“Looking for something?”
There’s more energy in the man’s voice now – or at least more venom. I force myself to ignore him and rifle through the rest of the cabinet.
There’s nothing here.
My head drops. That strange feeling, the warmth… it was nothing after all. Another trick of my brain.
I should have expected it, really. I spent so much time all those years ago, not able to trust what my brain thought I saw, or heard, or wanted. Something had to snap eventually.
I drive the heels of my hands into my eyes. The alarm is still blaring. The patrol that transported in will be here soon. I’ve failed. I don’t have any way
out.
“Treasure,” I say shortly. God knows if the prisoner will even be able to hear me over the alarms. Or why I’m talking to him. “I’m looking for treasure. But it’s not—”
I turn around, hands still over my eyes, and feel like I’ve stepped into summer.
No. No way.
“Treasure?” The prisoner’s voice is laced with suspicion, but his body… his body is like the sun.
“It’s you, isn’t it?” I take a step back, lowering my hands. He must be staring at me, but there’s no electric charge running across my skin. Just warmth rushing through me. It’s the same uncanny sunlight-feel as in the corridor, but much stronger, banishing the last of the water’s chill from my bones.
Pieces of the puzzle are falling into place. The reason why Ygdris was traveling without his pair. And why he was so sure that I wouldn’t have any trouble getting his treasure out of the Spire.
My eyes wander over the wounds on the prisoner’s chest and sides. Sorry, Ygdris. Bringing your treasure home might be more trouble than you thought.
I take a deep breath. “You’re Ygdris’ treasure. And you’re not a dragon.”
I look into his eyes.
They’re a burning red-gold, like embers in the heart of a dying fire. I take another quick step back. There’s no compulsion in those eyes, so he’s not a dragon… but he’s not human, either.
And he’s glaring at me as though if he wasn’t in those restraints, his hands would be around my neck.
“What sort of a trick is this?” he demands. “The stick didn’t work, so they’re trying the carrot? It won’t work. I’ll never tell you where he is.”
Well, fuck you, too. I turn my attention to the manacles. They look like the same alloy that the entrance door was made from. Definitely thin enough to cut through.
“Ygdris, I’ve got him,” I shout as I stride towards the prisoner, trusting he’ll hear me through the comm over the blaring alarm. “You could have fucking told me your treasure was a person.”
There’s no response.
“Ygdris, can you hear—”
I try to tap my comm— and it’s gone. There’s nothing nestled against my ear. “Shit.”
“You’ve been communicating with Ygdris?” The prisoner swears. “You – damn it! Tell me why you’re here!”
I glare up at him. “Yes, of course I’ve been communicating with Ygdris! He’s the one who sent me here! This isn’t some trick, or whatever you think is going on. I’m meant to take you back to him!”
He looks stunned. “You’re telling the truth.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” I run my fingers over my ear again, like I could have missed the giant earpiece and it’s still there somehow. “But without my comms – God, I don’t even know when I lost it. We were talking until I got in here, I would have noticed if…”
I touch the cut behind my ear again. Now I remember. Something must have slammed against my skull when the flood downstairs threw me into the foyer. I noticed the bleeding after I woke up…
Was I wearing the earpiece then?