More harsh truths sliced into me, and I relished each of them, basking in my own unworthiness until finally my cock settled. I emerged from the bath reminded of my purpose. It didn’t include desiring Rahzlyn.
The cold helped, but it wasn’t enough to fully ease the tension burning inside me.
I knew something else that could.
“He’s been especially quiet despite your initial warnings,” Vesperah informed me later that morning.
I trailed her down a long, drab corridor belonging to the citadel dungeons in Antares. We passed the main cells filled with prisoners who whistled and howled as we walked by. Most inmates resulted from petty thievery or drunken brawls, both of which had increased dramatically since the curse began. “Petty” didn’t necessarily feel appropriate anymore. Not when the prisoners didn’t have enough meat on their bones to separate them from the skeletal remains of their cells’ prior occupants.
“And you’re certain no one has been made aware of his presence?”
Vesperah shot me a look before jiggling the ring of keys at her belted hip. “Not even Alekko knows.” Her resentment was deafening. “Only I have access to the citadel’s private cells.”
We entered another passage far beyond where she had her guards posted. Vesperah carried a torch to guide the way and lit a lantern hanging on the stone wall.
“Per your orders, I have given him water every other day, food every three days, and only allowed him to sleep up to three-hour intervals,” she explained. “How much longer do you intend to keep him here? He’s taking up valuable resources, not to mention my time.”
“As long as it takes. I’ll let you know once I’m finished.” I paused, recognizing that I’d asked a lot of her by keeping this secret. “Thank you, Vesperah.”
She knitted her brows. “I didn’t know you were capable of gratitude. Alekko wouldn’t believe?—”
I shot her a warning look.
She raised her hands before departing. “Not a word, I know.”
The prisoner’s white head lifted slightly from where he sat crouched in the corner.
Hopefully, hunger and sleep deprivation would finally loosen his tongue.
“You’re back,” he said. “Come to kill me this time?”
“I have no interest in killing you, Kole. At least not yet,” I added, though it was a lie. I wouldn’t kill him without Rahzlyn’s permission first. She still needed to learn he was in Scorpio, a fact I’d been prolonging for as long as possible.
I’d seen how fervently she meant her handshake. I couldn’t find it in me to deny her trust, but the quiet, lingering doubts I still had about her demanded to be proven wrong by this man.
I clenched Rahzlyn’s golden leg chain I kept in my pocket, unable to part with it.
“I'm not telling you shit.” Kole spat at the dirty ground between us.
My boots scuffed as I inched closer. “Not even about the brand on your foot? The one that looks like this?” I held out a Serpentine entrance coin. “Want to tell me about it?” I neared the bars. “The sooner you answer my questions, the sooner you can get out of here.”
Kole laughed bitterly, throwing his head back. “We both know I’m not getting out of here alive.”
As much as it knotted my insides, he meantsomethingto Rahzlyn. I wouldn’t hurt him no matter how much he deserved it, which was why I hadn’t resorted to standard interrogation methods. The problem was, I couldn’t let him go running back to Markus and Allory. I certainly couldn’t trust him to be a spy.
The longer he stayed here, the more likely it would be for Maryn to discover his presence. He’d be interrogated to no avail, revealing how he knew Rahzlyn.
I considered my next move. “Tell me something, Kole. Or should I say, Kolbyn?”
His eyes widened slightly. “How are you able to say my true name?”
“It’s a gift.”
“It shouldn’t be possible. Unless you’re one of us.” Kole shook his head. “You can’t be.”
“And why’s that?”
“Because you took her,” Kole growled. “You took her, and she wasn’t yours to take.”
