The room was cold, its walls carved from black stone and covered in glowing runes. Chains bound Theo and Mila to opposite sides of the chamber, the manacles humming with faint energy that sapped their strength. A single door marked the only exit, guarded by two hulking figures clad in crimson armor, their faces obscured by dark helms.
Theo’s wrists burned where the shackles bit into his skin, but his focus wasn’t on the pain. It was on Mila, seated across the room with her head bowed, her pale blonde hair obscuring her face.
“Mila,” he whispered hoarsely. “You still with me?”
Her head lifted slightly, revealing wide blue eyes that shimmered with unshed tears. “I’m fine,” she said, her voice trembling. “They... they said they’re coming back soon.”
Theo’s jaw clenched. “We’ll be ready,” he said, though he wasn’t sure how. His body felt heavy, like lead, the runes on the walls pressing down on him with suffocating intensity. But the spark of defiance that burned in his chest refused to be extinguished.
The experiments had started three days ago. The Blackbrand cultists, as Theo had come to know them, were fanatics—mages and warriors who thrived on cruelty and control. They had taken Theo and Mila from the prison caravan, muttering about "gifts" and "potential."
The first day, they had tested Theo’s limits. Forced him to summon again and again until he nearly collapsed. His summon—a shadowy wolf with burning red eyes—had fought valiantly, but even it had faltered under the cultists’ relentless attacks.
Mila had fared no better. Her natural affinity for magic, once a source of wonder, had become a curse in the cultists’ hands. They pushed her to cast spell after spell, their runic devices drawing on her power until her veins felt like they would rupture.
And yet, through it all, Theo had held onto one thought: Emmet would come for them.
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The door creaked open, and a tall man entered the room, his dark robes swirling around him like shadows. His eyes gleamed with a predatory hunger as he regarded the twins.
“Awake, are we?” the man said, his voice smooth and venomous. He gestured, and the guards stepped aside.
Theo glared at him, his muscles tensing despite his exhaustion. “What do you want now?”
The man smirked. “Progress. Your brother has proven to be quite the anomaly, hasn’t he? A summoner strong enough to bind two beings from other realms. We wondered if his bloodline might yield similar results.”
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Theo spat at his feet. “You’ll get nothing from us.”
The man chuckled, unfazed. “Oh, I disagree.” He turned to Mila, who shrank back in her chains. “Your sister’s talents are coming along nicely. Her spells could level mountains with the right guidance—or the right pressure.”
Theo’s vision went red. “Leave her out of this!”
“Ah, the protective older brother,” the man mused, his tone mocking. “But you see, Theo, this isn’t about what you want. It’s about potential. Both of you have gifts that could reshape this broken world. Gifts that my order intends to harness.”
He raised a hand, and the runes on the walls flared brighter. Theo cried out as a searing pain shot through his chest, the connection to his summon igniting like a firestorm. Across the room, Mila screamed, her own magic spiraling out of control as the runes fed off her power.
“Stop!” Theo gasped, his voice raw. “You’re killing her!”
The man ignored him, his attention fixed on the runes. “Fascinating,” he murmured. “The bond between summoners and their summons... it’s stronger than we anticipated. And her magic—so pure, so volatile.”
Theo’s wolf materialized in the room, its crimson eyes blazing as it lunged at the man. But before it could reach him, the runes flared again, and the wolf dissolved into shadow, leaving Theo gasping for breath.
“You’re wasting your energy,” the man said, his smirk widening. “This chamber was designed to suppress your abilities. Resistance is futile.”
Theo’s vision blurred as exhaustion threatened to claim him. But then he saw Mila, her trembling hands gripping the edges of her chains, her eyes burning with a mixture of fear and fury.
“No,” she said, her voice shaking but determined. “We’re not... wasting anything.”
The runes around her flared unpredictably, the glow shifting from red to blue as her magic fought against its constraints. The cultist’s smirk faltered as cracks began to form in the stone walls.
“Mila, stop!” Theo shouted. “You’ll hurt yourself!”
But she didn’t stop. With a cry of defiance, she unleashed a burst of raw magic, the force of it shattering her chains and sending shockwaves through the chamber. The guards were thrown off their feet, and the cultist staggered back, his expression darkening.
Before Theo could react, the man gestured sharply, and the runes shifted again. Mila crumpled to the ground, unconscious, her magic extinguished.
“Impressive,” the cultist muttered, his tone laced with irritation. He gestured to the guards. “Take them to the inner sanctum. It’s time we accelerated their training.”
As the guards approached, Theo’s heart sank. He fought against his chains with everything he had, but the runes sapped his strength, leaving him powerless to stop them.
As they dragged Mila away, Theo’s voice broke through the heavy silence.
“I swear,” he snarled, his eyes burning with rage. “When my brother finds you, he’ll make you pay for this. All of you.”
The cultist paused, his smirk returning. “Perhaps. But by the time he does, you and your sister will be far more useful to us than to him.”
The door slammed shut, leaving Theo alone with his despair. Yet even in the suffocating darkness, a small spark of hope remained.
Emmet was out there. And Theo knew his brother would never stop until they were reunited.