A Sinister Betrayal

CHAPTER 3

RIO

Moments ago I had been in my room surrounded by luxury and comfort. I’d been so close to ruling the nation and setting things right, implementing policies that meant a better life for the people I’d grown to love as my own even though they never accepted me. William had been by my side like a protective shield. I’d felt invincible. But it was all a smokescreen. Nothing but a f*****g smokescreen.

The gloomy wet dungeon had a deep pungnant smell. It was the smell of decay, rotting flesh, and death itself. I cursed myself for being such a gullible fool, trusting the two men that turned out to be the harbinger of my destruction.

Hot tears fell effortlessly as a river of emotions washed through me. I felt everything. The extreme weight of the betrayal I’d just suffered overwhelmed me until drawing air into my lungs became a struggle. A strange eerie sound escaped from somewhere within me. It was the sound of pain magnified to infinity.

“Are you okay?” A weak voice asked from deep within the dungeon.

At first I was sure I had imagined it given my condition but the question was repeated due to my inability to answer.

I sniffled. “Yes.”

“No.” My voice shook. “Who’s asking?”

“Someone that understands what you’re going through.”

I was too broken to use my wolf instinct in trying to assess if the woman speaking was a threat or not. What was the worse that could happen? My world had already come crumbling down before me. All that was left now was to slowly fade away in this malignant place until there was nothing left. The sweet numbness of death.

“Don’t cry.” She said. “Please.”

“You need your strength if you’re going to survive this place.”

Fuck that! I wanted to tell her I had no plans to survive. Survival where for people that still had something to live for - something worth dying for. I had neither.

“Leave me alone.” I wailed. It was a deep guttural sound.

“As much as I’d love to, I can’t.” She said.

She moved from where she laid toward me, chains clanking with every step she took. Her body felt shriveled from malnutrition and her clothes damp as she put her bony arms around me. She gave off a foul smell but I didn’t care for that as I leaned into her.

Her fingers laced through my hair, massaging my scalp and soon my painful sobs receeded until it stopped. Her hands, though frail and cold pulled me out of my deep self-loathing.

“I’m Dido Almo.” She said, brushing my hair gently.

“I come from a small northern village. It’s so small it barely exists.” She chuckled.

It was hard to believe a person could smile in a place like this, yet here she was chuckling as she comforted me.

“I was born with a special gift that made me be able to perceive the past, present, and future upon will. My mother’s friend helped me hone my abilities and I was able to use this gift to help my people.”

It should have sounded like crazy talk hearing this woman talk about possessing special abilities, but I knew about few people alive that possessed such gifts.

“I still can’t explain how he found me. I used to think it was fate and, if I’m being honest with myself, I still do.”

I paused to take a good look at her. Her big eyes were beautiful even as they bulged from the sockets. Her dull skin still had traces of the gorgeous glow it once had. She was around my age, judging by her facial expressions, but years of being in this gruesome place had aged her.

“It was magical. All first loves are and I believed he would be the only one for me. We were made for each other after all. I gave myself to him even with the risk of losing my abilities and, sure enough, I lost it but I didn’t care. My love was absolute.”

A tear dropped on my lips. I could feel her pain as tangible as a living being as she spoke.

“I’m sorry.” She wiped her face. “My story doesn’t have a happy ending.”

Her body trembled and I could feel her control the tremors with everything she had. My heart ached for her.

"He betrayed me. Turned me over to his father on allegations of sorcery and his father, General Jolt, locked me here."

I jerked, my heart skipped a beat when I realized who she was talking about. Drake Jolt. Drake had been her lover.

"Your lover was Drake Jolt." I said out loud in disbelief.

She nodded. "I can't believe he'd betray you. Drake isn't like th —" My words broke off when I remembered how his father and my boyfriend had done the exact same thing to me.

"I couldn't believe it too but it happened."

I waited until she had relaxed before telling her how I'd end up in the dungeon.

"And now I'm going to die here." I said, smiling at the irony.

"You aren't." She said, "You aren't going to die here, dear Rio."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because we, together, are going to get out of here and get back at those lying bastards."

She sounded so confident. She couldn't possibly believe there was a way out of here.

"You're insane." I smirked.

"I know."

We slept side by side and I felt a gentle peaceful sensation even in the evil-smelling dungeon.

I woke up the next day to see Dido shivering. She was cold to the touch and when she coughed, it was thick and bloody.

My heart banged heavily as I called for the guard. "Help."

"Guard." I yelled louder. "She's sick."

The gate of the dungeon opened and a guard rushed in, shoving Dido aside and grabbing hold of my arm. He yanked me off the floor as he moved away.

I struggled to release my arm but with the cuffs, I was as weak as a year old cub.

"Where are you taking her!" Dido demanded, screaming at the top of her voice.

"Shut up bitch." The guard retorted as he shut the gate behind us.

We clambered up the stairs or, more accurately, he pulled me up the stairs.

"Where are you taking me?"

The guard grunted and then said, "The General wants to see you."