“Yes, well,” she said, “what was your grand master plan to rescue me, anyway?”
His gaze flickered across the warehouse, scanning the rows of crates and cages, before settling on another set of guards near the far wall. “There are a lot of guards,” he said. “Let’s sneak out the way we came—downstairs and through the tunnel to the Black Boar.”
Was that how she’d gotten here? “Don’t tell me Kurtz is down there waiting,” she said. “He’s afraid of the dark.”
“He went after my father.”
“Oh.” How unfortunate. They could use someone like Kurtz right about now.
Cole looked at her, his expression thoughtful. “You know, we’re all afraid of something. But we can’t let fear hold us captive.”
She tilted her head. “That’s very profound. Is it from a song?”
“No,” Cole said, still staring at her. “I was just thinking…Kurtz is afraid of the dark, yet he’s going to rescue my father anyway. True heroes do what they must, despite their fears. I made a promise to you, and I’m going to keep it.”
Oh, this boy melted her heart more every day. Carefully, she unlocked her cage. Then she reached through the bars and passed him the keys. “Let’s keep that promise together.”
Cole made quick work of his lock, and as he eased himself out of his cage, Mistel was already waiting. She thought he’d start leading her out of this nightmare, but instead, he slid his hand up her jaw and into her hair, cradling her face in one hand.
His voice came low, almost reverent. “I love you.”
Before she could process what he’d said, he kissed her.
Normally, such words would send her into a panic, but from Cole, they felt right. Perfect, even.
The kiss was brief—too brief—and when he pulled back, she could still feel the warmth of his lips. He turned to the flaxen-haired man in the next cage and handed him the keys through the bars. “Go with Arman,” he said softly, then slid his hand into Mistel’s.
Her pulse raced as he started through the maze of crates and cages, tugging her along.
“Wait!” the man behind them hissed.
Cole turned back. The man had already gotten out and, standing as he was, looked like a different person. Taller, strong and healthy. His features were striking: luminous blue eyes, golden waves of hair, and a knowing gaze that carried the weight of one who understood far more than he should.
“Enayim lema’ala,” he said, his voice resonant. “Take the teyvah to your king.” He held out his hand, and in it was a small box, a timeworn piece of dark oak about the size of a whetstone. A faint crest shimmered on the top that looked like a circle of flying birds.
Cole took it. “Thank you, uh, what’s your name?”
“Bahram Rakkel.”
Cole’s lips parted, and Mistel remembered this was the man who had shown Zanna the tunnel out of Ice Island.
“Where did you…?”
But Cole didn’t finish his question, because Bahram Rakkel began to fade away. His larger-than-life body grew vaporous until it vanished altogether.
Mistel could not stop staring at the place he’d been, her mouth gaping.
Cole tugged her hand until her arm went taut and she finally trailed after him, still looking over her shoulder at the place the man had been standing.
How?
When she lost sight of the cages, she turned her focus back to Cole. They slipped through the labyrinth of crates until they came to a sword propped beside a lantern nearly out of fuel. Cole threaded the sword into his belt, handed Mistel the lantern, took her hand, and they were off again.
Up ahead, Mistel spotted the stairs, but just before they reached it, a rotund figure stepped out of the shadows and blocked the way. He was bald, with a thin mustache and a smug grin that made her skin crawl. She’d seen him only once before, a day when they had played in the Dale.
Renshaw Thusk.
“Going somewhere?” he asked.
