“No.” She pushed his hand off her thigh and lifted it so that she was kneeling on his shoulders. “I can reach it now.”
With the other inmates taking up their nighttime howling for mercy, freedom, and deliverance providing them cover, Ahnna set to chipping away at the mortar with her rock. There were two arches in the cell’s ceiling, and it was the gap between the arches where stones were removed to put a prisoner in the cell.
And to take the corpses out.
The mortar there was fresh and weak, and both he and Ahnna had noted that the wardens were careful never to put their weight on the area around the small opening. The goal was to weaken it enough that Ahnna would be able to pull part of the roof down.
As to what would come after…there was no way to plan for it precisely, but James suspected it would come down to speed and violence.
Dust rained down on his head as she worked away and his shoulders began to ache. Ahnna’s body trembled from the effort of maintaining her balance while she worked, but she never paused in her labor other than for the quick sips of water he forced her to take.
“I’m going to try to pull it down.” She handed him her rock, and James felt her body elongate as she reached up with her left hand and slipped it through the opening. “Move.”
His heart hammering, James bent his knees and moved out from beneath her. He could very faintly see her shadow, hanging with only one arm from the tiny opening above.
“Grab onto me,” she whispered. “My weight isn’t enough.”
“I’ll pull you down.”
Ahnna snorted softly. “I’m stronger than you think.”
Shaking his head, James jumped and caught hold of her waist. Her whole body shook from the effort it took to hold both their weightswith one arm; she could only last another few seconds. Then she hissed, “It’s giving. I can feel it giv—”
“Oh, nemesis!” Carlo’s singsong voice filled James’s ears. Ahnna gave a soft gasp and let go. His feet hit the ground, and he barely kept his balance as he caught her weight. Pushing Ahnna to the side of the cell, James looked up into the opening right as Carlo’s shadow looked down.
“Oh good, you are still alive.”
“What do you want?” They didn’t have time for this. Didn’t have time to sit and listen to Carlo sing all night while ships full of poisoned grain began their trek to Ithicana.
“Your glorious company.” Carlo paced in slow circles around the opening, and James felt tiny bits of crumbled mortar and dust fall against his cheeks. “I detest Riomar. It is full of painted fools. Weak men and women who weep at the smallest sliver, and are therefore no sport. Not like you.”
“So you’re here for conversation?”
Carlo made a noncommittal noise. “Mother’s scheme with the Ithicanians went as planned.”
“So I heard.”
“Poison is a woman’s weapon.”
“Dead is dead.”
Carlo sighed. “Is it, though? The taking of a life should have meaning, James. It should fill your veins with the same rush as a mouth around your cock, and how is such a thing possible if one is not even there to witness it? There is no resonance, no pleasure. Empty kills to achieve political ends.” The Beast spat, his disgust palpable.
“It’s no loss to you, Carlo,” James replied. “The high seas sit between Amarid and Ithicana, so none of those lives were ever at risk from you. At least your mother can get the job done.”
The Beast gave a soft laugh. “You are the only one who does not fear me.”
“Why should I fear you? I have your mother to keep me safe, because she is theonlyperson you fear.”
Carlo was silent, but over the cries of the other prisoners, James could hear the scuff of his boots against stone as he circled the opening above.
Then the Beast said something entirely unexpected. “She gave the Ithicanians my Nina. A royal hostage as a sign of good faith.”
Carlo’s eldest daughter. James hesitated, then asked, “Does Nina know about the poison?”
“No.”
“Then your mother has signed your daughter’s death warrant. Even if she is lucky enough not to eat poisoned bread, once the Ithicanians realize what has been done, they are sure to execute her in retaliation.”
