Next chapter at 105 votes and 150 comments! ;)
— TWs for abuse imagery, injury.

SEVEN STRUGGLED TO connect the dots. "You..." Her brows knit, and the harder she tried to think, the fainter she felt. "You — ,"

  " — Yes." Draco answered for her; his face like a stormy night. "I did."

Her mind was foggy, "...But why?"

Her lungs felt heavy, struggling with breath, her hoarse throat aching for air — crying out in all the ways she never could. Seven remembered how she had thrust her dagger backwards, aiming to hurt — to kill. Little had she known the identity of the man that had held her, his fingers around her neck. And she couldn't help but ask her self, if she had known it was Draco that held her, would her actions have been any different?

  She didn't know, — didn't like to think about it either.

Seven didn't even know what all of this meant. Was Draco one of Navy's men? — If so, had he been all along?
In some small way, Seven wished he was, that everything she'd known about the boy so far had been a farce, for the alternative was all the more confusing. At least that way the answer was simple and his motives clear.

Even the thought of the endless questions that would torment Seven if he was not one of Navy's rebels made her dip in and out of consciousness. Her head hurt, blinding pain coursing through her veins with every blaring white flicker of the overhead lights.

" — Why Draco?" She asked again when he didn't answer, more forcefully this time — or at least, as forcefully as she could.

  Words danced behind his lips. A thousand letters begging to be let out into the air, to dance through the darkness like notes from an instrument; a dissonant symphony of a most beautiful lies."Do you trust me, Seven?"

" — No." The answer came instantly, surprising even her. Maybe she had trusted him once, but now... Everything was different, — he was different.

"Good." He said it as if the word tasted foul; repulsed by the notion. "Don't ever let your guard down, not for anything or anyone."

  "Not even you?" If even the idea of breathing hadn't hurt so much, Seven might have thought herself surprised by his response.

He didn't look at her. Maybe he couldn't. "Especially not for me."

  "That still doesn't answer my question, Draco." She pressed her lips into a fine line, biting her tongue in hopes that the sudden shock of pain would draw her attention from the agony the rest of her was facing.

He tensed at the sound of his name, as if it was a weapon to be used against him, "You don't have to trust me to trust that there are some things you're better off knowing."

   " — And if you're lying?"

"You'd never know." Draco shrugged — or as least tried to shrug, only to let out a low groan as his wound flexed beneath his shirt, the guttural sound brushing against Seven's hair. " — It's best if you try not to think about it too much." He finished through gritted teeth.

  She tried her best to swallow the horrid emotions he stirred within her. She didn't know what to feel — what to think, and somehow whilst she made him feel nothing at all, he made her feel everything. "But you'll tell me some day, right?" She was almost pleading, " — When all of this is over? When we're safe and somewhere far, far away from here?..." The words came from her all too smoothly, and it took her a moment to realise just what she had said. Her words told of a future, one in which they were together — be it side by side or hand in hand she did not know. All she knew was that she wanted it to be, so desperately that it frightened her.

The corner of his lips twitched, something somewhat akin to a smile. "Maybe."

• • •

  NAVY WAS NOT JUST a woman — but a God.
Carved from the richest ebony by holy hands and wrapped in sheets of silken skin.
  Her eyes were black as kohl when they found Seven, curled in Draco's arms like a child, her face bloodied and her confidence fractured. She dreaded to think of what she must look like to this unfamiliar woman.

The rebel leader sat upon a throne of molten metal that jutted out at odd angles like knives, staring down upon everything below her. She remained silent for a long while, studying the two newcomers. But when she finally spoke her voice was deep and strong.

"So," Her dark eyes narrowed, "This is the girl you've bartered for, Draco?"

"She's too weak to fight." Draco answered in an unabashed tone, and Seven couldn't even bring herself to argue.

"Well, that certainly is strange... " Navy said coyly, toying with one of her many long, black braids. " — Last I heard you had her dagger in your chest. So please forgive me if it seems as if you make a terrible habit of underestimating this girl... Maybe she has more courage than you think."

"To fight back when being attacked?" Draco practically scoffed, and suddenly Seven got the feeling he wasn't defending her in the way she'd hoped. " — A dog has that kind of courage."

Anger prickled over Seven's skin like a thousand tiny sparks and all at once she no longer found his touch comforting; instead repulsed by the way one of his fingers brushed against the thin slip of skin exposed on her thigh from where her jeans had been torn in the fight. If she'd have had the strength to, Seven would've forced Draco to put her down — maybe she'd even have fought like Navy had wanted. But in this moment she was weak, so she didn't — couldn't, she remained silent. Visually impassive and glaring at any place other than him.

  How could he go from something akin to caring in the elevator, when they were alone — to this. A vile boy, hissing and spitting his malice. It was almost as if sometimes he forgot to hate her, but in the end he always remembered.
Navy seemed satisfied with his answer, instead taking her time to rake her eyes along Seven's battered body; sizing her up like a predator would prey before asking, "What is your name?"

  I don't know, she wanted to say. "Seven."

  "Well, Seven," She repeated the name back slowly, as if savouring the taste of every bittersweet syllable. "You're lucky."

  Seven didn't know if she believed in luck — or if she believed in anything at all at this point. She frowned; confused, and her head beginning to spin again.

  "You're lucky because for reasons he'd never dare to admit," Navy spoke with a wicked grace, and something cunning curling at the edges of her lip. She enjoyed toying with her guests, pitting them against one another in any way she pleased. "Draco here has offered to take your place as tribute."

  "...But why?" Seven's world came alight with a thousand flittering questions, all just beyond her reach. Maybe Draco had told her once, but if he had she'd forgotten, but what was the purpose of all the unnecessary violence?

Maybe Navy was just as sadistic as Draco pretended not to be.

  "You know why." She said firmly, which made Seven frown. Her lips pressed into a fine line, she did not. " — And as for why must he fight, why would we waste ourselves helping the weak?... In two years of fighting none of us have even come close to what you two claim to have done in a matter of months."

Draco told her, Seven thought and she knew that not for a second did Navy believe them capable of killing one Sin, let alone two.
The rebel leader cocked her head slightly, as if testing for a reaction. "So, if you want us to bring you Sloth then you need to prove your worth — your dedication to the cause so many of us have died fighting for."

In the distance there was a strange sound. Not distinctly malicious in any way, and yet the thought of it made Seven feel sick. It sounded like a body being dragged across the concrete floor.

The dull dragging came to an abrupt halt a moment later as what ever it was, was pulled into the room.

Navy was almost as good as hiding her emotions as Draco. Almost. For the moment her eyes found the body her dark skin greyed, lips slackening as she stood from her throne. "Where is he?" She stammered, unable to tear her eyes away. "Where's George?"

Her chest rose and fell with staccato breaths, scarcely controlled. Seven was glad Draco's large body blocked her view of whatever it was, though deep down she knew full well it was a body, because she was also frighteningly aware that if it was a body, she knew damn well who it belonged to.

Seven pressed her eyes shut. Begging for it all to go away. Pleading that when she opened them, everything would be okay.

"Avery!" Navy ordered, her once silky smooth voice now echoed off the cavernous cave walls of the underground structure. "Don't just stand there! — Go get him — now!"

***
We are coming closer to mature chapter territory;) and I wanted to ask, when that time comes should I include ✨Seggs✨ as part of the TWs as I know some people don't feel comfortable reading smut?