Men in cells line either side of the wide corridor, shadowy figures that move and mutter in the dark. I stiffen at their disjointed low grumbles and wrap my hands around my middle at the piercing shouts and jangle of chains. A prisoner lunges at the bars as we pass. He grabs my skirt, and I clamp my hand over my mouth to stifle a scream. The guard kicks the bars with the toe of his boot, the sharp clanging like a death knell.
Finally, we reach the cell at the end of the corridor. Kane sits on a rough wooden bench, his shoulders slumped, his head in his hands. My heart lurches, a physical pain that squeezes my chest, and I forget every lie he told and every bad thing that’s happened between us as I run to his cell and clutch the unforgiving bars.
“Kane.”
For a moment, all the pain and betrayal between us fades, replaced by a desperate need to reach him, to touch him, to know that he’s safe.
Kane looks up slowly, his dark eyes meeting mine. Lord Ashwood’s eye patch is gone, revealing the full depth of his gaze. The flickering torchlight casts long shadows across his face, highlighting the hollow tracks of worry and exhaustion carved into his features.
“Fawn?” His voice is hoarse, like he’s been screaming, or crying, or both. He shuffles to the bars, his chains clanking with every movement. “You shouldn’t have come.” His fingers curl around mine, his grip tight.
“I had to see you. I had to say I’m sorry and make things right.”
“Make things right?” Kane shakes his head, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. “It’s far too late for that. With what happened…” He glances at his hands on mine and shakes his head again. “You practically presented me to Ivy and Four on a gold platter.”
“You lied to me. You had an entire plan focused around rekindling things with her,” I snap.
“That is in the past.” Kane’s expression softens, his gaze searching mine. “I didn’t—” he begins, but the words die on his lips.
“You two wereengaged. You used me to get into the palace to get her back and morph into the great warrior you used to be.” The truth is cutting, and I pull my hands away, the warmth of his touch lingering even as I step back.
“I used you to save Alderic, my friend, my brother.”
“And if it worked out that you got your old fiancéback, that would just be icing on the cake,” I say, the sting of betrayal sharp and burning.
“Letting my guard down and allowing myself to ever be manipulated by Ivy was a mistake. One I regret but should not cost me my life.”
Tears well in my eyes, and I take a deep breath and blink them back. My voice is quiet, the lump in my throat making it difficult to speak. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
“Neither did I,” he says, “but I don’t regret being the one tasked with keeping you safe while on your journey in this realm.” Kane’s chains clank as he shifts. “Hannah, please. Believe me when I say that everything I did, I did with the hope of protecting you. Of fixing things within this kingdom on the edge of collapse.”
Despite the lies and deception, there’s a part of me that wants to believe him, to trust that his intentions were pure, even if his actions weren’t.
He lets out a puff of air, his breath visible in the cold. A humorless grin tugs at the corners of his mouth as his gaze sinks to the floor. “The magicks told the elders of a girl, a woman the Tower would send for, who would arrive from a different time and place when Pentacles was on the brink of devastation. Someone has to save our kingdom; ridding it of Four is not enough.” His eyes meet mine, and the darkness in his gaze brings goose bumps to my skin. “You may not believe it, Hannah, but you are that woman.”
“The elders, the Tower, they got it wrong. I mean, look around. I’ve already fucked it up.” I cross my arms over my chest, my body shaking with a mixture of anger, disbelief, and cold.
His grip on the bars tightens as he stares at me. “Now is not the time to stay here and sort out whether you believe in your destiny. You need to run, Fawn. Go home before Four decides you’re a threat.”
I throw my hands in the air. I would laugh if I weren’t afraid I would start crying instead. “I lost the Empress. I’m stuck. I can’t go home.”
Kane’s expression shifts, and he pushes himself away from the bars. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the card I’ve been searching for, its metallic pentagram glinting. It glows faintly in the dim light, casting a soft, ethereal shimmer that dances along the edges of the cell.
“I cast an alteration spell over the Empress. Command her to return you home, and she will. But only this once. If you hold the card again and command her to return you here, to Pentacles, you will be at the mercy of the Tower. I cannot cast this spell a second time, and the Tower will not allow you to return to your world until the rot within the kingdom, within the realm, is healed.”
I take the card from him, my breath quaking in my chest. Kane’s magick is stitched across the Empress in gold velvet symbols that pulse with an otherworldly light. The craggy peaks of a mountain, a lantern, a six-pointed star, and the weathered face of an old man are the same symbols that were on his trunk back in the cabin, what feels like a lifetime ago.
“You’ve had this the whole time?” My voice is barely more than a whisper, suspicion and fury warring for attention.
He nods and drops his gaze.
“I almost died. I—I risked my life to come to this palace, to find something you had all along.” Angerwins, and hot tears blur my vision, spilling down my cheeks. “I thought I loved you. But every single thing was a lie.”
“No!” Kane slams his fists against the bars, the metal rattling under the force of his blow. “My feelings for you, what we have, thatis nota lie. Every moment we shared, every touch, every word, it was all real. You make me want to be better, to fight harder, to do everything I can to protect this kingdom, protect us. Hannah, I—”
“Don’t say it. Don’t say it because I said it. Don’t say it because you’re locked in there and I’m out here. Don’t say it because you got caught in a lie.” My voice shakes. “I won’t believe you. I can’t. I can’t believe anything you say.”
“It’s the truth!” he thunders, his voice echoing through the cold stone corridor. “Believe me or don’t. It no longer matters.”
