Ima looked around, as if she also realized Airess was on the brink of physical consciousness. “You’re waking up.”
“I don’t know how to stay here,” Airess said.
“Listen to me, Airess, this may be the last time I have the opportunity to meet with you. Stay with the male, no matter what, and travel to Rune. The Obadiah awaits the both of you.”
“How do you know my name?” Airess asked, opening her mouth to say more, but she might as well have yelled an echo into the void. The dreamscape melted away, Ima’s face disappearing like smoke drifting into the sky.
She fell into the darkness at the speed of light.
Airess opened her eyes, gasping for air at the sudden switch from the dreamworld to reality.
The first thing she noticed was a cold, hard surface against her cheek as she woke up lying down.
Then she noticed the prison cell she was in.
Darkness encompassed her, save for the faint glint from the fyrelit wall sconce she spotted through the steel bars. The walls caging her were made of rock. A floor of dirt lay beneath her, smelling of musk.
Panic set in as Airess shot up abruptly, only to be yanked back by metal shackles bound to her wrists and ankles, the chains connected to the floor. She grimaced at the jerking motion. The shackles were dripping in a luminous green substance that faintly burned her skin.
Her heart sank. Had Taryn taken her here? Had he—
Memories of the explosion, herMagick, came flooding back to her. Taryn had run after her as she escaped him. She felt pure fear the moment he dragged her down to the forest floor, and for the first time, her power had come to her aid. Airess didn’t know how she did it, but she had used her Magick to blast him away.
Had she really done that?
Fear and excitement coursed through her. She held out her palms in front of her and concentrated, trying her best to call to that power that had finally saved instead of damning her.
Nothing came.
Airess sighed in frustration and tilted her head back to rest against the wall, letting out a bitter laugh. Perhaps she would never be powerful, or learn about her Magick. Perhaps she would not live long enough to do so.
She began to hum slowly at that last thought, feeling the music vibrate in her throat. It was the only thing she could do to comfort herself.
A multitude of footsteps thundered down the hallway, cutting her melody short. She made out two male voices conversing with one another, the words becoming clearer as they neared. Airess sat up and stilled in fear. Was the Guild finally coming to retrieve her?
They came into view. Airess immediately recognized the gilded armor of the Luciena guard, sending a wave of nausea through her. The guards held Taryn up by the arms, bloody and battered, his wrists and ankles bound in chains. Displeasure coursed through her at the sight of him in pain. Although he was technically her captor, Taryn had treated her fairly. Seeing him in this state brought up a confusing feeling she couldn’t quite place.
Airess brought her legs in close, hugging them with her shackled wrists, trying to remain small enough that they could not see her.
“He’s a stubborn one, alright,” one guard muttered to the other, opening the door of her cell. The guards shoved Taryn into the cell, the Fae male landing on the ground with a hardthud. She backed up as far as the chains let her.
“Luciena will pay a heavy price for the rebellion’s most wanted assassin,” the guard sneered, “What we’ve done to you will be nothing compared to what the crown has in store.”
Slowly, Taryn propped himself up to a seated position. His face finally became visible as he lifted his head, a mop of curls dampened by blood on his forehead. It seemed he was trying to smirk, but the expression came out grim due to his blackened eye, busted lip, and bloodied face. Taryn spit on the guards’ boots in response, and lifted his middle finger in the air.
The guard slammed his boot into Taryn's stomach, the momentum sending him barreling backward. Airess expected to hear Taryn scream in response, but he held it in, as if he were too stubborn to give them the satisfaction of hearing his cry.
The guard turned his gaze to Airess for the first time since they arrived, her hopes of seeming invisible vanishing as he perceived her. “And what a pretty penny you will be, the prince’s bride escapee. Don’t worry.” The guard gestured between Taryn and Airess. “You two will be in the capitol by nightfall, and I will have my reward.”
The Elven male grinned greedily as he closed the cell door shut. The sound of the deadbolt locking rang in her head as she watched the guards disappear down the hallway. Airess turned towards Taryn, her eyes sliding down his body.
“Godsdamn,” he said as he gathered himself, groaning as he came to a seat. His back rested on the wall of bars behind him. Taryn tilted his head up, looking her right in the eyes, his silver stare piercing into her very soul.
The two stared each other down, gold and silver meeting once again.
Airess cringed at his face. Blood dripped from his lips and nose, a nasty bruise already visible on his cheekbone. She knew she should relish in the fact that karma had already come for him after he had compelled her, but looking at him now, she felt quite the opposite.
“Fancy seeing you here,” he joked, a smile on his face, as if what he just went through was a long stroll in the woods. Bringing both bound hands inside the front of his pants, shackles clashing, he fished around in his pocket and brought out a small flask. With a flick, the cap was off and tossed across the cell.
