49. Lina
Lina
A s I exit the sanctum, I’m numb. My feet slide against stone, my limbs tingling.
I stare absently at the wall. To my right is an open tunnel, dark and quiet.
To my left are a hundred Drak warriors. I wouldn’t dare move toward them alone. I need my Drak to protect me.
Why does he protect me?
My place here doesn’t make sense. My Drak doesn’t make sense. The girl in the dungeon doesn’t make sense. The priestesses and their foretellings don’t make any sense.
Astella. She would know.
There is purpose here, a voice whispers to me. Find it. Find me.
Like a hot coal, rage and determination drops into my stomach. There is only one choice.
Deep in my soul, I know how it ends. I will run down the only path I have, desperate and reckless. And I’ll be caught.
I’ll be caught and beaten and violated and killed.
But I can’t not go. My body cannot remain still while Astella is in that terrible place.
I will find you, I tell the voice.
So even though I know I won’t make it—I run.
My hair rushes back. My feet pound on the stone. Bitter cold air grips me.
Then, there’s an arm around my waist and I’m thrown against the wall. Tears stream down my cheek and I thrash against my Dread.
“The fuck makes you think this is a good idea,” he growls in my ear.
“Let me go,” I cry.
“Do you wish to die?” he asks me calmly, as if he expects my answer will be yes. Does he think I’ve given up?
“Some things are worse than death,” I mutter, as I resort to sobs against his shoulder.
When my sobs subside, I slump against the wall.
He loosens his grip on my stomach, but does not back away. One hand is against the stone above my head, as he leans over me. His masked face is inches from mine.
“Very true,” he says quietly. “Yet I don’t think you’ve thought this through. Running now will end with a horrific death. Whatever you think you’ll achieve is an impossibility.”
“I’m not going to give up like you have!” I yell, my voice carrying through the empty tunnel. Those lines of soldiers are not far away. Do they hear me? I can’t bring myself to care. “I can’t!”
He flinches, and immediately pulls aways from me. He shifts, turning his back to me.
“Do you think me a coward, then?” his voice is gruff.
My eyes widen but before I can find the words to respond he continues.
“Maybe I am a coward… but you are a fool.”
I cross my arms over my still heaving chest. “I can’t do nothing,” I say, voice breaking.
“Then don’t do nothing.” He turns back to me, his eyes harsher than I’ve seen. “But not this.” He points down the pitch black hall.
I blink, staring at the darkness ahead only just now realizing how dumb it is to think the hall right outside the sanctum will lead me anywhere good.
“That is not hope,” he says. “That is desperation.”
Soft clicking catches my attention. Rhythmic.
My heart throbs. Eyes wide as I realize they are foot steps.
The red-headed priestess steps from the shadows. “Something wrong?” she purrs, tapping her manicured finger against her red lip.
“She got scared,” my Dread says, eyes suddenly lifeless. His lids are half shut, like he couldn’t bother to keep them open fully. He stands straight.
“Is that right?” the beautiful woman purrs.
“The warriors were the other way,” I say, looking down at my feet, immediately playing the role I know is expected of me. “When we came, one of them threatened me and I was alone…”
The golden priestess smiles. “It is your job to keep her in line, Haze. Don’t make me punish you.”
My stomach twists. How does she make those words sound suggestive?
I want to fly at her, scrape at her face with my own unpolished nails. I know she would tear me apart if I tried.
It takes everything in me not to either attack or to crumple to the ground in sorrow. She knows something about Astella, and there is nothing I can do.
“I’ll take care of it,” he growls, then grabs my upper arm and practically drags me away from the woman. I stumble to keep up with his harsh pace, all the way through the line of warriors.
Only when we are far past the Drak does he finally release me. “Do you see now?” he mutters under his breath. “This entire place is a trap. They will bait you in any way they can manage.”
I swallow and rub my arm where he’d pulled me.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you,” he says, watching me carefully. His eyes are still so lifeless. His shoulders tense.
“I understand what you did,” I say quietly. “Thank you.”
He releases a breath.
I would have run straight into the priestess. Would I already be in the dungeons if he hadn’t stopped me?
“But I still stand by what I said. I won’t give up.”
He rolls his shoulders but gives no other response.
It was reckless to flee on the spot. Of course they were there waiting for me. I have to make my escape when they don’t expect it.
There is one thing I feel in my bones after the reading today. One truth I find in the spinning madness of my mind.
Reconciliation. Rupture.
The dream of Astella being taken by the Drak.
I am far from certain, but if there is even the slightest chance that Astella is down there, starving, suffering, alone, then I have to find her.
I have to find the key the girl told me about. I have to find a way out. Now.
Tonight.
I follow my Drak through the quiet hall, knowing tonight will be my last night in comfort. Even if I make it out, I’ll be back to starving, back to running for my life.
Back to Astella.
Find me.
He is the key.