The First Traitor

**Natalie POV**

Cold… it was too cold…Where was I? A dungeon?
Only little dots appeared in my vision, blurring any surroundings. I tried to curl my body up to warm up, but my arms wouldn't budge. They were sore. Something uncomfortable was holding them high above my head. It was numbing my wrists. My shoulders popped the more I wiggled around.
A soft clicking noise accompanied by little whimpers brought back bitter memories. Like someone was fighting back their pain. So much like when Izzy would pretend she wasn't hurting back then.
Near the small noises, I could sense a vile aura. A true monster, like I foolishly assumed Trevor was. But this person truly enjoyed inflicting pain.
Whose was it? One of the traitors?
The last thing I could remember was running away from Aileen. I must have fallen unconscious after that…Izzy! She had a taser from our dimension…No. An elemental was messing with my head again! That was it. The assassin must have been near and used his mind ability. Izzy would never betray me.
The whimpers turned into loud wailings. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, burning away my chill. "Don't put your hands on Izzy!"
The only answer was a slap to my face. My head snapped to the side as more blurry circles entered my vision.
Ignoring my pain, I shouted, "you'll regret whatever you do to her!"
Bloodlust cleared my vision but caused a burning pain to radiate from my wrists. The skin touching metal chains simmered as the scent of my own heated flesh filled the air. Tears stung my eyes while I flung my arms back and forth. My body lurched forward, fighting to break free. Blisters were already starting to form and rub against the cuffs.
"Damn, those are some nice tits. Maybe I should move on to this girl?" The man with a dull delighted aura chuckled.
"What is the fun in playing with an unwilling woman?" His friend questioned.
My blood-red eyes focused on the figures in front of me. Two very different men watched me. One had that disgusting aura I felt close to the scared one beside me. Several gaping holes were in his wide mouth. Slimy black hair curled by his ears twisted like his soul. He tumbled backward when he saw my glare, releasing the girl next to me.
"Prince Trevor's whore is Lucifer's minion! The Queen will be thrilled!" This came from the bald man with a single triangular tattoo on his forehead. His smile was almost charming, and his aura was an odd mix of curiosity and excitement. No malice, no fear. "Where are my manners? I'm Captain Alaric, currently employed by the royal family of Krennan."
I didn't care if he was from Heaven or the actual Devil. I had to save Izzy and get to Trevor.
"Release Izzy." I lowered my voice, hoping to project the same danger King Ulrich managed.
Captain Alaric clicked his tongue. "Izzy? She should be joining us shortly."
"For now, I wanna see that huge chest." The toothless man stepped closer to me. Vomit rose from my stomach when his dirty thumbs pressed near my cleavage, teasing the top of the fabric.
Rage mixed with my bloodlust. I reached for my ground element, ready to break down the wall behind me. When the power flowed, the cuffs' metal became unbearably hot again, burning me further and causing the blisters to pop. I shrieked from the throbbing, stinging pain.
"Stop it… you'll just suffer more…that metal… it's that feckin element absorption metal…from your dimension." The girl with the timid aura; it wasn't Izzy.
Shackled to my right in a fancy flowing dress, disheveled hair, and a broken crown was Aileen. The untouchable, cold Princess. Trevor's sister… Shizuku's lover, bearing his mark, was stuttering, worried and petrified. Any accusation, all questions, vanished at her poor mental state.
"Look at that, Alaric; she's really got some trauma from your Daddy, huh? Heard he had some fun with her back in the day. How many of his friends did that Queen say?"
Her aura flared back to the regal Princess I knew for just a second. Until Alaric approached her.
"It certainly is interesting how people react to something as simple as a blood relative. You know I am not him, neh?" He spoke as if she was a test subject. An observation of the human psyche.
I struggled, uncaring of the flaring, itchy pain from the metal rubbing my raw skin. The restraints were from my dimension, so there was no breaking them. However, I could ignore the pain; I could at least attack with my ground or wind.
Empty mouth splashed something warm into my eyes. He seemed displeased when I didn't react to the cold water. "That was holy water! Why are you not begging or disintegrating?"
Alaric pinched my chin, raising my head. "Her eyes are still red as well. How fascinating."
"Maybe I should cut her up a little, pour it straight into the bloodstream? What say you? Perhaps after Lucifer leaves your body, I'll fuck you. Being with a human may just heal your soul."
"Monster, not human."
Alaric produced a knife, handing it to his comrade. I had to get this timing right. Before the elemental metal's scorching heat drained me, I would have one strike.
"Stop!" Aileen steadied herself, holding her head high. "I'm not just some random girl who was kidnapped by those barbarians. I'm the Whore Princess. A much finer prize than a maid mistress. And I've slept with a demon lord, birthing him my first son rather than my husband. Surely my soul is in dire need?"
What was she saying?! They should be allies! She's the one forcing Shiuku's marks onto the citizens of Vernen.
"No, take me," I whispered. My soul wouldn't bare another person being r....d in front of me.
"A Princess and the Prince's slut?" He was genuinely critical thinking. Sick creep. "How about we rearrange them? Lay them on top each other, hot pussies sticking up, and I take turns?"
I didn't have time to find an opening. It was now or-
"Oh, please…I want you…and Alaric's son…I liked what happened as a kid… I missed…your Dad's hands and voice. Natalie… don't bother…I missed having more than…Devon."
Her aura told the lie, but determination covered the terror in her eyes. There was also a warning for me not to interfere.
She couldn't sacrifice herself. No one deserved this, no matter what that mark compelled her to do for this conspiracy. No matter her truth.
"Hmmm… that's an unexpected reaction. But as I stated earlier, I have no interest in an unwilling woman. Besides, I do have an expecting wife. I'm not scum like my uncultured cohort here."
The other man was too eager at the prospect of having sex with a member of royalty to even hear the insult. Good, whether my attack did permanent damage or not, I was going to kill that man the second he touched Aileen. Focusing all my energy on one blast, I went to destroy the wall holding us.
Nothing. No pain, no burning, no crumbling building.
Frantic, I glanced over at Aileen. She simply glowered at me as the man began ripping her clothes.
Why wasn't I able to use my powers?! I was helpless to defend my sister-in-law, just as I failed to protect Izzy from Diana.
"Ahh! WHY?!" The man ready to devour Aileen fell to the ground, three pins sticking out of his pressure points.
A man dressed in black, with the same black cloak from the banquet, entered our cell. The assassin revealed his shining knife, slowly approaching his target. The man died with a single smooth stab into his throat, choking on his own blood.
Without a word, Alaric dragged the dead man back out, lost in thought. Most likely, deciphering what he witnessed. The assassin left just as silently, leaving Aileen and me alone.
What was I supposed to say? Words wouldn't form.
Reading me, Aileen scoffed, "I didn't fecking do it for you."
Is that why she was being punished? "For Trevor, but still…thank you."
"Fuck him too, secretive fox worse than that slimy eel."
Maybe she didn't want to be with Shiuku, just didn't have a choice. "I'm sorry…ya know, I saw that mark and the research, and ya know, maybe we can find a way to break his mark off you, and you won't have to-,"
"I'm not one of the two traitors! Yes, I bear his mark, but it isn't an obedience one. Shiuku and I's deal only has to do with our son. He can watch Shion and invade either of our dreams through my mark. That's it."
"You…"
"As I said, Fuck both you and Trevor! He shouldn't keep secrets from you. And you should have told him you were suspicious of me sooner! Then I wouldn't be down here with my first r*'s son!"
The cell door reopened, pausing our conversation. Crawling on her hands and knees was Izzy. Her entire face was sunken in. All life void from her presence.
Alaric and the assassin returned and lifted Izzy to her feet. Annoyed, Alaric chided, "I'm going to start wearing a sign that I'm not that slob, Neven. I'm curious about reactions, humanity, and what reactions will be had about demons. I want chaos and the honesty it brings. Not this."
Izzy stood but kept her head down.
"Izzy…please" I didn't know what I was asking. There was no trick here. She was one of the two traitors.
Alaric unfolded several pieces of ripped, crumpled paper. Reading over the contents, he got a flicker of delight. Goosebumps formed on my arms as that tiny paper was too familiar. Izzy flinched, recognizing it too.
"You will deliver this to Prince Shion." His attention shifted to Aileen and me. "I'm sure this will make the child Prince become easily apprehended."
"DON'T."
"Go now." The assassin ordered.
Involving kids is a sin even the cruelest don't commit. That assassin was an embarrassment, aiming for a kindhearted child. I struggled but still was unable to use any abilities.
Deep purples glowed from under the assassin's sleeves, matching the mark on Izzy's arm. She couldn't disobey.
Folding the papers together in her hand, she left. Not once did she look in either Aileen's or my direction. Behind her, both Alaric and the assassin disappeared once more. Probably to prepare for the despaired and confused Prince.
I misread everything.
"I'm so-"
"Stop...Do not apologize to me. Believe it or not, going to Trevor with the information discovered was the first correct step you took. And I share fault for risking our lives as if I could help Izzy and also teach my brother a lesson. My Father taught me better; now my family is in danger."
The rose glasses were taken off, Aileen's veil torn, and she was breaking.
Still, I couldn't stop the words because I meant them more than ever. "I'm sorry-"
"STOP IT! I didn't do it for you! I did it for my nephew!"
Her nephew?! "Wha?"
"Devon is a mind elemental, remember? He felt an extra aura inside you, feeding on your body, soul, and mind. He's known since the day after you conceived."
"I'm…"
"I've told you a secret that affects you; in exchange, I get one...What the feck is that letter?"