Rhyan led me down the path, taking me to another bridge. Though this one was made of stone, it wasn’t much better. The path was thin, and unlike the rope bridge, this one lackedrailings. There was nothing to hold onto or grab if you lost your step.
I was careful to keep one foot in front of the other, keeping a steady pace behind Rhyan, before we descended into another tunnel, and then another, that sloped down and down and down and smelled even worse than the first one had.
After what felt like forever, we were back out in the open on leveled ground. We’d reached the floor with the carts. Looking up, I could see just how high the rope bridge was.
Way too fucking high. And to get out of here, I was going to have to cross it again.
Rhyan pulled me close, before addressing the akadim before him. There were dozens upon dozens, all at attention, all noticing me.
“We’re nearing the end of our work,” he said. “Our sacred work forMaraak Moriel,and our queen,” he tapped his collar, “Maraaka Ereshya.I have ordered a feast for you all tonight. You shall be fed in reward. Your dinner is being hunted for you now.”
“Why can’t we hunt for ourselves?” one asked.
“You know why,” Rhyan shouted. “Our secrecy is important. Now back to work. All of you.”
“Why’s he get one?” someone whispered nearby.
“He almost got that other one,” came a hiss. I frowned. What other one?
“He’s the queen’s favorite.”
An akadim, with an arm covered in tattoos, stopped pushing his cart and bared his fangs at the speaker. “He is Arkturion. You will obey him, get back to work.” Rhyan glared and nodded at the akadim defending him.
When the wheels started to creak again, he moved on, and led me further into the cave—toward the mines, through an underpass of stone. More akadim slogged through, pushingcarts full of rock, while others ran back carts which had been emptied. It was darker here, and the ground seemed to rumble and vibrate as we reached the edge of a pit.
My heart began to warm, a sudden heat inside my chest.
“Ah,” I gasped out loud and bit my lip.
Rhyan snapped his head in my direction, his eyes narrowed, then they moved down to my chest, where a small golden light was bursting through my tunic. He grinned, tugging the rope and forcing me closer.
“I forgot,” he said. “Your heart can sense these things.” He drew a claw down my collarbone, slipping it beneath the top of my tunic, the material already torn.
I sucked in a breath as the sharp edge of his claw scraped against my bare skin. It caught on the fabric, and he tugged, making a ripping sound.
“Rhyan,” I pleaded.
But he’d cut my tunic down, letting the remaining flaps fall open just above my breasts.
The golden light grew brighter. More than one akadim stopped working, taking notice.
“We truly are close,” he said, almost in wonder. Then his eyes fixed, not to my heart, but to my chest. The tops of my breasts were on full display, and his tongue darted out, sliding against a fang, his eyes hooded. His chest heaved and I could see him straining against his pants.
“What happens after the shard is found?” I asked, hoping to put his attention elsewhere. “DoesMaraaka Ereshyareturn?”
He stepped closer. “She’s already on her way. She’ll be here within a few days. And I’ll present the shard to her upon her arrival.”
Suddenly, the red shard on Rhyan’s back began to glow as an akadim called out a request for an empty cart.
I stilled, praying Rhyan didn’t notice the light, or that no one else did. It was bad enough he had the shard across his back. I didn’t think he knew what it was. Maybe in his akadim form he couldn’t feel the power of it. And I knew he wouldn’t recognize the form—neither of us had remembered it was a sword. But still, knowingly or not, he had the one thing I couldn’t leave without and I had no idea how to get it back from him.
“Hmmm.” He let his hand fall on my shoulder again, then lightly let his claws slide across my bare skin.
I tugged at the rope in my hand, furiously working to unravel it further.
“Don’t you need to focus on them?” I asked. “On keeping them in order?”
“My presence is enough to keep them working as hard as I want them to be.”
