At the door, he rested one hand on the frame, pausing just long enough to glance over his shoulder. His gray-blue eyes locked with mine, filled with something unspoken but heavy enough to leave me breathless.
Chapter 11
My chest tightened with every step, the crunch of my boots on the gravel seeming louder than it should. Rhodes and I were on our way to the Hollow’s dungeons to face Shayde.
The lesser of the demons on my to-do list.
The only thing steadying my nerves enough to step outside was the lingering scent of Rhodes’s bathing oils on my skin—sensual cashmere sandalwood and vanilla.
Beside me, Rhodes’s boots crunched in sync with mine. The casual, playful demeanor from earlier had vanished, replaced by the firm, unreadable soldier I first met—a man carved from stone.
Rhodes stepped ahead and opened the heavy wooden door for me. I took a deep breath, steadying myself before walking inside. Complete silence enveloped us, broken only by the steady echo of our heels against the stone floor. Rhodes led the way.
We passed several empty cells until he came to an abrupt stop. My chest tightened, and unease crept over me, twisting my stomach into knots.
I turned to face Shayde Wylder. He sat slumped against the cold stone wall, his eyes closed, his head tilted slightly back. Thesame leathers he wore during our last encounter clung to him, now dirtied and worn. It was clear he hadn’t been given a chance to clean up; the grime clung to him like a reminder of the choices that had brought him here.
And yet, his face looked... at peace.
It made my chest ache in a way I didn’t expect.
Rhodes cleared his throat loudly, the sound echoing off the stone walls like a crack of thunder in the suffocating silence. Shayde stirred, his body shifting as he slowly opened his eyes. For a brief moment, his expression was blank and distant—until his gaze locked on mine.
His brown eyes widened at the sight of my crimson ones.
Without a word, Shayde stood and approached the bars. His gaze never left mine as he closed the distance, stopping just short of the iron barrier between us.
Shayde’s fingers slowly curled around the iron bars as if they were as fragile as my broken heart.
“Scar...” His voice came out hoarse, raw, like he hadn’t used it in days.
His brown eyes shifted briefly to Rhodes and then back to me, softening in a way that made my chest tighten even more.
My eyelids fluttered at the sound of his voice, memories and emotions crashing over me in waves I couldn’t control. My breathing grew shallow, each inhale harder than the last.
The silence between the three of us stretched thick and suffocating, words left unsaid weighing heavier with each passing second.
“You wanted to see me? I’m here.”
Shayde’s hands tightened around the bars, his knuckles turning white. He flinched at the sharpness in my tone but didn’t look away.
“I—I’m sorry about everything,” he said, his voice trembling.
I held up a hand, cutting him off. “I’m not here for an apology. I’m here for the truth.”
His chest deflated as if I had struck him, and for a fleeting moment, he looked like a man barely holding himself together.
“We need to know more about the Grim’s plans,” I continued, my voice firm. “If we’re going to build a battle strategy, you need to start talking.”
Rhodes stepped closer, his presence looming beside me as Shayde spoke.
“He didn’t let me in on his plans,” Shayde said, his voice strained. “He only used me as a tool to get what he needed done—”
“He?” I cut him off. “Who else was she working with?”
My question seemed to catch him off guard. His eyes darted between Rhodes and me, and for a moment, he stuttered. “I don’t... I never... The Grim never revealed his identity to me.”
The knot in my stomach tightened.
