Chapter 56
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
Ryker
“We know where she is,” the duke stated.
“Good for you,” I replied.
The duke’s smile never faltered as he lifted the torch higher. “I’ll bring her right back here so you can watch me fuck her.”
Unable to suppress it, a snarl curved my lip. Veni’s eyes shone with amusement when he realized his words had gotten to me.
“It’s amusing how much you underestimate her,” I told him. “She’ll burn your tiny dick off before she ever lets it inside her.”
His smirk never wavered, but annoyance flashed through his eyes. “In case you haven’t noticed, son, I always come out on top. That’s why you’re behind bars and I’m ruling the realm.”
“I figured you always came while on top because you couldn’t control yourself.”
“You always have to run your mouth. You’re nowhere near as amusing as you think.”
“I don’t think anything; I know I’m hilarious. Your guard agrees.”
I jerked my chin at the man standing behind him. The guard had shown no reaction to our delightful banter, but now a look of horror came over his face as the duke glowered at him.
“I… uh… I don’t think he’s funny at all,” the guard stammered.
“Gaius, get this man out of here,” the duke commanded.
“Of course, milord,” Gaius said as he swept in to grab the guard’s arm.
“Wait… I didn’t do anything. I didn’t!” His panicked gaze settled on me. “Tell them!”
I didn’t know why the buffoon thought I’d help him. I smiled as I waved at him with my left hand; I wanted him to see my missing finger. “Ta-ta.”
“Fuck you!” the guard spat.
“Put him in the bailey and make sure everyone can see him. Place him in a pillory with no food or water for a week; I’ll decide what to do with him after.”
I felt no guilt over my actions as they hauled the protesting man away. That asshole had chosen the duke’s side; he could live with the consequences of abetting a monster.
When my gaze met the duke’s again, we grinned at each other. “He didn’t laugh, did he?” Veni inquired.
“Of course not; they’re too scared of you for that,” I replied.
“Hmm, too true. Sometimes, you do amuse me, son.”
“Are you going to let him go?”
“Of course not. Some time in a pillory will do him good for protesting my command. I must be off now; I have a future whore to find, and I’ve wasted too much time with you.”
This time, I managed to keep my reaction to his words hidden. “She’ll kill you.”
“Maybe, but probably not.”
The duke turned and walked away. The remaining guards dragged Paul away.
The chains around my ankles rattled when I stepped closer to the bars. He couldn’t leave yet; the more time I bought for Ellery and the others, the more likely they would be to evade the duke’s wrath.
“Veni!” I called out. “The Revenant Woods will protect her too.”
I didn’t know if this was true or not; it most likely wasn’t. The woods would protect themselves and their secrets, but he didn’t know this, and it might make him rethink going after her.
“Then I’ll have to make sure to take plenty of men with me. Goodbye, Ryker.”
I couldn’t see them, but the clang of the door and the loss of light told me they were gone. The dungeon was so dark I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. A bellow lodged in my chest and rebounded through my head, but I didn’t release it.
Ellery. The word was a whisper of hope and yearning inside my head.
He couldn’t get his hands on her. She couldn’t come to this place of misery and death; the stench of excrement, blood, and despair were things she should never encounter or endure.
And what the duke would do to her…. I bowed my head as I tried not to think about it. Such imaginings would only drive me mad in this place, and I required my sanity now more than ever.
From somewhere in the shadows, claws scratched stone, and a rat squeaked as the rodents emerged from their holes. Fuck.
“Ryker?” Tucker inquired.
“Yeah?”
“How are you holding up?”
“Still sane; how about you?”
“Same.”
“How do we get out of this?” Callan asked.
I strode toward the bars. I hadn’t tested them yet because I refused to give the duke the satisfaction of seeing them blast me onto my ass.
Taking a deep breath, I braced myself for a jolt that would send me flying, but unlike the ophidians’ cell, my fingers curled around the bars and stayed there. While my lightning and other weathers remained repressed by my chains, my strength wasn’t.
Gripping the bars, I ignored the twinge from my missing finger as I planted my feet and put everything I had into pulling the bars apart. But while I yanked and tore at them as I tried to rip them apart, they didn’t budge.
They weren’t ensorcelled to send us flying when we touched them, but a spell was cast over them to make them impenetrable. Gritting my teeth, my muscles strained, and my back bowed as I planted my feet against the bars to try again.
Despite the cool air of the dungeon, sweat beaded my forehead and slid down my back. My arms strained, and the muscles in my neck stood out as I labored to free myself.
I pictured the duke making his way toward Ellery, and a fresh surge of adrenaline swelled through me, but it was impossible. No matter how much I strained, the bars didn’t budge.
Admitting defeat, my feet hit the ground again, and I stepped away from the bars. I fought back the sense of helplessness trying to overwhelm me.
There had to be another way out, and I would find it. I was trapped, but far from defeated.
“Can we get out?” Callan asked.
“No,” I replied.
I continued to grip the bars as one of the other prisoners started sobbing. I didn’t bother telling them that this was only the beginning of our hell.