“As I’m sure you’ve figured out, I want access to theStalethand all other craft. There will be no trade, no negotiations, no stalling. You will give them to me without resistance.”
“Wow.” Unable to help myself, I let out a low chuckle. “You make such an amazing plea for your case. Sure. Why don’t you open the lock, deactivate the shielding, and release my hands? If you do these things in the next minute, without any trading, negotiations, or stalling,maybeI’ll let you live. But I can’t promise for how long.”
“Ah, there’s the leader my father loved and feared.” A dark eyebrow rises. “It’s really too bad you don’t have a son to continue the line.”
His words remind me that no matter what happens, Idohave a son who is safe and protected with Tilly. This thought gives me immense relief.
“It’s really too bad you don’t have the balls to face me without all this”—I jerk my chin toward the electric shield wrapping itself around the bars—“protecting your aristocratic, pompous ass.”
“I won’t need any of that to control you in just a moment.” Silarrian motions to the guard, and she nods. “Show His Majesty what we found in the forest.”
She turns to the door of the cell, which at one time was probably used for solitary confinement.
Unease slides along my spine.What could he have found in the woods? The pod?That doesn’t make sense.
With a metallic rattle, the guard pulls a ring of keys from a pocket, unlocks the door, then yanks it open.
It’s dark inside, but my eyesight, unaffected by the shielding, makes out a form lying on the floor.
The guard kicks out, her foot creating a dull thud as it contacts the prone body on the concrete.
A low moan echoes through the chamber.
A sheen of sweat covers my skin.Please don’t let it be—
The female jerks the figure up, pushing the prisoner out of the cell.
In the light, my eyesight has no problem making out the red hair, the smattering of freckles across the nose, the perfect bump of a pregnant belly.
“No!” I yell, frantically pulling at the chains, desperate to free myself, to free her. “Don’t you fucking touch her.”
Squinting, Tilly blinks rapidly as her eyes adjust to the light. Her face, always pale, whitens further when her eyes land on me. “Jareth,” she cries.
“Shut up.” The woman stabs the tip of her shining spear into Tilly’s side, creating a bright red flower of blood, then activates the electricity, sending a shock throughout Tilly’s nervous system.
With a scream, Tilly begins falling, her hands coming up to cradle her stomach right before she hits the concrete face first.
My body comes alive with hate, with rage, with murder.I will tear him apart. What I did to Therin after he tried to kill Tilly will seem like child’s play.
Summoning every ounce of strength in my ilirium-reinforced bones, I reprogram the nanobots in my blood to draw upon every bit of plasma reserved for teleporting and tense my arms.
“Silarrian,” I say, my voice low and calm despite the raging turmoil in my mind. “You just made the worst mistake of your miserable life.” Then, defying gravity, I pull myself up the chain binding my wrists to the ceiling.
