“Watch your tongue, boy. I outrank you,” the soldier growled. He nodded at my bare feet. “Prisoners must be shackled in Calimber.”
I stiffened.
Aiden’s eyebrows rose. “Truly? That’s not what my commanding officer in Twaryn said. But if that’s the way here...”
“It is,” the soldier griped. “Get them shackled before you chop your wood. When you’re done, take it to the bastards in the forge. They’ve been begging for more fuel.”
Aiden led us to where the soldier gestured. A box of shackles sat near a pile of bark shavings. After hesitating for a split second, Aiden grabbed a pair and locked them around my ankles.
“I’m sorry, Kiera,” he whispered.
I bit my lip and tried to keep my rising fear in check. I’d hoped they wouldn’t notice. Gods, those keys had better be easy to steal.
Once all of us, except Aiden, were shackled again, we lifted our logs onto our shoulders and carried them to an empty stand.
While Maz and Ruru sawed the normal logs, Nikella and I hurried back for the hollow ones. We discreetly emptied our weapons and supplies into a cart. Then Ruru tossed the chunks of wood on top.
Aiden, in his partially burned soldier’s uniform, barked orders and snapped at us to hurry. My limbs shook as we wheeled our two carts down into the mine.
I felt blind at first, blinking in the darkness. My bare feet appreciated the packed earth over the piles of wood shavings and sawdust. But I hated the now-familiar bite of metal on my skin and the drag of the chain between my ankles.
We stepped into the blaze and brightness of the forge. Two sweaty men poked at the roaring fire and hissing weapons. Neither of them looked up at our entrance.
Aiden sauntered toward them, pretending to observe their work, as we unloaded the wood from our carts. We added to the small stack of wood they already had, which was covered by a leather blanket—most likely to prevent sparks from catching.
Maz dipped his hand to the bottom of a cart and pulled out his small axe. He hid it behind his back.
My stomach in knots, I hurried to the other end of the cave to peer into the tunnel beyond. No one was there.
I nodded to Aiden.
He slipped up behind one man while Maz slid up to the other. I looked away when Aiden unsheathed his soldier’s sword.
A thump and wet gurgles joined the forge’s grumbling.
I flinched, staring determinedly into the empty tunnel. Death was necessary, but it wasn’t pleasant.
By the time I glanced back, Aiden and Maz had stripped the two limp men of their forge aprons and sturdy boots and dragged their bodies to the woodpile. The leather blanket hid them perfectly. We just had to hurry in case more deliveries came.
Nikella and Maz donned aprons over their prisoner garb.
“We’ll have to cut away our ankle cuffs to wear these,” Nikella said grimly, hefting the boots. “We can’t wait for you to bring back a key.”
Aiden grabbed a pair of wickedly curved sunstone shears from a worktable. “These should work.”
Ruru scowled. “You’ll gouge their legs with that.”
“We’ll be fine, little brother,” Maz said with a reassuring smile. “I’ve lost a lot of skin already. What’s a bit more?”
Nikella nodded.
Aiden kneeled at Nikella’s feet and carefully angled the shears around one of the thick metal bands.
A soft groan drew my attention away. A prisoner stumbled through the tunnel toward me, carrying a bucket.
“Shit,” I hissed under my breath.
I hurried forward. “I’ll carry that the rest of the way.”
