CHAPTER ONE
Ryker
I cleaned the rest of the gruel from the key I’d discovered hidden within my food and twisted it in my hand. It was too dark to see the small, metal structure, but my fingers traced its jagged edges.
Where did it come from? Who put it in my food? Is this a sick game the duke is playing?
That final question made me hesitate the most. I wouldn’t put it past that asshole to create a new, twisted mind game to fuck with me.
But even though this probably was a twisted game, I bent to run my fingers along the chains binding my ankles until I located the keyhole. Since I couldn’t see anything in the pitch-black cell, it took some maneuvering, but I finally slid the key into the hole.
It fit perfectly, but that didn’t mean it would turn. Holding my breath and fully expecting the key to have been magicked into sending a bone-breaking jolt of something through me, I twisted it.
The noise of the weeping man in a cell further down the row from me covered the ensuing click. For the first time, I was glad he’d been crying for hours.
While only Tucker, Callan, and the other two men remained in the dungeon with me, I still worried the sound of the opening lock would somehow travel beyond these walls. But then, if this was another game of Veni’s, the man I no longer considered my father, I was certain it had already reached him.
If this were a trick, I’d make him regret giving me the chance to free myself in any way. And Veni knew that.
He wasn’t stupid; no matter how much he enjoyed fucking with me, he wouldn’t take the chance of me escaping. So, what the hell is going on here?
Not knowing the answer to that question wouldn’t stop me. I pulled the key free of the lock and stuck it between my teeth before removing the manacles from my ankles. Careful not to make any sound, I set them on the floor.
I lifted my head to search the dark for any hint of something other than rodents scurrying through the dungeon, but the darkness remained complete. Which meant the door at the end of the hall remained shut.
Despite those things, I expected someone to materialize on the other side of those bars, holding a torch and laughing at me for thinking I could break out of this place. The only sounds I heard were the scratch of the rats’ claws against stone, sobbing, and my own steady breaths. No light appeared.
I shifted my attention back to my bonds. Trying to get the chains off my wrist proved more difficult, as maneuvering the key into the hole became a frustrating endeavor.
Biting my lower lip, I restrained a slew of curses when the key slipped from my fingers and clattered against the floor. I held my breath as I waited to see if it would draw any attention; it didn’t. If someone heard it, they attributed it to my natural movements or something else.
Trying not to make a sound, I rose from my thin cot and got onto my hands and knees. The chill of the rocky ground seeped through my clothes as my fingers skimmed the stone for the key before curling around the metal object.
I resettled on my cot and returned to work. A steady stream of swears ran through my head while I struggled to maneuver the key into the hole. The thing was so damn close, and then it slid out again.
Resisting the urge to throw the key, I took a deep breath and resolved to fit it into the hole. None of the duke’s men had returned yet, but they would soon. I had to get these shackles off, or I’d lose the opportunity to escape.
Finally, I managed to twist my hands in such a way that bones cracked and muscles strained as pain flared through my abused wrists, but I slid the key into the hole. I used my teeth to turn it and smiled at the ensuing click.
CHAPTER TWO
Ryker
When I quietly pulled the chains free, I didn’t experience the rush of my powers returning to me as I’d expected… which meant more than these manacles was keeping my powers bound. The suppression of this place most likely extended beyond the cell; they’d probably designed the whole dungeon to keep us repressed.
I didn’t have my powers back, but I still held the key. The man’s crying had finally stopped by the time I pulled the key from the lock in the chains.
Without the manacles to clink with my every move, I silently crossed my cage to the front of the cell. Feeling over the bars, it took a little time to locate the keyhole, but my heart hammered as my fingers slid over the small shape.
Stretching my arm out of the cell, I slid the key over the panel until I found the hole again. The key slid easily in, but this time, when I turned it, the door didn’t open.
Without thinking, I hit the bars before restraining myself. The rattling, clanging sound reverberated through the dungeon as I fisted my hands and berated myself for being an idiot.
Bashing the bars would only make things worse and might draw someone into the dungeon. That was the last thing I needed.
Stay calm and think this through.
My power hadn’t returned after removing my chains, but that didn’t mean I was shit out of luck. Since my love for Ellery had deepened, lightning resided within me now, and I didn’t have to pull it from the air or earth anymore to unleash it.
