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Our eyes met. His screams cut through the air.
I angled my head. These men had tormented me for days. The guard fell silent at whatever he saw on my face.
But the red-haired guard was sprinting down the corridor toward me, his sword in his hand.
“You’re dead, bitch.”
I ignored that. He swung his sword, and I jolted back, my head swimming dizzily.
“Don’t kill her, you idiot!” another guard roared from down the end of the hall. Lifting his hand, he aimed a torrent of water at me. I ducked, slipping on the water as it hit the wall behind me, flooding the corridor.
More guards joined the first. I had to get out of here. Quickly.
I fumbled for my power. It came to me easier this time, but my nose dripped blood—a clear sign I didn’t have access to as much as I needed. My heartbeat hammered against my ribs, my breath coming in shallow pants.
Stepping toward Red Hair, I plucked the sword from his hand. Then I pushed his frozen body against the wall and let time resume.
Shock flared over his face. He bared his teeth. I bared mine back.
“Where are we?” I demanded.
“I’m going to rape you,” he said. “And then I’m going to kill you.”
I slammed my knife into his throat and ripped it free as he gurgled, slumping to the floor. Blood sprayed, wetting my face.
Swinging his sword with my other hand, I squinted at the others. “Who’s next?”
“Witch,” one of them hissed.
“Where are we?”
“Get back in your cell, and we’ll allow you to live long enough for His Majesty to arrive,” one of the guards said. I knew him. He was the short one with curly dark hair who’d slid the tray of food into my cage.
My power was almost depleted. If I didn’t get out of here soon, I wasn’t going to make it. My mind helpfully provided me with a series of visions of my dead body crumpled on the stone floor of this dungeon.
I stalked down the corridor toward the guards, past several empty cells to my left. Until the sound of a chuckle wound toward me. I flicked a glance to the left, recognizing the voice.
This was the man who’d been singing.
I pulled my power with everything I had. It took me far too long to disarm the remaining four guards, but I threw their weapons into the cell with the male prisoner, who eyed me.
“Let me out,” he said. “And I’ll fight by your side.”
He was larger than most of the guards, with eyes so dark they were almost black, his beard overgrown, clothes filthy.
His lips curved, even as his dark eyes glittered with suppressed wrath. Dangerous.
Freeing him was an easy decision. This man hadn’t locked me up.
Throwing him the keys, I positioned my knife at the curly-haired guard’s throat. Time resumed, and I could taste copper as blood dripped down my face, into my mouth. The guards gaped at me.
Jerking my head at the dead guard behind us, I gave them a sweet smile. “I suggest you tell me what I want to know.”
The man from the cage swung open his cell and buried his sword beneath the ribs of the first guard who barreled toward him. The guard groaned, falling to his knees. “Answer her,” the man said.
“We’re near the remains of Crawyth. But you won’t get far. The king is already almost here.”
The man cursed. Our eyes met. “I owe you a life debt for my freedom,” he said.
