The faintest flutter of his eyelashes, and I feel the motion in my chest like a butterfly sprung to life.
He’s alive.
“Orlaith,” Kolden whispers in my ear, and I almost jump right out of my skin. “We must prioritize the people in the cells.”
He’s right. I’ll have to leave this boy till last.
With a heavy heart, I drag my gaze away from the haunting scene and dash around the corner, then fall to my knees before the child with curly red hair. She’s tipped on her side in the middle of her cell, bunched like a ball, blank gaze cast ahead.Throughme … like she’s not even seeing me.
A porcelain doll broken on the floor.
I frown, dread settling on my shoulders like some clawed beast just perched upon me, waiting to snatch up the whittling life.
“Hey, sweetie,” I whisper.
She doesn’t even blink.
My heart skips a beat.
Finding my hairpin in the middle of the hallway, I set my sword on the stone—
We must prioritize the people in the cells.
Kolden’s words register like a blow to my chest.
How did he know therewerecells? All I told him was that there were people to rescue, hidden beneath an island in the bay. That I knew of a secret entry that could get us in and out with relative ease.
A metallic jingle cuts through my thoughts, and my hand snaps down to my dagger, fingers tightening around the hilt.
The girl’s pupils narrow, registering something beyond me with a flash of familiarity.
Registeringhim.
I swallow, feeling the air shift as Kolden steps up behind me. My heart drops as he digs a key into the lock.
Twists it.
Clicks it open.
Why does he have a key?
A prickly thought snares me like barbed wire …
“She knows you,” I whisper, my voice hoarse; fragile.
“Yes.”
I harden my resolve and reinforce my trembling dome, hand twitching to reach for the dagger tucked against my thigh.
I refuse to accept a reality where I fail to save this little girl’s life.
I. Refuse.
If I have to go head to head with Kolden right here in front of her, I will.
He reaches past me with his other hand, and I release a raw, primal noise from somewhere deep inside my gut. He pauses for a second, then pushes the door open.
I expect him to pick me up and try to shove me in—poised for the fight that will surely ensue. Tension crackles between us, my gums igniting with an intense ache to gnash my teeth against something hard and unforgiving.
