Chapter 18
Wake up! Athriel’s voice booms through the walls of my mind, and my eyes open just as a fist flies toward my face.
I roll across the floor, narrowly dodging the blow, and realize I’m finally free of my restraints.
But before I can wonder why, a body slams into mine, sending me hurtling across the room.
I hit the ground with a thud, and for a moment, the world seems filled with starlight.
What the hell is happening? I ask.
All I know is that they sent that one in to kill you.
My eyes lift to where a vampire with pitch-black eyes is walking toward me. It’s the same female who wielded the shadow portal the night I tried to kill the prince, and the look on her face tells me that she remembers exactly what I did.
I leap to my feet, desperately trying to avoid her next attack.
If she lands a solid hit, I’m dead. I try to stay on my feet, but the impact from hitting the floor has left my head spinning.
I ignore the foggy feeling and hold my head high.
I’ve never fought a vampire without the assistance of my blood, and I know for a fact that I’m no match for her without it.
I have no time to think of that as she draws closer.
I glance over her shoulder and find the exit to my cell blocked by the vampires I now know as Kaia and Eamon.
Both stand with arms crossed over their chests as they watch us.
Is this some kind of game to them? Is this how I die?
Maybe Athriel was wrong, and they don’t care about the information they think I have.
If they no longer need it or have found some other means of obtaining it, then there is no need to keep me alive.
The confidence that has kept me going dissipates with that single thought. They’ve come to kill me. Panic drives my feet across the cell in the direction of a broken piece of stone lying on the ground. I move fast, bending quickly as I grasp it in my hand and beg Athriel to hurry.
It’s not long before the fiery feeling consumes my veins, and I swipe the sharp edge of the stone across my arm.
Black blood drips off the edge of it as I spin to face my assailant.
There is a slight pause in her step, but her face holds the same anger it did before.
I hold out the makeshift weapon in front of me, creating a barrier between us.
“Come any closer and I’ll slit your throat.” I hate that my voice shakes. My grip tightens around the stone, pressing the sharp edges into my palm, but I ignore the pain.
The female stops moving, but her face carries none of the fear that swarms inside my stomach.
She could just use her speed to overpower me, but one wrong move and she could die.
It will only take a small scratch, and she will be down.
It may have taken some time to kill the prince, but eventually, he succumbed to my blood like all the rest.
“That’s enough.” The voice is deep and commanding.
Eamon. The female nods in his direction before she walks away, leaving the dungeon.
I don’t dare lower my weapon for fear that this is nothing more than a trick, but he ignores me as though I’m not even there, turning to where Kaia is standing beside him instead.
“You were right, she’s different,” he says to her. She simply nods, and anger radiates through every inch of me.
“How long are you going to keep me down here?” I’ve lost all sense of time, no longer knowing whether it’s been days, weeks, or even months.
I want so badly to save Willow, to get her away from Julian, but the reality is that they’re never going to let me go, and I’m being kept far too starved to ever gain the strength to get out of this place alone.
They ignore my cries. Eamon turns his attention to the shadowsmith who always accompanies their visits and gives him a signal with his head.
With a brief flick of his chubby wrist, the bars are back in place, and my stomach sinks.
They all turn to walk away. My mind reels at the thought of having to be caged in here for even a moment longer.
To be alone again, trapped with nothing but my thoughts. I can’t do this anymore. I need out.
I run at the bars, slashing the blood-soaked stone against them, but they don’t budge. I drop it to the ground and slam my feet and fists against the bars repeatedly.
“Let me out! Let me out of here now!”
My screams continue with every slam of my fist against the darkened shadows.
I scream until my throat is hoarse and tears blur my vision.
I scream for so long that the small glimmer of starlight that peeks through whatever gap the water is dripping through gets smaller, giving barely any light.
I stumble backwards, the reality of my situation sinking in.
I’m never getting out of here. They’re going to keep me alive for as long as they think it takes to get that information, but the minute they realize that I don’t have it, they will put me down.
My mind turns to Willow and Tori. I’ve failed them both.
Everything I’ve ever done to help has only ever backfired.
Perhaps my mistakes have finally caught up to me, and this is my penance.
I move until my back presses against the wall and slide my body down it, ignoring the sharp bits that jut out and scratch me along the way.
When I finally hit the ground, I let my head sink between my knees and cry, knowing that this place will likely be the last thing I see before I die.
There’s something truly cruel about isolating a person to the point that they start to feel insane.
Since Eamon and Kaia came to do their little test, no one has been back.
Athriel says that it has been at least two days, but I no longer know.
I’ve taken to stretching my arms through the bars to gather the dripping water in my hands when the agonizing thirst gets too much.
Even when the starlight dims so low that the entire dungeon is cast in shadow, the drip of the water remains.
Keeping me company even when Athriel is too tired to speak.
I run my tongue over my chapped lips, ignoring the harsh sting as it provides a temporary salve.
My head rests against the jagged wall, letting my eyes drift to the ceiling as I resume the repetitive game of counting the stone tiles.
It’s the only entertainment I get now, I even feel myself missing the bloodhouse at times.
I quickly stamp out the fleeting thought as shame fills me.
Athriel has barely spoken, as though he has finally accepted our fate.
I know the feeling. My body barely feels like my own, and the pounding in my head has become an unwelcome constant.
The only relief I get is when sleep swallows me whole, which is often.
I no longer have the energy to stay awake, but a deep-rooted fear warns me that I may not wake the next time that I fall asleep.
Perhaps that would be a good thing to just allow myself to sink into the dark abyss and enjoy whatever peace it may bring.
Cora used to tell me and Tori stories at the orphanage of the lost gods.
It was said that death was not to be feared, and that there was a place in their home for all after we departed this realm.
I remember the first time I heard that. It sounded beautiful.
A home where I would be wanted and loved.
Cherished, even—but with the gods gone, death is a mystery, and no one knows if it still holds the peace it once did.
But in these moments where hunger tightens my stomach and my mouth begs for some moisture, I welcome death.
The unknown may be scary, but it would be a welcome reprieve from the torment of this cell.
My eyes begin to droop, and for once, I make no effort to stop them.
I have failed Willow just as I did Tori, but perhaps we can both find peace in death.
Maybe if we’re truly lucky, we can find each other.
The world around me floats away as I allow myself to sink further into the shadows, accepting whatever fate has in store for me. I’m not sure whether I imagine it, but a small smile seems to curve my lips as I accept my fate.
It’s the small press of something cool against my lips that makes me pause.
In the distance, a soft voice coaxes me back as a cool liquid fills my mouth.
It could be poison, but I don’t care. I drink it down like it’s my lifeline, letting the smooth taste soothe my throat.
Greedily, I take more, and I feel a soft sensation against the back of my head, lifting me toward something.
I relax into it, too tired to fight anymore.
“I can’t believe none of you have given her food or drink.” A soft voice curses in the background.
“She’s a prisoner, not a guest.”
A moment passes before any of them speaks again. “We’re better than this.”
The smell of something savory wafts up my nose, causing my stomach to cry out just before something warm touches my lips.
A salty flavor hits my taste buds, the rich blend of chicken and vegetables filling my mouth.
I eat hungrily, pausing only to swallow.
Each bite awakens something deep within me, as if my body is trying to rebuild itself.
I consume the entire contents before my eyes open.
I blink a few times, and my shoulders sag as I realize that I’m still in my cell. Piper’s face comes into focus, her features soft and twisted with worry. I shake my head, clearly delirious from the lack of food and drink.
“Can you stand?” Her voice is a soft whisper. I try to speak, but nothing comes out, so I nod instead. I feel a soft pressure around my arm that helps to lift me from the floor. Her gentleness makes a memory of how I treated her when I first arrived flicker in my head, and I hate it.
“I’m sorry for how I treated you.” The words fall from my lips before I have a chance to rethink them. It’s the lack of food that makes me speak these foolish words, I decide.
“You do not need to apologize.”
We move silently through the dungeon, and for the first time, I see the other cells, all without bars and empty.
I have truly been alone. I peer into one cell and find a dried brown puddle with an acrid scent that causes me to heave.
I just about catch my breath and notice that Piper is running a hand up and down my back.
“I’m ok.”
She nods, and we keep moving, but as we near a set of stairs that go up to some unknown location, I pause. I try to pull out of her grasp, but I don’t have the strength or the energy.
“Where are you taking me?”
Her head dips, and she averts her eyes. “It’s ok.”
But something in the way that she speaks tells me that it will be anything but ok. Confusion causes me to lift my brows as I shake my head.
“No.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
They no longer need me. They’re going to execute me. Athriel!
Fight her, he hisses, and Gods, I try. I somehow manage to pull out of her grasp and throw a punch, but it hits the air. I see her sad face watching me as she easily dodges every hit I throw in her direction, my arms weak and useless.
“Please just calm down.”
I try to shake my head, but the move sends a wave of dizziness through me that causes me to bend and almost expel every bit of food she just gave me. Still, I back away, trying to create distance between us, but it’s pointless. My only escape is up the stairs, and I can barely even see them.
“We tried it your way and now we’ll try mine.”
Kaia’s voice fills the space, and when I look up, I find her and the female with the shaved head watching from the shadows.
“She’s just afraid,” Piper tells her.
Anger twists Kaia’s face as she stares at me. “As she should be.”
Within seconds, she’s in front of me, her grip on my arm like a vice.
Before I can react, she hurls me toward the other female, just as a shadow portal opens in front of her.
I try to stop myself from going through it, but it doesn’t work, and my body slides through the dark mass with ease.
My entire world turns black as I find myself falling forward.
Within seconds, my body crashes against a hard floor, and I wince from the force.
I lift my head slightly, noticing the stone floor beneath me, but that is not what causes me to gasp.
I find a man next to me, his eyes wide with fear, and blood leaking from his neck.
He’s dead. On instinct, I slide myself away from him, and my back hits something solid.
I spin and find a woman, her eyes open in the same way. All life has gone from them.
I scream out, scrambling to my feet as I look around.
There are so many of them, at least ten dead bodies, all still and frozen in the position they died and scattered across the floor.
I shake my head, but the clearing of a throat makes me snap my gaze upward.
That’s when I spot a familiar figure. He looks thinner than he did the last time we met, and his olive-colored skin is now a pale white.
Despite his clear deterioration, his features are still the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. I gasp.
The prince. He’s not dead.
Impossible. Athriel whispers the exact thing I’m thinking just as the prince cocks his head and smiles.
“Hello, Adina. You and I have so much to discuss.”