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Perhaps I hadn’t been fully rehabilitated yet. Or perhaps what had happened with Janco in the jail—that blocking power—had something to do with it. But I didn’t touch Loris. Unless the baby really was a void and was slowly siphoning off the magic. My head ached with the possibilities.
The desire to bolt once the magic released its hold on me was strong, but I wouldn’t leave without my brother, Ari, Janco, Dax and Hale. And I hadn’t figured out a way to rescue them. Not yet.
On the fourth day, everything changed. Bruns called me into his office. I’d been helping in the armory that morning.
Mara stood on the other side of his desk. I froze in shock for a moment. No guards bookended her, and she appeared healthy, despite a few cuts and bruises on her face. Pure determination radiated from her—a side of Mara I hadn’t seen before.
“You see? She’s perfectly fine and has joined me. Tell her, Yelena.”
“Yes, I’m assisting Bruns now. We have a lot of work to do in order to prepare for war.”
“And it will be the same with Leif, if you convinced him to eat,” Bruns said.
“He’ll eat. As long as we can work together,” Mara said.
He gave her a condescending smile. “Of course. I’m a businessman, and that was our deal.”
Bruns called for his secretary, Tia, and asked her to escort Mara to the magicians’ quarters to wait for Leif.
“It’ll take a couple days. In the meantime, please make yourself at home,” Bruns said to Mara. “All meals are served in the canteen, and if you get bored, the cooks are always looking for help.”
She nodded her thanks, met my gaze and held it a moment before leaving. Odd. The entire exchange was odd. Did I dare hope this was part of a larger scheme?
“You should be happy, Yelena. Now your brother won’t die of starvation.”
“I am.”
“But?”
“You didn’t seem to care if he lived or died before.”
“Ah, true. However, working with you these last few days has made me realize why you, Leif and the others locked below have been so successful all these years. The level of intelligence is impressive. Now all I need is for Valek to break, and the Commander won’t stand a chance.”
“Excuse me if I don’t believe you have him.”
“Figured you’d say that. When we’re done with him, I’ll let you visit.”
“Mighty nice of you.” I gave him a tepid smile, but inside, worry bubbled. Bruns appeared way too smug to be lying.
He laughed. “Return to the armory. The Weapons Master is excited about your ideas. When you’re finished, come back here.”
Being in the armory had its advantages—access to weapons was at the top of the list. I stole darts filled with Curare and hid them in my clothes and room. Bruns never specifically said I couldn’t. He was confident that his order not to escape included scheming, but it didn’t.
At night, when the magic wore off, I could sneak down to the jail, disable the guards and free my brother and the others—I refused to believe Bruns had Valek. Denial kept me functioning.
Rescuing them from the jail would be easy. The hard part would be leaving the garrison. Every entrance was well protected, soldiers patrolled around the buildings and magical alarms had been set on the walls. I could take Bruns hostage, put a knife to his throat and use him to get my friends released. Except it would only take one dart filled with Curare to neutralize me.
I sparked on another plan the morning of my sixth day. Simple, yet it just might work, if I had enough time to prepare. It would depend on when Loris intended to brainwash Leif and the others. I suspected soon. But it was the best plan I had so far.
That afternoon, Bruns ordered me to accompany him to the jail. By the way his chest puffed out and his eyes gleamed with glee, I assumed my days of denial were coming to an abrupt end.
When we entered, the first thing to hit me was the smell. After more than a week without bathing, the men reeked. I met Leif’s gaze. He stood next to the door to his cell. He’d lost weight.
“You okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “You?”
“Fine. The food could be better, though.”
Ah. They were eating. Has Loris been here? I signaled.
Not yet.
One positive. I moved on, and Janco gave me a halfhearted smile. And he might have said something, but my attention focused on Valek. His complexion made the color white look dingy. He clutched the bars, and from the purple bruises on his face and the gash on his forehead, I wouldn’t be surprised if they supported his weight, as well. The desire to wrap him in my arms and heal him pulsed deep within me.
Unable to do either, I stood frozen while my heart dissolved. Valek kept his expression flat, but a blast of emotion pierced me when he met my gaze. I thought his voice sounded in my head, saying, Sorry, love. But I dismissed it as just my imagination. He wore a Sitian uniform like the others. Blood stained the fabric in more than a few places.
“Believe me now?” Bruns asked.
“Yes.” Time to put on a show. I turned to him. “Why didn’t you just prick him with goo-goo juice to make him talk? He has vital information about the Commander we can use.”
“I did. It failed to work and so did torture.”
It took all my self-control to stay put and not kick Bruns in the nuts.
“Next up. Threats.” Bruns turned to Valek, who faced him. “Yelena, tell your husband what you’ve been doing these last few days.”
“Helping you.”
“Why?”
“Because we need to prepare for the Commander’s attack,” I said, while I signaled with the hand Bruns couldn’t see—but Janco and Leif could. Because I’ve no choice, you prick.
“You follow my orders. Is that correct?” Bruns asked.
“Yes.”
Bruns pulled a glass vial from his pocket. “Hold this.” He handed it to me. “Don’t drop it.”
A pretty, deep purple liquid filled the container.
“It’s an extract from the amethyst flower,” Bruns explained. “It will kill the baby.”
My grip tightened. All I could do. It was still early, and Loris’s magic controlled my movements. But it didn’t stop the panicked screaming inside my head.
“Drink it,” he ordered me.
Terrified and unable to resist, I pulled the cork from the bottle and raised the rim to my lips.
“Stop,” Valek growled.
“Stop,” Bruns echoed to me.
The vial paused a few inches from my mouth. My blood slammed through my body as if I’d run for miles.
“You’ll cooperate fully?” he asked Valek.
“Yes.”
“Good. Yelena, put the stopper back in and keep that vial with you at all times. Understand?”
“Yes.” Happy to comply, I shoved the cursed liquid into my pocket and out of sight. Purple was now an evil color.
“Eat,” Bruns told Valek. “We’ll have a chat when you’ve had some more time to recover. Any hint of trouble, and I’ll order your wife to drink the extract. If I’m not happy with your answers or if I discover you lied, I’ll—”
“I said I’d cooperate.” There was a hard edge to Valek’s voice.
“You better. The life of your child depends on it.” Bruns strode away.
I stepped close to the bars, reached through and lightly pressed my hand to Valek’s bruised cheek. He covered my hand with his own. His gaze showed his love as he turned his head and kissed my palm.
“Yelena, come,” Bruns barked.
Leaving Valek caused me physical pain, as if my heart had been ripped from my chest. I followed Bruns, but glanced back when we reached the door. Valek watched me, and so did my brother and the rest. Their defeated postures and pained expressions matched. Unable to resist, I flipped them a thumbs-up sign.
* * *
No time left. I waited until Loris’s magic ebbed, then I rushed to prepare. I could no longer be subtle. Tonight was my
only chance to collect the rest of the supplies I needed for tomorrow night’s rescue attempt.
Using Bruns’s name netted me a number of items I normally would have stolen piece by piece to avoid detection. I hoped no one talked to Bruns.
All the next day, I tried to focus on the tasks Bruns assigned me. If I looked too distracted he’d inquire about my thoughts. That had led to embarrassing revelations, but today a disclosure would be far more than just humiliating.
As I worked in the armory that afternoon, testing the Weapons Master’s new ultralight sword for female soldiers, Bruns arrived.
“Put the weapon away. We need to talk,” he said.
My pulse skittered through my body. I wondered who or what had tipped him off. Or if he’d spotted the blowpipe hidden in my uniform.
On the way to his office, he said, “Captain Geffers tells me you’ve been asking questions about the training sessions outside the garrison.”
Oh no.
“Why the interest?” he asked.
I chose each word with the utmost care. “They’re our first line of defense, and I’m curious how well trained they are.”
“Why are you curious?”
“A company of soldiers is trained to fight an enemy army of similar size, and I know from experience that a small group or just one person can cause havoc with a larger group that’s not prepared.”
