Theyhadto find her.
She repeated it to herself over and over, like a mantra, until she was interrupted by the hellhound bumping his big black nose against the shared bars of their cells.
His eyes were still ringed in flickering flames, but he was quiet now. He must have only been growling at Sebastian, which meant he was a hellhound of good taste and distinction.
She had no idea where Sebastian had found him. Where could a creature that enormous have ever hidden?
The hellhound looked at her for a long time.
Iz felt something strange. It was like someone had cracked a door open and let in a pleasantly cool draft, but ... inside her head.
Was the hellhound doing that somehow? Iz knew almost nothing about them. They showed up in myths and legends, just like dragons, but she’d never come across one, and she didn’t know anyone else who had, either.
Considering how solemn and attentive and fiery its eyes were, Iz wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn it had some kind of magical gift that let it give her a little bit of mental comfort.
Between that and how clearly it had wanted to savage Sebastian, she already liked it very much. She wished she could return the favor and comfort it in return, but she doubted it would take well to the experience of being petted with a razor-sharp dragon claw. And it wasn’t like she could talk to it. Sebastian had made sure of that.
He hadn’t just trapped her body, he’d trapped her mind, too. There was nothing for her to do here. No companionship. No view. All she had were her own thoughts, circling around like water going down a drain. Randolph Sebastian was counting on that. He wanted this to drain away her sanity and sense of self until there was nothing left.
If she thought about how possible that would be, she would only speed things up. She had to stay calm.
I told Evie and Vin where I was going.
But the forest is huge.
They know search and rescue procedures, and they can pull in a huge number of resources.
But the opening to the cave is magically hidden.
They could do what I did, though. They could find Sebastian outside the cave and force him to take them here.
Oh, is that what you did? Youforcedhim to take you here and throw you in a cage? Great job! These must be the amazing marshal skills that let you graduate early!
She slumped, resting her chin on the dusty stone floor.
The hellhound nosed at the bars again, more insistently this time.
Iz looked up.
The feeling of a cool, soothing breeze returned, and this time it cut through her panicky, overheated thoughts. Despite everything, she relaxed into the sensation.
Then she heard a man’s voice inside her head:
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