The supervisors knocked my bloody sword out of my hands and hauled me to the place I hated most in the world. One I swore I’d never dwell in again—a frigid cell in the deepest part of the mine.
The darkness was so complete I’d often felt that I was going mad when they locked me up here years ago. There was no beginning or end to it. No sound. No way to anchor myself other than the clutch of cold metal.
I rattled my chains to a steady rhythm, humming deep in my throat. Anything to keep the terror at bay.
And I thought of Kiera. Of the horror on her face when I’d told her to leave me behind. But she didn’t know. She didn’t know the agony I felt when I arrived back in the cavern to find her gone.
I’d gone to check the beach, to hold up my promise to Maz. I’d been bitterly disappointed to see no other ships than the warships—one at anchor, one being built on the shore. After waiting a few minutes, I started drawing suspicious stares.
I’d hurried back to find Ruru frantically gesturing at me, then to a tunnel off to the side. I didn’t see Kiera... or the supervisorscum who’d harassed her. I’d pelted into the tunnel, someone shouting at me as I drew my sword. But I didn’t stop until I reached her.
My beautiful Kiera was alive and still fighting, covered in death and gore.
She was going to set those prisoners free. I’d promised her a distraction, and this was it. The supervisors had already suspected me, but claiming to be here to assassinate Dracles was more than enough for them to throw me down here.
Perhaps I’d bought her and Ruru enough time. Perhaps Ruru would whistle, and Maz and Nikella would alert the soldiers. They’d set off their bombs, unaware that I was chained up in this pit.
Perhaps . . . perhaps . . .
I kept rattling and humming until a faint blob of light swayed toward me, closer and closer. Was my mind playing tricks on me? It had before.
But then I heard the creak of the lantern and the steady stomp of boots. I saw the arm holding the lantern and the face that accompanied it.
“Ah, just the man I wanted to see,” I drawled, as if we were meeting in a tavern over a cold, foamy pint.
Dracles squinted at me, holding his lantern closer to the bars of my cell. He looked older than what I expected after spying on him as a Wolf. The lines in his jowly face looked almost as deep as Nikella’s scars.
But his fierce gaze was the same. “I laughed when they told me some lunatic was here to kill me. But then they told me the name you gave them. Aiden Falcryn.”
“And you just had to come verify for yourself,” I said, stepping as far into the light as my chains allowed. “Was I lying?”
He studied my face, his jaw hardening. “You look like him. The eyes. I suppose I should’ve guessed that his stupidity was hereditary.”
My fists tightened. He’d known my father. But I also knew my father was anything but stupid—from stories Nikella and other older folk told.
“We’ve met before,” I said, fighting to keep my voice as even as his. “Do you remember?”
It took him a moment, then recognition lit in his eyes. “Ah, yes, the young rebel from Pravara. I didn’t recognize you as Tristan’s spawn then, half-dead as you were. How the hell did you survive here for seven years?”
I smirked. “Oh, I wasn’t here all that time. I escaped five years ago.”
“That’s impossible,” he snapped, his back straightening into his soldier’s posture. “No one has ever escaped Calimber.”
“Not that they told you, anyway. I suppose the men here aren’t as loyal as you think.”
He growled and paced in front of my cell. I smiled, thoroughly enjoying getting under his skin. If I died down here, at least I had gotten this small revenge.
“Renwell and his bloody secrets. He must’ve known,” Dracles grumbled under his breath.
“Trouble with your new master?” I taunted.
He stopped pacing and glared at me. “I am High General, boy. I’ve held that title since before you could walk.” He clasped his hands behind his back. “So you came back here to kill me, is that it? Just you?”
I leaned forward, so he could see every bit of hatred in my eyes. “I wanted to be the one to watch the light leave your eyes. I would never let anyone else share that victory with me.”
“Victory.” Dracles released a short, hard chuckle. “I’ll show you what victory looks like, young Falcryn. Guard!”
They released me from the cell and dragged me back through the tunnels, my hands and feet still shackled.
