Chapter 29
A lone in one of the two rooms in the ice cellar, Celina sat, shaking violently. Cold was not a strong enough descriptor. Without a blanket, she was forced to decide which body part the ice could touch.
Shockingly, she’d realized that the ice providing her torment was internally flecked with the signature snowflake design of non-melting, mage crafted ice. It had likely been there since before the fortress was abandoned. Long, long before. At some ancient point in its history, the fortress had hosted people with very different views on magic than its current inhabitants. Unfortunately, the knowledge was of little comfort as the frigid atmosphere ate away at her.
Worse than the searing cold slowly freezing her body were the sounds coming from the adjoining ice cellar. A thin wall separated the two rooms, and Celina was forced to listen to Jack tormenting the young Marin. Though his words were indistinct, his harsh tone punctuated the sound of a whip being used on her. The girl was a fighter and reminded her of Cass the way she spit fire at the abusive guard between screams of pain.
A door slammed, and Celina stiffened, holding her breath until Jack moved up the stairs, half afraid he was going to disobey the captain’s orders and pay her a visit. Touching the black collar around her neck, she felt sick with the knowledge that she’d made the best choice for herself.
When he’d locked her in the cellar, the captain had smiled and reminded her to enjoy the choice she’d made. Already she was beginning to understand his manipulation style. While Jack seemed to use brute force to garner compliance, and the lieutenant played the reasonable captor, the captain enjoyed forcing his captives to choose facets of their existence under his care.
Shifting to her side, she curled into a ball and tried to psych herself up for the pain of attempting to use her magic. She couldn’t tell if she was getting used to the sensation of burning alive as the fire devoured her from the inside, or if she was successfully speeding up the drug’s elimination from her body. Time would tell. Her desperate hope was that it would wear off earlier than they guessed, and she’d have her advantage back to help with the rescue.
Dipping into her magic, she whimpered at the immediate lash of pain. The last three times, she had tried to boost her body’s healing ability, pushing her body to fight the drug. This time, she had a different goal. Finding the soul-bond, she wrapped her magic around it like it was her last lifeline. Instead of trying to channel magic out, triggering the burning drug, she pulled. It made no sense, but instinct trumped logic where magic was concerned. The drug still burned, but to a lesser degree than when she tried to use her magic actively.
Pushing the sensation of pain away, she filled her mind with his essence. For ages, she tried, but nothing happened. Letting go, she gave up. The tears froze on her cheeks, turning into little flecks of ice. Cold, afraid, and vulnerable, without her magic for the first time in her life, she felt like breaking. Shattering into a million ice crystals in this frozen room.
A wisp of warmth brushed her, so light it felt impossible to be real, making her cry harder. Shaking with fear and exhaustion, she closed her eyes.
Celina.
Her breath stilled with a sudden gasp as Rodric’s voice sounded in her mind. Fiery pain assaulted her when she tried to respond, so she pulled back and let his presence fill her.
A caress of warmth, stronger now, fed her soul. I’m coming for you. Just hold on for me.
Another sob escaped her, this time from relief. Even now, with him doing the work of connecting them, the magic was reacting, writhing in her bloodstream.
Shuddering, she curled tighter and tried to calm her breathing. She just had to hold on a little longer. Determined not to be helpless when they arrived, she roused her healing ability and continued to fight the fire.
T he door opened with a warm puff of air, making Celina gasp. Boots, and then a knee, entered her line of sight as Lieutenant Devryn knelt. He lifted her head off the floor and turned her face so that she looked him in the eyes.
Cursing softly, he felt at her neck for her pulse. “You tried to use your magic, didn’t you?”
Though the pain was awful to the point of being debilitating, she didn’t regret it. Her voice came out thready and weak. “I had to try.”
“You’re due for another dose of the drug in the morning, Celina. In this weakened state, you may not survive it.”
Celina sucked in a breath, staring at him in horror. “It could really kill me?”
“Yes. How do you think they figured that out?” He pulled her up to a kneeling position before swiftly picking her up. “You better hope the captain is willing to revive you, or the hypothermia may take you before the drug has a chance. Your body is slipping into shock.”
The world spun around her as he moved. She channeled all her energy into staying conscious. Her sluggish mind insisted there had been good reason for her efforts, but perhaps using all her strength to battle the drug hadn’t been the wisest idea. He carried her up through the dungeon to the main floor of the keep.
Heat emanated from the large hearth, making her skin sting at the severe change in temperature. Shocked, she realized the tingling was the first thing she’d felt since the burn of the ice. She knew she was being carried, but couldn’t feel Devryn’s arms distinctly, only a slight warmth under her legs and across her back.
The murmur of rough voices and laugher made her lift her head just enough to see over his shoulder. Half a dozen soldiers milled about in the room. A few eyed her with harsh gazes as they moved past, making her shiver. Down a hallway, Devryn stopped in a dim alcove and pushed on the wall. It gave way to reveal a dark stairwell. A soft glow faintly illuminated the steps.
Of course. Her own home was riddled with passages and hidden rooms. Most large keeps were. An old military fortress would be no exception.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked. The tremor in her voice bounced off the rock walls to echo around them as they moved slowly through the tunnel.
“Somewhere they won’t think to look for you. At least not immediately.”
Bad, very bad. Separating the captives would make the rescue more difficult.
Lanterns spaced along the walls led their path through the underground walkway. All the way across the compound, she would guess, based on how long it took them to reach a new stairway. He paused near the light, allowing her to make out his features as he spoke.
“You’re too valuable to kill outright, but don’t think that makes you safe, Celina. He won’t care if you’re damaged in the process of being punished for any misbehavior.”
“You expect me not to fight?” she asked, lungs seizing from the effort to talk. Her body was warming somewhat, but not enough to counter the dangerous chill in her bones.
“Just warning you what will happen. Your behavior is your choice.”
“You keep saying damaged,” she pointed out, trying to appeal to his humanity. “People are hurt, Devryn. Goods are damaged.”
“When he secured this black collar around your neck, that’s what you became.”
His words sent more splinters of ice through her. “And Opal?”
“Magic has sealed her fate, just as it has yours. Your life is whatever Captain Darrett decides it is. You’d be wise to remember that, and that you are not the only one here who can be damaged . Do you understand?”
She swallowed instinctively, flexing the muscles of her throat to assure herself the collar didn’t constrict her breathing as ghostly hands closed around her neck. “Yes.”
Seemingly satisfied, he began the steep climb back to the surface.
Crumbled rock greeted them as they entered a small round room. The shape indicated it was one of the gate towers. Striding up another stairwell led them to a walkway. Stepping over the rocky debris, he carried her into another room.
The captain looked at them from his desk with a very displeased frown as they entered. “I planned to interrogate her further at the keep.”
“Change of plans.” Continuing to the second chair, Devryn set her down and positioned her arms behind the back of the chair. After securing her wrists with rope, he did the same to each of her ankles.
“Jack was getting restless, so I thought it wise not to leave her unattended. Good thing, too. All the effort she expended fighting the blocker accelerated the hypothermia. She wouldn’t have lasted much longer.”
“Very well.” The captain shook his head. “Have Hayes set up a test for our newest captive in the next room, then go check that the red teen is still alive. You may need to find Jack something productive to do for a few hours.”
“Yes, sir.” Devryn gave her a veiled look of warning and then left again.
Turning toward her in his chair, the captain assessed her with a hard gaze. “You couldn’t resist, hmm? Well, perhaps we can help you recover.”
Celina assessed her state of being. She knew cold better than anyone. Her extremities were numb, her heart and lungs struggling. Borderline severe effects from the exposure. Given time, she’d likely recover on her own. But did she have time? What else would she be forced to endure before rescue and the return of her magic?
While she’d been examining her health, the captain had produced a knife and was cutting up a round fruit at his desk. It was light brown on the outside, but pale purple on the inside with a green center. It was vaguely familiar. Picking out a small chunk, he held it up to show her.
“Bonyon fruit. Only grows in Zamyra. Why the jungle grows something that helps victims of cold is a mystery. But it will warm you up and help you recover from the cellar.”
A dull ache pounded in her head when she tried to think. Hot tea swirled with streaks of purple came to her. Patients shivering, covered with blankets. Eating it raw should produce similar results, though likely more potent.
“Why help me?” she asked.
“A grown woman with magic is a rare commodity in the mage trade. In order to survive the dawn dose of the blocking agent, you need to regain your strength. You can eat this of your own volition, or I can use a tube gag to give you a liquid version, like we do with the red girl. Your choice, but you will be taking it.”
“I’ll eat it.”
She opened her mouth, letting him slip the small piece of fruit in. It was sweet with a slight zing of bitterness to it. After the third piece, she started to feel a touch warmer.
Feeling began to return to her limbs, and she could feel the stiffness as she flexed her fingers and toes. It seemed the raw form of the bonyon remedy worked very quickly. Breathing a sigh of relief, she let him give her some water and the remaining chunks of fruit, her healer’s curiosity piqued by the differences this form provided.
Heat began to spread through her body, continuing to warm her from the inside. Pressure eased off her chest, its absence a huge relief. Her vital organs had been straining more than she realized to keep her functioning. She really had pushed too far in the ice cellar earlier. Lengthy exposure to the cold was devastating enough to the body, but she’d forced herself to exert tremendous energy while engaging her magic to fight the drug.
The sound of multiple sets of footsteps grew loud in the hallway. Shortly thereafter, one of the men she’d zapped in town stepped into the doorway. “All set, Captain.”
“Excellent. You know the drill, Hayes.”
“Yes, sir.” Nodding, the man left.
Captain Darrett rose and leaned against his desk. “You’re going to answer some questions for me, Celina. If you don’t, or if I don’t like your answers, there will be consequences. Except you won’t be the one to suffer them this time.”
Extending his arm, the captain rapped his knuckles against the wall. An answering cry of pain made Celina jump, wrenching her bonds severely enough that the rope burned her skin.
The menacing smile she’d seen earlier returned to his face. “The bonyon fruit overstimulates your senses. An amusing and useful side effect, don’t you think? You’ll be able to hear everything quite well.”
Horror made her pulse race until she felt she would explode. He was right. She could hear the ragged breathing and the soft crying of whichever child had been paired with her for this interrogation.
“Why are you doing this? I’ve cooperated fully.”
“Because you need to understand your place here.”
Stepping toward her, he gripped her neck and pressed a finger into her artery. She gasped as the sensation of cold seeped into her. With the fruit over sensitizing her skin, his hand felt a significantly different temperature. His grip strengthened when she jerked back, firm and controlling, as he forced her head to tip back uncomfortably.
He dropped his head next to hers. “You took out my men in less than five minutes this morning. I promised you that you would regret it, and I’m a man of my word.”
The whispered words rang loud and harsh in her ear as he stepped back, accompanied by the faint echo of fear from the other room.