It was hard to tell if it had been minutes or hours… Sometimes, one of the torches on the wall burned out, and not a soul was aware of it except for the ones down here. I had heard a few scratching sounds, making me believe I wasn’t alone down here. But when I shouted out, I never got an answer. Maybe it was my mind playing games with me.
When the final torch faded, darkness fully claimed my cell. I wasn’t sure if I found comfort or even greater loneliness in it.
Finally, I heard steps coming down the stairs and slowly, light followed as new torches were lit, replacing the old ones. The flickering flame kept coming closer, and I steeled myself. Was it the Lieutenant?
When my eyes adjusted to the new light, I saw the figure. My whole body slacked again, eyes wide in surprise.
“Lionel?”
His usual vibrant auburn hair seemed to be a dull brown color in the dim light. He was dressed in similar darkleathers that he had been when he left the camp. When our eyes locked, his softened, and a low huff escaped him.
“You always find trouble when I’m not around.” A faint smile appeared on his lips, as he fastened the torch to the side of my cell. “What did you do this time?”
“Me?” I croaked, realizing how dry my throat was. He arched his brow as I cleared my throat. “It wasn’t me—”
“Lio, hurry,” I heard a female voice snap from the staircase’s direction.
My brows furrowed at first, it was familiar yet… no freaking way.
“Eve? You’re with Eve? AndLio!?” I hissed at him.
“It’s not like that,” he sighed, shaking his head as he looked at me, his expression telling me he’d rather I hit him than discuss it. “She’s in the sniper team too, that’s all.”
“Right, so you invite her to visit me, because we’re all such good friends?” I laughed once, dryly.
“Hey, dummy, I’m here to helpyou,” he snapped, forcing a bag between the metal bars.
I clenched my teeth, keeping my eyes narrowed on him for the moment. “Will you get in trouble for that bag?”
He shrugged easily. “It’s not the first time I’ve stolen food for you, and probably not the last.”
“Lionel,” I breathed out. “What if they throw you out of the Ashen Corps?”
“They won’t, they need me.” He winked at me. “And apparently, you still do too.”
I wasn’t able to hold back the smile, he had that effect on me. “It was the Lieutenant, he framed me.”
He became silent, and his smile slowly died off. “What?”
“Remember the worried girl in my team? You saw her the night you left for your mission?” I asked, trying to give him relevant information.
“No.”
“Anyway, she turned out to be a mage,” my voice was barely a whisper. “And he killed her, on the spot. Then he told the others that I did it and forgot to inform them of the details of her being a magic-wielder.”
“Why would he do that?” Lionel looked confused, placing his hand against the bars and leaning closer.
In an instant, I rose to my feet, and placed my hand on top of his. “Lionel, don’t do anything stupid.”
His jaw tensed, eyes avoiding mine as if he was making a decision without me.
“Lionel,” I pushed, squeezing his hand.
“What if he’s an infiltrator?” he whispered, eyes snapping back to mine. “If I—”
“No.” I dug my gaze into his. “You’re not to dig into this, I’ll handle it.”
He pushed off the bars, glaring at me defiantly, before he nodded and began walking away. I let out a breath as I followed him with my eyes, until he disappeared around the corner.
