Chapter 52
Zane
Drip…drip…drip.
It didn’t take long for Zane to realize just how quickly one could go insane while being locked in a dungeon.
Talon had told him before how much of a mess Iyana had been after only a week, and now he understood why.
The cold, damp air, the mind-numbing drip of a leak somewhere, and the inability to follow the passage of time had Zane wanting to claw his way free.
Food and water deliveries were scarce and at different intervals, not allowing him to keep track that way either.
He and Talon weren’t alone; there were plenty of other prisoners.
Zane wondered how many the stars had placed there and how many were imprisoned by his father.
Their moans and cries for help mingled with the plunk of water until he wanted to shout at the world to be quiet for two godsdamned seconds.
Tal always seemed to know when he was beginning to spiral because he’d stick his hand out of the cell and they’d intertwine their pinky fingers for a few minutes.
After an amount of time that could not be determined, but to Zane felt like an eternity, two stars appeared out of the air in front of their cells.
One was taller than the other and was surrounded by shadows swirling and snapping at his feet.
The other had pale gold hair tucked up into a bun, and a sneer that Zane thought was permanently etched onto his face.
He knew immediately who had come for them.
It wasn’t hard to recognize a leader—a ruthless one, at that—when you had been raised by one.
Affecting his callous and indifferent prince persona, Zane leaned backwards onto his hands and made a show of looking the shadowy star up and down before flashing a lazy smile. He wanted to make sure their attention stayed on him instead of Talon, and hopefully Tal would keep his mouth shut.
“Rigil,” he drawled, “standing here in the flesh in my humble abode. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“You will show some respect and address him as Alpha Centauri,” snapped the shorter one.
Zane dragged his eyes towards him and raised a brow.
“And you are?” He was assuming it was Hadar—the Beta Centauri—but he appeared to be a man who liked to feel important, and the easiest way to knock those types down was to pretend they didn’t matter.
It worked, as Hadar frowned and opened his mouth to say something.
Rigil cut him off before he could. “Hadar, my Beta Centauri,” he said, his voice calm. Zane was sure the Alpha understood exactly what his game was and was willing to play.
“I’m Zane Holygazer. I’d say nice to meet you and shake your hand, but—” He shrugged and gestured pointedly at the cell.
The Alpha chuckled darkly. “Yes, no need for introductions.”
Zane brought a hand to his chest. “You’ve heard of me. I’m touched. So you obviously are aware, then, that this is my empire and you are sitting in my chair.”
“You are an emperor of nothing,” hissed Hadar. Zane didn’t want to let the star know how much those words actually hurt.
“For now,” he said, keeping his gaze glued to Rigil.
“If you think that little girl is going to stop us—” Hadar began.
Zane whipped his head towards the ugly star, a scowl on his face. “That little girl is favored by the gods. Who are you in the face of a goddess?”
“But,” said Rigil, “at the end of the day, she is still only a human. Just like you and your ‘friend’ here.” Zane didn’t react to Rigil mentioning Talon—he’d perfected the neutral court mask, and very little could make an expression cross his face without his permission.
“I’m going to enjoy watching her kill you,” Zane said.
A twisted smile split the Alpha’s face. “That is where you come in. See, I think the Aztia cares too much. Especially about her friends. Which is why you’ll stay alive. For now.”
Horror washed through Zane. They were being used as bait for Iyana. If the stars captured her, any chance they had of winning evaporated. He hoped that she would remain ignorant of their imprisonment, and he was glad that they had no way to warn her.
“Iyana is too smart to fall for your trap,” Talon said. Zane really wished he would have stayed silent, especially when the two stars peered over into the other cell.
“Oh, I’m sure she’ll realize it’s a trap. But I don’t think she’s going to care. For her friends, she will come anyway.”
He wouldn’t say it out loud, but Zane agreed with Rigil. That was Iyana’s personality—she would do anything for her friends and family, even if it was running headfirst into an obvious trap.
Another star stepped out of the darkness into the dungeon—one that Zane recognized. Scuti. The large, dark star looked between Zane and Talon impassively, then bowed his head toward Rigil.
“You called for me, my lord?”
“I need you to find the Aztia and inform her that her friends will be staying with us for a while. Although, if you are able to do what my traitorous general or my Beta could not and actually capture the girl, please do so.” Scuti said nothing, only nodded and disappeared.
Zane prayed to all the old gods that Scuti was trustworthy and would make sure that Iyana stayed far away from Athusia.
“Come, Hadar, we have work to do.” Rigil teleported away without another word to either of them.
“Sit tight, boys,” Hadar said, a sadistic grin on his face. “The boss said you stay alive for now, but he didn’t specify what state you need to be in. I may be back later for some fun.” With a cackle, he also disappeared.
The chatter of the other prisoners started again, and Zane hadn’t realized how quiet it had become when the stars were present. He heard his name mentioned in murmurs. None of them had realized he was there.
“Crown Prince Zane?” someone called out, a man.
He sighed. “It’s emperor now, but yes, it’s me.” The murmurs intensified.
“Uther is dead?” the same voice asked.
“He is.”
“If you’re in here, then who the fuck is going to save us from the stars?” Angry voices chimed in, all agreeing with the other prisoners.
Zane hung his head, tears threatening yet again.
He thought he’d cried himself out, but apparently not.
They were right; he was supposed to be taking care of his empire, and he’d failed miserably.
Now he and Talon were trapped in a dungeon with no obvious way out, and it was starting to appear as though the stars would be victorious.
Because he knew Iyana would come. She would try to rescue them, and although she was strong, she could not take on the might of so many stars on her own.
“Shut the fuck up,” Talon shouted. “Do you think he’s been doing nothing since the stars fell? We’ve been all across this continent trying to find allies. Zane is the only one who actually cares about all of your fates, so you need to shut your mouth about things you know nothing about.”
The other prisoners continued to talk, but they left Zane alone after that.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“Always, Zane,” Talon said, his voice still limned with anger. “I’ll always fight for you. Especially when other people are being fucking idiots.” He shouted the last two words, drawing a small smile from Zane. But it fell away quickly.
“What are we going to do?”
“I’ll tell you what we’re not going to do, my heart. We’re not going to give up. We’ll never simply roll over for them. If an opportunity presents itself, we can try to escape; we know this castle better than any of the stars. So if we can get free of the cell, we’re gone.”
There was no other option but to agree with him.
Zane appreciated Tal’s optimism, because he personally couldn’t see any way out of this.
Either Iyana came for them and was captured, or she didn’t come.
Both ways, Zane saw their deaths looming.
After living for so long with Uther and knowing how a despotic ruler operated, there was no chance in the nine hells that Rigil would let them live.
But he could never say that to Talon, so he went along with the scheming, trying to think of different ways they could free themselves before Iyana even had an opportunity to show up.
Really, though, Zane was counting their final minutes and cherishing Talon’s voice while he could.
His one consolation was that they would die at the same time.