"I specifically remember you telling me that you were not going to lock me in some cage to rot for the rest of my life?" I snapped at Valentine as he circled said cage that I was currently trapped in. "And what are you doing?"
Valentine raised an eyebrow, still continuing to circle me. "I believe you are in no position to be questioning me. You are the one locked in the cage after all."
Okay so, he had a point.
"And if you must know, Azel Westchester, I am examining you."
I fixed the blonde man with a dirty look. "And why?"
"As I said before, you are in no position to question m–"
"He's trying to figure out why the hell your dick of a father is so damn interested in you."
I felt my blood drain from my face at the voice sounding behind me. I didn't know whether I was overjoyed or terrified to hear it.
I let the man walk around my cage to face me, instead of turning to him. It gave me more time to apply my impassive mask.
"It's nice to see you again, Thea. I do hope you liked my surprise at Raphael's?"
"Stephan." I acknowledged him, tilting my head to the side as my eyes grazed over his figure. His hair had grown longer, and he needed to shave, but that's not what stuck out to me. His once grey eyes had grown colder and darker, looking more along the lines of black now than anything else. He looked older somehow as well, as if this past month had aged him a few years. "I hope it pains you to know that I did not receive your surprise."
His eyes glinted in the light above my cage. I once could've considered that mischievous look playful. It now rather looked like he was thinking of when he tie me up by my feet and drain me of blood. "That shadowhunter of yours was it?"
"Jace does come in handy every once in a while." I graced him with a sweet smile. "Now tell me, who are you?"
His eyebrows furrowed. "Meaning?"
"I've known Stephan my entire life." I continued to which the man in front of me raised his eyebrows. "I know the way he thinks, the way he acts. He raised me, and you– you are not him."
"I'm not?"
I gulped, not so subtly might I add. "No."
"You don't look convinced."
"I'm convinced that this–" I waved my hands in front of me, trying to capture him in an image. "–isn't him. So where is he."
The man sighed, taking a step forward so he was right in front of my cage. "Thea, Thea, Thea. Darling, you knew me for what, eleven years? Sweetheart, I'm nearly five hundred years old. I think I can easily feign a brotherly figure to a messed up girl for not even a tenth of my life. You really do have such little faith."
I sighed, leaning back against the metal bars I was confined in. "I'm young, not stupid."
"Aren't you, though?" The man snickered, grabbing the metal bars. "Because I easily fooled you, didn't I? I never loved you, Thea. Why would I?"
I stayed silent, pondering what he had just said. Odd that he would bring that up out of all things. "You're right." I finally replied, my lips twitching as I caught him off guard, and his eyes widened a bit. I pushed myself off of the metal support, my arms uncrossing my arms from over my chest. "Why would you love me?"
His eyebrows once again furrowed, unaware of where this was going.
"But just...can you do me a favor?"
His black eyes narrowed. "You mean can I preform test for you."
I raised my hands in surrender. "Your words, not mine."
"Fine, then ask away."
"Very well." I shrugged, pointing to a sign that was nailed into the wall around 50 yards in front of me. "Read that to me. From right here."
He scoffed. "You're really testing my eyesight?"
I shrugged again. "Well, you are a vampire, or so you say. You should be able to see that far and read it perfectly. So I'll ask again. Read it to me."
The man rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He turned his head to the sign and began. "How to lift correctly. The right way. Legs bent, back kept as straight as possible, load close to body, gripped at opposite corners."
He stopped and looked back at me with a bored expression. I only raised a brow. "Well do carry on."
He huffed, looking to Valentine for support. The blonde man only shrugged. "Do as the girl asks."
"You've got to be kidding me." He muttered, turning back to the sign. He wasn't even squinting. "The wrong way. Legs straight, back bent, puts all the strain on the muscles of the back or abdomen."
The man turned to me with a cocky smile, proving that he could indeed read that far. "There." He stated, turning his full body towards me. "I read it."
"Perfectly, might I add." I nodded.
The man shrugged, but his demeanor seemed to change at my tone.
"You see, I find that rather odd." I mused. "Because last I checked, Stephan is dyslexic. So do tell me how that works."
Both Valentine and the man shared a look of annoyance, but I ignored it.
So where the hell was Stephan?
My heart suddenly throbbed as I remembered the attack at Henric's. Here I was thinking that they might've taken him and locked him away to get information out of him, but what would be the point? My brother was probably dead like the rest of the clan.
"Very well done, my dear." Daniel's voice echoed throughout the room as he stepped into the light. "I always knew I raised a smart girl."
I stayed silent, not risking any of the men surrounding me to hear the fear or sadness in my voice.
"What?" Daniel feigned a look of hurt. "Not so big and bad when your old man comes around?"
I averted my eyes to the ground, unable to hold his blue gaze. Those same eyes that had bored into me as he...dismembered my family.
"Don't be ashamed of it, darling." He snickered, his feet at the edge of my cage. He wore leather boots. Boots that could probably crush me with enough force applied. I was fragile when it came to him. I was weak. "Everyone's afraid of something."
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