Then her eyes landed on me.
“Ashe!” she cried, scrambling to her feet and bolting to the bars. Her hands wrapped around the iron as she pressed her face to the cold metal. “Where’s Zander?”
I stepped forward, keeping my voice even. “He’s not here, sweetheart. This is a solo mission. But we’re getting out. I promise.”
Her brows scrunched together, panic flickering in her lavender eyes. “Veyna can glamor us. She said so. If we can get out of the dungeon and past the guards, she can hide us.”
I turned to Veyna. “Is that true? You can use glamour?”
“It’s my gift,” she said weakly, pushing herself up with one hand on the stone wall. “But I’m tired. Weak. He… punished me for speaking up when they took her.”
“Where’s the key to this door?” I asked, already moving toward the rusted lock.
“You need a fae key,” she said quickly. “Not even their guards carry them. I doubt you’ll find?—”
Her words died in her throat as I reached beneath my armor and pulled out the small, twisting key I’d acquired from the sanctuary.
“Like this?” I said.
Veyna blinked, her lips parting. “Yes. Where did you get that?”
I smirked as I slipped it into the lock. “It’s a long story.”
The lock gave a soft click.
Elara’s eyes went wide, and then, I saw hope bloom in her expression. “Are we really getting out?”
“Yeah,” I said, pushing open the door and pulling her into a hug. “We are.”
Veyna stepped out slowly, her limbs shaky, but her eyes sharper now. “Let’s move before they realize you’re not as obedient as you seem.”
“I’m not obedient,” I muttered. “I’m pissed.”
I turned as I heard the fae guard returning.
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
“Ineed you both to stay here until it’s safe,” I whispered, crouching beside Veyna and Elara in the shadows of the cell. Elara’s fingers curled tightly around mine, reluctant to let go.
“But—”
“Kaelith is waiting on the beach,” I interrupted softly. “If something goes wrong, get to her. She’ll protect you.”
Veyna shook her head, the movement sluggish but certain. “My magic is tainted now. She’ll smell it the moment I step near. The dragon won’t let me close to her, Ashlyn.”
“She will, Kaelith is monitoring our conversation,” I insisted, but Veyna’s expression didn’t change.
“She’s right,” Elara whispered. “Kaelith will protect me. I’ll tell her what happened. She trusts Ashe. That’s enough.”
My throat tightened as I squeezed Elara’s hand once more. “Stay close to each other. And remember—no matter what happens, get to the beach.”
I turned, leaving the door ajar as I stepped into the corridor beyond.
I didn’t make it far.
“The king requests your presence,” a fae in a deep-crimson robe said, stepping from the corridor shadows as if he’d been waiting there all along. His eyes glittered unnaturally, and his power wrapped around the air like cold silk.
