Chapter 153
(Long chapter alert!)
The chief guard remained on one knee, staring at me as though I had personally invented happiness.
"My lady," he breathed. "Command me."
I blinked and glanced at Lucien.
He looked as though he was one second away from laughing himself unconscious.
I shot him a look, clearly meaning Don't you dare mock me!!
He bit the inside of his cheek and composed himself, although the corners of his mouth were still twitching.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Right. If I couldn't undo the spell, I would simply have to improvise.
I cleared my throat and put on what I hoped was a suitably regal expression.
"You say you love me?"
The guard placed a hand over his heart.
"With every beat."
"I see." I slowly circled him, pretending to consider his declaration.
"And how do I know you're telling the truth?"
"My lady?"
"Anyone can recite terrible poetry."
"I meant every word!"
"I'm not convinced."
He looked genuinely devastated.
"What must I do to prove myself?"
There it was.
I smiled sweetly. "Take me to the prisoner."
The guard froze. "The... prisoner?"
"Yes."
His face immediately filled with concern.
"My lady, absolutely not. The chamber is surrounded by Solithium. Even seasoned soldiers aren't permitted inside without authorization."
"So you refuse me?"
His eyes widened.
"N-No!"
"Then take me."
"But it's dangerous."
I let out an exaggerated sigh.
"I suppose your love has limits after all."
"What?"
"I understand. I shouldn't have expected much."
I turned as though I intended to leave.
"No!"
The guard nearly tripped over himself as he scrambled back to his feet.
"My devotion knows no bounds!"
"Then prove it."
He swallowed.
"...Very well."
Lucien finally spoke, adopting the bored tone of a superior officer.
"You heard the lady. Escort her."
The chief guard nodded vigorously.
"At once!"
He turned to lead the way before suddenly stopping.
"My lady..."
I looked up.
"If the prisoner attempts anything..." He puffed out his chest. "...I shall protect you."
I gave him the most polite smile I could manage.
"I'm counting on it."
He marched ahead with renewed determination, and Lucien leaned toward me just enough to whisper, "I can't decide which is worse-the poetry or the fact that it's actually working."
"Well, I really hope it's working," I muttered as I stepped through the gate.
Lucien and Fluff moved to follow me, but I stopped them.
"Stay here and stand guard, both of you. I can sense dangerous magic along the path ahead, and it may be dangerous for either of you."
Lucien looked at me reluctantly before nodding.
"All right. But if anything goes wrong, signal me and I'll come immediately."
I nodded before following Ruther deeper into the prison while Lucien took up position outside the gate.
Ruther led me through a thick iron door at the end of the corridor.
The moment it shut behind us, the air changed.
Something about the place felt wrong.
A dull pressure settled over my chest, making every breath slightly heavier, while the cheerful noise of the palace above disappeared completely.
I frowned.
"What is this place?"
Ruther glanced over his shoulder.
"The restricted wing."
He patted the shield strapped to his arm.
"Only officers carrying these are permitted inside."
Only then did I properly notice the shield.
It wasn't made of ordinary steel. Thin veins of pale silver metal ran across its surface, forming intricate circles and runes that pulsed faintly.
Solithium.
The metal had been lined with enchanted mithril, which prevented the Solithium from affecting its bearer as severely.
A portable ward. Clever. Very clever.
We continued down the corridor.
It narrowed with every turn, and weapons began appearing along the walls: a spear mounted beside an iron archway, a sword resting on a stand, and rows of crossbow bolts sealed behind heavy grates, every one of them was forged with Solithium.
Enough to weaken even the strongest mage.
No wonder Rhaevan had been imprisoned here.
As we passed the first spear, I allowed my fingertips to brush against its shaft.
A tiny pulse of magic slipped from my fingers.
The Solithium flickered once before going dark.
I kept walking.
One by one, I silently neutralised every Solithium-infused weapon along the corridor.
Ruther noticed nothing. At the very end stood a single iron door.
Unlike the other cells, it had no window. Four heavy chains emerged through narrow openings in the surrounding stone, disappearing into the darkness beyond.
Ruther stopped and rested a hand against the door. "We've arrived."
I stared at the chains. For some reason, my stomach twisted.
Rhaevan... please be alive.
---
Ruther pulled a heavy ring of keys from his belt.
One by one, he tried them against the lock until one finally turned with a loud metallic clank.
The iron door groaned open, and a wave of cold air rolled out of the chamber.
The room beyond was enormous.
Unlike the other prison cells, it had no bars. It was a circular chamber carved directly into the stone beneath the palace, with dim torches burning along the walls. Their weak light barely reached the centre, leaving most of the chamber swallowed in shadows.
My eyes moved across the room.
Then I saw him.
Rhaevan knelt in the centre of the chamber with his head bowed.
Heavy chains bound both wrists, stretching taut toward opposite walls, while another pair shackled his ankles and forced him to remain on his knees. His black hair had fallen across his face, concealing most of his expression.
He didn't move when the door opened.
Ruther snorted as he stepped inside.
"See? I told you. He doesn't respond anymore."
He raised the enchanted shield on his arm, its faint glow pushing back against the oppressive magic.
I followed him, still carrying the tray of food.
Every step made the pressure in my chest worse.
The walls, the floor, even the chains around Rhaevan had been infused with Solithium. No wonder his magic had been suppressed.
No wonder he looked so different from the man I knew.
He looked thinner.
His upper body was bare, and his trousers were torn. Dark bruises covered the skin exposed beneath the iron restraints. His head remained bowed, and there was something about his unnatural stillness that frightened me more than I wanted to admit.
The chief guard stopped a few paces away.
"Prisoner."
There was no response.
"The lady has come to see you."
Again, nothing.
Ruther sighed dramatically and glanced at me.
"My lady, he hasn't spoken to anyone since he was brought here."
I barely heard him.
"Could you wait outside, General?"
"Ruther. You call me Ruther."
"Yeah, yeah. Now go wait outside."
He stepped toward the door with a very dramatic bow.
"As you command, my lady."
Before leaving, he gave me a wink.
I resisted the urge to groan.
Once he was out of sight, I placed the tray on a stone slab and stepped toward Rhaevan.
The man who had always seemed impossible to break, the man who could stand calmly in the middle of danger and make everyone around him believe that everything would be fine, was now kneeling in chains as though he had forgotten what freedom felt like.
I swallowed the ache in my throat and forced myself to sound normal.
"Seriously? You're still sulking?"
He didn't move.
I waited a moment before saying his name more softly.
"Rhaevan."
His shoulders stiffened.
My heart stopped.
Very slowly, he lifted his head.
A few strands of black hair slipped away from his face, revealing eyes dulled by exhaustion. When his gaze finally settled on me, he simply stared.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then his lips parted.
"...Cassiane?"
A smile tugged at my lips despite the tears burning behind my eyes.
"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten what I look like."
He continued staring at me as though he couldn't make sense of what he was seeing. His expression remained guarded, but uncertainty flickered in his eyes.
Then, almost imperceptibly, a faint smile touched his lips.
"You look much more real today, dove."
My smile faltered.
"They tried to break me," he continued quietly. "But I won't break. Not until I avenge you. And then... I'll meet you soon."
My heart cracked.
He wasn't seeing me.
He was still trapped somewhere inside the hallucinations the Solithium had created.
I stepped closer and knelt before him.
"Rhaev."
His gaze remained distant.
"Look at me."
Tears slipped down my cheeks before I could stop them.
"I'm here. I'm real."
A lone tear rolled down his face, but he looked away as though refusing to let himself believe me.
I took a shaky breath and reached for the only thing I had left.
My usual sarcasm.
"I crossed an entire kingdom to get here. I sneaked into an enemy palace disguised as a cook, spent the last several hours listening to Lucien complain about wearing an apron, and nearly lost my mind because of that ridiculous guard outside."
His fingers tightened slightly around the chains.
I moved closer.
"Do you really think I'd come all this way just to let you ignore me?"
His gaze returned to mine.
There was still doubt in his eyes.
So I reached up and gently placed my palm against his cheek.
His skin was cold.
Far too cold.
He didn't pull away.
For a moment, we simply looked at each other.
Then I whispered, "Rhaev... it's me. Your dove."
My thumb brushed gently beneath his eye.
"And I'm here to take you home."
His eyes searched my face, desperate for something that would convince him I wasn't another illusion.
I understood then.
Words wouldn't be enough.
The Solithium had trapped him inside a reality where I was already dead. If I wanted to pull him back, I needed to give him something his mind couldn't dismiss as another hallucination.
I let my magic flow.
A soft glow gathered around my fingers and spread from my palm into his skin. The magic moved carefully through him, pushing against the oppressive Solithium that surrounded his body.
Rhaevan flinched.
"Cassie..."
"It's all right." I leaned closer.
"Trust me."
I pressed my lips gently against his.
The kiss was brief and tender, nothing like the desperate reunion I had imagined. It was simply a promise that I was here.
When I pulled back, I brushed my lips against his forehead, then the corner of his eye and the tip of his nose, before resting my forehead against his.
My magic continued to flow between us.
"Wake up," I whispered. "It's me. Really."
The glow intensified.
The haze in his eyes began to recede.
His breathing changed first.
Then his gaze sharpened.
The uncertainty slowly gave way to recognition.
"...Cassie?"
My heart clenched.
"Is that you?" His voice shook.
"Dove... you're alive?"
He swallowed hard. "You're really here?"
"Yes, Rhaev. I'm here."
His breath caught.
"Oh, gods..."
His eyes closed briefly as another tear slipped down his cheek.
"You're alive."
He opened his eyes again and looked at me as though he was afraid that blinking would make me disappear.
"Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you so much."
There was something in the way he said it that made my chest ache all over again.
He reached toward me, but the chains stopped him.
I caught his hand instead.
He stared at our joined hands before looking back at me.
"You came."
I brushed the tear from his cheek with my thumb.
"You idiot."
My own voice cracked.
"Of course I came."
His shoulders finally sagged.
For the first time since I'd entered the chamber, he looked less like a prisoner and more like the Rhaevan I knew.
Not because the chains had disappeared, but because he no longer had to carry the weight of believing I was gone.
He closed his eyes and leaned into my palm.
"I thought I would never see you again."
The words hit harder than anything else could have.
I rested my forehead against his.
"You should know by now that I'm very difficult to get rid of."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"I know."
He opened his eyes.
"And I'm very glad about it."
I allowed myself one more moment before forcing myself to look at the chains.
"We can have this conversation later."
I rose to my feet.
"Right now, let's get you out of here."
I placed my hand over the nearest restraint.
Magic gathered around my fingertips.
The Solithium embedded in the shackles immediately resisted. Pain shot through my hand, but I gritted my teeth and pushed more magic into the metal.
The runes flickered.
Rhaevan watched me closely.
"Cassie, don't."
I glanced at him.
"You can lecture me after we're out."
I increased the pressure.
Purple veins of magic spread through the iron as the runes began to crack. One by one, they dimmed beneath the force of my magic.
Then, with a deafening clang, the first chain broke and crashed onto the stone floor.
Rhaevan stared at the broken restraint. Then he looked back at me.
The disbelief was gone from his eyes. In its place was something far more fragile. Hope.
I smiled at him.
"You told me once that you'd be fine as long as I was fine."
I reached for the next chain.
"So I came all this way to make sure you kept your promise."