Page 114 of Dream Reaper

She took a stabilizing breath, steeling herself for what must be done. “Talos. We’re going to have to use Talos.”

Brynja bared her teeth, but she didn’t argue. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

They moved down the corridor toward Finnr.

“It’s coming!” he shouted, hands pressed against his head.

Brynja barged into the closet where Talos crouched on the floor, eyes squeezed closed. He’d managed to free his ankles, but his hands were still bound behind his back.

“Talos, you can feel it coming, right?” Ava said as she hurried forward.

His eyes snapped open, but he didn’t say anything.

“Do you want to live?” she demanded as she reached for the chains. “If you want to live, you’re going to have to help us fight this thing off. We’ll help you get to the border if you do. You help us. We help you out of Gelaira. Do you understand?”

Talos glared at her.

Brynja leaned down and grabbed him by the collar, shaking him roughly. “I know you heard her, elf. Do you agree to these terms or not?”

He shook himself free with a muffled curse, but then he squinted at them each in turn. Ava could almost imagine the wheels in his head turning as he weighed the pros and cons of their proposal and how he could best manipulate matters to his advantage.

At last, he nodded.

Brynja untied the gag from his mouth with short, jerking movements. “If you start cussing at us, I’ll put the gag back on.”

He licked his lips and raked her with a fierce glare, but she didn’t react.

Ava still hung on to the chains, but the anxious fluttering in her stomach held her back from releasing him. She knew the risks of what they were about to do. She didn’t trust Talos. She couldn’t trust him, and yet they had no choice.

“All right,” she began, choosing her words carefully, “this is how this is going to work. We’re going to release you, and I’m going to help you fight the shadow. Once you’ve defeated it, we’ll see you safely to the border.”

“You?” He laughed harshly and leaned away from her. “How are you going to help me defeat this creature?”

Ava clamped down on her lips before responding. “Never mind how I plan to help you. Just believe me when I say that I will.”

Brynja exchanged a look with her, but Ava gave a slight shake of her head. She wasn’t about to tell Talos about her plans to feed him the energy she’d stolen from Jerrid, the magic sizzling in her veins and waiting to be released. She couldn’t use it herself, but she could give it away.

And when the time was right, she would give it to him and hope against hope that he used it wisely.

They removed the chains slowly and then backed away. Finnr loomed in the doorway, a grim and mildly confused expression on his face, but he didn’t question their actions.

“All right,” Ava said as she swiped her sweaty palms down the front of her clothes. “The shadow is inside the keep. It’s coming. We need you to drive it back out. It doesn’t like light or fire. That’s how you’re going to fight it.”

Talos’s lips peeled back in a snarl, but he didn’t say anything. He just rubbed his bruised wrists and flicked his gaze toward Finnr and the door behind him. Ava’s breath caught in her throat, and she braced herself for the moment he tried to escape.

But he remained where he was. Waiting.

She exhaled slowly.

“Let’s go,” Brynja growled. “I don’t want it to come down here and find us. Let’s take the battle to it. Fight it on our terms. Keep it as far away from the others as possible.”

Talos gave her a mock solute. “You’re the boss. Lead the way.”

Finnr eased out of the way. As Ava inched into the corridor, she realized he was clutching a dagger in his hand, which he flourished at Talos.

“I’ve got my eye on you,” the man said. “Trust me when I tell you I’ll stick this into your back if you try anything funny.”

Talos narrowed his eyes, but he raised his palms as if in surrender.