Her fingers tingled and the familiar red haze shrouded her vision when the Imperial Guard dragged their burden to drop at the feet of High Cleric Christos.
Someone pressed close behind her, and Terena stiffened as a voice she knew well whispered in her ear.
“You should have listened to your brother,” Vassori said.
Terena spun around, but the tracker was already gone. She frantically searched the faces of those surrounding her, their gleaming eyes trained on the dais, hungry for the entertainment the emperor promised.
Swiveling back to the dais, Terena choked on a gasp. The bloodied face lifted, tears streaming down his face.
It was not Croak staring in mute shock at the gathering before him.
Terena clenched her hands as she stared up at Orry.
Croak openedhis eyes to look at the empty plate sitting on the ground. No one had come to get it or bring him another meal all day.
Rubbing at his belly, he contemplated all the things he’d do to the next guard if he came down and didn’t bring with him something for Croak to eat. A slice of bread, at least.
He stilled as footsteps sounded on the flagstones. More than one set.
“Here he is.”
Croak started. His stomach sank as he pushed away from the bars, his swollen face turning mutinous when he saw the woman in the dimly lit dungeon.
Serephina.
Flicking a glance at the men who followed her in, the sinking sensation in his belly grew worse. Dread slithered down his spine as he blinked up at the men before he shifted his gaze to Serephina.
“What is this?”
The woman, who always treated him with disdain and never actually spoke with him before, grinned at him.
“It’s a rescue, dear! What else? I know you were expecting my Xoran but I wanted this moment for myself.”
Croak rose slowly, his eyes darting between Serephina and the unknown arrivals. They wore black, nondescript clothes. He did not know them.
“And who are they?”
“Oh!” Serephina tittered, putting her hand to her mouth as if Croak had said something witty. “These men are here to take you away! Away from all of this.” She waved at their surroundings.
“Where’s my sister? Where’s Lerek?”
“After you leave here, I’m afraid you’ll never see them again.”
Croak stepped away from the cell door as Serephina motioned to one of the men. He came forward with a key, unlocked the door and shoved it back.
The grating of metal on metal shrieked and Croak panicked. Two men came in and he fought against them, cursing his weakened state as they easily batted away his hands.
One man hauled him out and threw him to the ground. Croak cried out when he landed on his side. Another man grabbed his hands and bound them with iron shackles. Lifting him as easily as a babe, the men turned him to face Serephina.
He’d never seen a more cunning look on her pointy little face and that was saying something.
This woman was a viper.
“I sold you to these men,” she said with a negligent lift of her hand. “You’ll spend the rest of your days—however many that is—as a slave.”
It took a moment for her words to sink in. Stunned, Croak gaped at the woman, then thrashed against the men when they pulled him away.
“You can’t!” Croak shouted, terror crashing over him. His throat clogged with a sob as he fought to free himself. “You can’t do this! Serephina! She’ll kill you when she finds out! No! No! Get off me—get the fuck off me!”
