“You cannot leave so soon, Lieutenant. There is much to discuss.”
He jabbed Theo’s arm with his vile mixture. Theo’s heart raced to his ears, his blood boiled to the surface, and his eyes widened.
A thin lash whipped across Theo’s back, a cry escaping him. “Kill me and get it over with,” he cried.
“You are more valuable than you realize.” The phantom took his jagged dagger and dug it into the flesh of Theo’s arm.
He screamed, and whatever resided in the tonic kept his senses alert and his chest moving.I fight and I live.The phantom dragged the blade down Theo’s arm, eliciting a cry he’d never heard come from himself before.
Chapter 25
Amaris
Sobs eviscerated Amaris’sthroat as she fumbled with her knife in the lock. Her hands trembled and the tears clouded her vision. It was useless. She returned her knife to her boot, fighting the urge to hurl it across the cell as she crumbled to the floor. She was never getting out of here. She’d never hear Viv’s laugh or the blare of a siren again. Charlie’s smile as they raced to a call would only ever be a distant memory, and Derek—she needed to know if what she saw would be her future. Were she and Derek destined to always fight?
The gate at the top of the stairs flew open, and footsteps ran toward her. There was a rattling of keys and then Sephardi standing in the open door. She kneeled by Amaris’s side, scanning her for any injuries.
“Bennet didn’t hurt me,” Amaris whispered.
“Good,” she muttered. “I need you to go to your room and stay there. No matter what you hear, promise me you won’t leave.”
“What’s going on? Where’s Theodoric?”
A deafening crack resonated off the stone walls of the dungeon. Amaris had never heard anything like it. It was a sharp snap like a gunshot. Sephardi winced.
“What was that?” Again, she heard the thundering crack.
“Amaris,” Sephardi breathed.
“What is that?” she demanded, standing and heading outside.
A cry of agony followed another piercing clap. It carried through the grim morning air as storm clouds shrouded the bay in a gloomy rain. Another one sent Amaris’s pulse racing. She sprinted toward the sound. It couldn’t be. She’d never heard him cry, but the wail hit her hard as he cried out again. She stopped dead at the edge of the garden where a small crowd of soldiers gathered around to watch.
Theodoric was pinned against the short stone wall wreathing the garden. He thrashed against the soldiers locking down his arms. Blood spilled down his back. Red welts were open to the damp air. Behind him, Gerard stood with a whip in his hand. He released his wrist, and another lash shot through her ears as Theodoric’s left leg buckled beneath him.
Amaris gasped.No. Another flick and another scream.
“He’s flashing back, you idiots!” Esaias screamed as two soldiers fought to hold him.
Another line of blood dripped down his back, but it wasn’t the red welts or flayed flesh that caught her attention. Lines ran across his skin, wrinkly indents and jagged scars.
All the pieces to the mysterious puzzle were falling into place. His panic attacks, his missing time during the war. Flashbacks.He’d been captured, but had he been...?Amaris couldn’t hold the thought back.Tortured.
Amaris took a step forward, but Sephardi grabbed her arm. “I have to stop this,” she insisted, daring a look at Theodoric as another lash came down on his back. Blood spurted across the soldiers struggling to hold him. He released another cry.
“You’ll only make things worse for yourself and for him. He’s doing this for you,” Sephardi whispered as she pulled her to hide in the back of the crowd.
Amaris took in the sight of Theodoric’s blood dripping down hisback, staining the back of his pants. His body trembled, and his right knee shook. She tugged at her arm, but Sephardi tightened her grip.
“Amaris.” Pricilla’s soft voice came from behind her. “Oh my.” Her expression paled. Pricilla’s hair was damp with the morning rain, and her dress clung to her hips.
Gerard’s hand came down, and the whip met Theodoric’s back. It tore away another piece of flesh. His other leg gave out, but the soldiers tried to heft him up and keep him standing.
“Stand up!” Bennet roared, but Theodoric was lost to his nightmare, his body mindlessly thrashing against the men restraining him. “Hold him still!”
“He can’t help it!” Esaias’s voice cracked as he fought to run for his cousin.
Alan stood off to the side, his face pale as his fingers hovered over his daggers, his features laced with something resembling dread or fear.
