The Dragon Brothers
Chapter 57 - Show Me You're Willing to Fight

* The Castle at Drakor; The Capital of the Chromos * Lucian POV

I stand with my family: My pregnant wife, Angel, and Sia. All three are so beautiful, innocent, and precious to me. We hold hands in a little circle. Sia starts crying because she doesn't want me to go. So, I bend down to her level and take her into my arms to hold her, balancing her on my leg as I crouch down. "I want you to know that I'm doing this for you. So that you can be safe as you grow up and you won't have to fear Queen Maeve coming back for vengeance. No matter what, always remember how much I love you."

"But daddy I want to go with you. I'm a phoenix and I can be useful in the fight. I can throw fireballs. Do you wanna see?" I feel little Sia start to warm up in my arms.

"No Sia, let's not do that right now. I know you can throw fireballs and one day you can join the royal army or be a general of one of the other fleets if you want but right now you're still too little." I rub small circles on Sia's back to try to comfort her.

"One day I'm going to be a mighty warrior just like you dad!" Angelus says with a big grin on his face.

I ruffle the top of his hair. "One day you will be, son. You'll be the top warrior we have." I glance at the time and notice I have to leave. We say our goodbyes and I leave my family behind.

Ai hum a little tune in my head.

Lead me with strong hands, Stand up when I can't, Don't leave me hungry for love, Chasing dreams but what about us, Show me you're willing to fight, That I'm still the love of your life, I know we call this our home, But I still feel alone. Emily POV

Wolf walks back into our room. "Molle has been taken so we're leaving in an hour. If you ever want to talk about what happened I'm here for you."

"If I told you what happened you would never want me again. They took everything from me and then they branded me." I say through teary eyes.

"Can I see the brands?" Wolf asks, gently rubbing his thumb against my cheek.

I numbly remove my dress because at this point who cares to see me naked anymore. I point to my arms and legs. His arms gently touch each brand and then kisses it like he's trying to make it better. Tears start to flow down my cheeks. He sits down in a chair and gently pulls me into his lap. "Who did this to you?"

"Lord Garbg. Gabe explained that his body is still alive because he's possessed by a demon." I shivered when I said his name. His memory never elicited a good reaction from me but now it actually repulsed and caused me to fear it. "What else did he do to you?" Wolf asked with his arms around me but I could see the tension in his body and his hands balled into fists. I shook my head at first. "Emily, it's okay. You can tell me. I won't get mad at you." He kisses me on my cheek.

For some reason I feel brave enough to tell him. "He raped me and then he let a line of other men rape me. I don't know how many. He handcuffed me to the bed so I couldn't escape. I'm so sorry Wolf. I tried to fight but they were too strong." By the end I was sobbing in his chest. Wolf just held me and rocked in place. He kept telling me that 'I was safe now' and that 'he was here' and 'nobody could hurt me now.' But I thought about Emily and how she had just been taken and I couldn't really believe him.

"Don't worry I'll make him pay for what he did and I'll make it right." He kissed me on the top of my head and held me tight. "Do you want to ask the faeries or the unicorns to take away the brands?"

I know he was trying to be sensitive but at this time I wasn't ready for anyone to see them so I just shook my head no. "Maybe later." I just wanted to stay in his arms. "So, do you still want me?"

"Of course I still want you. I know this may seem like not the most ideal time but since I'm going into battle I don't know if I'll return." Wolf carries me out to the terrace and sets me down on one of the chairs.

"I had planned to do this in a very romantic setting on a bed of rose petals but at least we have a nice view of the sunset." He pulls out a little box from his pocket. "Emily, will you make me the happiest man in the world by becoming my wife?"

I almost don't know what to say. "You really still want me? Even after the branding scars, the rapes, and the kidnapping by another man? You still want me?" I'm shaking because I know this must be a dream."

"I want you as my wife today and forever with all of your scars, your past, and your fears. Whatever comes our way we'll hit together. It's us against the world baby." Wolf leans down and kisses me passionately then carries me to the bed but before we can get involved in love making there's a strong knock at the door.

"Come on Wolf! We're moving out in fifteen." I hear Lucian call out.

Lucian POV

We meet outside the castle and by now everyone that is not going has said goodbye to their loved ones. I notice Quentin and Elena standing together holding hands and I shoot Quentin a quick smile. Then, I noticed how angry Cyprian is, I can almost feel his anger coming off him in waves, I know he's ready for battle, and that he wants to rip Maeve to pieces for touching Molle. I know his real concern one that we all share is that she's torturing her and what she'll due to Molle will make Emily's torture look like child's play.

"Gabe, are there any last minute insights that you can give us into Maeve's castle or how her defense systems work?"

"Yeah, sure. I was there for a long time and they started to let me out into the main castle to work and do chores but then I tried to escape so when I was returned they threw me back into the dungeons again. There is a stone fortress surrounding the castle; there are four lookouts one at each corner. Inside the main level is a dirt floor and you'll find residences of the townspeople and very few shops. Most of the townspeople work at the castle and the shops cater to them for black magic, food, apothecary, and that's about it. The main castle has three levels. The first level is all your basics which include kitchen, servants quarters if they don't live in town, the great hall, and the throne room. The second floor isn't used but it's bedrooms and then the third floor is bedrooms and the only persons allowed on the third floor is Maeve, her personal bodyguard, and her personal maid. Her soldiers consist of demons which have to have their hearts ripped out in order to die, trolls, and goblins. The hardest to kill would obviously be the demons. I would presume that she would first release the trolls and the goblins leaving the demons for last." Gabe gives a very thorough explanation. "What about the prison and do we have any idea where Maeve might be? "Cyprian asks, getting impatient with the meeting.

"The prisons are guarded by ogres and they change every three hours. The prison is a seperate building behind her castle. It's one floor of a spacious building with lots of small rooms. Some of the rooms on this floor are for sleeping, torture, and offices. You enter and exit through a door to the north facing Maeve's castle. On the opposite end there is a hallway that goes behind a room. If you walk down that halfway you can either walk straight outside or turn to the right and walk down a flight of stairs to the dungeon. Hold your nose because you will be hit with the smell of waste and decay. Your mate will be in one of those cells. Molle POV

"Lord Garbg, start by stripping her. She has no right to wear clothes here. The rest I'll leave to you."

Lord Garbg walks over to me with a large grin on his face as he starts ripping my clothes off of me. He doesn't even give me the chance to undress myself; he just rips them off with his hands.

After Lord Garbg is done removing all of my clothes, including my underwear, he chains my wrists up to the top of the bars on the right hand side of my cell and then he chains my legs at the bottom of the bars but he spreads my legs apart making a V. He leaves for a moment and then he enters again with King Henry Annora and they are both carrying long whips with huge hooks on the ends to tear the flesh away. I see Queen Maeve sitting down off to my side to watch. "Don't worry little one, no one will hear you scream." Both Lord Garbg and King Annora laugh when she says that and then they begin and oh my do I scream. I scream the whole time. I scream so loud and long that my throat starts to hurt. Sometimes the Lord and the King would pause and look at the Queen to see if they should continue and she would get angry that they had stopped. They whipped me from the top of my back all the way down to the tops of my ankles. After they're done they unceremoniously let me drop down from the chains as they unhook me laughing at the pain I'm in. Later they came back in and poured wine over my back causing me to hiss out in pain. I laid on the floor for I don't know how long until sleep finally took over. I dreamed of Cyprian and laying in his lap while he combed his fingers through my hair. He smiled down on me and was about to say something but I was awoken when a bucket of ice cold water was thrown on me.

Lord Garbg stepped into my view. "Ready for round two?"

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