Jaw ticking, he pushed against the bars.
They gave way easily, carved on the bottom and the top from the outside. Gods knew how much time it had taken Nadya to chisel the metal away from the stone without anyone noticing. Months.
Years.
“She was ready for this,” he muttered and whirled around.
His eyes still sparked, but they were now a darker shade than grief, sending shivers down my spine.
“I’ll check outside the city and the crater’s rim,” he announced, voice like a whip. “She wouldn’t dare use the passage, but I’ll send more warriors in case some of her friends decide to pay us a visit.”
“I’ll search the city and the fortress,” I said.
“Nadya probably knows this crater better than even Mrs. Thornbrew.”
“Dax mapped out every nook and cranny.”
“Yes,” was all Dax said. He hadn’t moved since we’d traipsed down into the dungeons.
Nadya had done so much damage while she was here. I shuddered to think of the rampage she would cause now that she was unburdened by the need to pretend.
No more messages sent through glares on the crater’s shards.
If she reached her allies, she would be free to sell out any secret she’d found while here.
He marched back up to Vylkor’s body and bent down to pick him up.
“No.” Dax stretched his hand to stop him. “Let me carry him. You need to find her.”
Ryker’s jaw twitched, on the verge of arguing.
“Please,” Dax said, still looking at Vylkor.
Ryker stepped back. “Take care of him.”
“I will.”
Ryker sighed, feeling on the verge of imploding. “I’m sorry, Brother.”
Those few words carved deeper into him, letting an unfamiliar darkness seep out.
I felt it when he pressed his lips against my forehead and muttered, “Be careful.”
“You too,” was all I managed to say before he flexed his back and the sound of crushing bones bounced off the walls.
Then he was gone, a blur of rage and revenge, the wind of him blowing the hair around my face.
“We have a lot of ground to cover. She might attack someone else,” I said when Dax still hadn’t moved.
“I should have come sooner,” he said. “Vylkor saved my life. I owed him.”
“He wouldn’t have thought like that.” I stuttered a breath. “He didn’t save you so you could die for him.”
Without another word, he bent down and gently picked up Vylkor, a man who was almost twice as large as him.
Was, a tearful voice murmured in my mind. My own, this time.
Under the hazy light, Dax turned, carrying him like a fallen companion. The glow that usually danced in his gaze was gone.
