I shift in my seat, unsure about what she wants me to say.
“They were... surprised,” she says after a moment. “As was I, if I’m being honest.”
I raise a brow. “Why?”
“It’s rare for strangers to enter our territory, and rarer still for one of them to bear an active blessing of the gods.”
A rebuke rises to the tip of my tongue—being Marked isn’t a blessing but a gods-damned curse—but before I can give it voice, she continues, “And then of course there’s the man you were traveling with. The Hunter.”
Blood drains from my face, and I clutch the armrests. “Gabriel? Is he here? What have you done...”
My words trail off as Evelyn lifts her hand. “Bring him in.”
Doors open behind me, and I turn. The crackers threaten to make a reappearance, and when I see what several men drag in, I barely tamp down the scream crawling up my throat.
17
AGONY AND TORMENT
GABRIEL
Earlier in the day
Asteady, throbbing pain in my arm has been bothering me for days. Heat rushes beneath the skin, a warning that something is wrong. The stones on which I lie are cool, but they don’t provide relief. It’s as if my skin isn’t fitting right over my frame.
I peel my eyes open, groaning. The stone walls of my cell mock me, reminding me that I’m trapped and alone. My tormentors are gone, but there is no doubt in my mind they will return.
Iron manacles bind my hands and feet, and chains connect them to the floor. I have enough room to maneuver to the chamber pot, but that’s it.
When I still had energy, I tested the chains’ limits, but I’m too tired for that now. When was the last time they brought me food? Two visits ago? Maybe three. I’ve lost count. They come and go, never leaving me alone for more than a few hours at a time. Depriving me of sleep is another method of torture, and they’re using it to their advantage.
For now, I stare at the iron bars of my cell and wait. Wait for my captors to return. Wait for the torment to begin anew.
A lantern hangs on a hook outside my cell, laughably out of reach. Its flickering light is all I can see, and I focus on it as recent events pass through my mind.
A few days ago—or maybe a week; I’ve been having trouble keeping track of time—I woke up in a cell surrounded by four warriors. The group, comprised of three men and a woman, didn’t have a shred of kindness between them.
They’d stared at me in silence, their faces blank slates, until the door to my stone cell opened behind them. And when they parted, revealing a scowling Cedric Stone, the prisoner I once hunted, ice had swept through my veins.
Stone’s black hair was longer than when I’d hunted him, and he sported a new bump across the bridge of his nose as though it had been broken and reset, but his tattoo was the same, as was the hatred in his eyes.
I’d done it—I’d found the rebels. Cedric’s presence was proof of that. For a moment, I’d felt nothing but relief. This was what I’d wanted. These people would take care of Wren, keep her away from the king as she learned her magic.
I hoped she would be welcomed here. But me, on the other hand...
The moment I looked into Cedric’s eyes, I knew there would be no safety for me here. There had always been a chance seeking this group would be dangerous and they wouldn’t take kindly to my presence, but I’d risked it for Wren.
Cedric had smiled, his eyes cold and calculating, and he crouched in front of me. “Hello, Hunter,” he said icily, playing with a dagger. “Did you miss me?”
I hadn’t replied—there was no point. The look in Cedric’s eyes, the way his fingers formed a fist, and the weapons theothers held all told the same story: What came next would be a lesson in agony and torment.
And I’d been right. Gods be with me, I’d never been more right about anything in my life.
The next few days were a blur of endless interrogations, painful interruptions, and pure agony. My tormentors had given me bits of food and sips of water, enough to keep me going, but never enough to strengthen me.
They knew who I was and what I did for the Ruby Crown. They wanted to know why Wren and I were here. Had I sought them out? Was the king searching for them? Why was I traveling with a gods-blessed? Who was she? Where did she come from? Were we spies?
So many fucking questions. They all spun together in my mind.
