She’d carried the burden of them for two long years, alone and forgotten.
A prisoner to a life she had not chosen.
No, someone else made that decision for her, and it was hers alone to drown in. Hers alone to suffer through in silence, and she would have lost herself entirely, if it weren’t for the birds.
‘Cut them loose,’ Ezer said.
Six was huddled in the corner. A predator, acting as prey.
And Ezer – the halter at her feet – had been the catalyst.
She threw it out of the cell. The sound was deafening, the slam of chain upon ancient stones. She flinched at the same time Six did.
‘What are you doing?’ Kinlear asked.
She heard his cane as he came as close as he could towards the bars.
‘What I should have done first,’ Ezer said.
She didn’t know if it was the sound of her voice, the stillness of her body, but when she turned to look at the second Prince of Lordach …
He was staring at her, his eyes haunted.
‘Please,’ she said, swallowing the lump in her throat. ‘Cut her loose.’
She expected him to laugh at her, to ask whether or not she was concussed. But instead, he swallowed and said, ‘Okay.’
He reached inside his cloak and produced a ring of keys, which he passed through to her.
They were warm in her hands.
Her heartbeat roared in her ears as she cautiously approached the raphon. She lowered her gaze, not wanting to challenge the pup.
Tonight, they were one and the same.
After all, they shared a cage.
She felt Six’s hot breath on her neck as she knelt and reached out, ever so slowly, towards the first shackle.
‘I’m setting you free,’ she whispered. ‘Don’t eat me.’
She nearly broke again when she saw how utterly raw the skin was beneath each ankle. How the lovely dark fur was matted and wet from blood. Her hands shook as she reached out, not making a sound.
She didn’t even dare breathe.
The key fit into the lock, and the shackle came loose.
Six hissed.
Ezer flinched but held fast. The pup waited patiently, a statue, as Ezer moved to the other front paw and removed the shackle.
And when the final two were off, when the raphon was trulyfree, enough that it could kill her, devour her, feast upon her bones if it wanted …
She felt something nudge up against her shoulder.
She flinched again, but it was warm, and it was gentle, and when she risked a glance down, she found the beast’s head pressed against her.
Six’s eyes were closed.
