Father glared at him. "You would have suffered far worse, had you been born with any other name. Keep silent before you further damage relations between Muirashi and Aenir."
Grabbing my collar, Father tore me from the guard and steered me down the corridor.
He threw me into a dark room and set his torch into an empty sconce. Faint bloodstains darkened the stone walls, and chains hung from the wall beside a stool. Turning my back to them, I set my jaw and met my father's gaze.
"Make this easy for all of us, Diar," he said in a low voice. "Relinquish Siotha."
"Why don't you just kill me?" I asked.
"I will not kill my daughter."
"I thought you had no use for daughters."
A vein ticked in Father's neck. He stepped closer, voice lowering. "If you refuse to forswear the bow, I will have no choice but to fetch the doctor. When he is finished, you will never walk again. Do you understand?"
My resolve faltered, and I looked away.
Father's hand curled around my collar. "You can still avoid that fate."
Whether he broke my legs or I relented, my fate remained the same: trapped within the manor, never again able to leave. What purpose could I find in such a life, when I'd finally tasted freedom?
"No," I breathed. "Siotha chose me."
"Is a damn bow truly worth this torture? Will it be worth it when you lie on your back beneath every man in this city who buys your services?"
Disowned daughters were sent to brothels. To humiliate them. To frighten young girls into obedience. I'd been terrified of such a fate, once.
But I would not refuse the one thing in this life that had truly beenmine.
Father lifted his arm. Red light burst across my vision, and stinging pain radiated across my cheek. My head snapped to the side.
Gritting my teeth, I met his gaze. Father's fist curled, ready to strike again.
"Go ahead," I said. "I'm not going to change my mind."
Father inhaled deeply, eyes closing. He released me and stepped back. "Keep close watch on her. I will return shortly."
The guards moved to either side of the door as Father walked out. I waited until I could no longer hear his footsteps to break.
Slumping onto the stool, I pressed my fingers into my eyes. Red spots appeared across the black, and then . . . emerald light.
I snapped my eyes open to see a dragon burst through the door and twist itself around the left guard's neck. He flailed, trying to pull the ethereal beast away from him.
The other stumbled forward, eyes bulging beneath his helm, hands grasping at his neck.
Ferris waltzed in, face set in concentration. He flicked his wrist, and both men crashed to the ground.
"Not to worry.” He flipped one of the men over. "I stole some of the air from his lungs—he'll be alright in a bit. Help me get this armor off."
"How did you?—”
Without looking back at me, he held up a lockpick, pinched between two fingers. "Changed your mind about my offer?"
"Fine.” I stumbled forward, away from the chains, away from the pain that awaited me here. "If you take me to Nazumi, I'll let you live for a few more days."
"And I do love living.” Ferris waved for me to join him. "Give me a hand with this, will you?"
Glancing out the door, I hurried to his side and started unsnapping the guard's helmet. "Why do I feel like we've been here before?"
