Twenty-Four

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« 24—CAGED »
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~~~•~~~Talia awoke with the feeling of nausea rolling over her

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Talia awoke with the feeling of nausea rolling over her.

The stench of the room she was in filled her senses and caused tears to blind her vision. She let out a shuddering breath before slowly moving her hand to rub her bleary eyes so that she could see the situation she was in.

The blonde fixated her eyes on the thick black bars in front of her. Talia furrowed her eyebrows as she turned her head downwards to see that she was laid down in the centre of a cage that rested just off of the ground. She jerked her hand forward only to be stopped as something clung to her wrist. Chains.

She looked down at herself in further confusion as she saw she was heavily chained to the ground with just enough room to stand and with a large piece of equipment, unknown to her, was wrapped around her neck, the initial shock of it being bypassed by the unfamiliar area that she had encountered first.

She stood up wearily, her legs faultering and causing her to stumble into the bars as she examined the room. The area was dark with a few streaks of dark yellow sunlight filtering through the roof, highlighting the sodden floor beneath her. Cages similar to hers lined the walls with beings she immediately felt and recognised as Downworlders, but none were as heavily strapped down as she was.

Talia felt something pulling her to turn to her right and when she did, she met the broken figure of Jace. Her eyes widened as she took in his state and the defeated look she had never seen on him. His torso was now not only covered in the black swirling runes, but also large gashes and bruises that coloured his body multiple shades of red. His arms hung above his head, chained to the ceiling with water dripping down them and into his hair, splaying the blonde strands across his forehead.

Suddenly, Talia's legs folded underneath her, causing her to fall onto the hard metal, earning a wince from her as she thought over her situation. The first thing that implanted in her mind was confusion. She had no idea how she had gotten here. All Talia remembered was walking into the portal alongside Jace and Valentine before it all becomes unclear. As if a block had been put on her mind.

"You're awake."

Talia twisted her head to the side to see Jace looking at her as he barely held his own weight. His eyes looked tired and the small smile he gave her was strained.

"I guess so, although I'm not sure where the lines are between them anymore," She said, her voice quiet as her eyes wandered. Jace nodded his head slowly, "Where are we?"

Jace shuffled on his feet before turning to rest his head on his bicep whilst looking towards her, "Valentine's ship, the lower deck, where they keep the prisoners."

"They? So he has his army."

He pulled his bottom lip into his mouth and nodded once, "Too many died though, their bodies lay scattered on the decks above. Valentine says that it shows the strong from the weak to those who became Shadowhunters."

Light Shadows • Alec LightwoodWhere stories live. Discover now