‘Cillian has to be alive.They’ll want to question him.He’s still down there.I need to go in and get him out.’I was thinking out loud, trying to reassure myself that this was all true and that Cillian’s life did not end in that passageway.
‘No, Caris.’Torgrin let go of my hand as he got to his feet.‘You will leave the city tonight with everyone else.’
I stood, meeting Torgrin eye to eye.I would not have him tower over me for this.‘We’renotleaving him there!’
‘I’m not leaving Cillian behind,’ Torgrin said through gritted teeth.‘I will free him.’
‘No.I can’t lose you too.’Dread, heavy and dark, coursed through me.
Going unnoticed by the others, the shadows lurking in the corners of the room came to life and slithered along the ground.
I clenched my hands to my sides, but my ability to control them eluded me.
The shadows continued to expand and weave between the objects in the room.They shuddered and shifted.Torgrin’s eyes never leftmine while the other’s attention became drawn to the empty chairs rising and falling back onto the floor.
Crashes echoed through the room as unlit lamps plummeted off tables, their glass shattering on impact.The room’s air filled with the scent of dust and old paper as books soared out of bookshelves; their pages fluttering in the chaos.
Tomas threw himself over Rhett’s chair, protecting him from an airborne vase.
‘Shit!’Finn jumped back from the fireplace as the gold-framed portrait of the royal sisters flew off and smashed into the opposite wall.‘What kind of earthquake doesthat?’
I looked at Finn and saw him baulk.
‘Um, there’s something wrong with your eyes,’ he squeaked out.
‘There’s nothing wrong with her eyes,’ growled Torgrin.
‘Ah, yep, you’re right!I’m sure it’s just a trick of the light or, um … dark?’Finn ducked to avoid being hit by a flying book.
‘Listen to me, Caris.’Torgrin took my trembling hands once more and pulled me in close to him.His face was near enough that his breath cooled my overheated cheeks.I felt my breathing slow and my heartbeat returning to normal as if Torgrin’s touch was the tonic the Darkness required.The air stilled around us as he held me tight.
‘It won’t be long before someone notices that Goodwin is missing.They won’t be focusing on someone trying to break into the dungeon.They will set a trap for those trying to leave Capita.Rhett and Tomas won’t make it out unlessyouare there to help them.’
‘They can wait!You and I will free Cillian, and when we have him, we can all leave together.’
‘No, we are on borrowed time.They will put things together – the longer we wait, the higher the chances we will be caught.’
‘I can’t let you go alone!’I gripped his hands tightly to my chest.
‘Yes, you can because I promised Cillian that if something like this happened, I would not let you risk your life for his.’
‘You had no right to promise that!’
‘The others need you.’His tone was final.
I looked at Rhett and Tomas.They wouldn’t make it out of the city alone, and I wasn’t sure Rhett would survive the night if he had to wait for us to rescue Cillian.
We all jumped in unison at the soft knock at the door.
Torgrin pulled his hands from mine and signalled to Finn, who drew his sword and moved to one side of the door.Torgrin stationed himself on the opposite side, then motioned for me to open the door.I nodded, wondering who the stars it was going to be.If it were Merrick with more of the king’s guards, they surely wouldn’t knock before coming in.I turned the golden knob and opened the door just enough for me to see who our unwanted visitor was.
It was the lady in white who had been sitting outside Queen Yaris’s cell door.
‘Um, yes?’I said inelegantly.
‘Can I come in?’
She spoke firmly and in a heavy accent I’d heard before.Torgrin’s father from Ephemeros had the same intonation.I looked behind me at the dead soldiers everywhere, the headless corpse of the king’s son, all covered with destroyed books and broken glass.
