The voice that emerged from the shadows near the stairwell was not Malek’s.
Marina stepped into view, dressed not in peasant attire but in her usual snug leather. Her inky hair spilled over her shoulders, and light danced across her crimson skin from the flailing torch fire.
“I knew you’d come,” she said with a sultry smile directed only to him. Until she slid it to Malek. “See? I told you he’d come.”
Malek stepped forward, shaking off the shackles that were not locked around his ankles and pushing open the cell door. “You were right.”
Forty-Six
Vaskel lookedbetween Marina and Malek, backing away until they were both in front of him. “I should have known.”
He fingers ached to snatch his blade from his belt but if Malek had use of his powers, it would be pointless. Besides, he didn’t want them to know he was armed until the last possible moment. Let them be lured into thinking he was more vulnerable than he was.
“You should have.” Marina graced him with a look that bordered on pitying. “I stumbled across your old friend shortly after I arrived at the castle, and we both had so many stories to share about you.”
“I’m flattered,” Vaskel said flatly.
Marina’s smile flickered. “He told me all about you and your friends throwing him in here, so I switched out those awful nerillium chains for iron ones. There’s no point in having a dark mage on my crew if he can’t cast.” She made tsking noises in her throat. “The Vaskel I knew wouldn’t have been lured so easily. He wouldn’t have trusted someone who’d betrayed him.”
Vaskel didn’t know if she was referring to Malek or herself, but he supposed it didn’t matter. She was right. The Vaskel she’d run with wouldn’t have trusted anyone. Then again, the old Vaskel wouldn’t have been trustworthy either. He wouldn’t have given grace because he had received none. But now he had. Now he had friends he trusted with his life and friends who accepted him, flaws and all.
“I’m not the Vaskel you knew.”
Marina eyed him, considering this. Then she shrugged. “You’re still a hellkin with the power to sense danger and the ability to charm almost anyone. You’re still a valuable asset.”
Vaskel saw no trace of Cali with Marina. He hoped that meant she was safe at the banquet upstairs. Maybe Erindil was getting her out as they spoke. If the elf hadn’t encountered Marina’s hellkin crew, that is.
“Where’s Cali?” he asked once he knew his voice wouldn’t betray him.
“It’s sweet how you care about this new crew of yours.” Marina’s smile slipped.
“I’m here,” he told her. “You have no need for her anymore.”
Marina put a hand to the side of her face and tapped one finger against her cheek. “But she adores me so. It will be hard to let her go.”
Vaskel gritted his teeth, thinking about how the hellkin must have sweet-talked the pantheri, convincing her of her undying affection. He’d seen Marina do it enough to know exactly what she would have said and done. He was only sad he wouldn’t be around to help Cali nurse her damaged heart.
“But you will let her go,” Vaskel said, steel edging his voice. “Or I won’t go with you.”
She laughed. “You can’t fight the soul bind.”
Vaskel touched a hand to his arm. He couldn’t risk a peek, but his skin no longer burned like the marks were writhing to sear their way through his flesh. It was almost too much to believe that Thrain had reached him on time and that the bind was broken, but he wanted to believe it was true.
“I can’t be bound to you if I’m no longer alive,” he snarled.
This made her smile drop and her eyes harden. “I don’t like threats like that.”
“Then you’ll let my friends go,” he said. “All of them.”
Marina huffed out a breath as if he were being a petulant child. “Fine. Your friends aren’t the ones I wanted, anyway.”
“What about Malek?” Vaskel asked. “You’ve freed him.”
Marina flashed a grin at the dark mage. “You’ve been most helpful. I couldn’t have done any of this quite as effectively without you. Your insight into my old friend and his crew was invaluable. I hope you enjoy your freedom from those stifling chains.”
Vaskel’s pulse raced at the thought of Malek going free with Wayside so close. “He’s not joining your crew?”
“Ourcrew,” corrected Marina. “It’s up to him. Our deal was information for freedom. He gave me what I needed to know about your friends, and I released him from his cell. I would never renege on a deal.”
