The light continues to grow, flooding into the space, revealing Danhy as she enters the cave, her unbound hair flowing around her like a banner. Her dusky nipples peek out between the abundant strands, and they feel like another set of eyes staring at me.
Apprehension fills her gaze as she takes in our tableau. “Tage?”She says his name like she’s testing the sound of it. Her steps slow to a shuffle as she nears us. “Is everything...” Her voice fades at the sight of me.
Viggo emerges behind her, and I feel his focus on me, on my face. Both he and Danhy fixate on me, and I resist the impulse to cover my cheek with my hand, hiding the ugly evidence of what Cyphus did.
“I said to take care of her.” Tage’s voice reverberates in the wide space, his hands flexing against me. “And this is what you do.Thisis what taking care of someone looks like?”
Viggo blinks rapidly. “Cy? What did you do?”
Cyphus shoots him a nasty glower.
Danhy clears her throat nervously, answering for Cyphus. “Nothing that won’t heal. She will survive.”
Tage swings on her. “You think this is acceptable? You heard my instructions. Would you have done this to her?” Then to Viggo. “Or you?”
Danhy looks to Cyphus almost apologetically and then drops her gaze. “No.”
I tense as another sound scratches the air, coming from the tunnel.
Was it an intruder? Soldiers that followed them here? What more could this day bring? It was barely even dawn.
“Steady now.” Tage nods reassuringly, clearly sensing my unease, and I glance over his big shoulder at the lanky figure emerging cautiously through the mouth of the cave, from the shadows where he had been lurking, observing the drama unfold. “This is Merik. I’ve invited him to join us.”
He might be bone-thin without a whisker to sprout yet on his face, but the lad stands nearly as tall as Tage with eyes a similar prismatic black, although less violet. A sheen of magenta winks from the depths of his dark gaze.
He’s the onyx they all spoke of earlier. Apparently, Tage encountered him in the days they were gone and decided to bring him into the fold.
Merik nods a hesitant greeting.
“Was I not going to be consulted about this?” Cyphus blusters.
Tage smiles then, a ruthless and cruel curve of his lips. “You think you deserve a voice here? Why should I need to consult with you?” His gaze flicks to me, seeming to say,Especially now.
Cyphus does not miss the direction of his gaze. His chest lifts on a great inhalation. “I don’t see the problem. I fed her and saw to her needs...for the most part. She won’t—”
“And beat her. And kept her shackled.” I recoil at each announcement, as though feeling the pain and degradation of those things all over again. “And that’s just what I know about. What else will I uncover?” Tage shakes his head, disgust drawing out each word. “You understood my orders and you went against me anyway. It cannot stand.”
Alarm crosses Cyphus’s face before the brutal coldness resettles on his features. His nostrils flare. “I did nothing wrong.”
“And that,” Tage declares with biting concision, “is why you cannot remain among us.”
I feel my eyes widen.
No one speaks.
The silence stretches, only the pop of the fire, the faint dripping from the stalactites, and the distant wind of the Crags perceptible.
I search the unforgiving lines of Tage’s face, trying to understand if he means that. Is hebanishingCyphus? Surely not. A pride’s strength is in its numbers. He would not cast out one so valuable. Not because of me.
I hold my breath, waiting for what’s to come next.
The only movement in Cyphus’s face is the flicker of his eyes, hopping to each of us, moving from Tage’s face to Danhy and Viggo. Finally, he sighs as though reaching a decision. “I can see you’re upset, Tage. Maybe I went too far. If I did, I apologize.”
If?
“That’syour apology?” Danhy asks as though she cannot stop herself. Crossing her arms, she shakes her head. “Sorry, Cy, but are you trying to get yourself exiled? You can do better than that.”
Viggo nods in agreement.
