CHAPTER 19
They tookMason down to the dungeons, of course. Where else would a traitor go?
Skye shivered as they descended slimy, slippery stone steps, down and down until it felt like they were going down into the bowels of the earth. Ancient stone walls wrapped around them, pressing in to make the space seem smaller. In places, the ceiling was so low that Evander had to duck his head to pass underneath. Damp and mold flavored the air.
Torches blazed at intervals along the wall, not brightly enough to stave off the worst of the darkness. Something dripped somewhere. Up ahead, she could just make out the silhouette of two men dragging Mason along. Evander strode behind him, his shoulders tense.
This must be a dream. Surely Mason havenae betrayed me.
A coil of unease tightened in her chest. She was not imagining it. It really had been Mason who took her from her room. Was he the one who’d drugged her? And why?
Stay calm,she reminded herself.Ye will get the answers to yer questions soon.
I hope.
Down they went, until abruptly the stairs stopped and they found themselves in a circular room. Barred cell doors branched off the room, and inside, miserable prisoners shifted listlessly.
She’d seen dungeons before, and they were always slimy, vile places. A dungeon would never be a pleasant place, but at least this one didn’t seem to be a place where prisoners were left to rot. There was straw on the floor, not entirely rancid. The cells were clean enough, with buckets at the corner.
Better than nothing.
Mason was marched over to an empty cell and tossed inside. A low stone bench jutted out of a wall, forming a rough bed. There was a thin blanket, a few handfuls of straw, and what appeared to be a flat pillow.
He stood there for a moment, staring at the back wall of the cell. The door was slammed shut and locked behind him.
The guards melted away, leaving Skye standing alone in front of the cell.
No, not quite alone. When she glanced over her shoulder, she could see Evander lurking in the shadows, watching her carefully. WatchingMason.
She cleared her throat. Mason did not respond, not even to flinch.
“Look at me,” she said. “Mason, look at me. Ye owe me that much.”
He turned, slowly and painfully, as if his feet were fixed to the floor and he had to drag them.
She licked her lips, sorting through the questions queuing up in her mind. Which one to ask first?
Start with the simplest.
“Why?” she asked.
Mason flinched, as if the word had been a slap. “Daenae… Daenae ask me that, me Lady. Please.”
“What right do ye have to keep yer secrets? I thought ye loved me like a sister, Mason.”
“I did! I do!”
She gave a short laugh. “Oh, daenae lie. Who’d treat their sister this way? Yekidnappedme. For a year. And how did I get away from ye? Did ye release me? Nay, that doesnae sound right. Tell me, Mason!”
He flinched, squeezing his eyes shut. “Ye escaped. I forgot to lock the door, just one time. Ye must have tried the doors and windows whenever ye came to.”
She furrowed her brow. “I daenae remember any of that. Because ye kept me drugged, did ye nae?”
Mason swallowed, glancing away. “I fed ye. I brought ye water. I… I cared for ye, I did!”
“Yedruggedme! Kidnapped me! I keep saying that, and ye blink as though it’s nothing. It isnae nothing, Mason. I will never trust anyone again. How can I? I trustedye, and ye betrayed me in the worst way. The worst way!”
Silence ensued.
