“Rest.”
“No. I need to see Nyra.”
I stumble to my feet, and my palms collide with the smooth brick wall. The space is tiny. Just enough room for me to lie down.
“Where are we?”
Zilo’s silence treks on for so long, I wonder if he even heard me.
“You’re in Hell’s bowels. It’s the prison.” He watches me closely as if he expects that statement to devastate me entirely.
It doesn’t.
There are too many issues in my life for prison to really hinder me.
“Is Nyra okay? Did I hurt her?”
“Did you hear me? I said you’re in fucking prison, Cersia.” The hand he grips me with isn’t a clutching hold. It turns soft and caressing the second his skin brushes over the back of my knuckles
“Yes. And I’ve asked several times. I want to know how Nyra is. I need to know she’s okay.”
A flash of understanding lights up his eyes, and I think he almost understands. If he were a violent, uncontrollable beast, he’d worry for the only people he cares about. And that would be Avian and Roman... and possibly me.
“I’ll find her.” He takes a single step closer to me, and maybe it’s the pain and maybe it’s the weakness of my legs but I lean into him. The hand along my knuckles slides lower until it’s slipping around my hip and settling against my lower back.
And then he’s holding me.
My head finds the planes of his chest, and I breathe in the strong earthy scent of him. I try to focus on only him: the smoothness of his skin, the flex of his shoulder beneath my palm, the steady way his heart beats against my cheek.
Because if I let my thoughts drift, the rest of the terrible world waiting outside for me will tumble right in.
“There’s a trial tomorrow. You’ll be summoned at dawn.” The deep tone of his voice is smooth and soft against my hair.
I nod in silence.
“I can’t stay, but I’ll find your sister, and one of the High Hell will deliver you an update during your next cell check.”
My cell check.
They’re my jailers.
I followed these three strangers to the literal bowels of Hell.
I’m starting to wonder if I should have thought twice about wanting this muchadventurein my life.
TWENTY-SEVEN
A PUNISHED PET
I lie curledwith my legs nestled tight against my chest. I breathe in the cold stone flooring, but never for a second do I close my eyes for sleep to take me. The actions I took to get here twirl through my mind like cards drifting in the midnight wind.
I once thought Ravar was the enemy. Now I know he was a savior. Avoiding sex and marriage to the king of Hell was a cake walk compared to the mess I’m in now. And Nyra, she was safe. At home in a life I never realized she didn’t fit into.
Did she even want to mate with a man? Did she ever want to be a homemaker? Or was she meant for more?
Maybe we’re more alike than I realized. I just don’t know why it took all of this to see it.
The solid door slides open and then shuts with a dusty sound of dirt scattering about. I don’t move and inch in the heavy darkness. I don’t turn to look up at my friend-turned-jailor. His boots are soft and timid as he steps closer to me and then slowly lowers down at my side. His head leans into my hair and his warm breath wafts over my skin. The slow press of his palm against my stomach as he lies down on the ground and drags me close against his chest melts my confused heart.
