Chapter 28 #2
I watched Bastian’s face carefully, looking for any hints that he felt something. Nothing. Either he didn’t feel it or he was just that good at hiding his reactions. Not comforting, given how talented I knew he was at lying.
My fingers tightened around the crest. It didn’t matter. I was close to fixing this problem for everyone.
His eyes drifted down to my hand. “You found it?”
I nodded, but by this point, my gaze had drifted to the second person wielding a sword. Warrick ignored me entirely, his attention on Nyx and Cali.
“I’d put that down before you hurt yourself,” Nyx drawled as they casually took a step left, putting their back to Cali’s, who was still focused on the door. Their dark gaze was locked on Warrick, and they’d drawn their own sword and held a dagger in their other hand.
Shit.
I moved to stand between them, putting myself directly in Warrick’s line of sight. “How about we all calm down and not get all stabby?”
“It’s like you don’t even know us,” Cali said with a chuckle.
“Not helping,” I snapped, glancing over my shoulder quickly to confirm she was still working on the lock.
Nyx had gone predatorily still, and the blue lines that wove through their eyes looked a little thinner.
Not good. I returned my attention to Warrick and Bastian.
“I didn’t know they were going to be here, I swear. ”
“You didn’t know your best friend and whatever the fuck that is”—Warrick leaned over slightly so he could point his sword around me at Nyx—“were going to be here? Try again, sweetheart.”
“Nyx, their name is Nyx,” Cali replied cooly as shadows crept up the walls. “Speak about them like that again and I’ll cut out your heart so they can eat it.”
“I mostly just drink the blood from it to be fair,” Nyx added thoughtfully. “Although I do enjoy this trend of my friends offering me bloody hearts.”
Warrick’s expression remained cool and remote, but I didn’t miss the way he glanced at the shadows slithering on the walls. All Furies possessed shadow magic, but Cali was in a league of her own.
The sound of a lock clicking echoed through the room, and Cali let out a long exhale. “Finally.” Half a second later, she was in front of Warrick. He swung his sword, only to be blocked by hers, and she had a dagger at his throat a second later.
Nyx moved faster than I could track and halted in front of Bastian, who held two curved daggers. The two of them glared at each other, neither making a move.
“Also,” she purred, “if you ever call Rynn sweetheart in that mocking tone again, I’ll cut out your tongue before I shred your mind. Listening to screaming gets old after a few minutes.”
“I’ll stick with traitor then,” Warrick said evenly.
“Fucking hells. Would it kill you to just shut up for once?” I complained.
“I’ve wondered that too,” Bastian chimed in.
Argh. I stomped over to Cali and Warrick, placing a hand on each of their chests and shoving them apart. “Play. Fucking. Nice,” I spat. “Let’s go see if Cali and Nyx have found their prey.”
When Warrick continued to stare at Cali, who just smiled at him, Bastian sighed and grabbed his vest, dragging him forward. “Come on. I want to see this. And who knows? Maybe there will be something for you to stab in there.”
“I’m always happy to stab you,” Warrick grunted.
“Promises, promises,” Bastian sang.
Cali watched them go with a frown before looking at me. “Your future mates are even weirder than Sam’s.”
“They are not my mates!” I hissed, summoning one of my axes and chucking it at her head.
She snatched it out of the air and gave it an appreciated lookover.
“Nice. Roth’s work? I’ll have to ask them what spell they used and see if I can do anything similar.
” She tossed the axe to Nyx, then chose to ignore me when she said, “I seem to remember Sam being pretty adamant about how much she hated Vail too. And we all know how that turned out.”
She sauntered after Warrick and Bastian.
Nyx admired the axe before glancing at me. “Think Roth will make me one?”
“Sure,” I drawled. “After you apologize to Sam for leaving the way you did.”
Roth rarely took personal offense to things, and I doubted they were all that upset over Nyx’s abrupt departure. But they did take two things extremely seriously. Their books. And Samara.
While Nyx hadn’t intentionally hurt Samara, Roth wouldn’t care. All that mattered to them was that Samara had cried. In fact, Nyx would probably have to be careful around all of Sam’s mates.
“I’ll make it right with Sam. Before her mates track me down and kick my ass.” Nyx tossed the axe back to me.
“See that you do.” I caught the axe but dismissed it immediately so I wouldn’t be tempted to bury it in Warrick’s gut for being a prick, and the two of us made our way to the back room. It took my eyes a few seconds to adjust to the dim lighting.
Nyx went to join Cali, who stood a few feet away from Bastian and Warrick. Everyone was staring at the cell in front of them.
A quick glance told me the two cells on either side of the one everyone was gathered around were empty as I took a spot between Cali and Bastian. Any relief I felt at everyone putting their weapons away was short-lived when I saw who was waiting behind the bars of the cell.
“Oh, I’m so happy you’re joining us, Rynn. I was just saying this was a nice little visit.” Lucian smiled from the settee he was reclined on. “It’s so lovely to see all these friendly faces.”
Even though I knew this was who Cali and Nyx had been hunting, I was still a little shocked to find him here. The former consort of the Moroi Sovereign—both of them, I supposed—was looking rather healthy for being held in a secret Velesian prison.
“Easy,” Cali murmured to Nyx, who had gone completely still. I couldn’t see their eyes, but I suspected they were solid black.
“Ah, no hard feelings, Nyxy,” Lucian crooned.
“Most rangers die in wilds. Remind me of their names? The ones who were killed?” He snapped, sitting up straighter.
“Emil and Adrienne! You killed one of them, right? Sorry I couldn’t be there for that.
That whole thing was my idea, so I was most disappointed I didn’t get to witness it firsthand. ”
A snarl tore through the air as Nyx threw themself at the bars.
“Nyx.” Cali stepped towards them.
If they heard her, Nyx gave no indication of it.
Over and over, they rammed the cell bars.
I moved to help but halted when Cali held a hand out.
It felt like my heart was breaking and I didn’t know how to make it stop.
A hand slipped into mine and squeezed. I decided not to overthink how Bastian’s touch managed to soothe my soul.
But I almost died of shock when Warrick stepped to my other side.
“They were in Vail’s unit?” he asked quietly.
“Yes.” My throat tightened at the admission.
For a long moment, Warrick didn’t say anything. Until recently, Vail had been one of the few Moroi who had been not only welcomed but respected in the Velesian realm. Warrick had no doubt heard at least some of the story that had led to the death of Vail’s unit. Most of them anyway.
“I didn’t know,” he finally said. “That Nyx was the survivor.”
Given that Nyx had only been a part of the unit for a few years, I wasn’t all that surprised.
Whatever Cali was whispering to Nyx was working because their body shuddered before they spun around and walked out of the room.
As much as I wanted to check on them, I suspected they needed their space. Plus, I was too angry to be of much use to them. I moved closer to the cell, trailing my fingers across the bars. “You know you’re going to have a painful death, right?”
A lot of people would claim Lucian’s death before me. Aside from his apparent role in the death of Adrienne and Emil, he’d tortured Draven for years. Samara was likely going to claim first blood, and we’d all be lucky if Lucian was still breathing by the time she was done.
Lucian glanced at me. “Ah. The unwanted Velesian. Enjoying those rumors, Rynn?”
My fingers kept sweeping the bars as I pondered his words and the situation in general.
He was clearly imprisoned, but he didn’t seem all that unhappy about it.
My gaze swept over his cell. There was a bed in addition to the settee and some shelves in the back with liquor bottles stacked on them.
Next to that was a writing desk with a bookcase containing books and scrolls.
The only thing missing was a bathing chamber, but he looked clean.
His hair wasn’t greasy, and he smelled of sandlewood.
Someone was taking him to a washroom regularly then.
I didn’t smell any urine or fecal matter either. So multiple times a day.
“If I were being hunted by Vail and Draven, I probably would have made a deal with people who hated me too,” I said lightly. “Maybe sell them on the idea of spreading rumors to destabilize a new regime I wasn’t particularly fond of.”
Lucian chuckled. “That’s what I always liked about you, Rynn. You’re perceptive. Samara is beautiful and smart. Calypso is hot and lethal. You’re just . . . there.”
“Your words. Oh how they wound me,” I said dryly. This wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard before.
“That’s just it though.” Lucian leaned back, extending his arms across the top of the settee. “You’re just as clever as Samara, and while you might not have our dear Calypso’s magic, I have no doubt that you’re a strong fighter.” He scrutinized my face. “And you’re pretty enough, I suppose.”
“Do you have a point?” Bastian cut in. “Because I’m curious if you’ll be so bold when we open your cage and let Nyx in there.”
Lucian’s gaze flicked to Warrick and Bastian before returning to me. “Are you sleeping with any of them yet? That one seems a bit protective.”
“Why does everyone keep asking me that?” I muttered.
“Can’t imagine,” Bastian scoffed.
I turned to glare at him only for Warrick to growl, “Enough. Let’s get him out of there so we can take him and be on our way.”
He moved closer to the cell, examining it.
There was no visible door, which meant magic was involved in getting it open.
Bastian gently grabbed my arm and guided me back a few steps before joining Warrick in his search.
I took a quick look into the middle room where I’d found the crest, but there were no signs of Nyx.
Concern nipped at me. They’d been trained by Vail and had been traveling with Cali. I knew they’d be okay, but I still hated the idea of them out there alone.
“And what makes you think you’ll be taking him anywhere?” Cali asked lightly. “He’s Moroi. That makes him Moroi business.”
“I’m sorry.” Bastian turned to face her. “But you’re a Furie, are you not? I mean, I know your own people hate you and they would probably send us a nice thank you letter if we were to end your miserable existence, but last I checked, you didn’t speak for the Moroi.”
The room was instantly drowned in darkness, and something prodded sharply in my mind. I gasped as a wave of fear rushed through me, tinged with a fury that wasn’t mine.
Twin pulls flared in my chest, helping to ground me enough to say one word. “Cali,” I rasped. The darkness vanished.
“Control problems, Furie?” Warrick’s golden eyes were locked on Cali. Despite the darkness and mental assault, he’d managed to draw his weapons again and place himself between her and Bastian.
Cali looked at me, her usually wild eyes looking sad . . . and scared.
“Rynn,” she croaked. Then her eyes widened. Before she could say another word, I felt the sharp cut of a dagger against my throat.