Ellis shoves me forward again, and I stagger down the first three stairs.
The light from the hall windows fades until only the small lanterns’ flickering glow illuminates the space. We’re going below the castle, towards the dungeon.
What could we be doing down there?
Everything I can think of is horrible.
He holds my neck, guiding me through the dark, narrow stone corridor. At the end of the hall is a brighter room, and once we enter, my eyes focus on a set of iron chains hanging from the wall. I twist in his grip, trying to escape, but he scoffs. “There will be no running from me this time,human bitch. Do you know what the king did to me after I lost you? Do you have anyfuckingidea?” Spit hits my face as he yells and backs me farther into the room, toward the chains.
I form a fireball in my hand and launch it at him. He dodges, and I take the chance to escape, but he’s faster. Spots flash in my vision when his fist slams into my cheek. The force of his punch levels me, and my back slams on the ground, knocking the breath from my lungs.
I press a hand to the side of my face and scramble backward along the floor. My lungs burn as I gasp for air, and in my haste to get away, I’ve gone deeper into the room. The chains on the wall jangle as my shoulders bump into them.
He advances, grinning like a madman. “That isnothing. Look whathefuckingdid!” Ellis pulls his tunic up and turns, showing me his back. It’s a mass of angry red lashes and deep gouges, all unhealed and oozing. “He made it so they won’t heal, not until he deems me properly punished for losing you, you stupidfuckinghumancunt!” A gruesome smile twists his lips. “Wait until you see what he has planned for you and your prince. You think you are sneaky, but you’ll both rot by the day’s end!”
His tunic falls as he stalks toward me, rage riding him. He lifts his hand to strike, and as his fist descends, a wall of fire flashes to life between us. Hatred crosses his face as he looks at me, and the promise of death shines in his eyes as he backs away. He intends to lock me in these chains and whip me as Niethal did to him.
Niethal…
Oh, no.Niethalknows!
My cheek throbs in time with my heartbeat, making it difficult to think straight. I sway as I pull myself up to kneel, but the need to get to Isiah steadies me. A flash of light and a blur shoot across the room before Ellis falls to the ground, fighting with someone.
Reagan.
Reagan is on top of him, wrapping a whip of pure white light around his neck, and Ellis struggles against it.
I don’t waste the opportunity. I drop the fire wall, and Reagan’s eyes snap to me and widen, noticing my cheek. The whip around Ellis’s neck pulls tighter, and I run. I run and make it up the stairs, past the halls and main entrance, and up the spiral staircase.
I’m not sure where I’m running to, only that it’s away from that room, Ellis, Reagan, and those chains. When I finally slow to a walk, I’m in an unfamiliar upper hallway.
What am I going to do?
I need to find Isiah. I can’t let Niethal get to him first.
A familiar coolness brushes my mind, and I stop mid-stride, turning to knock on the door closest to me. I keep looking over my shoulder, imagining Ellis rounding the bend with clenched fists and a promise of death in his eyes. My pulse pounds in my ears as fear washes over me, suffocating me. When Isiah finally opens the door, I breathe a sigh of relief.
Somehow, my feet knew to carry me to him.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
I rush past him and take another deep breath. His room is much smaller than mine, but it smells like him.
It feels safe.
My throat tightens as I turn to face him, knowing what he’ll see when I do. He takes four steps toward me before he stills. Darkness fills his eyes until barely any of their green remains, and he comes forward, tipping my chin to assess the damage. My cheek throbs even under his gentle touch.
“Who did this to you?”
His face is calm, but his words simmer with a barely veiled rage that could shatter at any moment. But I don’t respond. Instead, I collapse against his chest and allow the warmth of his body to soak into mine, soothing me.
His arms wrap around me. “I will kill them.”
While I don’t take killing lightly, Ellis would have donefarworse to me. He would have chained me to the wall, whipped me, tortured me, and had me begging for the end. His eyes held my death in them, and that alone is enough to give my voice sound, to name the male. “It was Ellis, Niethal’s guard. I thought he was taking me to the training room, but—” A sob cuts off my words, and Isiah tenses under me.
“He won’t live to see the end of the day.”
End of the day…