navigate
without being discovered compared to our last unsuccessful visit.
I'd been here for a while, but there was no sign of a dungeon or basement. Maybe I should try again
tomorrow, or maybe I should go back and discuss with Brook to brainstorm some other approaches...
Suddenly, I felt a hand cover my mouth.
King Sabastian found me! My heart plummeted to the ground and I almost screamed and flailed my
arms about.
"Shhh."
I stopped fighting and the hand released me slowly.
I realized it was quite a small hand, and its owner had a small frame too. I stilled.
Alexander.
"Prince Alexander," I whispered, "What are you doing here?"
He placed his finger against his lips for me to be quiet and he grabbed my hand.
I followed him through the garden and down to the brightly lit hallway. He wasn't going to get me
exposed, was he?
I was astonished to find that somehow he avoided all the guards and patrols perfectly, and entered a
room I had passed many times but didn't pay much attention to.
A small library.
Because there was no door for this room. Anyone could see everything in it from the hallway, so how
could it hold any secrets?
But Alexander walked us to a bookcase and rearranged a few books. When he pulled it forward, a
staircase revealed behind it, leading downwards.
Too stunned to say anything, I allowed him to pull me down the darkened staircase that connected to a
concrete walled passageway. The only thing illuminating it were the dim. orange light bulbs that were
mounted to the walls.
We came to a complete stop at the end of the passageway. Then he let go of my hand and turned to
leave.
"Wait," I called after him. "What is this place?”
He put his wrists together like he was in shackles.
"A dungeon?"
He nodded.
"Theo is here?"
He nodded again.
"You don't want him to die either, do you? You care about him."
He nodded a third time and then turned on his heel to leave.
I let out a shaky breath and continued my way alone.
The deeper I went, the dimmer the lighting was, which I appreciated. As I approached the end of the
narrow pathway, I heard the cracking of whips every few seconds, mixed with hushed grunts.
Theo!
My heart hammered in my chest as I moved along the shadows. Soon, I got to the end, and the space
opened up.
It looked like a naturally formed dent, with large and small rocks scattering the ground, which would
provide great cover for me.
I hid behind a large rock and saw two dingy cells in the far corner of the dent. Outside of the cells were
two posts, where Theo and Jake were each tied to one.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Had enough, little prince?" One of the guards cackled.
Red liquid trickled down Theo's face, and his clothes were drenched in a mix of sweat and blood.
I clenched my fist hard to suppress my anger. How could they... how dare they!
I needed to get Theo out of here quickly.
The guards who were beating Theo carefully avoided tearing the thick gloves on his hands, and kept
their distance from him.
Jake was locked in the cell next to him, also shackled and stripped down to shorts like his alpha.
"Stop!" Jake panted. "He is your prince, and wait until the king knows about this!"
"Shut your fucking mouth. We know who he is! Guess what, we're just following His Majesty's order!
And you be quiet!" The second guard whipped Jake's back which made him hiss in pain.
My stomach churned at the sign of their ripped flesh.
The guards continued to whip them over and over again. With each strike, I felt anger boiling within me
more and it was about to make me explode.
I was ready to go to war with Sebastian for what he had done!
"Let's go. Let's give these traitors time to heal before we go again."
After shoveling Theo and Jake into their cells, the guards started to walk my way, and I quickly shrunk
myself behind a rock. Neither of them noticed me and they walked right by.
After they were out of sight and the surrounding fell silent, I rushed to the cells.
“Theo!”
He turned his head to the side and I gasped when I saw his face.
His face was as pale as paper, his eyes were bloodshot and his lips were cracked with dry blood.
Numerous cuts criss crossed
his chest, not to mention the peeling flesh on his back.
Those monsters!
His lips quivered, and I heard him say, "Why... are you here?"
"I am so sorry I'm late...." Tears brimmed my eyes as I searched for a way to break them free.
He looked at me with so much emotion in his eyes it hit me like a ton of bricks. "Ciana, you need to get
out. It's not safe for you here."
"I'm not leaving without you! We are leaving this dungeon. together. Do you hear me?" I cried.
"Ciana," he gasped for air. "Please. I can't...I can't protect you like this."
Jake added, "Alpha is right."
They were both strong men, but now...even breathing seemed difficult. I was on the verge of breaking
down.
"I'm not going."
"He still needs me," he groaned as he tried to rise to his feet. "And Jake is my Beta. He won't kill us.
Go, please."
I glanced at Jake, who looked just as bad if not worse than Theo, but he gave me an assuring nod.
I shook my head and I stood my ground, but then there were footsteps coming down the hallway.
"Hide!" Theo hissed.
I jumped up and scrambled my way toward a large rock, desperately seeking shelter.
As soon as I got to my hideout, in walked the spawn of the devil himself, Sebastian.
"So my boy, have you learned your lesson?" The king's voice echoed in the small dungeon.
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