If Eli had a choice, she would have preferred to die that night.
The pain did not allow her to think straight. Both hands were numb, and she lost the ability to move her fingers on both hands an hour after the mage left.
Her arms and shoulders were screaming with pain. She gathered what was left of her strength, trying several times to pull herself up by grabbing the iron chain. She was half expecting her weight would get her free if she wrapped her feet around the shackles. But the chain was tied tight.
Now that her body had her attention, she was sure at least one or two ribs were cracked. From the swollen look of her right foot, she could only guess her ankle was broken, and the back of her head was throbbing in pain. Falling down the stone stairs had left a lump on her head.
And as if all that was not enough, her shoulder wound on her left was still open as the mage predicted. The bleeding was prolonged, but it would accelerate whenever she tried to move her body.
The more time passed, the more agony she found herself in. With every slight movement, her face twisted in pain. Even breathing was hard.
She tried ignoring the pain while she stretched several times to reach her belt and weapons, which the mage had left on the ground ahead of her. But they were just far enough to be out of her reach. Eli gave up when she realised the more she pulled herself, the more blood she lost.
She cursed, screamed, threatened, moaned, begged, shouted, and pleaded, but no one came to help.
Finally, disappointed in ever seeing the sunrise, she passed out from the pain.
***
"Had enough beauty sleep?"
Eli opened her eyes. It took her a few seconds to realise where she was and who owned the face staring at her.
She wasn't conscious enough to panic properly. Her mouth was so dry that it was like she had sand on her tongue. Her arms were numb and heavy, barely holding her upright. She probably blinked a few times, and when she still did not look sharp enough to engage in the interrogation, the mage ordered, "Bring her down."
There was a rustling sound of the chains, and a moment later, Eli fell on the floor on her broken ankle. That was enough to gain her whole consciousness. Her face twisted in pain, making noises that even she couldn't recognise. She looked down. Her foot was so swollen that her toes looked small.
Dehydration, pain, and injuries had got the best of her. She could never walk out of that door on foot.
"Oh, my apologies. Was it too harsh for you?" The mage said, towering over Eli.
She looked up, half dead, half naked.
The room was now bright with daylight, and his features were more visible. He now had a proper outfit: fine leather pants and a black cotton shirt. His ruby necklace gleamed like a pendulum, taunting Eli. She stared at the uncut red rock hanging from a golden chain.
Things couldn't have gone more wrong.
She swallowed, or at least tried to.
"As a high-skilled burglar, it's expected to take a little beating." There was a tinge of mockery in his voice. Now Eli was a laughing matter. Not that she was in a condition to care. But surprisingly, it still hurt.
The mage squatted before her. He smelled of cinnamon, apples, and freshly cut grass. His hair was damp. The bastard even took a bath before tormenting Eli. When she didn't respond, he continued, "Maybe if I do this..."
Eli felt a thumb on her shoulder wound, pressing the injury. Her eyes popped out of pain, and she screamed. So loud that even her ears hurt.
The mage took his thumb off and sniffed it, "Infected, disgusting."
"Fuck you, you sadist bastard!" Her voice was barely audible.
She tilted her head to ease the pain. It didn't help. The left side of her collar was stuck to her wound. The former white cotton was now entirely blood, sweat, and dirt, and with the pressure the mage caused, the blood damped the linen of her collar even more.
"Excellent. Now that you have joined us, would you care to share the information required from you?"
Eli gaped at his dark eyes as he cocked his brows encouragingly, still squatting before her. It was then that she realised he had no mercy. His eyes were empty. There was no compassion or forgiveness.
He would end here, right there.
If Eli had a chance of survival, this was it.
"You should know that if I don't come back, they will send for me," Eli said, her voice hoarse. She ignored the rising pain of regaining sensation in her arms.
The mage looked hardly impressed, "Uh! Spooky. Who's coming?"
"Don't waste your time on me. You should prepare! They will raid here, unleashing hell upon you and your abominations." She needed water.
The mage glanced at the windows behind her, then at the front of the mansion, raising a brow. "How long do you think we have to wait?"
Eli growled.
The mage went on, "Well, since you care so much about my well-being—the one you obviously know so little of—I suggest it's only polite to sit and wait here with you until this alleged group of people show up and I reasonably hand you to them."
Eli shook her head as much as her injuries allowed her. "You don't believe me?"
The mage chuckled, and the sound was so sincere as if he was genuinely amused. His face lit up with a smile. "Aside from the fact that I simply don't trust you because you trespassed and broke into my house, I must question the possibility that even if there were such a group as you claim, why didn't they aid you in intruding here last night? Why come now? And please, don't tell me because you're their top choice. I'd be offended."
Eli looked down at her hands, wrapped in iron shackles, still unable to move them.
"You're not being wise," she said, which was a lie, really. The mage was, in fact, very insightful. Eli wished she could come up with a better way to stall her death. However, the lack of blood and the pain she went through last night drained the wit and scheme out of her. Even Malkan - who prided himself on breaking Eli - never left her hanging in chains with an open wound before.
Looking up at his stare, she said, "You'd be sorry when they come." Her voice was still shaky. At this point, she stopped trying to be persuasive.
"How interesting!" the mage taunted. "Now that you are so obliging, would you care to give me their names?"
Eli snarled.
"Oh, what's that?" Mage teased her again. "Out of ideas to lie to me?"
His eyes were so black that Eli feared she would drown in their abyss if she stared at them for too long. He pinned her down with his stare, and Eli was utterly paralysed. She couldn't even blink.
The mage narrowed his onyx eyes in rage, and Eli felt his thumb on her wound again.
She shrieked, loud and pleading. This time, he didn't lift his hand. Fresh blood poured down from her shoulder, drenching the fabric of her shirt. She felt the warm stream running down her skin. Tears pooled in her eyes. Pain struck her in the muscles of her back, shoulder, and chest.
Mage rested his hands on her shoulder, a sweet heaviness. Her shirt was the only thing resisting. If he weren't pressing his thumb in the exact amount of pressure to torture Eli enough not to pass out, she would say his touch was gentle, friendly even.
She didn't have any energy left to fight back. Her arms were aching in pain. There was no blood left in them to help her move them.
"And again, your lack of information on mages is disappointing. Because if you knew me, you would've learned that the whole royal army of Oxyn can not make a scratch on this place. You would have known that if you were wise enough to do a little research first!"
Eli blinked at him, mouth open and confused.
Who the hell was he?
Why was he so powerful?
The mage grabbed Eli's jaw with a hand red with her blood. This time, his touch was not soft. "You are speedily losing your value."
Eli narrowed her eyes, gathering what was left of her courage. "I thought I was dying anyway."
The mage levelled her stare; his face was deadly calm. "I never said you had a chance of survival. You can only slow your death, which won't be to your benefit. Now get up." He pushed Eli upward with her jaw in his grasp, forcing her to sit straight, kneeling before him.
Every bit of her body screamed in pain. She couldn't stop her whimpering.
What could the mage possibly do to her now?