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Rough, warm hands on my skin, unerringly finding the spots that made me moan. One hand slid to my breast, flicking my nipple, and I arched my back, desperate for more.
“Patience,” a low, infinitely amused voice said.
I shook my head, reaching into the darkness, pulling the man closer, until our lips met in a filthy mimicry of a kiss. His mouth teased mine, his tongue thrusting deep, and I clawed at him, pulling him even closer.
He let out a rough growl that made me shiver, and I swept my hands along the muscles of his back. When he raised his head, dark green eyes burned into mine.
My eyes popped open and met amused brown. “Who is Lorian?” the woman asked.
I groaned, mortification making my cheeks burn.
She just laughed, jumping out of bed. I hadn’t caught her name, and she was already hurrying away.
Sitting up, I ran my hands over my face in an attempt to clear my head.
Getting out of the dungeon had been easier than getting in. My power had felt strong, likely fed by my rage. But every time I’d closed my eyes
last night, I’d seen Demos’s shoulder, the other prisoners who couldn’t even lift their heads, and Asinia, shivering on that stone floor.
Dreaming of Lorian was the final twist of the knife.
No matter how many times he’d featured in my dreams over the years— and one day I’d figure out exactly why that had happened—they’d never turned into those kinds of dreams.
It was the kiss at the city walls that had caused this. Swinging my legs out of bed, I silently cursed the man who, even now, was messing with my mind.
“You should hurry, or you’ll be late,” a maid named Kryana told me. “I will. Thanks.”
I wouldn’t have time to meet Auria for breakfast, so I went straight to Nelia.
“Ah, Setella. Today, I’m trusting you with the floors in the queen’s wing.”
My heart tripped. The distraction was welcome, but more importantly, it was a chance to start doing something.
“You are never to speak to anyone above your station unless they ask you a direct question. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Nelia.”
“Good. Work quickly.” “I will.”
And so I spent the next several hours in the queen’s wing. First, I swept the nonexistent dirt—whoever used their magic to clean had likely been here just hours before I arrived—and then I got to work mopping the already spotless floors.
At least it gave me time to think. Time to remember everything I’d seen last night.
I kept my head down, but my body shook.
Rage burned through me, so brightly, I felt as if I might explode with it.
Seeing Asinia in such a state, coming face-to-face with the condition of the prisoners…not to mention Demos’s wound…
Bile burned up my throat at the thought.
It wasn’t enough to kill us. The king had to bring us so low, we longed
for death.
All so he could keep our magic.
Could I really free two of the prisoners and leave the rest to rot?
I lifted my head and caught sight of my reflection in one of the mirrors. Apparently, the queen liked to be able to gaze at herself wherever she went.
I looked nothing like myself with my dark hair and brown eyes. I also looked pale, shell-shocked. But my eyes burned with vengeance.
Ivene’s voice had been playing in my head over and over again since I’d seen the dungeons.
“One day soon, you will have to make a choice. Be a torch for just one soul in the dark…or burn like the sun for all of them.”
The thought of leaving the others here made me sick to my stomach. I couldn’t do it. I didn’t know how, but I was going to free all the prisoners the king considered corrupt. And I was going to do it before Gods Day.
A door opened, and the swish of long skirts warned me to step out of the way.
I froze. The queen. It was the first time I’d seen her, and I stood with my head bowed, hands behind my back as I’d been instructed.
She ignored me, and I dared to glance at her face as she swept past.
She was beautiful, as I’d expected. What I hadn’t expected was the smattering of freckles over her nose, which gave her an almost childlike appearance. Her eyes were dark gray, wide and solemn.
Her ladies trailed behind her silently. Six of them, walking in pairs. I recognized the one with the flame-colored hair, and she sneered at me as she met my eyes.
The beginnings of a plan started to form in my mind. A dangerous plan.
But a plan that could change everything.
The queen continued her stroll, and I got back to work, my mind whirring.
“Prisca,” a voice hissed.
I jolted. Tibris was standing in the closest room, the door cracked open.
I gaped at him. “How—”
“Servants’ hall. Did you see Asinia?”
“Yes. She’s sick. Burning up with fever.” He lowered his brows. “I need to heal her.”
I nodded. I’d planned to make the same suggestion. My brother could at least buy us time. “Tonight. There’s something else. I need you to get a message to Vicer.”
Voices reached us, and Tibris closed the door. I lowered my head once more, sweeping my mop over the stone. Eventually, the voices quieted, and Tibris cracked the door open again.
“What are you thinking, Pris?”
I handed him the note I’d written earlier. His eyes widened as he read it. He’d been using our code for much longer than me, and he instantly understood what I was asking for.
He lifted his head, eyes incredulous. “It will never work.”
I felt my chin jut out—my usual reaction to being told I couldn’t do something by my brother. But this time, I knew it could work. “Let’s wait for Vicer’s reply.”
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Dear L,
Our mutual /riend should be allowed his
/reedom /or now. Let us keep a close eye on him so we can see who he is talking to.
Congratulations on securing the invite to the castle. The temptation to let an arrow pierce Sabium’s heart must have been…great.
While I cannot begin to understand how di//icult it will be to interact with those
loathsome creatures, I beg you to leash your temper.
One day, we will have our revenge. We will watch Sabium’s head roll /ree and know he has paid /or everything he has done to our
/amily.
That time is not now. As much as both o/ us would wish it otherwise.
/our appreciative brother, C
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“Shh,” Tibris soothed Asinia that night. The devastation had been clear on his face when I’d opened her cell door. Now, he was crouching next to her, attempting to heal the worst of her sickness, while I handed some of the smuggled food through the cell bars to Demos.
His mouth had fallen open when he’d seen me again. Obviously, he hadn’t truly believed I would return. Now, he was shoving bread and cheese into his mouth.
“Don’t eat too much,” Tibris warned. “Or it’ll come straight back up. Demos nodded, taking smaller bites. My chest clenched.
“I’ll try to bring some meat tomorrow,” I told him.
I turned to Tibris. His expression was grim. I’d told him about the iron, and he was studying the slice along Asinia’s shoulder.
“We need to get this out. I can’t heal her with the fae iron in her body.”
Slipping into the cell, I knelt next to Asinia. She’d gotten worse overnight, and now she was so pale, it seemed as if she was moments from death. A chill slid over me. We couldn’t have gotten here just in time to watch Asinia die. We had to be able to save her.
“What do you need me to do?”
“Hold her down and keep her from alerting every guard in the castle.”
Asinia was completely unresponsive. Was she dying? Had she already slipped into an unconsciousness from which she could never be woken? The backs of my eyes burned as I waited for Tibris to ready himself, and when he nodded, I placed one hand over her mouth, leaning on her other arm to keep her still.
“Go.”
The wound had healed enough that Tibris had to open it once more. Asinia remained unconscious for that. But when it came time to dig out the iron, she screamed against my hand, bucking weakly as we held her down.
Her screams, the sight of her writhing… Tears dripped down my cheeks. But she was alive. Alive and awake.
Her eyes met mine, clear for the first time.
I leaned down. “We’re saving you. I’m sorry, but it has to be done.”
She nodded, but whatever Tibris was doing made her let out another weak scream. At Tibris’s order, I poured water over the wound, flushing out the tiny iron pieces he hadn’t been able to remove.
It went on for what seemed like forever. By the time Asinia’s eyes rolled back in her head, I was covered in sweat. Tibris met my eyes and gave me a nod. He’d brought a tiny healer’s kit with him into the castle, and as soon as he’d cleaned the wound enough, he’d sewn it shut once more.
“If they examine her, they’ll know someone was in here,” Tibris said.
Hopelessness squeezed my lungs tight. After what we’d just had to do to Asinia, the thought of someone doing it to her again…
Demos cleared his throat. “They won’t examine her,” he said. “I’ve been here almost two years, and no one has checked mine. It had to be done.”
I turned and surveyed him. “I’m glad you feel that way. Because you’re next.”
He sucked in a breath but nodded. If Asinia’s wound had been bad, Demos’s was horrifying. Tibris stepped into his cell and handed him a piece of wood from his pocket kit.
“What’s that for?” I asked. “For him to bite down on.”
I stayed next to Asinia while Tibris cleaned out Demos’s wound. Demos’s low groans made my stomach churn, and I glanced over my shoulder to find him clutching on to the bars between the cells, his knuckles white.
I couldn’t just let him suffer, even if it meant leaving Asinia for a few moments.
Getting to my feet, I wrapped my hand around one of his. “You’re doing great,” I murmured. “Just think about all the ways we’re going to make these bastards pay.”
Demos nodded.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
He spat out the wood from between his teeth. “It’s not your fault.
Fuuuck.” He clutched at the bars, and I squeezed his hand tighter.
“Think about something you love,” I said desperately. “Tell me about
it.”
He let out a choked sound, and for a long moment, it seemed as if he
couldn’t manage a single word. I hoped Tibris was almost done.
“I love watching the clouds,” Demos murmured. “I used to lie on the grass and watch them for hours. Especially when the sun was right about to set.”
“Beautiful.”
He opened his mouth, but a muffled yelp came out. “It’s okay if you need to cry.”
I peered at his shoulder. Tibris had began sewing up the wound.
“First rule of being a prisoner,” Demos told me, “you cry, and you’re done.”
This was a man who refused to be victimized by life. Even after everything he’d obviously gone through in these dungeons. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
He smiled, his teeth flashing in the low light. “I’ve only known you for a day, but something tells me you probably should.”
“My sister will never end up in one of these cells,” Tibris growled.
I rolled my eyes. “How’s his shoulder?”
“I’ll need to keep working on it, but my magic is almost completely drained.”
I fisted my hands. How many more prisoners could Tibris be healing if the king hadn’t stolen his magic?
“We’ll come back tomorrow,” I said, turning to press a kiss to Asinia’s brow. I wished I could bring her a blanket, but we couldn’t risk a guard walking past and noticing.
“The next guards will be on shift soon,” Tibris said. “We need to go.”
We snuck back up to the servants’ quarters. When it was time for Tibris to turn left to the men’s rooms, he slumped against the wall instead. His eyes were bleak when they met mine.
“She would have died tonight,” he said. “I have no doubt. It was that close, Pris.”
Nausea swept through me until I had to pant a few breaths to clear my head. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“So am I. We need to get her out, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out how. We take her and run, and we may get out of the castle, but we’ll never get out of the city.”
Oh yes, we would. “I’m going to figure something out.”
He opened his mouth to argue, rolled his eyes, and closed it with a snap. Likely, he didn’t have enough energy to verbally spar with me tonight. Instead, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a note. “From Vicer.”
“Thanks.”
By the time I made it back to my room, I was almost shaking with fatigue. It took everything in me to still time long enough to crawl into my bed.
The bed was freezing, given that it was next to the window. But I pushed the curtain back and read Vicer’s coded note by the light of the moon.
Pris,
I don’t have to tell you how risky such a strategy would be. For the /irst part o/ your
plan, I need a day to organize the note.
For the second part, I have two people who could potentially help you, but I won’t order them to do it. I/ one o/ them volunteers, you’ll have your distraction.
Vicer
I blew out a shaky breath. It might be too much to hope for a volunteer. It was dangerous. But if there was one thing I knew about the rebels, it was that most of them were living solely for revenge.
Could I use that need to get one step closer to the queen?
Asinia’s face flashed in front of my eyes. It was followed by every prisoner I’d walked past in that dank, dark dungeon.
Yes. Yes, I could.
