Tobias #3
An ornate desk lay against the far wall, covered in orderly stacks of leatherbound notebooks, evenly spaced handwriting labelling the spine of each one.
A glass of water still sat half-drank by a few loose pages of notes, like Silvius had left in a hurry.
I shuddered as I realized the open page included a labeled drawing of the collar that had left a permanent brand around my neck.
The scar stood in stark contrast to my skin—eternally pale like the thin band had succeeded in sucking even the pigment from my flesh.
The thought that this was the place where Silvius created the torture instruments that had trapped me here made my stomach turn.
He and Aviel had done a lot to me in that dungeon: stole my freedom, my dignity, and my blood.
But Silvius stripping me of my voice—robbing me of even the words to defend myself—might have been the cruelest of all.
Now wasn’t the time to dwell on that, nor let that fear keep me from helping Eva now. If Silvius was behind this, those notes were the best place to start.
I closed my eyes, pushing away the fears I couldn’t bear to face, resealing my darkest memories into the mental dungeon I had recreated stone by stone. With effort, I trapped them behind the same bars where some scared part of me still screamed.
When I reopened my eyes, I was calm, if detached.
Quinn flitted around the room, anxiety in every hurried step. The panic in her expression immediately threatened that indifference despite my best efforts…especially when her lower lip trembled.
I made myself walk away from her, turning my back as soon as I reached the desk.
The leather notebooks were in no apparent order, so I picked up the closest one, rifling through it.
It detailed Silvius’s experiments with the serum he used to keep Aviel’s prisoners unconscious for transport… or worse.
The last page crumpled in my hand as I thought of how it had been used on my sister.
My magic sparked from my fingertips along with my rage, nearly igniting the paper in my hands.
Blowing out a careful breath, I pictured four walls closing around that feeling, the clang of a metal door reverberating through me as I put the memory of her terror back where it belonged.
My hand trembled as I picked up the next notebook.
My mental cell doors shook as I reached the page detailing Silvius’s trial and errors when working against different magics.
It didn’t note their names—he likely never knew them—but his test subjects were obviously some of the prisoners I once shared a dungeon with, never to return.
They had been reduced to numbers and brief descriptions to compare their sex, physical strength, magical ability, and susceptibility to what Silvius put them through.
He had experimented on them, tortured them, only to release them to Aviel when he was finished, who stole their life force along with their magic.
Breathing in, I forced the thought of their suffering away on the next exhale, that calm colder than before.
Another page, another deranged experiment.
This one focused on a collar meant for total control, though it seemed like his attempts at forcing his subjects into subservience had limited results.
The scar circling my neck seemed to tighten as I read, as if taunting me. If Silvius had managed to give Aviel my free will, we would be living in a very different world right now. And if he had used it on my sister…
I reached for another notebook, thumbing through it more rapidly as if skimming the horrors he created might make it easier to read.
This one had to do with fae biology. My fingers spasmed, my pace slowing as I reached the detailed notes on blood magic and its uses.
It came as no surprise this was part of his research.
When Aviel had failed to break me through torture alone, it was Silvius who suggested the best way to find Eva was through the blood tie that linked us.
The memory tore through me faster than I could contain it.
Iron bit into my skin as I strained against my shackles, trying desperately to move away from the empty syringe.
“Stay still,” Silvius said irritably. “Or I’ll ask my king to drain your magic until you pass out again.”
I struggled harder, bucking against my bonds as that needle neared my vein. He would win eventually. But I would make him work for it.
“Have it your way,” Silvius sneered.
I braced myself, knowing what would happen next…
“Tobias?”
I startled, dropping the notebook so it landed open on the desk. Closing my eyes, I emptied my mind yet again, locking that memory back behind iron bars. Cursing myself for setting it free, I chained the emotions that came with it somewhere so deep underground that no one could hear their screams.
“Tobias,” Quinn said more urgently.
I opened my eyes, then froze. The proof was right in front of me. I coughed, choking on air in my haste to speak. Quinn rushed over to me, her voice cutting through the silence as I fought to form words.
“What is it?”
I pushed the notebook toward her, turning it so she could read the neatly scrawled writing that made it hard to breathe. She picked it up, scanning the page with a growing frown. I watched her eyes widen, her mouth forming into a wide O as those amber eyes found mine.
“I think…I think this is all connected,” I rasped. “We need to tell the others.”