Well, this feels familiar. I told myself as I laughed sardonically.
But the difference was, this time, I wasn’t going to jump.
At least I didn’t think I was going to.
I’d spent the last month keeping my head down while looking for that man. The nondescript one that winked at me and gave me something I hadn’t had since I’d heard Finian’s voice:
Hope.
And hope was a dangerous thing down here.
I was convinced that he was the one Finian spoke about—the one Fate would send. But try as I might, I couldn’t find him again.
Not even a whisper from the other guards about who he was.
It was maddening.
So I’d given up, my hope drained to little more than a drop.
Maybe I reallyammad, and this is all just made up in my head.
The heat in my chest pulsed angrily.
I probably made that up, too.
“Not going to jump, are you?” The voice was low and pleasant and easily forgettable, but it was one that was seared into my memory.
I turned my head slightly to see the guard standing just behind my shoulder.
“Not going to push me in, are you?” I returned wryly, which earned me a slight chuckle in return. The man sighed before sinking down next to me, the worn leather of his boots scraping against the rough ground.
We sat in silence, legs dangling over the ledge, for a moment.
“Aren’t you going to get in trouble with your superiors for sitting with me?”
He hummed quietly, never taking his eyes from the pit below us.
“Not tonight,” he said softly yet confidently, which piqued my interest.
“Care to explain.” It wasn’t a question, more like a demand, and the man chuckled dryly again.
“There’s the d’Aelius heir.” He turned his boring brown eyes to mine, the quirk of his lips flattening a bit as he took in my appearance. “I’m sorry it’s taken this long to extract you.”
He seemed truly remorseful, and I waved a hand at his apology.
“Builds character and all of that, right?” I joked, but it fell flat.
“Not this,” he said quietly. I left that unanswered, and we returned our twin gazes to the black maw of the mines.
Shouts and screamed curses wafted up from the levels below, and I snuck a chance peek over the ledge to see the commotion.Prisoners—hundreds of them—were overpowering the guards on every level and tossing them into the abyss.
Some screamed.
Some were silent.
Seemed like they weren’t so different from us after all.
“It’s time,” the man said before pushing himself quickly to a stand and offering me his hand. I regarded it for a beat before reaching my own up to clasp his. He yanked me to my feet before gesturing for me to walk just behind him as we made our way around the ledge to the carved stone staircase that would lead us to the next level.
