Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Water dripped rhythmically onto Lucius's face from the cave ceiling. His cell was entirely carved into the rock with a set of metal bars covering the opening. Guards walked back and forth in front of his cell on a rotating basis, with at least one person walking past him every five minutes.

Knowing who he was seemed to put them on edge despite having more than enough troops to hold him back in the event of the worst. They also already had him outfitted with a full set of armor and a dozen accessories, each of which would shock him into oblivion should they activate one of their control crystals.

Lucius chose to sit quietly in his cell and wait for his strength to finish returning to him. He had been well on his way to recovery even before he was taken in by Itorin and his Master Rankers. Using Channeling, he was able to hide a lot of his strength. Currently he was slowly releasing more and more of his mana to feign the speed of his recovery.

While concentrating on this, he had been trying to pick up on any conversations related to Kalliope. He could smell her scent within the cave, but due to the length of time she had been here, he could not pinpoint how far away she was. It was enough for him at the moment to know that she was at least still present.

"Titan of Eroa." A voice called through the bars. "I'm a big fan, you know. I heard about Alvora, and ever since, I've heard lots of great things."

"Thanks. Always nice to meet a fan." Lucius answered with his eyes still closed.

"The name is Itorin. I run this place. When you are back to full strength, I will use you to make a lot of money." The elf said with a huge grin. "Oh, and before you ask, your woman is here. She's a little out of sorts at the moment, but you will see her soon enough."

That statement caught his attention. Lucius opened his eyes and glared at the elf. "I changed my mind."

Lucius let loose all of his saved-up mana, giving up on the fake recovery period. Itorin gave him a snarky grin as if he knew what was happening. "I don't know who it was that got you in here, but I promise you that your understanding of the situation is woefully poor. Any plans you had of escaping, consider them null and void."

Itorin began to laugh and walk away. He stopped for a moment and turned back around. "By the way, your first fight is tomorrow morning. I hope you're excited."

Lucius growled to himself. He could feel his frustration rising and could feel the armor around him hum with energy. Any second and it could trigger an automatic response from the equipment. Corva had warned him of such and told him needed to be careful of the feature.

Accidentally triggering it would knock him out for a day or more and mess with the timing of their plans. While he was waiting in the cell, Snow was likely somewhere within the facility locating the central command crystal that controlled all the prisoners' equipment.

*****

Kalliope stirred awake. A new yet familiar scent wafted through the air. For a few minutes, she blinked several times and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. However, the scent stayed in the air.

"Lucius…" She mumbled before her eyes opened wide. "Lucius! He's here!"

A guard at the door banged on the bars and yelled at her to shut her mouth. The rattle of the metal woke Ethi up who was snoozing away in the corner of the cell. She had been looking a little worse for wear because of the poor nutrition and lack of exercise.

Though Kalliope was forced to fight, she was still moving around and getting some time to work all the muscles in her body. Ethi was stuck in the cell doing nothing but rotting away. Recently, on more than one occasion, she had come down with a fever and tried to hide it from Kalliope.

However, being a beastman she could tell when the elf was not feeling well. Ethi was currently in one of her fever states. Her breath was turning ragged on the occasion and Kalliope was worried that she might not last much longer. Ethi's condition had worsened over the last week and showed no signs of future improvement.

"Don't get up, Ethi, please. You have to…" Kalliope heard someone approaching. "Itorin… what are you doing here?"

The familiar elf stood at the bars of the cell, his signature cruel smile on his face. "I just talked to your boyfriend. I figured you probably already detected his arrival."

"What. Do. You. Want?"

"You're going to take your new rank, and you're going to crush him for me. Don't worry, I'll soften him up for you. I know he punches well above his weight class."

"Why would I do that?"

Itorin smiled once again and produced a small potion from his storage ring. It was a vibrant green liquid and though Kalliope knew nothing of alchemy or potions, she was smart enough to realize what the man was getting at. Her options were to fight Lucius seriously or let Ethi die of whatever disease was plaguing her.

"You have until tomorrow to make your choice." Itorin said before turning to leave her.

Kalliope growled but was distracted by Ethi bursting into a coughing fit. Sweat poured off her like a river. When she opened her eyes, they seemed distant and unfocused. The woman was not delirious, but that could only be a matter of time if she did not help.

"Kalliope," Ethi whispered, "Don't do it. He's here. You have been talking about him every day. Don't risk him or yourself for me."

"Shut up, Ethi. You don't get to make any decisions for me, you dumb elf." Kalliope answered. She brushed Ethi's matted hair out of her face and wiped a cloth across her head to clean away some of the dirt and sweat.

Her pallid skin and body temperature told Kalliope everything she needed to know. Her new friend was not long for this world without help. She apologized silently to Lucius, who likely got himself in for the purpose of saving her. Kalliope knew the man was able to fend for himself and hoped that he would forgive her for delaying his plans by a day.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

All she had to do was fight him for real, and she could save Ethi.

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