My blood turned to ice.
It was Syra, Orlik’s bodyguard.She wasn’t facing me and hadn’t looked my way, but the moment she did, I was sure she would immediately recognize me.And if she was here, it might mean Orlik was nearby, too.
She whispered into Verrin’s ear, and he nodded occasionally.Then he whispered something back.Her eyes slid over me, unfocused, as if she was preoccupied.
This whole plan was a terrible idea.We’d been in this prison for only minutes, and already Darion and I were separated and had almost been caught twice.
But then, as quickly as she had arrived, Syra gave a final nod, then turned and walked down the hall away from us.I wasn’t sure my nerves could take many more close calls like that.
Verrin continued at his relentless pace until we finally entered a small room with a desk.There was barely enough room for the three of us.
Verrin turned to the guard.“You are dismissed,” he said with casual authority.
“Sir?”the guard questioned.
“Do you think I can’t handle one scrawny, restrained prisoner?”Verrin spat out.“Obey, or I’ll send you to the pit.”
“Sir,” the guard said, and marched out of the room.
The moment he was gone, something in Verrin’s eyes shifted.He quickly shut the door.
“Okay, we have to act fast,” he said, his demeanor changed from brutal officer to rebel spy in an instant.
“Why didn’t you bring both of us?”I shot out.
“Both?”Verrin said, his brows scrunched.“I thought it was just you.”
“The man to my right—he was with me.”
“Well, it can’t be helped right now,” Verrin said, sounding impatient.“We have limited time.We’ll clear this up once we’re done.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you fix this.”
Verrin sighed.“Very well.What’s his name?I’ll have a guard bring him to meet us.”
“He’ll answer to Ravel,” I said.That was Darion’s alias.
Verrin opened the door and whispered something to one of the guards, then shut it again.“It’s done.Do you need help with your shackles?”
“I’ve got it,” I said.I triggered the secret unlocking mechanism, and the chains dropped to the ground.
“Good.Take that off,” he said, pointing to my prison garb.
“That was a close call back there,” I said.“We were five seconds away from a fight.”
“It couldn’t be helped,” Verrin said.“You’re lucky I made it at all.The schedules are all mixed up tonight.Something is happening within the prison that I haven’t been made aware of.”
“Will that interfere with the plan?”I asked.
“No,” Verrin said as he took an alchemist’s robe from a chest and threw it in my direction.“Put that on.Quickly!”
The two of us headed toward the alchemy labs as fast as we could without drawing suspicion.Guards patrolled the hallways, but with Verrin by my side, none of them even gave me a second look.
We twisted and turned through the corridors.I was happy to have memorized the maps Garrick had sent so I could anticipate each turn.Ihatednot knowing where I was going.Even so, I let Verrin guide me to our destination.He didn’t need to know I had memorized the entire floor plan.
Verrin opened the door, and we walked into a room filled with a dozen alchemy stations, with many experiments underway.Smoke rose from vials, and cauldrons bubbled.Crystals, herbs, and reagents covered every surface.
“Excellent, there’s no one here,” Verrin said.“I’ll stay by the door and distract anyone who tries to come in.You grab the vial of Emberbane.”
