Unusual. Like I was some fascinating anomaly.
My throat tightened. “You—” I started, but my voice caught, unable to find words for the horror curling inside me.
His smile remained. “So, I think I shall have you brought back. Soon.”
Something inside me clawed upward, frantic and voiceless. My body tensed, like it couldn’t decide whether to fight or flee—or collapse. I had expected pain. Expected cruelty. This was so much worse.
Ashterion waved a lazy a hand. The doors opened, and two guards stepped forward, their presence a sudden, suffocating force. Hands seized my arms, yanking me away from the table. I twisted, my breath coming hard and fast, my heartbeat a wild thing in my chest.
Ashterion watched my struggle, his expression amused. “Until next time.”
I thrashed harder, panic curling around my ribs.
No. No, no, no.
I had survivedso much—but something about this, abouthim, sent terror lancing through me in a way I didn’t understand.
The moment the guards deposited me back in our dungeon Varyth surged toward me. But he froze as he took in the sight of me. Clean. Freshly clothed.
“Where did they—” Varyth trailed off, scanning me with an intensity that made my skin prickle. “What happened?”
I couldn’t speak. Instead, I moved past him, sinking down against the stone wall, drawing my knees to my chest. The otherswatched me silently, their expressions a mixture of concern and wariness.
“Ashterion,” I said finally, the name bitter on my tongue. “He had me brought to him. Alone.”
The cell went utterly silent. The shift in the air was palpable, as each of them processed my words. Brynelle and Darian both trembled visibly.
“Did he hurt you?” Varyth’s voice was dangerous, calm in a way that didn’t conceal the fury beneath.
I swallowed, the weight of Ashterion’s attention clinging to me. “He wanted to talk.”
“Talk?” Fenric echoed from the corner, disbelief evident in his tone.
Varyth’s jaw clenched as he took another step toward me. “What did he do to you?”
“Nothing,” I said, the word sounding hollow even to my own ears. “He watched me. Asked questions. He didn’t like that I was dirty, so he made me bathe.”
Varyth’s hands reached for me, hesitating just shy of contact before he finally knelt beside me, close enough that his warmth brushed over me, but not to touch.
“What kind of questions?”
I stared at the wall opposite us as I spoke. “He asked about my choices. About my alignment with Luceren.”
Linc cursed under his breath, while Shaelith’s face hardened, turning cold and calculating. Brynelle moved closer to me, her movements cautious, as if approaching a wounded animal.
“Did he say why?”
I shook my head, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. “He said I wasintriguing. That he was curious about humans.” The words were ash in my mouth. “He said he wanted to bring me back. That he found my companyunusual.”
Varyth went completely still beside me, his breathing so controlled that for a moment I thought he’d stopped completely.
I didn’t dare tell them what Ashterion had said about my fire.
When I finally looked at Varyth, his face had gone pale, his eyes burning with a quiet, lethal wrath. “He won’t touch you again.”
I gave him a hollow smile. “I don’t think we have much say in the matter.”
Varyth moved before I could process it, before I could pull away—if I even wanted to. His arms wrapped around me, solid and warm, pulling me into his chest with a careful, unyielding strength. He didn’t speak. He didn’t need to.
