Pitch blackness greeted Merin's eyes. There wasn't even a spark of Mordecai, let alone torches. She could see something glowing but turned away as she attempted to use her other senses to find Red.

Voices rose and fell as bickering broke out. Someone finally lit one of the torches, and everyone blinked at each other suspiciously in the room.

Merin ignored all of Red's brothers as her eyes sought Red.

He wasn't in the room.

Merin turned on her heels and ran back to their quarters. Maybe she missed him when she ran over?

Red was nowhere to be found even there.

Her misdirection didn't fool Mordecai one bit. And her deception must have cost her Red.

Minutes felt like hours as Merin waited for word from Red. When the hours started to creep up, company came over. Merin was in the middle of packing when they did.

She knew that if Red went missing, his brothers would be over to start trouble. She'd been too bold for far too long. She was also unlike the other Russus and avoided her harem duties. Since she didn't bow to or respect the elder Russus or the Consort, they would be the first to peck at her.

She couldn't fight off everyone forever. Since it wasn't safe here she needed to find Reu.

Merin wasn't too familiar with Red's father figure. She knew they were always plotting in Reu's smithery when Red let her frolic about the marketplace. He was her best bet, and the only one she knew to run to for possible information.

Reu found her before she finished packing.

The jovial man was replaced with a man tightlipped and pale with worry. He was cloaked in dark colors, and half his face was covered.

Reu wasn't alone when he showed up. Three other men of similar garb accompanied him, and Merin continued her packing as they spread out to look around.

"Your boldness hasn't changed." One of the men said, and Merin looked at the man.

"Am I supposed to be scared?" She said with a defiant tilt of her chin.

"When was the last time you saw Red?" Reu said, interrupting the brewing argument.

Merin told him everything, including the bit about Mordecai.

Silence reigned, and during it, Bellare and Letha showed up.

Red still needed to be found. Merin couldn't stuff her concerns down anymore. Something very wrong had gone down. Where was he?

Red landed painfully on his back. The impact stole his breath; if his eyes were closed, he would have missed the sword swinging down.

Red caught the blade, and the sharp metal sliced his calloused hands. In the same breath, Red used his freshly cut blood to assault his attacker.

The man screamed, and Red ruthlessly stole the sword before ending the other man's misery for good.

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Red needed more time to process where he was and how he got here. He was attacked ruthlessly whenever he tried to get a feel for his surroundings.

A new man jumped down from a cloud. He was naked as the day he was born, and Red showed no mercy in slicing him into quarters.

Red decapitated another man who appeared out of nowhere. He could smell his blood mixing with the aroma of sweat and effort. His heart pounded, but it wasn't the sound he was searching for. The beat he'd grown conditioned to listening to was gone.

Merin's heart was absent, and the bond was gone.

A new blade came towards Red, and the spilt second he took to dodge was one too many as a new fight began.

"I thought for sure that would be his end." A voice spoke as it chewed on something loud.

Red caught the attacking arm and used his strength to tear at the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. He groaned from effort as he ripped the arm apart.

"Nice! How gory! Truly a son of Habrin." Again, that voice said this as it noisily chewed on something. "Take a bite of the flesh!"

Red ignored the attacking man's scream and blocked the clumsy incoming swing with the man's arm before decapitating him.

Red was out of breath as his vision saw spots of red. He couldn't give in to the hunger. He needed to ignore the thirst. Red looked at the man who was laughing and eating nuts. He stood high on a cliff overlooking the small barren valley Red was fighting in.

Well, it wasn't baren any longer. What was once red clay ground was now soaked in blood with fresh fertilizer and food for scavengers.

"Mordecai, I presume." Red said, noting how the dragon was perched around the man's neck. The dragon rested on Merin's shoulder and even napped in Red's medium-length locks. Red had never seen the dragon wrapped around someone so protectively before. That spoke volumes, considering what the ornery beast was like.

The man smirked and dusted off his hands. "I wanted to see if you could receive half of what you dished out to my dragon," Mordecai said.

"I wanted to test its limits," Red said. His face was unrepentant.

"Oh shush, Acuzio, I won't really kill him. If these golems could do actual damage, then he's unworthy of our Merry."

"Merry?" Red said, testing out the new name for Merin.

"That's not even her real name. It's just a nickname." Mordecai said with a smirk. "If you can survive the labyrinth, then you can escape my punishment. Tick-tock bloodmonger, you don't want to waste time."

"Tick-tock?" Red said, trying to understand what those words could mean.

A loud blaring roar almost knocked Red off his feet as the sound assaulted him.

"Booo you suck! I can't believe you like him. Fine, I hope you die as a lizard." A voice said. Mordecai's words barely registered in Red's head as something sharp and pokey landed on him. When Red opened an eye, he saw two beady lizard eyes smirking back at him.

It had felt like an eternity for Red, but he still had no idea where he was or what was happening. He went from barren ground to a series of underground caves. Acuzio had taken charge of their route, and Red followed the dragon.

The dragon glowed in the dark endless underground passageways. It had ruby shining like a fire between the black spikes. The longer Red stared at the marching dragon, the larger it seemed. It was as if the beast was growing the deeper they went.

The dragon wasn't the only thing that glowed underground. Spores of all shades were either stuck to the cavern's walls or ceilings. They floated around to tickle the two intruders.

Red was able to spend his eternity of walking calming down his heart. Only when that was achieved did he start binding his wounds and taking stock of his weapons. Mordecai didn't seem like the type to let go of a grudge. Red needed to be prepared for battle.

Red took this peaceful walk as a time to recall the last thing he saw before he woke up to being attacked.

The torches had gone out in the meeting room. His brothers were attempting to blame each other. He looked at where his father was last and saw his eyes glowing in the pitch-black room.

That was the last thing he saw before Mordecai presumedly snatched him.

"Acuzio, where are we?" Red said. He'd never tried talking to the dragon, but Merin and Mordecai seemed to understand him.

"You don't want to know." A deep gritty voice said, and Red could feel his heart pick up in speed as his fight or flight was triggered.

Silence reigned after that, and Red turned introspective again. There was a missing sound he didn't realize how much he'd come to rely on in the past few months. Merin's heartbeat was a constant no matter the distance, but there seemed to be a limit. She was gone. Their bond was gone.

How far had Mordecai taken him?

Red didn't have time to linger on that because Mordecai was a grudge holder, and monsters greeted his sight this time.

"It's going to be a long day," Red said as he unsheathed his stolen weapons.