Bound By Chains (MxM)

Chapter Thirty-Six

The silence was incredibly awkward. No one was speaking and when I turned to Cayden, he coughed and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, turning to the new arrival. "Prince Drakell, this is Davian." He turned to me. "I was initially going to wait for if my first plan fell through...but Drakell happened to be downstairs, and I just couldn't let the opportunity pass us by."

My breath held, I looked back over to Drakell, who was still staring at me curiously. After a moment, he slowly inched his way into the room, looking incredibly awkward as he tilted his head towards me. "Uh...hi," he spoke, his voice deep and comforting, and seemingly reverberating in my chest. He turned to Cayden; brows pinched together. "So, this is the supposed lost brother of mine?" When Cayden nodded, Drakell turned back towards me, gingerly reaching out a pale hand. Initially, I flinched, causing him to hesitate, but after a moment, his fingers grazed over the gems imbedded in my forehead, his full lips pulling into a frown. "You...do look incredibly similar to us, that is true." He sighed and pulled his hand back, nibbling at his bottom lip. "It is true that I have a long-lost brother in the world..." he glanced at Cayden, "and my lost brother has a birthmark on the back of his neck, in the shape of a dove. Do you mind if I..."

I don't know why my face burned when he turned to me, silently asking for permission, but after a moment of hesitation, I nodded my head, my heart pounding in my chest. Drakell cleared his throat and moved closer to me, his pale hand extended as he gingerly brushed aside my hair and pulled the collar of my tattered robes down. The silence was thick, and for a moment, I figured he hadn't found anything. But then he tensed and pulled back, his face ashen as he seemed to stare at me in a whole different way.

"Well?" Cayden wondered out loud, placing a hand over mine as he addressed the other man.

"H-He has the bookmark," Drakell responded, still staring at me. "Can I hug you? O-or wait, that would be weird, right? How? How?" He shook his head and looked at Cayden. "How the hell did he end up with King Alton?"

Cayden frowned and gently grabbed my hand, my fingers intermingling with his as he lowered his gaze. "I am unaware of the true story, as I was a mere child myself...but, from what I heard from others, he was found in the aftermath of a battle. They knew of his mixed blood and brought him as an offering to my father. At least...that's how the stories go."

Drakell's full lips pulled at the corners, growing thin as those crimson eyes flickered back over to me. "You would be nineteen this year, yes?"

I nodded my head. "U-Until the first of winter." Why was I stammering? I shouldn't be so nervous, I mean...according to Drakell, I-I actually had a family. I was royalty. I should be jumping with joy right now, knowing my life had meaning this whole time, yet for some reason, I could barely even speak without stuttering.

Maybe I was in shock and hadn't fully comprehended what this all could mean. I was of royal blood, apparently and Alton had snatched me and made me his personal slave for years. What would happen when Drakell tells his...or, well, our father? Would another war start, on top of a rebellion? I mean, I honestly wouldn't care if Alton got what was coming to him, but I didn't want any innocent lives ripped away because of the bastard's past misdeeds.

Gods, here I went going completely off track, once again.

I pulled out of my thoughts when Drakell made a move and grabbed the chair away from the simple desk, before he scooted it closer to the bed and sat down, shaking his head. "I can't believe it. All this time we all thought you had been claimed by the wilds and lost...and here you were, under Alton's thumb this entire time." He shook his head again and ran his fingers through his hair. "Gods, Father is going to be so happy when he finds out. He was so devastated when we couldn't find you, and as the years passed with no sign of you..." there was a small smile on his mouth when he looked at me, and I swore I saw little tears beginning to form in his eyes. "I can't wait for him to be reunited with you. Hell, and Drake too, although, that man was barely a toddler himself when you disappeared, so I'm unsure if he even knows who you are or not...gods, here I go, rambling along like some weirdo." He chuckled to himself and began nibbling at his bottom lip. "How've you been, brother? Did...Did Alton at least treat you right? Gods, I want to know everything about you. Is that weird? It's probably weird..."

I shook my head and shot Cayden a glance, the other man looking at me with saddened eyes as I tightened my grip on his hand. What could I say in response to Drakell's question? That I was treated like the royalty I was? That I was fed, and tutored and loved by many? Even if all of that was horrifically the opposite of how terrible my life has been? Do I tell him the truth and get it over with? After all...he would no doubt find out eventually, what really went down behind those castle walls. It would probably hurt him to hear of the horrors I had gone through...but unfortunately neither of us had the power to change the past, so with a breath...I told him about my life, about how I was raised as a slave, and how Alton had used me at such a young age.

Drakell's face had turned green, once I got to that horrid part of my life, and he remained staring at the floor as I continued on and told him about the physical and mental abuse I had gone through, as well as my eventual escape, thanks to the rebel group. I then told him about that as well and how Terry planned on completely eradicating all pureblooded royalty in order to further his agenda.

Drakell frowned; his dark, thick brows pinched as he tapped at the arms of the chair. "So, he wishes to even take out those of us who abhor slavery? What good could that possibly do for him? And he's a pureblood as well?" He shook his head and dragged a hand down his face. "Gods, what is this world coming to?" He then sighed and stood up from his seat, scratching the back of his neck. "In any case, the biggest worry we currently have is getting you away from here before Alton's men find you and drag you back. I really don't want that bastard to get his disgusting hands on you, and I really wish I could drive my sword through that heartless piece of filth's chest...but I'd rather you be safe before I do that."

Cayden nodded as well and stood up; the brunet just a tad bit shorter than my...brother. Gods it was so strange to say that; especially when I had spent my life growing up all alone. "We need to find a secure way of carrying Davian out of here. When we escaped the rebel's camp...h-he was shot, and that arrow severed his spine. Even with the draconic blood flowing through him, it isn't enough to have fully healed him yet. Do you...possibly have a way to transport him?"

Drakell glanced at me, then back at Cayden and nodded. "I have a carriage a few blocks down. Ah, it would be closer, but the streets were rather packed today...I apologize if it brings any inconvenience to you. I could...carry him there. Ah, with your permission, of course," he said, addressing me.

I nodded. "Of course. The sooner I can get out of here, the better I'll feel. S-So whatever you need to do, do it."

Drakell nodded and moved over to me, hesitating for a moment before he placed one arm around the back of my shoulders: the other one going under my knees. He then paused, and withdrew without picking me up, causing me to frown worriedly. "If your spine is still healing...I don't think that would be the best position for me to carry you. Uh...hmm, Cayden, can you help him onto my back?"

Without any hesitation, the other man nodded and got to work on helping me onto the dragon man's back; my arms securely around his neck and his hands holding up my knees. Then, he was hoisting me up as if I weighed nothing more than a bag of flower...which I could see, considering I was mostly made up of bone and practically no fat. I probably only weighed as much as a feather, in all honesty.

"Are we ready?" Drakell asked, pulling me out of my head.

Cayden nodded and moved to pull his hood over his face before opening the door. "Yeah, come on." We then moved out of the room and made our journey downstairs...and the closer we got...the wearier I became. I couldn't explain it, but there was a bad feeling settling in the bottom of my gut, festering and festering as we made it down the stairs. We turned...and froze, and a fear so sharp pierced through me, it nearly caused me to fall unconscious.

For the main room was no longer filled with patrons or drunks...but Alton's guards all dressed in their polished silver armor. And sitting at the bar was the man himself, twirling a shot of dark liquor as he turned those haunting blue eyes towards the three of us, halting once he caught sight of me. "Finally, I've found you."

A/N: *GASP* Oh no! Not that creep Alton!!!! I wonder what our cinnamon rolls are gonna do now, especially with the help of Prince Drakell! Will they get away? Will they not? Or will something else happennnnn?

Also, I have no idea, but I have the sudden urge to write a vampire story lmao. I don't know why, but the idea has stuck with me for the past week and now I'm thinking of characters and plots and scenes for it. It's crazy how the human mind can work sometimes lmao

Anywho, enough of my rambling lol. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Lemme know what you think! I love feedback!​​​​​​