“I wouldn’t do that.” My captor warned. “Harm either of us, and I’ll slit her throat. I don’t think you want to see what I could do with that.”
A second guard joined the first. I could see Percy’s dull gray eyes beneath his helm. Grabbing the other soldier, he forced the man’s spear arm down.
“Idiot.” Percy hissed in his officer voice. “You’ll get us all killed.”
“Atta boy.” My captor sounded almost friendly. Dragging me forward, his grip on the dagger never wavered. A perfectly steady hand held it a hairsbreadth from my skin.
Silence fell over the dungeons, save for the sounds of our footfalls and crackling torches. Even if the men were willing to sacrifice me, a more pressing fear prevented them from attacking.
One cut of my throat, and the chthonic would have the only weapon he needed.
More guards waited in the room above, frozen, hands clasped on their sword hilts as they watched us cross the room. Trying tobreathe, I floundered to find the steps while my eyes were fixed on the knife at my throat. It felt like a lifetime passed before we crested the top of the stairs.
Kicking the door closed behind us, the chthonic spun me around, knife to the back of my neck as he encouraged me to walk ahead of him. I caught a glimpse of black hair before the cold steel encouraged me to face forward and walk.
“I am sorry about this.” He apologized.
I wanted to bitterly retort, but given the current situation, I held my tongue. Walking faster as he forced me forward, I gasped when he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to his side, dagger sliding across my jugular as we ascended another flight of stone steps.
What was he doing? If he wanted to escape, he needed to goout, notup.
Sunlight split through tall windows, illuminating a door as it flew open. A soldier in regal armor, a cape trailing behind him, flew out and froze when he saw us.
Recognition passed between them; I saw it on the knight’s face and felt it from my captor’s tensing muscles. The knight’s gaze flew to the dagger at my throat.
“How did you—” The knight began, before raising a hand. “S-stay back. There’s no reason to hurt her.”
“Oh, Acrius,” the chthonic said in a bitter, taunting voice. “I came here foryou. Do you really think you can bargain for your life?”
Acrius’s hand trembled, and his eyes widened, bloodshot. Terrified.
The dagger departed my throat as the knight turned to run. An elbow struck my side, sending me stumbling into the wall. I turned to see my captor slashing the blade across his wrist.
A stream of blood erupted, shooting across the hall like seeking daggers that far outpaced their target. The crimson blades coalesced into a scarlet greatsword that plunged throughthe knight’s chest, rending his armor and throwing him against the wall.
I gasped as the knight hung from the stone, suspended by the magicked blade piercing his gut. A ratty cape trailed behind my captor as he stalked toward his victim and yanked the man’s helm off. Graying brown hair spilled out. The assassin tilted the knight’s chin up, whispering something in his ear.
I didn’t realize the horror of a dying man could deepen until I saw the effect the chthonic’s words had on Acrius; his mien raged with guilt, terror, and fury.
I’d never seen violent death before. Bile rose in my throat, and I ripped my eyes from the corpse, hand pressed to my neck. When I heard the knight’s last gasp, I looked back up, finally seeing the face of our new recruit.
Wavy black hair framed eyes rimmed by dark shadows. Rich red irises matched the blood dripping from his blade. But he did not look at me as though I were his next target.
Thundering footsteps preceded the arrival of the soldiers we’d left behind in the dungeons. Flipping his dagger, the red-eyed prisoner turned and fled.
Iron boots pounded past me as the guards gave chase. Percy ran to my side and helped me up, dragging me behind him as he raced after our target.
The red-eyed man glanced behind him and shot us a devilish smile before throwing himself out the window. I gasped, slamming into the windowsill and looking down the multiple-story drop.
Bloody knives manifested mid-air, impaling the stone walls of the dungeon. The red-eyed man landed on one, caught his balance, and jumped down the rest, as though they were a set of bladed stairs.
Percy sighed with relief when he saw our quarry hit the ground safely. He stiffened, looking behind him as the soldiers scrambled to sound the alarm and give chase.
“Shit.” Percy cursed, eyes flashing with color. A horrible wail, like an out-of-tune flute, reverberated through the hall, and deep purple mist sprang from the walls, clouding my eyes as I choked on a sudden surge of unrelenting fear.
Percy reached through the haze and grabbed my wrist. The moment he touched me, the effects of his magic fled, and my senses returned. All around us, guards writhed in a mix of pain and fear, swatting at nothing.
“Time to go,” Percy announced, pushing through the dazed men.
