Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Briar
M y entire body ached and itched. I had no clue how long I’d been stuck in this horrendous cave, but time blurred here. Had Vad and Many-Greats forgotten me?
Drip .
Or had something happened?
Drip . Drip.
The actual assassin who had killed Vad's father could go for Vad next. It could be anyone.
Drip . Drip. Drip. Drip.
What if I never got out of this place?
Drip.
My skin crawled even more. Once upon a time, the sound of rain had calmed me, but not anymore. Between my wolf’s desperation to break free and this noise, I felt damn close to insanity.
I paced around the cave, desperate to find a hint of something that promised escape. All I accomplished was reinjuring my feet and hands and remaining in agony. The only bright spot was that I received two loaves of non-moldy black bread and two waterskins a day.
I would kill for a steak, a hamburger, or some chicken. Any meat.
My toes hit a pile of loose rocks, and I stumbled, almost dropping the half loaf of bread under my arm.
I didn’t want to risk leaving it for the guards to spot, because I was sharing with Elias.
The bread blended in with my gray wool dress, so if a guard checked in, he wouldn’t see what I was doing with it unless he looked just as I was slipping it to Elias.
I bumped against the cave wall, hitting a spot where a sharp piece of rock jutted out a few inches. I grunted but held myself steady so I wouldn’t fall on the scattered pebbles below.
My wolf tried to surge forward, desperate to get out of her captivity. If the dripping didn’t send me over the edge, my wolf would. I’d heard the stories of what happened when we shifters caged our wolf too long, and they all ended with insanity.
The sound of feet and arms scrabbling at the stone caught my attention.
Elias was back. My heart lunged into my throat. How bad off would he be? Each time he returned from being drained, he was quieter and more shaky.
Breaths rasped against the stone.
Knowing the guards, they’d do anything to find a reason to beat me, so I needed to make sure it was Elias and not one of them pretending.
I crouched in front of the crack in the wall, steadying myself against the cold, damp stone. The hem of my wool dress dipped into the pool of water. As the damp fibers clung to my skin, I tried to ignore the itching and be grateful for the warmth the wool provided.
I tilted my head to peer through the thickest part of the crack. “Who’s there?”
“Me,” Elias rasped, and the scraping noises became louder and more disjointed.
A huge lump lodged in my throat when I saw him.
Elias lay face down in the tunnel with one hand outstretched and digging into the stone floor, as if he were mustering the strength to drag himself forward.
His back trembled with each breath, a shiver running beneath the skin.
His fingernails scraped on the stone as his fingers twitched.
His skin had a grayish pallor that couldn’t be blamed on the bad lighting.
My heart twinged, and I clutched the bread closer to my chest.
I couldn’t rely on Many-Greats or Vad to get me out. Elias was running out of time. "If you can make it to me, I saved a half loaf of bread for you again.” I tried to sound a little upbeat, but my effort fell short. “We should probably file a complaint with this restaurant.”
He laughed weakly, his face still turned down, and his voice muffled. “Restaurant. Such a strange word. What does it mean?”
“A place that has a long list of different meals you can choose from. When we get out of here, I’ll take you to one.” I tore off a chunk of the thickly crusted bread and pinched the edges to make it easier to slide through the crack.
He craned his head, then shook it weakly. “Keep it,” he whispered. “Don’t waste it on me.”
I scoffed and pressed closer to the wall. "Don't be ridiculous. We’re in this together. Besides, you need it more than I do."
He grunted as he struggled to push himself into a seated position.
Blood trickled down his arms, and his loose skin jiggled under the ragged gray garments hanging loosely on his bony frame.
As he settled himself, his arm centered into the peephole, and I could see that his flesh was a mass of twisted bruises and collapsed veins.
The bread I’d eaten earlier lurched into my throat, the bitter yeast drying my mouth.
The tubes they’d pierced his body with to draw his lifeblood from him had left behind bloody tracks on his chest and shoulders.
The four-claw tattoo on his neck had disappeared into a large bruise where someone must have grabbed him and held him in place.
“No.” His throat bobbed. "Can't take much more of this. One, maybe two more sessions of draining, and I'll be..." He stopped himself.
Words failed me. I struggled to swallow as despair crushed me, choking me, though I pushed it down. “Don’t talk like that. We’re both getting out of here. You’ll see.”
Part of my promise was selfish, because I couldn’t bear the thought of being trapped down here alone. My wolf was about to go insane. I needed at least one other person down here.
He tilted his head back so that it rested against the wall. “After you get out, please…find my brother, Holn. He works for the Ignis King in the Fire Palace as a hexwright. We’re estranged, but he’s all the family I have left. Tell him what happened. But only if it won’t put you at risk.”
The request sent a chill through me. I wanted to comfort him, but the words died on my lips.
Ember’s face flashed into my mind. Many-Greats had told her I was all right. But what if I died here and I never got to tell her I loved her, or got to make brownies with her again? My lower lip trembled, and my wolf whined in response.
She was right. I wasn’t going to give in. They wanted to break me? Fuck them. I wasn’t going to let them. I’d see Ember again, and I’d hug her and Ryker so tight. I’d see Vad. too, and I’d kiss him and tell him I loved him. And Elias would see Holn again.
We had to.
"I can, but it’d be better if you told him yourself.
" I steadied my voice and squared my shoulders.
"But I don't know what's going to happen to either of us.
So…we need to do what we can to keep our strength up, so we can jump at any chance we have to escape.
" I lined up the bread with the crack, trying not to think of the dirt and grime that would get on it by the time it reached him.
“You’re relentless, you know that?” Another laugh wheezed past his lips, but he put his hand to the crack. Dried blood lined his fingernails, and his hand trembled. “Fine. If it would please you.”
“It will.” I pushed the chunk of bread through. The thick bread was challenging to chew. Sometimes I had to dip it in water to get it down, which made it taste worse, but at least it didn’t disintegrate when I pushed it through the crack in the wall.
“You’re too good to me.” He drew the bread through. “No one else would do this.”
“Yeah, well, I like to spoil my friends.” The joke fell flat.
My body ached, and I curled my hand around the rest of the heavy loaf of bread, my fingernails digging into it.
The faint stale, fermented scent provided a reprieve from the filth of this place, but not much.
What I wouldn’t give to be back with my friends.
Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.
The dripping of the water had me wanting to pull my hair out. Not only was it driving me crazy, but it also highlighted how uncertain time was here.
“As long as you don’t invest too much in one who is doomed.” He struggled to chew the mouthful and dropped his hand into his lap. “If you have a chance to escape and you can’t bring me, don’t you dare stay back for me.”
My heart clenched, and I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood. More than anything, I wanted to reassure him, but I didn’t want to lie. “Elias?—”
“If I find out you had a chance and you stayed behind for me, I’ll curse you, girl.
Or maybe I’ll find a way to bring this cavern down on both of us and end our pain.
” He glanced at me sidelong and forced a trembling smile.
“You’ve done me far greater kindnesses than I ever imagined receiving in this place.
I can’t imagine ever walking free in the fire rose gardens again with the sun on my face and the wind at my back, but…
somehow I can see you…with Colm’s head beneath your feet. ”
A bitter laugh bubbled in my chest, but I held it back. “I’d rip out his throat first.”
I broke off another chunk of bread and passed it to him. My hands felt like they were on fire. I tried not to look at the raw sores that refused to heal.
“Yes, with your…uh…wuf. Isn’t that what you call it?”
“Wolf.” My wolf nudged at me, reminding me of her presence and that she wanted out.
She paced, wearing on me, but I focused on the measure of comfort and the lukewarm spots of Ember, Ryker, and the rest of my pack in my chest. They were alive, and I wasn’t ever truly alone.
My fingers curled at my chest as my throat tightened.
The door above me slammed open. I jumped as the stone rang out with a deafening thud. “Hope you’re awake, filth blood,” a new voice sang.
I jammed the rest of the loaf roughly through the crack, and Elias pulled it through as best he could. They couldn’t see me from this angle, so I had a moment.
Heavy footsteps drew closer to the opening in the roof of my cavern cell. Then the grate clanged open.
Not wanting them to realize where I’d been, I ran on throbbing feet to the center of the cave, just as a metal bucket tied to a coil of thick rope slithered through the opening. It clanged into the shallow puddle, sending beetles skittering away from the spray.
Two gray-armored guards peered down at me, one holding the rope and the other aiming a crossbow at me, one metal-gloved finger resting on the trigger.