The tip of the key scraped metal as I tried to find the hole. It caught the edge of the hole and made a scratching sound different from that of the rats’ claws.
“What is that?” Tucker asked from his cell.
I didn’t answer. If this worked, he would soon know what it was. Plus, I couldn’t shake the suspicion the duke could somehow hear us.
“Ryker?”
At Tucker’s question, the key slid into the hole. My fingers froze as my heart hammered; the key fit, but it could refuse to turn. If that happened, I might lose my fucking mind.
Determined to remain restrained if this didn’t work, I turned the key.
The click was so faint and unexpected that, at first, I was afraid I’d imagined it. Then I pulled the key free, slid it in my pocket, and placed my hand against the bars.
The door’s hinges didn’t creak as it swung open with relative ease. I remained where I was, convinced that if I stepped outside, something would strike me down.
I didn’t have an option; I couldn’t stay here.
I removed the first key from between my teeth and shoved it into my other pocket. It was difficult to get it past the dried blood caking the opening… my blood from the beatings I’d taken at the hands of Gaius.
Eventually, I managed to tuck it away. Taking a deep breath in preparation for being thrown back by some spell, I stepped out of the cell.
The second I stepped free, power surged around me. The rush filled my cells, crackled through my veins, and flickered at my fingertips.
Within me, Ellery’s power stirred again from when it joined with mine, but I didn’t draw on it; if I could keep her from learning I was free, I would. She wouldn’t stay away if she felt me drawing from her.
Sparks of light crackled along my fingertips and pierced the darkness. They brightened the ground and walls closest to me.
I blinked against the influx of light but didn’t douse it. We had to get out of here, and I required illumination to guide me through this gloom.
“Ryker?” Tucker whispered.
“I’m free,” I said.
Gasps accompanied my words before Tucker blurted, “How?”
“That’s a very good question.”
The lightning intensified around my fingers and rose to my shoulders. It lit up enough of the dungeon to guide me to Tucker’s cell.
I still wasn’t convinced Veni wasn’t playing more games, but games could go wrong, and if this was one, I’d make sure it did. When I made it to Tucker’s cell, he held up his arm to shield his eyes as he cringed away from the light.
My eyes burned less as they adjusted to the glow. I removed the key for the cell from my pocket and slid it into the hole. I was half convinced it wouldn’t work for Tucker’s, but it turned and clicked again.
“What the fuck?” I muttered.
“How?” Tucker asked again as I entered his cell.
“Someone placed two keys in my porridge.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“No.”
“What does that mean?”
The incredulous tone of his voice more than matched the way I felt. “I have no idea.”
But I fully expected to walk into a trap.
