He stared at me intently through the bars.“Blood remembers blood.”
The words hit, and a shiver went up my spine.
“Go, little heir. Before they make you watch me die.”
The chains rattled as he stepped back, fading into the darkness, with all signs of sentience gone from his stance. Only the beast remained.
I ran back up the stairs to my room. The shock of seeing the mark that Chloe and Oliver wore on his wrist, tearing through my mind. I had to get him out of here—there was no other choice.
By morning, the entire place was buzzing with the same rumor—that the Varruk had paid for his defense of me in the coliseum.
Kristine and her Faction mocked me with it during breakfast, with Evan screaming in pretend agony and collapsing on the floor.
I still hadn’t heard anything from Selene, and I was beyond grateful. I needed to focus all of my attention on Vee. I had to admit it was nice to have my focus on someone else, other than my own shitty situation.
A plan was beginning to take shape.
All day, the thought nagged at me—what if I could stop the next round of torture? Vee’s eyes had haunted me through every corridor. He hadn’t been pleading for his life. He’d been more concerned for my safety.
By dusk, I’d memorized the guards' rotations outside the coliseum: four posted at each gate, two at the stairwell that led down to his cage. They changed shifts every hour, the schedule precise.
I spent the afternoon in the training yard, no sign of Torren, and for that I was glad. I needed my mind on the mission with no distractions. And after that kiss, hewasa distraction.
My plan wasn’t perfect, but it was the only one I had, and Vee’s life depended on me making it happen.
By the time night fell again, the plan had teeth. I’d slip down to the section of the building where I’d awoken after Kristine’s attack. My mouse friends had led me to an old door that opened into a network of tunnels deep under the dungeon, where the Vee and the other creatures were being held. From there, it was an easy climb through a trapdoor at the end of the corridor where Vee’s cell was located.
He was awake when I reached the cage this time.“You came back.”
“You said they’d kill you,” I whispered. “They’ll kill me, too, if they know I’m here.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because I can’t watch another thing die in that arena for someone else’s amusement.”
Something like admiration shown in his eyes.“Mercy is dangerous, little heir.”
“Good,” I said. “So am I.”
“More than you know.”His voice was so faint in my head that I almost didn’t catch it.
I crouched at the base of the cage. The lock was sealed, but my Aegisseal ability was much stronger. I pressed my palm against the iron, and it sizzled, my ability fighting against the one who had sealed it. Energy surged up my arm, white and scalding, and my ability rushed to meet it.
“You can undo what others have sealed?”
“We’ll soon find out.” My voice shook, but I didn’t let go.
The lock gave with a metallic crack that echoed through the tunnels. Vee surged forward, stopping just short of me. Torchlight danced across his snout, those predator’s teeth glinting inches from my face.
“I owe you a death.”
My breath caught. “A death?”
“Not yours.”
He turned, claws gouging deep into the stone, and with a single strike, ripped the door off the cage next to his. The sound thundered through the corridor.
“Run.”He sent the word a snarl in my skull.“They’ll come.”
