She’s dragged down stone steps and the cold, stale air of the dungeon hits her like a train. Her head throbs with the blow from a guard to sustain her, the skin already tender as a bruise starts to blossom.

They pass several open cells, all of them empty with the exception of one at the end. Her breathing starts to pick up as they near the barred door and she can see a figure inside.

Electric terror shoots through her joints. The realization melts from Ria to the selfish fear of her own life and the brutal legends of the vampires flash through her mind’s eye.

“Look at her, she's getting all excited,” the guard to her left sneers. She ignores him and focuses on keeping herself from falling unconscious.

“Hope she’ll put up a fight. The last few must have been a bore for them.” The other says. None of this is helping and she knows this is exactly what they want; to get inside her head.

The barred doors open with a horrifying screech and she's pushed inside like the men are afraid to get too close to whatever is in the cell with her. And that terrifies her. The shadowed figure in the corner stays unmoving.

“Have fun, you two.” Is the last thing she hears from the guard before they exit the dungeon with quick, timed steps. Crushing silence follows, broken only by her ragged breathing. The darkness seems to swallow her whole. She stands blindly and clutches her arms against her chest, waiting in stomach-dropping anticipation for something to happen.

And then a sultry, smooth voice sounds to her right.

“Look, Hakyeon. They brought us a new toy to play with.”

Immediately, her heart starts pumping pure adrenaline at the close proximity. She hears the voice laugh with a fruity chuckle.

“Ooh, and she's a responsive little bird. Listen to her blood sing,” the voice finishes in a breathless moan. Her eyes dart across the narrow hall, surprised to see another figure leaning casually against the bars of the other holding cell she had thought had otherwise been empty.

He's stunning. Dressed in a dark suit that fits his toned body like a second skin. The torchlight illuminates a face forever frozen at the age of nothing older than twenty-three, black tousled hair and glowing citrine eyes studying her in the darkness. He smiles when he meets her gaze and reveals a set of pointed fangs, tightening his hands on the bars separating the two of them.

“And you have her all to yourself,” he growls. The one he's addressing, Hakyeon is nowhere to be seen. That is until the young man in her own holding cell moves forward and steps into the moonlight.

He's just as beautiful as the other vampire, with dusky gold skin and clear eyes framed by sandy blonde hair. He's dressed similarly in a deep crimson suit, his expression hinting at forbidden motives. She sees the glint of metal off the collars lining their throats in the low light.

She doesn't have time to process anything else before she's thrown against the bars of her cage at an inhuman speed. A gasp escapes her as air is forcefully ejected from her lungs and Hakyeon presses up against her, fitting himself at her hip.

“Then be a good boy and watch, Wonshik.”

His breath puffs hot and heavy over her neck, a hand threaded in her hair. She starts to pant when she feels his lips brush over her erratic pulse and tears prickle her eyes. Fear white hot.

“Please don't kill me,” she begs softly. Hakyeon ignores her and presses closer, hands encircling her wrists and earning another cry. Wonshik lets out another low growl in delight.

“Why should I, sweetheart?” he breathes, amused and cups her cheek affectionately, toying with her. Her heart soars at his words and change in demeanor. There's still hope.

“I'm not a witch,”

“Oh? You sure are vexing enough to be,”

She shakes her head and stutters out, “I'm human. As you used to be.”

Silence, save for the gentle clinking of chains.

“Not many see me as human, I'm quite the opposite. I'm a monster.”

He fits a finger underneath his collar, enough to lift it and show her the red ring lining his throat. Her pulse stutters.

“You died in the Contagion?” She whispers. It’s a statement more than it is a question. His lips harden in a tight line and he stays unmoving, still so close that she can taste his sweet breath.

“I was on the verge of death when I was turned,”

“You were saved.”

A smile. “Very good.”

“And they threw you in here.” she gasps. Her mind is whirring a mile a minute with the time she's buying and she's also managing to learn more about his species. “Because you're different, because they don't understand.”

“Because they're afraid of me.” Hakyeon hisses.

“As they are of me.”

She can see Wonshik listening intently out of the corner of her eye, still as a statue. “They're accusing me of witchcraft, are they not?”

Another tense pause. She keeps going, heart fluttering about like a caged bird at the idea that she may slip up at any moment. But she can see that Hakyeon’s eyes are clouding with an emotion that looks eerily similar to sorrow.

“Looks like that’s something we have in common,” she utters in the softest voice she can manage. Testing the waters. “We were betrayed by our own kind.”

It’s strange that she feels an eerie sadness as those words leave . It was true, no doubt. Ever since the beginning of the Contagion nearly a century before, it wasn't exactly a secret the kinds of conditions vampires were subjected to, doing the dirty work of the aristocrats. Forced to kill like dogs and even used as ual pleasure among the elites. The fact that humans and vampires had once been whole, kin in species, must leave behind a burning sense of treachery.

A lust, a thirst for revenge and justice.

He finally lets go of her, gaze downcast. Wonshik has both arms resting against his cell and purrs in amusement.

“You sure have a pretty mouth on you, girl. Why don’t you stop messing around with Hakyeon and come play with me? Let me put it to good use.”

Hakyeon makes a sound of disgust and shoots him such a look that Wonshik scowls and turns away, muttering an angry, “I was only joking.”