Chapter 3
3
I spent the rest of the day pacing in my cell, breaking only for the brief meals the guards brought to me on a wooden tray—not allowing us to leave after the carnage caused in the wake of Tristen’s entrance. The guards were wordless, ignoring my questions and leaving me alone with the stone walls and quiet cell block.
The silence around me echoed in my mind—and I found myself reduced to sobs several times as the darkness of my cell threatened to close in on me. It was as if I was drowning in the unknown, being dragged deeper into despair as I tried to grasp at something, anything to keep me tethered to this reality.
Who was my mother? My father? Were they alive? What about my wedding day? Who was there? Who had been left at the altar when I was ripped away from that day?
When sleep finally did claim me, it was like an endless dark. It rippled and swirled around me, sucking me deeper into the void of my mind until I jolted awake, gasping for air. Even my nightmares taunted me with the nothingness that filled the place where memories once lived.
“I’m stronger than this,” I said aloud into the dark of the cell.
The choking darkness did not give me a reply.
“Get up, girl,” a guard sneered at my cell, unlocking the door and holding it open. I recognized his wolfish grin and the ox-like build of his body. He was one of the ones who had jeered at me when I arrived.
“Or what?” I said as I pulled my stiff body off the hard cot, the morning chill causing my body to shiver as I appraised him in the light of the torches that illuminated the hallway.
“I can think of a few things,” he said, licking his lips as he appraised me.
I felt my anger rise, boiling my blood. Screaming at me to fight . I held my head high as I stepped out of the cell, keeping my distance from the guard, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me close.
“Just try me, sweetheart. Nobody will care what happens to you down here.”
“Get the fuck away from her Rook,” a booming voice echoed down the cell.
The guard—Rook—slinked back from me, dropping my arm and bowing his head. “She was giving me trouble, Commander?—”
Callum stopped just a foot in front of Rook, still several inches taller than the imposing guard. “I’m reassigning you to the mess hall.”
“But Sir?—”
“ Now ,” Callum demanded with a cold authority that promised pain if Rook didn’t obey.
Rook leveled a glare at me, but Callum grabbed him and threw him against the wall of the corridor with surprising force.
“Don’t look at her. Look at me. You touch her? You die.”
Rook scrambled to his feet, nodding before turning and running down a separate hallway.
When we were alone once more, Callum turned back to me. “Are you hurt?”
I shook my head, but my mind was reeling with the casual strength he had just thrown the guard around with. “What did you do, back in our village? Throw bags of rocks around for fun?”
“Why? You think I’m strong or something?” he asked, a half-smile slipping up his stubbled cheek on his square jaw.
I flushed, but ducked my head and pushed past him to hide my feelings. “No. Aren’t you supposed to escort me somewhere?”
“Y’know, I could tell you I was the most revered warrior in all the realms and you’d have to believe me,” Callum said as he placed a hand on the small of my back, leading me through the maze of the prison corridors.
“Until I found someone else who knew me. So be careful how much you exaggerate. Would hate for someone else to tell me the truth,” I teased, but Callum fell silent. My footsteps and the dripping water were the only sounds cushioning the strange silence between us. I frowned, picking up on a thread. “Callum, is there anyone else in here who knows me? From before?”
“No,” Callum said, not entertaining my questions. “Now focus. The King will be arriving to address his contestants . You need to make sure that you’re not one of them.”
“Okay,” I said. “I know Rachelle had mentioned her friend tried to escape?—”
Callum gently put his strong hand on my shoulder, stopping me and turning me to face him in the dimly-lit stone corridor. “Lucille had the best chance of escape out of everyone here. Her heart crystal gave her the power to turn invisible, one of the more rare powers out there. She somehow got her metal bands off and was able to access her full power, slipping out while Rachelle caused a distraction. Lucille was running down to the beach with the intent to steal a boat—and she was found with a lung pierced by the sharp branch of the tree, her arms and feet bound by vines. She was still breathing when Cassandra found her.”
“So she lived?”
Callum grimaced. “Cassandra made sure the girl didn’t see morning.”
I blew out a breath. “So escape isn’t an option. And… I’m not a fighter.”
Callum took my right hand and placed it on his heart. “Feel this?”
I felt the strong beat of his heart, realizing how close I was to him. “I do.”
“Watch,” Callum said as he pulled me down to kneel next to him as he called upon his power, my hand still at his heart. As his hands rose over his head in a cross, I saw his heart glow slightly underneath his uniform, feeling a warmth underneath my hand—just for a second before it faded and his shimmering blue shield shot up around us, glittering in the dark hallway.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered, the shield taking my breath away, glimmering around us.
“Most of us have an ability that is refracted from our heart crystals. A power that protects, harms, or shifts our beings entirely. My power is strong, but there are others whose heart crystals only refract pain and suffering—like the Shadowfire Assassin. They’ll kill you in an instant to get closer to freedom.”
He let go of my hand and I mourned the loss of the heat of him underneath my palm. “You have no idea how I ended up here?”
Callum helped me to my feet, and we stood in the hallway once more. “I’ve tried to get access to your file, but the Order of the Serafim did not deign to consider my request. Only the witches —I mean, the High Pristesses and her followers, know the crimes of those who are brought here to rot—and the powers held by each of the prisoners, if those powers are known. But I know you’ve committed no crime. It’s not in your nature to be violent. That’s why you have to make your case to the King. Today .”
Callum kept walking, and I followed. “And if he refuses?"
“A King’s blade will be a quicker death than the one you would meet in the ring,” Callum replied, but his tone was strained. My stomach churned as I contemplated the nearness of my death.
Callum walked beside me for the last bit of the tunnels. But right before we turned the corner to the main floor of the silo, he grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I looked up at the warrior’s face, and was surprised to see unshed tears glimmering in his eyes.
“Beg for his mercy. For me, Saffron.”
I swallowed, nodding. Before I could say more, footsteps sounded behind us and Callum turned away from me. He turned into Commander Wells, taking his place at the front of the semicircle of prisoners. I walked onto the silo’s ground floor once more, joining the circle of bloodthirsty prisoners, ready to beg for my life.