I never knew what happened to my sister or the Bentons' after I surrendered. The next events happened in such a blur that I could barely remember them. My wrists were handcuffed behind my back, demons surging around me as Maven touched my shoulder blade to make my vision go up in flames. The world disappeared around us, and then all I could see was darkness while feeling the rumble of a jet engine underneath my feet.

Blackness was all around me, and wherever I was, I was alone. On my knees, I pulled at the handcuffs, but they wouldn't budge. My meraki was of no use either as I tried to channel it in some form.

Time creeped by slowly, nearly as slowly as I did trying to feel for a door. Walking backwards, I felt along the walls looking for some kind of knob or indent that indicated a way out of the darkness. I'd found a doorway eventually, but it hardly budged when I pushed all my weight against it.

I sunk to the floor, my heart beating so hard in my chest that it hurt. I took a deep breath, trying to swallow down all the fear that was brewing inside me. Resting my head against the steel wall, I closed my eyes, adrenaline running rampant inside me as I tried to think straight.

My situation was bleak: I'd been taken hostage by Felix, a notorious pixie who was fourth on the guardian watch list even over Nocen. He was apparently insane and very worthy of a broken neck a la Raphael. Pixies were on the dark side, part of Noxia's night children alongside the demons. They'd hand me over to her, and the thought alone was enough to make me shudder.

I couldn't have her picking around inside my head again, tearing my brain apart. She wanted to turn me into her soldier if she could force my meraki and I into submission. Noxia would torture me until I was as dark as she was. Or she'd kill me like Penelope.

My breath hitched; if Noxia left me alive, she'd use me to get to Cybele, to hunt down her own daughter. With Noxia and I together paired with Lucifer, who could stop us? Definitely not Secta who was crumbling to pieces faster than time could allow.

What was I going to do? Could I fight Felix and win? There was a high possibility especially if my meraki came out to play. The big issue was if I could do the same with Noxia, and I wasn't feeling half as confident about that battle.

I ground my teeth together, reminding myself to stay calm. The main issue was finding out where they were taking me and forming a plan from there of how to free myself whether it be sneaking out of the pixie hive or fighting my way to freedom. If I could make it that far then there was a possibility that I had a chance at... 

The plane landed and I was thrown forward. The ground lurched out from underneath my feet, my bodyweight surging out of my control. I hit the metal wall, bells ringing in my ears as my back hit the ground. My cry echoed in the box as I laid still, my body aching. The side of my face stung, the pain tender as I had been unable to brace for the fall with my hands cuffed at my lower back.

I groaned, blinking when a door swung open to my right and blinded me. Pulsing, bright sunlight set my eyes on fire, and tears about leaked down my cheeks as though I'd been dicing onions.

"Up." Maven ordered, grabbing my shoulder blade and hoisting me onto my feet quicker than I could myself.

She pushed me ahead of her, my shoes clinking against the metal of the floor as my eyes slowly began to adjust to the harsh light.

Cold air whisked against my skin as I realized the light wasn't from the sun but gigantic, columns of glowing crystals that illuminated the dark room around us.

Maven shoved me along, and I observed the space, realizing that we were very high off the ground. Walking along a narrow strip of platform, we were a few hundred feet higher than a massive aircraft hanger full of sleek, onyx jets which glimmered in the crystal glow.

Where the hell was I? Was I underground somewhere? It felt cold and the air felt musky even compared to Ultrona. My heart skipped a beat as it ached just at the mention of home.

The world melted away around us in the heat of fire, transforming into something completely new. I wasn't in an airplane hanger anymore; now I stood alone in a lavish bedroom fit for a fairy tale princess. A king-sized canopy bed on a raised platform took up the center of the room with royal purple curtains lapping the marble floor. Heat flooded the room from the cooking fireplace as huge windows let sunlight flood in.

I looked around in shock, taking in the luxurious bedroom that I stood in alone. It was larger than the one I knew in Gabrian, somehow this new one looking three times as expensive. All my thoughts of what dungeon I'd be locked in were gone, making me wonder what type of dream I'd stumbled into. I glanced down at my hands, which were now free of handcuffs. I flexed my fingers before looking back up again, taking in the details of the room.

A set of double doors rested to my right, and I bit my lip before pulling on the door knobs. They swung open, and my chin nearly hit the floor. The largest bathroom I'd ever seen coupled with a stocked walk-in closet laid before me, white marble and gold everywhere I looked.

Retreating slowly backwards, I turned to the other open doorway, finding myself in a modern kitchen leading into a comfy living room. The more doors I found the bigger the room appeared, making me swallow as I scanned the area. Where was a door out of here?

I scrambled back into the bedroom, rushing towards the glass doors leading out onto a circular balcony. Pushing open the doors, I was struck by the cold air, making me suck in a breath. Wrapping my arms around myself, I couldn't help but shiver at the winds that blew back my hair. Looking around, I took in the landscape, shocked by how familiar it appeared.

Many of the buildings looked similar to the ones in Gabrian, but there were so many more of them. Grids of towering, grey buildings covered the ground, the night sky watching over the city without a single star. People moved back and forth along the sidewalks, black trains shooting along the streets with a twinkle. 

I stepped back from the balcony, a knot in my stomach as my eyes widened. Where the hell am I?

Gritting my teeth, I went back in, slamming the glass doors behind me as I stormed towards the kitchen. Jumping down the two steps leading into the living room, I marched around the kitchen island before yanking open the drawers.

I fumbled around, moving down the island until I reached the drawer I'd been looking for. Steak knifes glittered under the overhead lights as I grabbed two knifes, clenching them in my fists. My mind buzzed as I flipped one of the blades in my hand.

Did I have any idea how I was getting out here? No, not a clue. All I knew was that I'd been captured. I was Felix's prisoner in a strange land, and this time around I actually knew how to punch.

There was one final set of doors that I hadn't tried yet near the living room, and bracing myself, I crept towards it, giving the knob a quick turn. The door wasn't locked, and it swung open into the hallway. I peaked out, looking around.

The hall was just as ornate as the room I was staying in, purple, empty walls with gold trim. Not a soul was in sight as I slid out into the hallway, closing the door softly behind me. As I walked to the right following the plush carpet there wasn't a single sound besides my breathing.

I glanced over my shoulder, still seeing no one. From the window I'd seen a swarming city, and yet I hadn't actually seen anyone inside. Where was everyone, or everything? Where was Maven, Nocen, and Felix? Why wasn't anyone guarding me? I gripped my knifes tighter. Wouldn't it be better if I didn't see anyone? I paused; wasn't this too easy?

Voices rang out from down the hall, making me jump. Grabbing the nearest handle, I yanked the door on my right open before slipping inside. I cracked it softly behind me, practically holding my breath at the footsteps which echoed outside. I waited a few minutes before letting out the breath I was holding when the hall went silent again.

"How's the escape going so far?"

I let out a scream, spinning around to meet coal colored eyes. My heart did somersaults, recognizing the face instantly just as my heart crumbled in my chest because the features though close to perfection weren't Finn's.

Nocen was leaned against the wall beside me, a smirk on his lips before he took a long sip from his silver-colored flask. We were in some kind of sitting room, sunlight flickering in from the windows to kiss the demon's blonde highlights.

He looked so much like his brother that it hurt, the only traitors to the two brothers' likeness being Nocen's dark eyes and lack of wings. I swallowed when he stood up straighter, sliding his flask into the pocket of his slacks before smoothing his grey jacket. How he'd had the time to change into a suit was beyond me, but here he was looking just as charming as his brother.

The darkness in his aura rang out to me through his disguise as the man I loved, and I threw the first knife at him. It sunk straight through the center of his body, a clean wound. He didn't even flinch, no blood leaking from his body in the slightest as he gave me a smile.

"You and Cybele are so alike." He said, glancing down at the blade lodged in his chest. With one hand, he pulled the knife out and let it drop to the floor. "Here's the same lesson I gave to her so many years ago: you need a better knife if you plan on slaying demons. Do they teach you nothing at guardian school? It's no wonder why we kill you all so easily."

"Cybele's most likely gone." I choked before throwing the second knife at him, which he dodged with ease. It hit the wall, also clattering to the marble floor like the blade before it.

Nocen snorted with amusement at my antics, "she's very much alive. The dragons nearly got her, but I'm quicker. I couldn't let her die, especially since her mother would dismember me if someone else spilt her child's blood before she could."

My throat burned as bile rose up from my stomach, "you're sick. She deserves better than you."

"Those are the cards that Fate drew for her, and she could be doing worse with someone less attractive than me." Nocen chuckled, eyeing me with curiosity. "The saddest hand of cards is yours; the Goddess handed you over to us. Have you been enjoying your stay?"

"I want out now. Take me back to Gabrian."

"Well, that's plain rude. You've been given the penthouse suite, so life doesn't get much better than that. You're much safer here than you were with Secta, that incompetent fool. Ask yourself how you got here, Kate. He's always been one step away from madness, and it's safe to say that he's finally taken the plunge, so let him drown. In my opinion, you deserve better than what he can offer you."

I narrowed my eyes, "and what can you or anyone here offer me except for darkness? As Cybele's told me, not even you want to be here but Noxia just won't let you go."

Nocen's jaw tightened, his cheekbones beginning to splinter as black thorns started to rise. "Don't believe everything you hear, darling. Do I look enslaved to you? If I remember correctly, you were the one in handcuffs, not I."

"I saw it inside you, that seal around your soul. Nocen, I think I might be able to free you."

"Felix hopes that you'll join us for dinner." The demon replied with a hiss. "He thinks that he can talk some sense into you, though you seem far too dense to see reason. I always thought our Prodigy would be wise, but perhaps naivety can do the trick."

I stared at Nocen, watching him intently. "What does Felix want with me?"

"Only he can answer that."

"You're just blindly following? That sounds naive to me."

Nocen let out a growl. "Shut your damn mouth, you bitch."

"Cybele and Finn miss you. They love you." I said, seeing how his dark eyes slowly began to glow a warm forest green at my words. "You love them both regardless of what's happened in the past. Why not help me for their sake? Nocen, I can get you out of here if we just work together."

He paused, jade eyes fixed on mine as his lips quivered. Nocen opened his mouth to speak, but he never managed to say a word as blackness filled his gaze as quickly as it had gone before. His muscles went rigid, coal colored veins creeping up over his skin.

He snorted, "believe me, they don't love me anymore nor do I ever want to deal with them again. You may think that they love you too, Kate, but when you've been around as long as I have, you'll start to see the big picture and realize just how fucking wrong you were."