Only the dripping of blood sounds in the chamber for a long while, my eyelids battling to stay open in the murky light.
“I am not overly fond of those two, you are correct. And I don’t know what my scar has to do with anything.”
“When Kai and I were attacked by the rebels on the way back from visiting Leeta, I threw my dagger into one of their forearms.”
He lets out an abrupt laugh that turns into a cough. When he’s calmed down, his voice is more hoarse as he replies, “That’s surprisingly attractive. Kai probably loved it. But no, I’m afraid my wound is less of an adventurous story.”
Kane doesn’t elaborate as heavy footsteps alert us to someone coming. I am able to gather my wits enough to sit up a little bit taller, but it’s all I can muster before a male enters the room. He stands beneath the flame gem, the golden light illuminating his amber eyes and casting shadows beneath his cheekbones.
“Do you remember me?”
I don’t get a chance to answer before he draws his leg back and kicks me in the ribs, sending blinding pain throughout my body. I gasp for breath, my chest heaving with the effort as stars burst behind my eyes. I think Kane says something to the male, but I can’t decipher it over the ringing in my ears. Nox’s voice filters into my mind with his motto for me when I would get overwhelmed while training when we were kids:attention goes where your breath flows. It was a twist on our instructor Dilan’s saying:magic goes where intention flows.I didn’t have magic, but I could control my breathing. I could draw my attention there. Keeping my eyes closed, I force my mouth to close and my next inhale to slow.In and out. When I open my eyes again, the pain pushed back into a corner of my mind, the male is squatting in front of me, a feral smile splitting his lips.
“Whatever you did, it wasn’t memorable enough. I don’t know who the fuck you are.” Gods my voice sounds so weak. Even more terrifying, Ifeelweak. The male’s smile drops into a sneer.
“Let’s see if you remember this.” He stands, unsheathing a shortsword from behind him and twirling it in his hand. He begins to pace, looking down at me as his boots leave dried flecks of mud all over the stone floor. I watch his annoyance with me grow the longer I stare at him with ignorance. He growls low in his throat as his grip tightens on the hilt.
Nothing on my lower body is shackled, so maybe if I can get him close enough again, I can try to get his weapon. My hands curl into fists when I realize that I don’t see my spear anywhere. “If you think your small sword is supposed to mean anything to me, you’re—”
The male moves quickly, leaning in to backhand me across the face. I take advantage of his focus, moving slower than I’d like but still managing a kick between his legs right as he slapsme. My head snaps to the side, my breath once more yanked from my chest.
Attention goes where your breath flows. In and out, Bahira.
He falls onto his side, the sword skidding to my left. I kick out again, the bottom of my boot connecting with the asshole’s nose. He screams out in pain, and I stretch out with my other leg to slide the sword towards me. My boot slips, and I heave against the manacles to try and move closer. The tip of my shoe touches the silver blade, and I pull it towards me for only an inch before I slip again. I continue trying, inching the sword closer as the male writhes near my feet.
I finally bring it to my hip, still out of reach from my hands, but if I turn—
“I told you not to get close to her, Niko.”
I don’t stop my efforts, not even as two more bodies fill the chamber. One walks directly towards me and grabs the weapon before I can. I glare at them and the elongated oryx skull they wear as a mask, the twisted horns of it casting an ominous shadow on the stone floor.
The rebel I kicked, Niko, finally gets to his feet. “I am going tokillyou.”
My responding laugh is more of a wheeze, but his words are a familiar tug in my mind. The night we had gotten attacked by the rebels, one of them had said the same thing to me. I study the shifter—his large build and dark hair. My gaze tracks to his boots and the mud on them. It had been raining that night weeks ago, and he had been wearing the skull mask then, but based on his size alone, I think it might be the largest rebel who had attacked me.
I look at one of the shifters that just entered, their build similar to my own.The female rebel.
“I think she’s starting to understand,” the third voice says, his identity covered by the shadows outside of the single flamegem’s reach. I focus on my breathing, my mind calculating how to get out of here while shackled to a wall and without a weapon. “I must say, I’m disappointed you haven’t already figured it out. You are, apparently, known for your intelligence.”
The rebel’s voice halts my thoughts, everything stilling as I wait for him to show himself. Steps sound as Tua finally comes into view. Though he drew my suspicions, I didn’twantto be right. Not about this. Anger, fierce and burning, floods through me as I stare at him under the light. “You fucking asshole. Kaitrustsyou.”
Tua chuckles, folding his arms over his chest while the female rebel and Niko flank him on either side, the former taking her mask off and revealing herself to be the female noble who had accosted Jahlee on our way to dinner with the advisors. “And it will be his downfall.”
Kane’s voice is shaky when he whispers, “Father?”
Chapter Seventy: Bahira
“Kane,” Tua responds coldly,not even bothering to look his son’s way. Instead, he keeps his eyes on me, taking another step forward. “I’m sure you have questions.” His voice burns like the poison did, and I wish more than anything that I could drive my spear into his black fucking heart. “Go ahead and ask.”
He’s so calm, reserved even, that if it weren’t for the abominable glint in his eye, he would be the Tua I thought I knew. The one who explained the island’s people to me on theship. Who said he wanted Kai to appear in a better light. The one who checked in on me when I was ravaged with seasickness.
“How could you do this to him?” It’s a stupid question, one that betrays the emotion in my voice.
“Easily,” Tua answers, his gaze finally lifting off of me as his face turns pensive. To my utterhorror, one of the shifters hanging from the wall groans out in pain. Steps sound, the female rebel going to them before there is a grunt, and then it falls uncomfortably silent again. “But, to understand why, you need to understand our history. My brother, Noa, was reckless even as a young child. Impulsive.Stupid. He used me as his crutch to make his way through schooling and whatever lessons our father would plan.”
Breathe.
I carefully test out the shackles again, noticing that the cold metal encircling my wrist is onlybarelysmaller than the widest part of my hand. I might be able to force it off of me, though I suspect I’ll have to dislocate my thumbs in order to do it. My stomach grows nauseous at the thought.
