Hands raised in mock surrender, he said, ‘Merely commenting on what I can smell.’
‘Then there’s something wrong with your nose, my guy.’ I crossed my arms the way River always did, adding weight to my words.
The man only laughed harder. ‘He’s wearing off on you, you know. How cute. Between us girls, how long have you been fucking him? I’ve never known him to parade his flings in court.’
What an uncultured dickhead. ‘Preposterous! How dare you?’
‘Entertain me, tiny one.’ He gestured toward his cell. ‘I’ve got nothing better to do than gossip.’
Fed up, I demanded, ‘What’s your name? Don’t tell me it’s related to water.’
Eyes widening, he took a step forward, observing me. ‘He shared his name?’
‘So?’
‘I’m Blaze,’ he said out of the blue.
I heard that name before, though it took me a moment to place it.
Wait.
The realisation hit like lightning. ‘Like the Isle of Blaze?’
‘Have you been?’ His voice softened, eyes glazing over when he looked down, unwilling to shed light on his emotions.
‘No, but I’veheard of it,’ I said, thinking of his daughter, Isla. What I couldn’t fathom was why they locked him up.
‘From a little girl by any chance?’ His plea was raw.
I swallowed hard. The resemblance was unmistakable. ‘Yes.’
Conflict clouded his face. ‘How is she?’
I froze. If they hadn’t let him near his daughter, it had to be for a reason. ‘I’m not sure whether I should talk about her.’
‘Yes, I understand.’ He swallowed. ‘So you know why I’m here then.’
Maybe I could coax it out of him. ‘You can tell me your side of the story.’
‘That means you don’t.’ His loud snort echoed around the bare walls of the corridor. ‘Nice try though.’
A loud bang echoed from the entrance door upstairs, the one with the passcode. Footsteps thundered toward me. Emily appeared, panic in her eyes.
‘You can’t be here!’ she shouted, grabbing my arm.
Behind her, the prisoner grew unrecognisable, eyes black, claws tearing at the bars until they bled. He thrashed and lunged for Emily, screaming obscenities and threats of how he would kill her.
Tears streamed down her face as she dragged me up the stairs. Once we reached the basement, she slammed the door and slid to the floor, sobbing.
‘What were you thinking?’ she cried, her voice cracking as she hugged her knees.
‘I wasn’t. I’m sorry.’ I knelt beside her. ‘My magic brought me down there. I didn’t mean to.’
Emily wiped her tears, her face blotchy and pale. ‘What was he saying before I got there?’
My heart ached for her. ‘He asked about Isla, whether I met a small girl in court.’
She bowed her head, more tears slipping free. I pulled her into a hug and let her cry.
