“Do you think your father put them there?” Tucker asked.
“If he did, it’s because he intends to torture us and not set us free.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
My lightning slid up to my elbows before extinguishing on my fingers so I could unlock Tucker’s chains. After I set them on the ground, he slapped me on the shoulder before we embraced. “It’s good to see you.”
“You too, but exiting this cell may be the worst decision you make,” I told him.
“I’m not staying here. If I’m to die, then it will be outside of chains and bars.”
I hadn’t expected anything less.
Tucker rubbed his wrists together as his ocean blue eyes studied the dungeon beyond me. Dirt and blood matted his dark blond hair.
“What do you think he has planned?” Tucker asked.
“I have no idea. We have to move.” I handed him the key to the chains. “I’ll unlock their doors; you undo their chains.”
Tucker took the key and followed me from the cell. Callan was in the cell beside him; we set the minstrel free before moving on to the other two amsirah.
The one who wasn’t crying stood near his cell door. He recoiled from my light, and when his head swiveled back toward us, he blinked rapidly as he squinted.
When we arrived at the last cell, the crying man knelt near the bars. Tears had created clear pathways through his dirty face. My light glinted off the white gleam of his ribs beneath the muscle and blood of his flayed flesh.
During his last flogging, the man spilled every intimate detail of his life, including the first time he touched a breast, lost his virginity, and his preference for bondage. However, it wasn’t enough to stop Veni and his cronies from slicing this man to the bone.
I wasn’t sure he could walk well enough to come with us or stop crying for long enough to do so.
“Shit,” I muttered.
If we left him here, they’d torture him more to find out what happened, but if we took him with us, he’d slow us down. I was still debating what to do when Tucker arrived with the key for the chains.
The man tried to hold up his chains for Tucker, but the movement made him sway and fall forward. Before Tucker could catch him, he landed flat on his face and let out a muffled grunt followed by a whimper.
Sympathy tugged at me, but I couldn’t let this man ruin our chance to escape. I had to return to Ellery, and I wouldn’t let anyone stop me from doing so.
Tucker gripped the man’s elbow and helped him back to his knees. Grasping his shoulder, I kept the man propped up as Tucker undid the manacles around his wrists and ankles.
“What do we do with him?” Tucker asked.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Ryker
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
“We can’t leave him here,” the other man said.
I studied him as I tried to recall his name. “Lawrence?”
The man glanced at me before shifting his attention back to the crier. “Yeah.”
“What would you like to do with him?” I asked. “He can’t move on his own, and his sobbing is likely to draw attention. And that’s only if we don’t step out of this dungeon and straight into a trap. He can’t defend himself.”
Lawrence didn’t respond to my question, which only made the crying guy sob harder. Releasing his shoulder, I stepped out of the cell and into the dungeon.
My light illuminated the space around me, but I couldn’t see into the darkest recesses. Even if the far end of the dungeon remained in shadow, there was nowhere for us to hide him in here. It was only cells and walls.
