His expression darkens, shifting between rage and sorrow as he brushes a damp strand of hair off my face. “I’ve tried. I can only touch you. Nothing else is affected by me.”
Of course. Why didn’t I see the violet aura before? Aspen isn’t really here. “Did they take my daggers?” Not that they’d do us any good if Aspen’s touch can only affectme. Still, I’d feel a lot better if I knew they were there.
Aspen leans in closer and slides his hand beneath one of the open sides of my sodden dress, running his fingers along my cold flesh. In any other situation, his touch would feel seductive. Right now, it only crushes me with disappointment. For if I can feel his hand flat against my back, then that can only mean my weapons belt has been taken. Damn.
“How long have I been…”
“Two days,” he says, pulling back and moving his hands to my shoulders to warm them. “Do you know where you are?”
“The last thing I saw was Dahlia,” I say. “There was a pixie with a flower. Some yellow dust. I’m guessing I’m in the dungeon at either Solar or Summer.”
He shakes his head. “I’ve been to both palaces and seen both dungeons. This place is nowhere I’ve ever been.”
A shudder runs through me that isn’t from the cold. Where in the name of iron am I?
Aspen looks me over, taking in my violent shivers, my bound wrists, my damp cheeks, and pain lashes his face. Clenching his jaw, he rises to his feet with a roar. He stalks toward one of the walls and slams a fist into it. It makes no sound, creates no reverberation. “I can’t stand to see you like this. I’m going to kill them all.”
“What happened after I was taken?” I ask, each word a struggle while I fight the tremors that seize me. “Was anyone on our side injured?”
He leans on the hand that punched the wall, head low in defeat. “Not mortally. It was as if the Renounced were all waiting for something. Waiting for you to be taken.” His eyes find mine, his gaze so full of rage and sorrow all at once. “Hardly any time had passed at all. One moment you were there with your sister, and I was fighting Cobalt. The next, a whistling call was made overhead, and the Renounced retreated.”
“Cobalt?” I ask.
His eyes unfocus, a sneer pulling his lips. “He got away, taken to safety by one of Phoebe’s winged soldiers. But not before I slashed out one of Cobalt’s eyes.”
“Where are you?”
“I’ve remained at the camp, along with Estel and Nyxia. The others returned to their courts. As soon as we know where you are, we’ll come for you.”
I furrow my brow. “What about Estel’s Chariot? Can’t you use it to come here now that you’ve seen where I am?”
“I tried.” His voice trembles with suppressed rage. “So many times I’ve tried. Visual reference of a place isn’t enough if you don’t actually know where it exists in the world. I need to know for certain where you are for my intent to fuel the device.”
I mutter a curse under my breath, but mumbled words pull my attention to my side, where Amelie begins to stir. Her mumbles turn to moans and moans turn to screams. I lean as far toward her as I can within the restraint of my bindings. “Hush, Amelie!”
She pays me no heed as she thrashes in her tub. “What have I done?”
Aspen leaves the wall and darts toward us, eyes wide as he takes in the terror on Amelie’s face, but of course there’s nothing he can do. “What’s wrong with her?”
“She always awakens like this,” I say under my breath. Then, to my horror, the sound of footsteps pounding somewhere beyond the cell begins to draw near. “Amelie, quiet!” I hiss.
Her screams dissolve into sobs, head lolling to the side. The footsteps are closer now, just beyond the cell door.
I sharpen my tone, raise my voice just a little louder. “Amelie!”
At that, she goes still, blinking into the dim light of the room. She stifles a cry as she stares down at the water she’s submerged in, the ropes binding her wrists and ankles. When her gaze turns to me, her breathing goes shallow, expression turning to panic. “Evie—”
A figure arrives at the door, cursing under his breath while he fumbles with the lock. “I leave for hardly any time at all…” The voice is unfamiliar, and I can’t make out his face with the light coming from somewhere down the hall casting him in shadow.
Amelie’s eyes flash from the figure to me. Her words come out in a whispered rush. “Order me not to obey any commands Cobalt might give me.”
I don’t give it a moment’s thought. “Amelie, I command you to ignore any and all commands Cobalt might give you.” I’m about to add a time restriction, but she shakes her head, making my mouth snap shut.
The figure enters the cell with an irritated sigh, every move stalked by Aspen, whose hands clench into fists at his sides. I can see his desire to pummel the male etched in the tic of his jaw, the fury in his eyes.
As the figure draws near, I make out his features. Tall, slim, with long white hair slicked back behind his pointed ears and falling far below his shoulders in silken sheets. He wears a long blue robe with silver embroidery, like something from a long-forgotten century. His eyes are slanted with pale blue irises, lips pursed with irritation. I think I recognize him from the meeting with the Renounced—one of the pretender kings. His appearance makes me guess he’s from Winter.
“Where are we?” I force out, voice tremulous as my shoulders continue to shake from the chill.
