Shock registered on his face before his eyes flitted from me to Ryker and back again. “No fucking way.”
I ignored him. As far as I was concerned, I’d already wasted too much of my breath on that man.
We were almost to the bend when Indon came into view. The gargoyle leader stood with one hand on the ground and his wings unfurled a little, like he was considering flying into the shadows to attack whatever emerged.
He was as still as a statue, and if I hadn’t known better, I would have assumed he was one. While the rest of him remained still as stone, Indon blinked.
“Holy fuck,” Samael breathed. “It moved.”
“Living things tend to do that,” I retorted.
When he rolled his eyes at me, my hands fisted and I contemplated beating those eyes out of his head.
“You really did it,” Callan whispered. “You really freed them, Ellery.”
“I didn’t fly myself here,” I told him and smiled to soften my words.
“I was kind of hoping you were lying,” Callan said.
“They’re okay,” Luna assured him as she squeezed his arm. “Really, they are.”
“They’re our friends. But more importantly, they’ll protect Tempest, and that’s what we need most right now,” I told him.
When Indon rose a little, gasps came from behind me as he towered over us. He wasn’t even at his full height and probably couldn’t achieve it in these tight confines, but he was still an imposing figure, and he was just one of over a hundred of them.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Ellery
“Where did you find them?” Samael inquired.
“That’s not your concern,” I snapped. “All that matters is they’re here now.” I turned and looked pointedly at the sheriff. “And they’ll destroy anyone who seeks to harm Tempest and its residents.”
Samael gazed at Indon in disbelief and horror, but he wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. When we turned the corner, the cells came into view; bodies lay scattered throughout the tunnel. Some amsirah were searching pockets while others were fitting keys into locks.
“None of them are working,” someone muttered.
“I will take care of this,” Avex said. The gargoyle was slightly smaller in stature than Indon but still a powerful being.
His claws clicked against the rocky floor as he crossed to one of the cells. His large fingers curled around the bars, and he yanked back, ripping the door from the wall. He threw it into the middle of the tunnel, where it landed with a clatter that made me wince. Two of the other gargoyles did the same.
They’d designed the doors to withstand an immortal’s strength, but the gargoyles tore them from the wall as easily as if they’d plucked a dandelion. “They might have come in handy in our dungeon,” Tucker said. “Do you think they could get those doors open?”
“I don’t know,” Ryker muttered, his expression one of distrust.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to deal with that. I released Ryker’s hand as I rushed forward. “Wait!”
They were only trying to help, but these children had been traumatized enough without having gargoyles ripping away their doors. They were probably convinced they were about to be eaten.
“Wait!” I cried. “You’ll scare them!”
I skidded to a halt in front of the closest cell and peered into the shadowed interior. It was almost impossible to see beyond the entrance.
Bringing lightning to my fingertips, I raised my hand and stepped into the cell. Scurrying sounds accompanied my entrance, and a dirty foot jerked back into the shadows.
Little whimpers tore at my heart; I almost rushed toward the children and threw my arms around them, but I might terrify them more if I did. When I took another step inside, my light illuminated the cell even more.
About twenty kids huddled together at the back of the small space. Their clothes were little more than rags hanging off their slender frames as grime coated their small, sweet faces.
