Chapter 58
Florian
Florian dropped to his knees at Yvette’s side as she slumped against the wall, looking paler by the second.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, pushing back a lock of her red hair so he could see her face. His mind whirled as he tried to make sense of what was happening through the sheer panic. Was she ill or hurt or-
“Something’s wrong with this place.” Her voice was taut as if even speaking was difficult.
A bead of sweat appeared on her brow as her eyes blinked slowly, dazed.
She had collapsed the second they’d set foot inside, but he’d felt nothing.
Florian searched the room, drinking in every detail he could by the meager torchlight.
The space was featureless save the eight doors and the torches mounted between.
The ceiling was jagged, but otherwise unremarkable.
Finally, his eyes rested on the patterned grooves in the ground.
Under scrutiny, he realized they were not the regular separation between flagstones, but something intentionally carved into the rock.
Florian stood, taking in the design as a whole.
The arcing lines formed a massive interlocking circular pattern across the floor.
He recalled looking over Keira’s shoulder on rainy nights back in Grimlocke. The books she would pour over had similar patterns: spell circles.
“Come on,” Florian said, returning to Yvette’s side.
Her head rested against the stone wall, eyes barely open.
“I’m going to get you out of here.” If his theory was right, this was a warding circle meant to repel magic, a fitting precaution he supposed.
Florian could only hope that once she was outside it again, the effects would not linger.
Florian held her against his chest. Her frame was long but slender.
Even with her cloak soaked through with rain, he could lift her with relative ease.
He studied her face as he carried her out into the hall, searching for sights of alertness.
Florian held her a little tighter as her eyes opened heavily only to flutter shut once more.
The urge overcame him to take her as far from this place as possible, somewhere safe…
Suddenly she took in a deep breath as if she’d been holding it in all this time. Her eyes fluttered as if she were trying to clear her head.
“Better?” he asked, trying to keep his expression light, not to convey the anxiety seeded deep in his chest.
Yvette nodded against him, though she was clearly not entirely well.
Florian remained still as her as the color returned to her. Feeling was swelling in his own chest seeing her in his arms. Possessiveness, perhaps… in any case he found himself entirely unwilling to let her go. Unconsciously, he held her a little closer.
She straightened in response, a flush colored her cheeks. “I think I can stand now,” she murmured
Florian nodded, pushing the bout of insanity aside and setting her feet on the ground with care. Looking back, they were still only a few feet from the entrance to the Mage Ward.
Yvette’s brow pinched with concern. “I won’t be able to magic the lock.”
Florian reached into his belt and produced a set of picks. “It’s a good thing Lilith taught me how to do it the old fashioned way.”
Worry was still etched into her features.
“I’ll only be a minute,” Florian promised. “I’m very good with my hands.” He raised his brows suggestively as he donned a flirtatious smile.
The redness in her cheeks flushed all the way down her neck. For an insane moment he wondered if her chest was flushed as well. Florian made himself turn away abruptly, returning his wandering focus to the task at hand. They had a job to do after all.
The light was scarce as Florian peered into the small openings at the bottom of each of the doors.
Beyond, the cells were utterly engulfed in shadow.
He was reduced to lighting matches to see what lay within.
The first two were empty as far as he could tell, though the match did not illuminate the whole of the roughly hewn caverns.
The third was occupied by a huddled figure who did not seem to register the disturbance at all.
Immediately, Florian knew this was not Keira.
The frame was all wrong, too tall and lanky.
The fourth, however, held a small woman, or at least he was pretty sure it was a woman, hidden beneath a mess of black hair.
She was curled around herself, hiding her face.
It could be her… and if there was even a chance.
Florian straightened at once and went to work on the lock.
“You found her?” Yvette’s voice carried from the hall.
He nodded, focused on the tiny movements of the pick.
He felt the pressure of each tumbler as it released, willing his hands not to shake.
Imagining Keira in this place had been one thing, but actually seeing her in such a wretched state had filled him with grim determination.
He couldn’t stand to let her suffer this way another second.
The click of the lock was like a breath of relief.
Florian pushed the heavy door open without hesitation.
It groaned against its hinges as the scant light from the torches outside illuminated the dark stone floor.
The far side of the wall was jagged where it had been carved from the bedrock.
The air was stagnant and damp, and Florian coughed against the foul odor that lingered within.
He moved quickly towards the woman, hoping that he was right and this was Keira.
It was still difficult to tell. Only a single limp hand gave her away from being a bundle of cloth.
As he came closer he saw her long black hair was tangled around something metal.
The figure hadn’t moved an inch since he had entered.
She likely wouldn’t wake. If being in this place had affected Yvette so strongly in a matter of a moment, being here for days on end had probably sapped her strength considerably.
Florian put his arms under her and lifted.
She didn’t weigh nearly what he would have expected.
Had they been starving her? As her head lulled back, Florian’s stomach dropped.
It was her without a doubt… but there was a metal cage secured around her face.
Beneath it, he could see a pattern of cuts and bruises as if it had been in place for some time.
“Yvette,” Florian said, unable to hush his voice or the urgency in his tone as he carried Keira out.
They needed to get this cursed thing off of her now.
Florian didn’t stop until he reached the hall, not even bothering to close the cell door in his wake.
When Yvette saw the cage, the color drained from her face.
He didn’t need to say another word before she was undoing the lock that was hidden, tangled in her hair.
It seemed that working the magic was more of a chore than it had been before, but it worked all the same.
Soon Yvette was removing it gingerly. It was a good thing too.
Not only was it matted into her hair, Florian hadn’t realized that part of the cruel mask extended inside her mouth as well.
At last, the iron clattered to the floor.
By the dim firelight, Florian saw Keira’s face clearly.
Well, he could hardly believe it was her.
She had always been so beautiful, so full of life.
But now, her tanned skin was bruised and sallow.
Her eyes were sunken, and her full lips were cut horribly.
As Florian held her closer, he didn’t know if it was to comfort her or himself.
Yvette was looking down at her with a haunted expression.
“We need to get her out of here,” Florian said quietly, pulling her from her troubled thoughts.
Her focus returned, and she nodded, looking down the corridor.
Florian positioned Keira into a steady grip, her body entirely slack in his arms. They needed to move quickly now. He couldn’t very well fight while carrying her, and all Yvette had was the dagger Lilith had lent her, and no real knowledge of how to use it.
Her hand touched his arm, and she vanished. He waited for the airy feeling to wash over him, but nothing. A moment later, Yvette reappeared, breathing heavily.
“I can’t. Not all of us,” she said.
Florian nodded, trying to keep his manner calm as his thoughts raced. This certainly wasn’t good, but they also didn’t have the time to fret about it. They’d gotten what they came for. Now they needed to get out before the trap closed around them.
“Come on,” Florian said. He didn’t stop to see if Yvette followed him as he led them back to the stairs, though he could sense her there behind him.
He stopped for a moment at the end of the hall and listened before emerging. A wise precaution. A lucky one. Florian flattened his back against the wall, and Yvette mirrored him only a second before a crowd of guards raced past them down the steps.
Thank the Fate that none of them decided to look back.
Once they were gone, all but the echoing of hurried footsteps, Florian turned back to Yvette.
Her brown eyes were wide, terrified.
Florian slipped on a smile. “That will be our exit party,” he said, hiking Keira back into his arms. “Best not keep them waiting, eh?”
Yvette swallowed and nodded, resolve masking her fear.
Florian didn’t waste another second before he was on the stairs.
They ran, not bothering to hide the sound of their steps.
Their endeavor could no longer rely on stealth.
Their escape would be a matter of speed.
Prisoners on either side of the passage began to notice them, calling out curses and cheers and pleas that all blended into noise as they circled down and around.
It seemed like they’d be descending forever when Florian heard a shriek behind him. He turned at once.