The vines thickened, multiplied. Golden flowers bloomed and immediately wilted, their petals falling like tears. The bars began to bend, rust flaking away in sheets. Her vision blurred, dark spots dancing at the edges, but she held on.
With a shriek of tortured metal, two of the bars bent outward, creating a gap just wide enough for a person to squeeze through.
The vines crumbled to dust. The light died.
Briar's knees hit the stone floor hard. Her hands were raw, bleeding where the magic had torn through her skin. Everything spun, her body cold and shaking from the effort. She'd pushed too hard, given too much.
But the way was open.
She crawled through the gap, her dress catching and tearing on the bent metal. The stone floor of the cell was damp, cold against her palms. She could barely lift her head, but she forced herself forward, toward where Eliam sat chained.
"What did you do?" His voice was closer now. She felt his hands on her shoulders, trying to steady her. "Briar, what did you—"
"The keys," she mumbled, her words slurring. "Where are the keys?"
"There are no keys. Malus—" He stopped as another crash echoed through the chamber. "You have to go. Leave me."
"No." She forced her eyes open, made herself focus on the shackles. Old iron, but the locks looked different from the cell door. Smaller. More intricate. "There has to be a way."
Her hands were shaking too badly to be useful. The warmth in her chest was quiet now, exhausted from breaking the bars. She could hear the fight getting closer, they were being pushed back.
"Briar." Eliam's hand touched her face, tilting her chin up. Even weakened, even chained, his touch made the warmth stir slightly. "You magnificent fool. You should have run."
"Shut up and help me think," she managed. "How do I get these off you?"
“Briar…”
She ignored him, her mind spinning. "What if… you could break them."
"I don't have strength left." His words were matter-of-fact, resigned.
"You could." She forced herself to meet his eyes, even though everything was spinning. "If you fed."
The temperature in the cell dropped. Even through her exhaustion, she felt him go completely still.
"What did you say?"
"Feed on me." The words came out steadier than she felt. "My blood will give you strength."
His hands tightened on her shoulders, not quite painful but close. "How do you—" He stopped, and she saw the moment he understood. His face transformed, even weakened as he was, fury blazing in his eyes. "Malus. He fed on you."
It wasn't a question.
"It doesn't matter—"
"It matters." The chains rattled as he shifted, leaning closer to examine her throat. Even in the dim light, he could see the bite mark, still not fully healed. "My brother put his mouth on you. Drank from you."
"Eliam, please. They're losing out there." There was another crash, closer now. Thaine's voice rose, sharp with pain. "We need you strong."
"No."
"You have to—"
"I don't feed on humans." Each word was clipped, final. "I have never fed on humans. I won't start with you."
"Then we all die here." She grabbed his face between her bloody hands, forcing him to look at her. The warmth stirred weakly in her chest, responding to the contact. "Karse is exhausted. Thaine can barely stand. Ferria's useless against them. You're our only chance."
"I said no."
