I lifted my left hand and wiggled my fingers at her. “There’s nothing you can do to me that hasn’t been done before. This finger is the least of it. You think I haven’t endured burns, lashings, stretching, the rack, and every other torture imaginable?”
“I could kill you.”
“And then what would you tell Veni? That you were visiting me out of the kindness of your heart and you accidentally set me on fire? He’s not an idiot; I’m sure he already knows you’re plotting against him, but if you confirm it, he’ll throw you in here with my dead body. And that will just be the beginning.”
Her nostrils flared, but she reined her power back in. She was a power-hungry bitch, but she wasn’t stupid.
“And if you don’t trot on out of here like the good little puppet you are, we might have to let Veni know about your visit,” I told her.
Her eyes widened as that possibility sank in. She’d truly believed I’d be so desperate to protect Ellery that I’d tell her exactly where to go and be thankful for it.
“You wouldn’t do that to Leo,” she retorted.
“I will if you don’t leave. Go, Bria, and don’t come back.”
She glowered at me before turning on her heel. “Let’s go!” she snapped at the guards.
She stormed past the other cells with the guards following wordlessly behind her like the mindless idiots they were.
“Well, isn’t she a delight?” Tucker murmured after the door slammed shut and we were cast into darkness again.
“That’s Leo’s daughter?” Callan asked.
“Yes,” I said as my shoulders slumped and I retreated to my cot.
“She’s a peach.”
“The duke isn’t to know she was here. She’s a snake, but she is Leo’s daughter, and revealing that she was here won’t do us any good. They’re still going to torture and maim us.”
“We have so much to look forward to,” Callan muttered.
“Don’t say anything,” I said again.
A murmur of yeses came from the other cells before they all grew quiet again. I didn’t like Bria, but I owed it to Leo to keep his last living child alive; it was my last obligation to the man who’d been my king and best friend.
After this, I’d be free of the debt I felt I owed him for failing to save his life. I’d sever all ties to my past life; now, I’d build a new life with Ellery… if I ever got free of this place.
I rested my elbows on my legs and bowed my head. I tried not to think about the fact that the next time the dungeon door opened, it might be Veni leading Ellery in.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
Ellery
I ranpast the last set of guards and was twenty feet from the end of the tunnel when I slowed. Glancing back, I didn’t see anyone, but footsteps rebounded off the walls as someone pursued me through the shadows.
Striding forward, I cautiously approached the end of the tunnel. I could have opened a portal and fled while still in the tunnel, but I had to check the forest to make sure there weren’t any nearby threats before leaving the others.
I stopped near the entrance to survey the tranquil night from the protective shadows of the cave set in the middle of a hill. Part of the reason we’d chosen this location over the others we’d scouted was because the entrance was difficult to spot.
I’d walked past this area a few times before realizing there was an opening here. With some discreet placement of fallen trees and a couple of rocks, we’d further obscured the entrance until it blended almost seamlessly in with the land.
Now, standing to the side and behind one of those fallen trees, I looked down on the forest. Night engulfed the land, andI was sure that, somewhere out there, the duke’s men crept through the woods.
However, there wasn’t an army, or even creatures, stalking up the hill toward us. Because of the colder weather, the night was more subdued than it would be in the summer, but the normal sounds of the woods continued as animals hunted and a night bird released an awful cawing noise.
“Lery,” Scarlet hissed from the shadows.
I should have known she wouldn’t let me go so easily, but I wasn’t in the mood to argue over this. My fingers twitched as I contemplated opening a portal and leaving, but I’d heard the distress in her voice and couldn’t bring myself to do that to her.
