Tobias
That kiss.
I needed to focus on the fae we were following to Silvius.
I needed to focus on anything but the feel of her hand in mine as she led me down the empty, dark streets, and the ghost of that earth shattering kiss bruising my lips.
But I couldn’t bring myself to let her go, not when I was just starting to get used to the way her touch grounded me in something that felt like safety.
My need for her had broken right through the bars I tried to cage it in. It was all I could do not to let the rest of the dungeon crumble in her wake.
The rain was too heavy now to see through, the summer storm soaking me to the bone.
At least the water was warm and muffled our footsteps as we tracked our prey.
Quinn’s curls had lost their usual bounce, her braid now plastered against her chest along with the thin fabric of her shirt.
My gaze lingered a moment longer at how the fabric revealed the curve of her breast, hoping she didn’t notice the way my heartbeat thundered.
I dragged my focus back to our task. This was our best chance of finding Silvius, and a dark part of me was glad that Rivan, Yael, and Pari hadn’t tracked him down first. I wanted to give him a taste of the pain he had put me through.
He was no warrior. I doubted he would keep his secrets safe for long, especially when I had him alone in a cell.
If he did have a cure for this virus, I planned to be the one to extract it.
And if he didn’t? It would be my pleasure to make him pay.
Quinn stopped short, and I nearly ran into her. We had reached the corner of a stone building near the end of an empty street. Quinn gestured past it, wordlessly letting me know they were around the corner as water dripped down her face.
I wanted to yank her behind me, but I knew she wouldn’t stand for it.
Silvius wanted her alive, which meant he needed her for something.
Whether that was to learn what Quinn had discovered in her attempts to find a cure or because he wanted to use her for his own ends before he killed her, I wasn’t sure.
Either way, the bastard thought he could take her from me. He would pay for that. The thought of him near her made my blood boil, though I was careful to keep my magic carefully contained, not risking it rising with her hand in mine.
Quinn gasped, then ran forward, dragging me around the corner with her. The alleyway was empty.
I scanned the sides of the stone buildings and the cobblestone wall ahead. There were no doorways, no rope, no low windows to disappear into or a mirror secured to the stone. “Where did they—”
“I can still feel them,” Quinn whispered. “They’re close.”
I knew that look, the furrow between her brows. She was solving the problem before I even had the chance to be confused.
She walked toward the wall ahead as though in a trance as I followed close behind. “There has to be a way through.”
Carefully, I placed my hands against the slick rock, feeling for anything out of the ordinary. I half expected a trap door to open if I pressed my hand against the right stone. Quinn joined me, silently starting on the other side of the alley.
The rain had gotten worse, ricocheting off the wall at me as my fingers scraped against each stone.
It wasn’t until I touched the far corner that my hand disappeared into the rock.
A glamour, I realized, as I held back my gasp.
Some sort of secret passage through the city, likely shown to Silvius by his Mayimite allies.
My stomach bottomed out as I pictured what was waiting for us, the damp stone sure the stir my memories. But if she was descending into the darkness, there was no question that I would go down with her.
“Here.” I waved Quinn over, hoping I wasn’t leading her into an ambush. “How close are they?”
“Far enough that they won’t notice us behind them.” She started to reach for the glamour, then stopped. “We should tell the others.”
I stuck my hand in my pocket, realizing too late what I would find in my sopping clothes. The paper I brought with me had partially disintegrated, what remained now formed into a wet clump. Quinn swore under her breath as she realized the flaw in our plan.
“You head back to the castle to update everyone,” I said quickly. “I’ll follow our new friends.”
Quinn was already shaking her head. “I’m the one who can track them. So unless you want to play messenger…”
“Absolutely not.”
“We go together, Maris.” She reached for my hand, a stubborn glint in her eye. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
“If it’s a trap—”
“Then you’ll need backup,” Quinn cut in, completely undeterred. “I’m not leaving you. Now, do you want to keep wasting time until I lose their trail entirely?”
I may not like it, but I knew she was right. With a short sigh, I turned my hand over in invitation.
A spark leapt between us as she took it.
With a deep breath in through my nose, I pulled her behind me into solid stone. It parted around us like a dense fog, each rock sliding unnervingly along my skin. For a heartbeat, the wall pulsed around me, digging in as if unsure whether to let us pass.
Then we were through.
Cold horror froze me in place. It was like I had been transported back in time, the darkness so suffocating I thought I might drown in it. A visceral pain set every scar on my back on fire. My hands flew to my face, clawing against my cheeks as I felt that mask press against my skin—
Quinn’s whisper broke through the silence. “What is it?”
I was trapped. And worst of all, I brought her here with me.
That endless dripping sound filled my ears. The walls of the cell seemed to close in around me, that band tightening around my neck like it would finally suffocate me.
I can’t breathe. I can’t—
Quinn’s voice was more forceful as she pressed, “Are you okay?”
My lips formed her name, but I couldn’t push the sound past my throat.
She was stuck in here with me, in some cruel echo of my worst nightmare. Trapped underground where no one would ever find us.
And I couldn’t save her.
“Tobias.”
I only realized I sank to my knees as they hit the stone with a splash, a hollow echo of pain radiating up my thighs. My lungs spasmed as I struggled to draw in a breath.
There wasn’t any air.
“Breathe, Tobias,” Quinn demanded sharply. Then her hands were on my face, somehow finding me in the darkness. I hadn’t realized how hard I was shaking until her hands started trembling too.
Her voice trembled slightly. “I’ll count, okay?”
There was only darkness, no difference between my eyes open or closed. I tried to focus on the sound of her voice.
“You’re safe, do you hear me? I’m with you.” Her hands moved down from my neck to my shoulders, shaking me slightly when I didn’t reply. “Please, Tobias. Breathe for me.”
My gasp of air filled my ears, unable to ignore her plea. It felt far too quiet down here after the rush of the rain. Each breath was so loud it echoed around me as I attempted to draw another.
“There you go,” Quinn murmured. “Now do it again, slower this time.”
Utterly at her command, I obeyed, shaking as she led me through the boxed breathing my dad taught us both long ago. Her voice was calm and soothing, but she held me so tightly her fingernails bit into my skin.
Quinn’s voice was soft as she asked, “Do you think you can use your magic?”
My magic was blocked. My magic…
My jolt of surprise was quickly followed by a crushing wave of shame. I had the means to fix this the whole time…and I had panicked. Worse, I had frozen, useless to help myself, let alone her. Had this been an ambush, she would have been on her own as I gaped like a fish flung ashore.
I welcomed the burn of my magic as it came to my fingertips; that searing light pricking my skin as I held it there. When I finally released it, it blossomed from my fingertips as if reaching for her, balls of light rising around her like tiny stars.
Quinn’s eyes were blood red from her power and wide with worry as I got to my feet. With a flick of my fingers, I let the balls of light roam free. They flew to the rounded corners of the tunnels, illuminating the grime that had built up over the centuries as they cast the room in a warm glow.
“Tobias, are you—”
“I’m f-fine, Sagray,” I said curtly.
It was obviously a lie.
She was silent for a long moment as I attempted to push that overwhelming fear back into its box, picturing the cell doors opening and closing—
“Don’t,” Quinn said suddenly.
My eyes snapped to hers. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t block it out,” Quinn pleaded, coming toward me. “Let yourself feel it. Maybe it’ll be overwhelming for a bit…but blocking it out is only delaying the inevitable.”
“The inevitable what? My inevitable breakdown?” I hated the cruelty in my voice, the way she flinched at my tone, but I couldn’t make myself stop. “We don’t have time for me to be useless. In case you didn’t notice, our best chance at finding Silvius is getting further away as we speak.”
“There’s never a good time,” Quinn said softly. “But if you don’t do the work, you’re never going to escape that cell.”
I jerked back like she had slapped me again. She couldn’t know about the prison I had created for myself, the cells in my mind in which I trapped each memory, each feeling—the place I had hidden her.
“Leave it alone, Sagray.”
I sucked a breath through my nose, trying to push away the fear and anger into a place where it couldn’t reach me. Needing to ensure my panic wouldn’t endanger her again.
“Tobias…”
The cell I conjured seemed to disintegrate into midair, pale yellow sunlight streaming into the dusky prison as that one whispered word broke through my attempt at control. Quinn looked resigned, the sadness in her eyes breaking through my final vestiges of restraint.
I took a short, gasping breath before my lips curled in a snarl. “I told you to leave me alone.”